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Triphosphine-supported PtAu2 complexes were elaborately designed using 4-substituted phenylacetylide ligands with electron-rich N,N′-diarylamine groups to manifest high-efficiency red electroluminescence.

To explore the differential expression of microRNA (miRNA, miR-) and its correlation with social support and personality in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) patients. A total of 80 GAD patients and 80 control participants were selected from our serial study samples to be tested for microarray analysis, and real time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) verification was carried out in both patient group and control group. Correlation between miRNA expression and social support were also carried out. According to microarray analysis, 6 miRNAs were differentially expressed between patient group and control group, with miR-4505, miR-4484, miR-4674, miR-501-3p and miR-663 up-regulated, and miR-1301 down-regulated; qPCR verification revealed that 5 miRNAs (miR-1301, miR-4484, miR-4674, miR-501-3p, miR-663, miR-4505) were significantly up-regulated and the expression of miRNA-1301 down-regulated; the expression of miRNA-1301 was significantly related to social support in GAD patients. In conclusions, comprehensive factors, including miRNA regulation, social support may be involved into the aetiology of GAD.

Highly soluble d8-d10 heteronuclear phosphors afford an alternative approach to achieve high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) through a solution process. In this work, four highly phosphorescent d8-d10 heteronuclear complexes with significant Pt-Au interactions were prepared. By judicious selection of sterically hindered and π-conjugated substituents in triphosphine ligands, the phosphorescence is dramatically promoted through effectively prohibiting nonradiative thermal relaxation with an efficiency of 0.94-0.99 in doping films. Exploiting highly emissive Pt-Au complexes as phosphorescent dopants, ultrahigh-efficiency solution-processed OLEDs were attained. The peak current efficiency, power efficiency, and external quantum efficiency are 96.2 cd A-1, 65.0 lm W-1, and 26.4% for the green-emitting PtAu2 phosphor and 68.6 cd A-1, 42.5 lm W-1, and 25.1% for the orange-emitting Pt2Au phosphor, which represent the state-of-art for solution-processed OLEDs based on non-iridium phosphors.

In the present study, 2,6-bis(diphenylphosphino)pyridine ((Ph2P)2py)-supported cis- and trans-Pt2Ag2 alkynyl complexes were prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallography. Although the cis-Pt2Ag2 complexes are slightly emissive at ambient conditions, the trans-Pt2Ag2 complexes exhibit moderate photoluminescence in dichloromethane and have strong emission in the solid state, originating from aromatic acetylide to (Ph2P)2py ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (3LLCT) and Pt2Ag2 cluster metal-centered (3MC) triplet states. Remarkably, the trans-Pt2Ag2 complex [Pt2Ag2{(Ph2P)2py}2(CCC6H5)4](SO3CF3)2 exhibit remarkable luminescent vapochromism with emission red-shifts of 100 nm in response to MeCN vapor, arising from intramolecular structural conversion from staggered to parallel arrangements of two face-to-face Pt(CCC6H5)2 moieties, which results in the alteration of the excited-state energy in the solid state as supported by TD-DFT studies.

High color purity with narrow-band emission is a key factor for full-color displays. However, phosphorescent metal complexes typically exhibit broad emission with a full width at half maxima (FWHM) in the range of 80–100 nm. Here, we demonstrate a facile approach to achieve narrow-band emission by introducing electron-deficient moieties with electron-transport character into PtAg2 heteronuclear complexes. The as-synthesized PtAg2 complex 3 with dibenzo[b,d]thiophene 5,5-dioxide-3-acetylide shows extremely narrow emission with an FWHM of 25 nm in CH2Cl2 solution. The narrow-band emission is further verified by another two PtAg2 complexes containing electron-transport units such as oxadiazole (complex 4) and triphenyl-triazine (complex 5), in which the FWHM values are 26 nm for 4 and 28 nm for 5 in CH2Cl2 solution. TD-DFT studies suggest that the involvement of intra-ligand transition within an electron-deficient acetylide ligand is likely responsible for the narrow-band emission. Solution-processed OLEDs based on complex 4 exhibit excellent device performance with an FWHM of 37 nm in the electroluminescent spectrum and the highest current efficiency (CE) of 69.5 cd A−1, power efficiency (PE) of 50.5 lm W−1 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 18.2%. The narrow-band electroluminescence is also attained in complexes 3 and 5 with the FWHM values of 31 and 40 nm, respectively, which represent the narrowest electroluminescence for multinuclear metal complexes. This strategy of introducing electron-transport moieties not only improves the device performance but also narrows the emission width and thus enhances the color purity.

