Involvement of H19/miR-326 axis in hepatocellular carcinoma development through modulating TWIST1

Overexpression of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) H19 has been observed in various cancers, which indicates that H19 exert important roles in the progression of carcinogenesis. MiR-326 has been reported to play tumor suppressive roles in multiple tumors. Recently, the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) hypothesis has implied that lncRNAs might function as molecular sponges for microRNAs in various cancers. However, the roles of H19/miR-326 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still remain unclear. The aim of our study was to determine H19/miR-326 expression in HCC cells and investigate their roles in HCC development. We found that H19 was significantly elevated and miR-326 was decreased in HCC cells including Hep3B, HepG2, MHCC-97L, SK-hep1, Hun7, SMCC-7721 compared with LO2 cells, respectively. In the subsequent experiments, we observed that inhibition of H19 can repress HCC cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro. H19 downregulation can increase miR-326 expression in HCC cells. Meanwhile, miR-326 mimics can also inhibit HCC progression, whereas miR-326 inhibitors exhibited a reverse phenomenon by modulating H19 expression. In addition, a negative association between H19 and miR-326 was predicted and confirmed. Furthermore, the transcription factor TWIST1 has been recognized as a significant regulator in tumor progression. Here, by performing bioinformatics analysis, TWIST1 was identified as a downstream target of miR-326. The findings of our study implied that lncRNA H19 can serve as a ceRNA to sponge miR-326 and modulate TWIST1 levels in HCC pathogenesis. Taken these together, these findings indicated that H19/miR-326/TWIST1 axis was involved in HCC development and can indicate a novel HCC target.

[Estimation on the health life expectancy of adults in Zhejiang province, 2016]

Objective: To estimate the health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) of adults in Zhejiang province and evaluate the health status of the adults. Methods: This study was based on the mortality data collected from Zhejiang Chronic Disease Surveillance Information and Management System, and mortality rates from the underreporting survey and self-reported health data in 2016. Hierarchical Ordered Probit (HOPIT) model was used to estimate the severity-weighted prevalence of disability. Sullivan's method was used to calculate the HALE. Results: After adjustment by HOPIT model, the severity-weighted prevalence of disability increased significantly with age (χ(2)=5 795.81,P<0.001), and it was higher in females than in males (χ(2)=5 353.27, P<0.001). The life expectancy and self-evaluated HALE were 59.08 years and 48.68 years, respectively, in those aged ≥20 years, the difference was 10.40 years due to disability. The proportion of HALE loss due to disability in the total life expectancy was 17.61%, and it increased with age. HALE was higher in males than in females (49.21 years vs. 48.14 years), and in urban residents than in rural residents (49.92 years vs. 47.43 years). Conclusion: The proportion of loss of HALE in the total life expectancy in adults was high in Zhejiang, and it higher in males than in females, in urban residents than rural residents. Programs on improving health care in women and rural residents should be promoted.

Understanding the Enhanced Open-Circuit Voltage of Polymer Solar Cells Based on a Diketopyrrolopyrrole Small Molecular Acceptor

In this study, polymer solar cells employing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as a donor and fullerene derivative PC₆₁BM (phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester) or nonfullerene diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based small molecule (SF-DPPEH) as an acceptor are investigated. Device based on SF-DPPEH shows a remarkably high V_OC of 1.20 V, whereas analogous device based on PC₆₁BM only delivers a V_OC of 0.64 V. Employing transient photovoltage/photocurrent techniques, we measure charge carrier lifetime and density and nongeminate recombination rate in the photoactive layer and correlate material energetics and charge recombination dynamics with the change of V_OC in the devices; thus, the extent to which two factors limit V_OC can be quantified.

