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A small molecule-based NIR-II type-I photosensitizer (IT-IC) with a strong push–pull effect and good planar π-conjugated structure was synthesized. The IT-IC NPs exhibited strong light absorption, outstanding NIR-II fluorescence emission, excellent photothermal conversion and efficient type-I/II ROS generation, showing encouraging therapeutic outcomes for hypoxic tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study investigated the prognostic effect of electroencephalography (EEG) instant effects of single spinal cord stimulation (SCS) on clinical outcome in disorders of consciousness (DOC) and the time‐dependent brain response during the recovery of consciousness prompted by SCS. Methods: Twenty three patients with DOC underwent short‐term SCS (stSCS) implantation operation. Then, all patients received the postoperative EEG test including EEG record before (T1) and after (T2) single SCS session. Subsequently, 2 weeks stSCS treatment was performed and revised coma recovery scale (CRS‐R) and EEG data were collected. Finally, they were classified into effective and ineffective groups at 3‐month follow‐up (T6). Results: The parietal‐occipital (PO) connectivity and clustering coefficients (CC) in the beta band of the effective group at the 1 week after the treatment (T5) were found to be higher than preoperative assessment (T0). Correlation analysis showed that the change in beta CC at T1/T2 was correlated with the change in CRS‐R at T0/T6. In addition, the change in PO connectivity and CC in the beta at T0/T5 were also correlated with the change in CRS‐R at T0/T5. Conclusion: SCS may facilitate the recovery of consciousness by enhancing local information interaction in posterior brain regions. And the recovery can be predicted by beta CC in the EEG test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first pyrroloazaphosphinines with nitrogen at the junction, 7a and 7b, have been prepared by a special route involving the collapse of the phosphorus bridges of appropriate 7-phosphanorbornenes. The parent molecule 7a has a strictly planar azaphosphinine ring with some electronic delocalization according to DFT computations. Its P=C double bond does not react with 2,3-dimethylbutadiene unless P is coordinated toMo(CO)5. Compound 7a reacts with CuI to give a new type of polymeric complex [–Cu-μ2-7a–]n in which P acts as a bridging ligand and the ligand planes are antiparallel. The benzo-annulated and bromo-substituted 7b displays a skewed ring according to DFT computations and its P=C double bond is reactive toward 2,3-dimethylbutadiene without complexation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) is a typical female heterogamete species that exhibits female-biased sexual size dimorphism, which has severely hindered the sustainable development of the species in aquaculture. In the present study, four important somatotropic and reproductive tissues including brain, pituitary, liver, and gonad from 15 females and 15 males were used for transcriptome analysis via RNA-seq. A mean of 37,533,991 high-quality clean reads was obtained from each library and 806, 1482, 818, and 14,695 differentially expressed genes in female and male were identified from the brain, pituitary, liver, and gonad, respectively (fold change ≥ 2 and q < 0.05). Enrichment analyses of GO terms and KEGG pathways showed that nucleic acid-binding transcription factor activity, G-protein-coupled receptor activity, MAPK signaling pathway, steroid biosynthesis, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction may be involved in the sexual growth differences. Furthermore, via weighted gene co-expression network analyses, two modules (yellowgreen and salmon4) were identified to be significantly positive-correlated with female-biased sexual size dimorphism. An illustrated network map drawn by these two modules enabled the identification of a series of hub genes, including nipped-B-like protein A (nipbla), transcriptional activator protein Pur-beta-like (purb), and BDNF/NT-3 growth factors receptor (ntrk2). Detailed functional investigation of these networks and hub genes will further improve our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanism of sexual size dimorphism in fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Arbutin, a typical optical isomer, has garnered widespread acclaim in the whitening cosmetics for its favorable efficacy and safety. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying α-arbutin and β-arbutin permeating across the skin have not elucidated clearly yet. Herein we aimed to unveil how α-arbutin and β-arbutin interacted with keratin or SC lipids, further demonstrating their relationship with their drug permeability. We found that α-arbutin displayed significantly higher drug accumulation into the porcine skin than β-arbutin within 24 h through in vitro permeation test. Moreover, α-arbutin predominantly induced the alternations of secondary structure of amide II during the drug permeation, which was favorable for α-arbutin permeation. On the contrary, β-arbutin exhibited an observable effect on the stretching vibration of SC lipids, possessing a significantly stronger mixing energy, binding energy and compatibility with ceramide (Cer) than that of α-arbutin, which ultimately restricted its permeation. Interestingly, free fatty acids and ceramides of the SC lipids specifically utilized its oxygen atom of carboxyl group to dock the arbutin molecules, enhancing their affinity with β-arbutin, as confirmed by molecular simulation and 13Carbon Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Nevertheless, a favorable compatibility between α-arbutin and keratin was observed. It was emphasized that the distinct spatial configuration and opposite optical rotation of arbutin was the leading factor impacting the intermolecular force between arbutin and the SC, and resulted in a diverse drug permeation. In cellular and in vivo skin pharmacokinetic studies, α-arbutin also possessed a higher cellular uptake and topical bioavailability than β-arbutin. This study revealed the transdermal permeation mechanisms of optical isomer arbutin at the molecular levels, providing methodological reference for the investigations of permeation behaviors of other isomers with similar spatial configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]