A triphosphine-supported Pt2Cu heterotrinuclear complex (1) constrained with 3,6-di-tert-butyl-1,8-diethynyl-9H-carbazole exhibits two-step phosphorescent mechanochromism due to intramolecular deformation. The stepwise phosphorescent mechanochromism following green → yellow → orange-red corresponds exactly to the phosphorescent emission observed in crystal morphs 1·4THF (green), 1·3acetone (yellow), and 1·4CH2Cl2 (orange-red), respectively, with different degrees of intramolecular deformation, as demonstrated by X-ray crystallography.

We describe herein a viable approach to enhance phosphorescence efficiency in PtCu2 complexes with aromatic acetylides by the use of bis(di-2-tolylphosphinomethyl)phenylphosphine (dTolmp) in place of bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)-phenylphosphine (dpmp) as a supporting ligand. Relative to dpmp-supported PtCu2 complexes, dTolmp-supported complexes having the same acetylide ligands show not only a 16–36 nm red-shift of the emission peaks, but also a dramatic phosphorescence enhancement. The phosphorescence quantum yields of dTolmp-supported PtCu2 complexes are boosted to 6.6 and 11.6 times as high as those of the dpmp-supported ones in CH2Cl2 solutions and the solid state, respectively. From dpmp to dTolmp, introducing sterically hindered 2-methyl groups to phenyl rings not only improves the π-conjugation character of PtCu2 complexes, but also effectively inhibits the deactivation process of the triplet excited state through non-radiative relaxation. The phosphorescence properties were systematically modulated in a wide spectral range from 502 to 672 nm by introducing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents into aromatic acetylides.

Bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phenylphosphine (dpmp)-supported Pt2Au heterotrinuclear complexes [Pt2Au(dpmp)2(C≡CPh)4](ClO4) (1), [Pt2Au(dpmp)2(DEBf)(C≡CPh)2](ClO4) (2), and [Pt2Au(dpmp)2(DECz)(C≡CPh)2](ClO4) (3) were prepared and used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) as a new class of light emitters, where DEBf = dibenzofuran-4,6-diacetylide and DECz = 3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazole-1,8-diacetylide. Although the flexible structure of Pt2Au complex 1 (λem = 503 nm, Φem < 0.1%) results in weak photoluminescence in fluid CH2Cl2, complexes 2 (λem = 585 nm, Φem = 4.9%) and 3 (λem = 589 nm, Φem = 3.2%) with a rigid conformation give a much stronger phosphorescence. The displacement of two σ-bonded phenylacetylide ligands with a diacetylide ligand such as DEBf and DECz to fasten Pt2Au structures facilitates greatly luminescent emission so that the emissive quantum yield in doping film is as high as 89% for 2 and 93% for 3. As revealed by a theoretical study, the severe structural distortion of diacetylide-linked Pt2Au complexes 2 (λem = 585 nm) and 3 (λem = 589 nm) in a triplet excited state gives rise to significant red shifts of phosphorescent emission spectra relative to that of complex 1 (λem = 503 nm). By means of Pt2Au complexes as phosphorescent emitters, solution-processed OLEDs achieved a relatively low external quantum efficiency (EQE < 9.5%) when commercial poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) was used as the hole-injection layer (HIL). In contrast, the peak EQE was increased to 18.3% with a dramatic increase of efficiency by the use of modified HILs composed of PEDOT:PSS and PSS-Na, which provide a higher work function and a better film morphology.