Roll-to-Roll Slot-Die-Printed Polymer Solar Cells by Self-Assembly

Extremely simplified one-step roll-to-roll slot-die-printed flexible indium tin oxide (ITO)-free polymer solar cells (PSCs) are demonstrated based on the ternary blends of electron-donor polymer thieno[3,4- b]thiophene/benzodithiophene, electron-acceptor fullerene [6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl ester, and electron-extracting polymer poly[(9,9-bis(3'-( N, N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)- alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)] (PFN) at room temperature (RT) in ambient air. The flexible ITO-free PSC exhibits a comparable power conversion efficiency (PCE) with the device employing complicated two-step slot-die printing (5.29% vs 5.41%), which indicates that PFN molecules can migrate from the ternary nanocomposite toward the Ag cathode via vertical self-assembly during the one-step slot-die printing process in air. To confirm the migration of PFN, the morphology and elemental analysis as well as charge transport of different active layers are investigated by the in situ transient film drying process, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, contact angle and surface energy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, impedance spectroscopy, transient photovoltage and transient photocurrent, and laser-beam-induced current. Moreover, the good air and mechanical stability of the flexible device with a decent PCE achieved in 1 cm² PSCs at RT in air suggests the feasibility of energy-saving and time-saving one-step slot-die printing to large-scale roll-to-roll manufacture in the future.

Origin of Reduced Open-Circuit Voltage in Highly Efficient Small-Molecule-Based Solar Cells upon Solvent Vapor Annealing

In this study, we demonstrate that remarkably reduced open-circuit voltage in highly efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) from a blend of phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester and a recently developed conjugated small molecule (DPPEZnP-THD) upon solvent vapor annealing (SVA) is due to two independent sources: increased radiative recombination and increased nonradiative recombination. Through the measurements of electroluminescence due to the emission of the charge-transfer state and photovoltaic external quantum efficiency measurement, we can quantify that the open-circuit voltage losses in a device with SVA due to the radiative recombination and nonradiative recombination are 0.23 and 0.31 V, respectively, which are 0.04 and 0.07 V higher than those of the as-cast device. Despite of the reduced open-circuit voltage, the device with SVA exhibited enhanced dissociation of charge-transfer excitons, leading to an improved short-circuit current density and a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.41%, one of the best for solution-processed OSCs based on small-molecule donor materials. Our study also clearly shows that removing the nonradiative recombination pathways and/or suppressing energetic disorder in the active layer would result in more long-lived charge carriers and enhanced open-circuit voltage, which are prerequisites for further improving the PCE.

[Enhancement of thermal damage to EpCAM-positive tumor cells by novel aptamer-guided magnetic nanoparticles]

Objective: To explore the thermal damage to epithelial cell adhesion molecule(EpCAM)-positive tumor cells by novel aptamer-guided magnetic nanoparticles(AptNPs). Methods: EpCAM aptamer SYL3C was connected to NPs via biotin-streptavidin reaction. The diameter of AptNPs were characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering(DLS). The binding feature of the aptamer to EpCAM-positive tumor cells was evaluated by Prussian blue dyeing. Thermal damage under alternative magnetic field was measured bylactate dehydrogenase (LDH). The apoptosis of EpCAM-positive tumor cells was detected by acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) double staining. Results: The average size of AptNPs was 282 nm. Flow cytometry and Prussian blue dyeing showed that AptNPs exhibited strong binding to the EpCAM-positive tumor cells but not to the EpCAM-negative tumor cells. Moreover, when incubated with 1.5×10(8) AptNPs under alternative electromagnetic fieldfor 5 hours, the viability of EpCAM-positive HCT116 cells and A549 cells was 28.9% and 54.4%, respectively, significantly lower than 76.7% of EpCAM-negative HepG2 cells (P<0.05). Conclusions: AptNPs can improve the thermal damage to EpCAM-positive tumor cells, and may have potential utility in the development of tumor targeted therapy.