Low-carbon economy is an emerging and inevitable pathway toward sustainable development of cold chain logistics. Low-temperature transportation is the crucial link of cold chain logistics to low-carbon economy and the industry is known to have the higher energy consumption. Prior studies are lacking in involving the carbon emission cost in the optimization process. Route optimization of low-temperature transportation is conducive to the low-carbon cold chain logistics. This study aims to introduce the low-carbon economy into the cold chain logistics. There are various costs needed to be considered in cold chain logistics, and a cold chain logistics route optimization model included the carbon emission cost was developed. Ribonucleic acid computing was combined with ant colony optimization to prevent the influence of unreasonable parameter selection on algorithm performance. This novel proposed approach was applied to solve the route optimization problem of a cold chain logistics firm located in the Xiong'an, China. The results showed this method reduced the overall cost of logistics and minimized the amount of carbon emissions. The finding shed the light on the low-carbon transformational development of cold chain logistics firms.

To unveil the influence of metal coordination on charge transport and length-dependent conductance attenuation in π-conjugated organic molecules, trans-Ru(dppe)2 (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) was implanted into oligoynyl chains with various number of ethynyl groups to construct Au–molecule–Au junctions using methylthiol (−SMe) as anchoring groups. The single-molecule conductance measured by I(s) method gave high and low values of conductance. A direct comparison of the conductance indicates that implanting trans-Ru(dppe)2 moiety into π-conjugated oligoynyl chains results in 2.6- to 5.8-fold enhancement of the conductance although the molecular length is increased by ca. 0.25 nm as a result of Ru insertion. More importantly, implanting trans-Ru(dppe)2 moiety into π-conjugated oligoynyl chains alleviates dramatically length-dependent conductance attenuation in view of the much smaller conductance decay constants for ruthenium(II)-implanted molecules (2.6 nm–1 for high value and 2.5 nm–1 for low ...

The application of a coordination container in biomedicine is hindered by single binding domains and unsatisfactory biostability and biocompatibility. Herein, we designed a sulfonylcalix[4]arene-based decahexanuclear zinc(II) coordination container employing a flexible tetracarboxylate ligand as a linker and utilized it as a novel drug delivery system. The coordination container consisting of one endo and four exo cavities provides multiple binding domains for efficient encapsulation of drug molecules as clearly revealed by systematic host-guest studies using NMR techniques of 1H NMR titration experiments and 2D NOESY and diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy studies. Incorporation of a flexible p-phenylene-bis(methanamino) spacer into the container via the carboxylate linker allowed a stepwise drug loading process through sequential binding at endo and exo cavities, as well as enabling pH-responsive stepwise drug release. The drug-loaded coordination container not only exhibits excellent biostability and biocompatibility but also provides encouraging therapeutic efficiency toward inflammatory macrophages as revealed by in vitro studies. The novel strategy for engineering the endo cavity of a coordination container provides a new approach to achieving controlled drug delivery and opens up new opportunities for designing novel functional supramolecular materials.

Highly soluble d

The reaction of 3,6-ditert-butyl-1,8-bis(diphenylphosphino)-9-methyl-9H-carbazole (L) with CuBr resulted in the isolation of tetranuclear copper(I) complex Cu4Br4L2 as two colorless crystal morphs, i.e., green-emitting 1G and yellow-emitting 1Y. As demonstrated by X-ray crystallography, the Cu4Br4 moiety in both 1G and 1Y adopts the same chair conformations. When L is bonded perpendicularly to the Cu4 plane, 1G with green emission is obtained, while it gives a yellow emission of 1Y once the L is parallelly bonded to Cu4 plane. Theoretical computational studies suggest that the variation in ligand orientation results in a different degree of structural distortion in triplet state and thus different luminescent energy. Particularly, 1Y undergoes dramatic structural distortion from the ground (S0) to triplet excied state (T1). Interestingly, 1G can be converted into 1Y upon exposed to saturated hexane vapor, which would return to 1G upon exposure to acetonitrile vapor. As demonstrated experimentally and theoretically, the reversible luminescence transformation between 1G and 1Y is ascribed to the variation of ligand L orientations.

Three quinoline-based zinc(II)–Schiff base complexes were synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. They exhibit remarkable aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) in acetonitrile/diethyl ether mixtures due to the conversion of weak luminescence in homogeneous solution into strong emission in the nano-aggregated phase after increasing the fractions of diethyl ether. Interestingly, the AIEE performance can be significantly promoted by joining the two quinoline units through an alkoxy chain. Moreover, they show reversible mechanochromic luminescence behavior between dark and bright states during the grinding–fuming cycles, due to the modulation of morphologies between amorphous and crystalline states. Introducing an electron donating group in the para-position of aniline significantly improves the mechanochromic luminescence effect with a more accessible and distinct emission colour contrast. The molecular packing in the crystalline phase and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations demonstrate that multiple intermolecular C–H⋯π and π–π interactions significantly strengthen the molecular rigidity and enhance the intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) characteristics, leading to the effective emission enhancement in crystalline/nano-aggregated states. The novel AIEE and reversible mechanochromic luminescence properties point to the promising potential applications of these complexes in smart fluorescent materials.

In order to develop solution-processable organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with improved optical properties, PtAu3 heterometallic cluster complexes that exhibit narrow-band emission spectra were prepared through judicious molecular design. The brightly emissive PtAu3 complexes with robust chemical and thermal stability (>290 °C) show photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQY) of 80.5% to 90.1% in doped films. The dihedral angle between the plane of the aromatic acetylide and the platinum(II) coordination square plane exerts dramatic influence on the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of phosphorescent emission, in which the better the co-planarity, the narrower the FWHM. Theoretical studies suggest that the greater involvement of the acetylide-to-Pt 3LMCT state favors narrow-band emission. Solution-processed OLEDs based on narrow-band green emitters afford a maximum current efficiency (CE) of 38.7 cd A−1, power efficiency (PE) of 22.9 lm W−1 and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 10.3% with an FWHM of 42 nm and CIE coordinates of (0.30, 0.61). The PtAu3 cluster complex with phenanthrene-fused carbazole-acetylide displays improved device performance due to its enhanced hole-carrier ability, with a peak CE of 62.2 cd A−1, PE of 30.3 lm W−1 and EQE of 16.6%. The elegant synthetic strategy combining electron and/or hole transport units enhances not only the device performance of the PtAu3 cluster complexes but also their charge carrier abilities, which were analyzed through space charge limited current measurements.

Deletion of Chromosome 3p is one of the most frequently detected genetic alterations in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We reported the role of a novel 3p26.3 tumor suppressor gene (TSG) CHL1 in NPC. Down-regulation of CHL1 was detected in 4/6 of NPC cell lines and 71/95 (74.7%) in clinical tissues. Ectopic expressions of CHL1 in NPC cells significantly inhibit colony formation and cell motility in functional study. By up-regulating epithelial markers and down-regulating mesenchymal markers CHL1 could induce mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), a key step in preventing tumor invasion and metastasis. CHL1 could also cause the inactivation of RhoA/Rac1/Cdc42 signaling pathway and inhibit the formation of stress fiber, lamellipodia, and filopodia. CHL1 could co-localize with adhesion molecule Integrin-β1, the expression of CHL1 was positively correlated with Integrin-β1 and another known tumor suppressor gene (TSG) Merlin. Down-regulation of Integrin-β1 or Merlin was significantly correlated with the poor survival rate of NPC patients. Further mechanistic studies showed that CHL1 could directly interact with integrin-β1 and link to Merlin, leading to the inactivation of integrin β1-AKT pathway. In conclusion, CHL1 is a vital tumor suppressor in the carcinogenesis of NPC.

Objective To explore the correlation of circRNA expression level and severity of depression in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients in order to provide solid scientific evidences for diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of MDD. Methods circRNA array was performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from 5 MDD patients and 5 controls, and then real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the top 10 circRNAs with the highest fold change values. All the MDD patients were assessed by Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). Results The change of expression level of circRNA_103636 was negatively correlated to anxiety/somatization and cognitive disorder; the change of expression level of circRNA_100679 showed a significantly positive correlation with weight and hopelessness (P＜0.05). Regression analysis demonstrated that the alteration of circRNA_100679 expression accounted for 13.9% and 11.1% respectively of weight and hopelessness; expression levels of circRNA_104121, circRNA_102802 and circRNA_104953 could predict retardation (P＜0.05) and accounted for 16.9% of variances; expression levels of circRNA_104600 and circRNA_103636 could significantly predict variance of sleep disorder (P＜0.05, the accounting percentage was 15.4%). Expression levels of circRNA_002143, circRNA_102802, circRNA_103636, circRNA_100679 and circRNA_104953 showed statistical difference between upper-score group and lowerscore group (P＜0.05). ROC analysis suggested expression level of circRNA_100679 in PBMCs had neutral predictive efficacy on depressive severity (AUC=0.708, P＜0.05, 95% confidence interval: 0.523-0.894). Conclusions Altered expression of circRNA_100679 may be involved in MDD pathogenesis and may serve as a biomarker for MDD. Moreover, expression levels of hsa_circRNA_002143 and circRNA_103636 might be closely related to severity of symptoms in MDD patients. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2018.06.10