Boosting Up Performance of Inverted Photovoltaic Cells from Bis(alkylthien-2-yl)dithieno[2,3-d:2',3'-d']benzo[1,2-b:4',5'-b']di thiophene-Based Copolymers by Advantageous Vertical Phase Separation

The photovoltaic cells (PVCs) from conjugated copolymers of PDTBDT-BT and PDTBDT-FBT with 5,10-bis(4,5-didecylthien-2-yl)dithieno[2,3-d:2',3'-d']benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene as electron donor moieties and benzothiadiazole and/or 5,6-difluorobenzothiadiazole as electron acceptor moieties are optimized by employing alcohol-soluble PFN (poly(9,9-bis(3'-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)) as cathode modification interlayer. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of inverted PVCs (i-PVCs) from PDTBDT-BT and PDTBDT-FBT with devices configuration as ITO/PFN/active layer/MoO₃/Ag are increased from 4.97% to 8.54% and 5.92% to 8.74%, in contrast to those for the regular PVCs (r-PVCs) with devices configuration as ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/Ca/Al under 100 mW/cm² AM 1.5 illumination. The optical modeling calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigations reveal that the r-PVCs and i-PVCs from the copolymers exhibit similar light harvesting characteristics, and the enhancements of the PCEs of the i-PVCs from the copolymers are mainly contributed to the favorable vertical phase separation as the strongly polymer-enriched top surface layers and slightly PC₇₁BM (phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl ester)-enriched bottom surface layers are correspondingly connected to the anodes and cathodes of the i-PVCs, while they are opposite in the r-PVCs. As we known, it is the first time to experimentally verify that the i-PVCs with alcohol-soluble conjugated polymers cathode modification layers enjoy favorable vertical phase separation.

[Morbidity and mortality of malignant tumor in Zhejiang province, 2014]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the morbidity and mortality of malignant tumor in Zhejiang province in 2014.

METHODS

The data were collected from Zhejiang provincial chronic disease surveillance system in 2014. The crude rate, age-standardized rate, cumulative rate(0-74 years old), cut rate(35-64 years old), age-specific and area-specific morbidity/mortality as well as the constitution of top 10 leading cancers were then calculated and analyzed. The age-standardized rate was calculated according to the standard population in China in 1982 and the Segi' s world standard population.

RESULTS

The crude morbidity was 348.80/100 000(370.74/100 000 in males and 326.51/100 000 in females). The age-standardized morbidity according to the standard population in China and according to world standard population were 168.84/100 000 and 217.23/100 000 respectively, the cumulative morbidity was 24.66% and the cut morbidity was 376.40/100 000. Age-specific morbidity in age group 0-34 years remained low; however, the morbidity increased obviously in age group ≥35 years, increased more rapidly in age group ≥50 years and finally reached the peak in age group 80-84 years(1 618.20/100 000). The morbidity of malignant tumor, age-standardized morbidity(China standard)and age-standardized morbidity(world standard)were 381.81/100 000, 185.15/100 000 and 236.27/100 000 respectively in urban area, and 330.23/100 000 , 159.47/100 000 and 206.29/100 000, respectively in rural area. The crude mortality was 189.08/100 000(248.57/100 000 in males, 128.72/100 000 in females), and the age-standardized mortality according to China population and world population were 97.56/100 000 and 135.54/100 000 respectively. The cumulative mortality was 15.08%, and the cut mortality was 162.75/100 000. Age-specific mortality increased in age group 45-49 years(92.29/1000 000)and reached the peak in age group ≥85 years(2 263.70/100 000). The mortality was higher in rural area(190.60/100 000)than in urban area(186.38/100 000). The leading cancers were lung cancer, colorectum cancer, thyroid cancer, stomach cancer and liver cancer, accounting for 58.64% of the total. Lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, colorectum cancer and esophagus cancer were the major cancers causing deaths, accounting for 70.72% of all the total.

CONCLUSION

The leading cancers were lung cancer, colorectum cancer, thyroid cancer, stomach cancer and liver cancer in Zhejiang in 2014, close attention should be paid to thyroid cancer in women. The disease burden of malignant tumor is increasing,it is necessary for health department to take effective measures to reduce the disease burden caused by malignant tumor.