A family of highly phosphorescent PtM3 (M = Au, Ag) aromatic acetylide cluster complexes supported with tetraphosphine and stabilized by μ-chloride were synthesized by the use of weakly luminescent mononuclear Pt(PPh3)2(CCR)2 (R = aryl) as precursors. The formation of PtM3 cluster complexes involves the abstraction of chloride from dichloromethane. The dramatic difference between PtAg3 and PtAu3 cluster structures arises from the location of the Pt atom, which is at the center of the triangle-planar PtM3 cluster for M = Ag whereas at one of the three corners in the PtM3 triangle plane for M = Au. Perturbation of the chloride ion in complexation by using a halide-abstracting agent results in the formation of PtM2 heterotrinuclear structures as demonstrated by X-ray crystallography. The PtAu3 complexes display intense phosphorescence with quantum yields of over 90% in doped films. High-efficiency OLEDs based on PtAu3 complexes were attained with an external quantum efficiency (EQE) over 18%. Most importantly, the optimized devices exhibit extremely small efficiency roll-off (less than 1%) at a practical brightness over 1000 cd m−2, which is one of the best performances for solution-processable phosphorescent OLEDs.

Background and Aims: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a major histologic subtype of esophageal cancer, is increasing in incidence, but the genetic underpinnings of this disease remain unexplored. The aim of this study is to identify the recurrent genetic changes, elucidate their roles and discover new biomarkers for improving clinical management of ESCC. Methods: Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed to detect the expression level of RHCG. Bisulfite genomic sequencing (BGS) and methylation-specific PCR (MSP) were used to study the methylation status in the promoter region of RHCG. The tumor-suppressive effect of RHCG was determined by both in-vitro and in-vivo assays. Affymetrix cDNA microarray was used to identify the underlying molecular mechanism. Results: RHCG was frequently downregulated in ESCCs, which was significantly correlated with poor differentiation (P = 0.001), invasion (P = 0.003), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.038) and poorer prognosis (P < 0.001). Demethylation treatment and bisulfite genomic sequencing analyses revealed that the downregulation of RHCG in both ESCC cell lines and clinical samples was associated with its promoter hypermethylation. Functional assays demonstrated that RHCG could inhibit clonogenicity, cell motility, tumor formation and metastasis in mice. Further study revealed that RHCG could stabilize IκB by decreasing its phosphorylation, and subsequently inhibit NF-κB/p65 activation by blocking the nuclear translocation of p65, where it acted as a transcription regulator for the upregulation of MMP1 expression. Conclusions: Our results support the notion that RHCG is a novel tumor suppressor gene that plays an important role in the development and progression of ESCC.

We demonstrate a proof-of-concept design of a new platform for proton recognition and modulation. The new proton receptors are derived from a unique class of synthetic supercontainers that exhibit exceptional proton binding capacity (over 50 equiv.) and intriguing proton-dependent fluorescent switching behavior. Experimental and computational studies suggest that the proton-responsive event involves a two-step mechanism pertaining to proton binding by both amino and pyrenyl moieties of the supercontainer constructs. The high proton binding capacity of the supercontainers can be further modulated via small-molecule "regulators" that compete for the proton-binding sites, opening exiting new opportunities for proton manipulation in both chemistry and biology.

Objective To explore the correlation of circRNAs' expression level to the negative- and positive symptoms of patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Methods Gene chip screening was performed with the peripheral blood samples from each five of SZ patients and normal controls. Nine circRNAs showing differentiate expression were confirmed, and further verification was done by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR in 102 SZ patients and 103 normal controls. All the SZ patients were assessed with Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). Results It was revealed that the expression levels of circRNA_102101, circRNA_102315, circRNA_104597, circRNA_101835 and circRNA_101836 were significantly down-regulated (P

A hexadentate macrocyclic N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand precursor (H4L)(PF6)4 containing four benzimidazolium and two secondary amine groups, has been synthesized and characterized. Coordination chemistry of this new macrocyclic diamine-tetracarbene ligand has been studied by the synthesis of its Ag(I), Au(I), Ni(II), and Pd(II) complexes. Reactions of (H4L)(PF6)4 with different equiv of Ag2O result in Ag(I) complexes [Ag(H2L)](PF6)3 (1) and [Ag2(H2L)](PF6)4 (2). A mononuclear Au(I) complex [Au(H2L)](PF6)3 (3) and a trinuclear Au(I) complex [Au3(H2L)(Cl)2](PF6) (4) are obtained by transmetalation of 1 and 2 with AuCl(SMe2), respectively. Reactions of (H4L)(PF6)4 with Ni(OAc)2 and Pd(OAc)2 in the presence of NaOAc yield [Ni(L)](PF6)2 (5) and [Pd(L)](PF6)2 (6), respectively, containing one Ni(II) and Pd(II) ion with distorted square-planar geometry. Using more NaOAc results in the formation of unusual dinuclear complexes [Ni2(L–2H)](PF6)2 (7) and [Pd2(L–2H)](PF6)2 (8) (L–2H = deprotonated ligand after...

RNA computing is a new intelligent optimization algorithm, which combines computer science and molecular biology. Aiming at the weakness of slow convergence rate and poor global search ability in the basic ant colony optimization algorithm due to the unreasonable selection of parameters, this paper utilizes the combination of RNA computing and basic ant colony optimization algorithm to overcome the defects. An improved ant colony optimization algorithm based on RNA computing is proposed. In the iterative process of ant colony optimization algorithm, transformation operation, recombination operation and permutation operation in RNA computing are introduced to optimize the initial parameters including importance factor of pheromone trail α, importance factor of heuristic function β and pheromone evaporation rate ρ to improve the convergence efficiency and global search ability. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated on five instances of the library of traveling salesman problems (TSPLIB) and six typical test functions. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed RNA-ant colony optimization algorithm is superior than basic ant colony optimization algorithm in optimization ability, reliability, convergence efficiency, stability and robustness.

// Ting-Ting Cao 1 , Di Xiang 1 , Bei-Lei Liu 1 , Tu-Xiong Huang 1 , Bin-Bin Tan 1 , Chui-Mian Zeng 1 , Zhong-Yuan Wang 1 , Xiao-Yan Ming 2 , Li-Yi Zhang 2 , Guangyi Jin 1 , Feng Li 3, 4 , Jian-Lin Wu 5 , Xin-Yuan Guan 2 , Desheng Lu 1 and Li Fu 1 1 Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Research Centre, School of Medicine, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China 2 Department of Clinical Oncology, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine, Hong Kong, China 3 Wuhan University Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China 4 Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China 5 State Key Laboratory for Quality Research in Chinese Medicines, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China Correspondence to: Li Fu, email: gracelfu@szu.edu.cn Desheng Lu, email: delu@szu.edu.cn Keywords: FZD7, ESCC, metastasis, WNT, EMT Received: May 24, 2017 Accepted: June 29, 2017 Published: July 26, 2017 ABSTRACT Frizzled (FZD) proteins are receptors for secreted WNT proteins and play a critical role in the malignant progression of various cancers. However, the role of human FZD family members in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) was rarely investigated. In this study, we found that the FZD7 gene was the most commonly up-regulated FZD member in ESCC cell lines compared with other FZDs . TMA studies further validated that FZD7 protein was up-regulated in 165 of 252 (65.5%) informative ESCC patients and significantly correlated with poor overall survival (P=0.001). Additionally, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that FZD7 overexpression was an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients. Ectopic expression of FZD7 could promote ESCC cell metastasis both in vitro and in vivo . Under WNT3A stimulation, FZD7 was able to induce the nuclear translocation of β-catenin and activate the downstream targets of WNT/β-catenin signaling, as well as promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) potential in ESCC cells. Our study demonstrated for the first time that FZD7 contributes to the malignant progression of ESCC and represents a novel prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target for ESCC patients.

Objective To investigate the differential expression of microRNA (miRNA) in schizophrenia (SZ) patients, and explore the comorbidity of SZ and depression disorder based upon miRNA expression. Methods Affymetrix array analysis was used to investigate the differentially expressed miRNA in SZ patients firstly, and then quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was further carried out to confirm the selected miRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 40 SZ patients, whom were administered by Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the selected miRNAs in depression disorder patients has also been confirmed by Affymetrix array analysis and qRT-PCR in our previous studies. Results Affymetrix array analysis indicated that there existed 33 miRNAs which differentially expressed (32 up-regulated and 1 down-regulated) compared with normal controls. qRT-PCR results suggested that the expression of 8 miRNAs (miR-1273d, miR-1303, miR-3064-5p, miR- 3131, miR-3687, miR-4428, miR-4725-3p and miR-5096) were significantly up-regulated in SZ; the miRNA differentially expressed in depression disorder patients also had differential expression in SZ patients (P

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are believed to influence tumor behavior and clinical outcomes. We previously showed that conditioned medium (CM) from CAFs induces proliferation and motility of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms by which the CAF-secreted proteins induce ESCC development and progression. Using antibody arrays, we identified urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) as one of the main proteins whose release was increased in CAFs compared to normal fibroblasts (NFs). Immunohistochemical analysis of pathological sections showed that uPA-positive cells were localized at the boundaries of tumor and stroma tissues, in stroma between tumor nests, and within the tumors. Increased stromal uPA levels (132/146 cases) correlated with tumor invasion (p < 0.05) and overall survival of ESCC patients (p < 0.05). In vitro assays showed that uPA promotes ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via PI3K/AKT and ERK signaling pathways. In vivo, anti-uPA antibody suppressed tumor growth in ESCC xenografts. These results suggest that uPA released from stroma, and especially from CAFs, might be a predictive marker for ESCC diagnosis and prognosis, as well as an effective therapeutic target.

Xing Li,1,* Wei-Hua Zeng,2,* Yu-Qi Zhou,3,* Yan-Ying Ji,4 Wei-Zhan Li,2 Li-Yi Zhang,3 Yue-Fei Guo,5 Ding-Yun Feng,3 Tian-Tuo Zhang3 1Department of Oncology and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Liver Disease, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Oncology, Panyu Central Hospital, Guangzhou 511400, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Institute of Respiratory Diseases of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tian-Tuo Zhang; Ding-Yun FengDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Institute of Respiratory Diseases of Sun Yat-sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou 510630, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-20-85252241Email zhtituli@163.com; tingyun04@163.comPurpose: To investigate the predictive capability of clinical parameters for long-term chemotherapy benefits among stage IIIB-IV non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients without sensitive mutations.Patients and methods: We investigated the clinical features of 206 stage IIIB-IV non-squamous NSCLC patients without sensitive mutations and assessed their predictive value for disease control rate (DCR) at 6 and 12 months post-treatment.Results: Seventy-two patients received docetaxel and platinum-based chemotherapy while 134 received pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy. The 6-month and 12-month DCR were 33 (45.8%) and 6 (8.3%) in the docetaxel group and 69 (51.5%) and 19 (14.2%) in the pemetrexed group, respectively. Univariate Cox regression revealed that age, sex, smoking history, adrenal gland metastasis, stage IV disease, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and serum albumin were associated with unfavorable progression-free survival (PFS). Age, stage IV disease, and NLR were identified as independent predictors of PFS using multivariate analysis. NLR was the only parameter that could predict 3-month and 6-month DCRs. NLR and age were able to predict 12-month DCR, with NLR presenting a larger area under the curve. Kaplan–Meier curves demonstrated that patients with NLR > 2.231 displayed significantly reduced long-term disease control. The group with higher NLR had more male patients, lower ALB levels, and serum sodium levels as well as higher platelet counts.Conclusion: NLR was an independent predictor of long-term chemotherapy benefits among non-squamous NSCLC patients without sensitive mutations. Patients with lower NLR were optimal candidates for chemotherapy. Patients with high NLR may receive alternative treatments or be included in clinical trials.Keywords: non-small cell lung cancer, chemotherapy, disease control rate, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio

Cationic PtAu2 heterotrinuclear complexes [PtAu2(dpmp)2(C[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)2]2+ (dpmp = bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phenylphosphine, R = aryl) of aromatic acetylides were prepared. The PtAu2 structures are supported through doubly bridging dpmp and stabilized by a significant Pt-Au interaction. They are highly phosphorescent in fluid CH2Cl2 solution (Φem = 23.5%-78.9%), the solid state (Φem = 15.4%-70.2%), the PMMA film (Φem = 39.9%-71.7%) and the doping film of 61% TCTA : 31% OXD-7 : 8% PtAu2 complex (Φem = 16.9%-67.9%). The phosphorescence arises mainly from 3[π (C[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR) → π* (dpmp)] 3LLCT and 3[π (C[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR) → s/p (PtAu2)] 3LMCT triplet excited states for carbazole-acetylide complexes, whereas other complexes display a 3LLCT character mixed with noticeable PtAu2 centered 3[d → s/p] parentage. Utilizing a mixed host composed of hole-transporting TCTA and electron-transporting OXD-7 doped with 8% PtAu2 species as a light-emitting layer and CuSCN as a hole-transporting layer through an orthogonal solution process, the devices exhibit highly efficient electrophosphorescence with the highest current efficiency (CEmax) of 51.7 cd A-1 and external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 14.5%. The efficiency roll-off is small in the practical brightness range of 500-5000 cd m-2. The PtAu2 complexes with carbazole-acetylides display a higher electroluminescence efficiency ascribed to their better hole-transporting character as well as more facile energy transfer from mixed host materials.

With the rapid development of medical career, special medicines and transport problems attract much attention nowadays. Transportation for special drug ,which is required to achieve “efficiency first,taking into account the efficiency”,should consider the economic benefits and time requirement.Fundamentally speaking, solving the special drugs transport problems is to reduce the patient’s body to pass drug costs. Based on the analysis of special drug transport properties, the special drug delivery route optimization model which is solving by the Chaos Ant Colony Optimization is established with the objective of minimizing the cost in the paper. It is shown that the Chaos Ant Colony Optimization is effective to slove the model by simulation.

A new sulfonylcalix[4]arene-based dinuclear terbium molecular container (1) was conveniently synthesized and utilized as a fluorescence probe for the detection of a well-known biomarker 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), which is used for the evaluation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sulfonylcalix[4]arene ligand could not only serve as an efficient antenna ligand to promote the ligand-to-metal energy transfer but also provide a suitable cavity to accommodate 1-OHP. Promising fluorescence quenching effects were well established during the titration of the compound 1 with 1-OHP, and these effects were due to the enhancement in the host–guest intermolecular charge transfer and the decrease in the ligand-to-metal energy transfer after the formation of the stable host–guest complex. The fluorescence sensing mechanism was clearly understood through the titration experiments, and the data could be fit with the Benesi–Hildebrand and Stern–Volmer models. The TbIII-TBSC-based luminescent sensor exhibited quick response, high sensitivity, and specific selectivity to 1-OHP, even in the presence of other constituents in urine, thus providing a new sensing platform for the clinical diagnosis of human exposure to PAHs.

Objective To explore the correlation of depressive symptoms to the microRNA (miRNA) expression level in monocytes of patients with depression before and after antidepressant treatment. Methods Eighty-one patients with depression, admitted to the 102 Hospital of PLA from Aug. 2012 to Oct. 2013, having not received antidepressants treatment and meeting the criteria as listed in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th edition (DSM-IV), were selected as case group. Eighty-one normal individuals served as control group. With Affymetrix Expression Array, 26 miRNAs were identified from 3 individuals from each group as candidate miRNA, and among them 9 miRNAs (miR-146b, miR-1972, miR-26b, miR-29b, miR-338, miR-4485, miR-4498, miR-4743 and miR-874) in monocytes were selected for quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) assessment. Twenty patients from the case group were selected for the assessment of miRNA expression levels, and the clinical symptoms and treatment effect were evaluated using Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI), before and 6 weeks after antidepressant (venlafaxine, sertraline, mirtazapine, etc.) treatment. Results Compared with the control group, the expression levels of miRNA-26b, miRNA-4743, miRNA-4498, miRNA-4485 and miRNA-1972 of the case group were significantly up-regulated (P