Integrated electrocoagulation and membrane filtration for PAH removal from realistic industrial wastewater: effectiveness and mechanisms

A novel integrated electrocoagulation-low pressure reverse osmosis process was developed and mechanistically studied for removing polyaromatic hydrocarbons in real industrial wastewater.

Rapidly rising incidence of Type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents aged 0-19 years in Zhejiang, China, 2007 to 2013

AIMS

To investigate the incidence rates and trends in Type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents aged 0-19 years in the registered Zhejiang population over the period 2007-2013 by age, sex and calendar year.

METHODS

In total, 611 individuals with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes were identified from 30 districts in Zhejiang province over the study period. Annual incidence and 95% confidence intervals (CI) by age group and sex were calculated per 100 000 person-years. Trends in diabetes incidence and the associations of age and sex with Type 1 diabetes were assessed using Poisson regression models.

RESULTS

The mean annual age-standardized incidence of diabetes was 2.02/100 000 person-years (95% CI: 1.92-2.12), with an average annual increase of 12.0% (95% CI: 7.6-16.6%) over the study period. The risk for Type 1 diabetes in girls was estimated to be 1.25 (95% CI: 1.07-1.47) times higher than that in boys. Compared with those aged 0-4 years, the 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 years age groups were at significantly greater risk, with adjusting incidence rate ratios of 3.54, 6.58 and 5.39, respectively. The mean age at diagnosis decreased significantly from 12.85 years in 2007 to 11.21 years in 2013. A steep rise in diabetes incidence was observed in the under 5 years age group, which showed the greatest increase at 33.61%.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of diabetes in Zhejiang was relatively low, although rapidly rising trends have been found in recent years, particularly in younger children. Further monitoring and research are urgently required to better understand possible environmental risk factors and formulate preventive strategies.

High Sensitivity Polymer Visible-Near Infrared Photodetectors via an Inverted Device Structure and Manipulation of Injection Barrier Height

Visible-near infrared photodetectors are reported with excellent overall device parameters from conjugated polymers with different optical bandgaps by optimal design in device structure and optimizing the thickness of the photoactive layer in nanoscale. The best visible-near infrared photodetectors show high detectivity (D*) of 1.7 × 10(13) Jones at a wavelength of 710 nm, which is among one of the best results of polymer photodetectors reported to date.

Multi-Length-Scale Morphologies Driven by Mixed Additives in Porphyrin-Based Organic Photovoltaics

A new category of deep-absorbing small molecules is developed. Optimized devices driven by mixed additives show a remarkable short-circuit current of ≈20 mA cm(-2) and a highest power conversion efficiency of 9.06%. A multi-length-scale morphology is formed, which is fully characterized by resonant soft X-ray scattering, high-angle annular dark film image transmission electron microscopy, etc.

Recent Advances in Organic Photovoltaics: Device Structure and Optical Engineering Optimization on the Nanoscale

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, which can directly convert absorbed sunlight to electricity, are stacked thin films of tens to hundreds of nanometers. They have emerged as a promising candidate for affordable, clean, and renewable energy. In the past few years, a rapid increase has been seen in the power conversion efficiency of OPV devices toward 10% and above, through comprehensive optimizations via novel photoactive donor and acceptor materials, control of thin-film morphology on the nanoscale, device structure developments, and interfacial and optical engineering. The intrinsic problems of short exciton diffusion length and low carrier mobility in organic semiconductors creates a challenge for OPV designs for achieving optically thick and electrically thin device structures to achieve sufficient light absorption and efficient electron/hole extraction. Recent advances in the field of OPV devices are reviewed, with a focus on the progress in device architecture and optical engineering approaches that lead to improved electrical and optical characteristics in OPV devices. Successful strategies are highlighted for light wave distribution, modulation, and absorption promotion inside the active layer of OPV devices by incorporating periodic nanopatterns/nanostructures or incorporating metallic nanomaterials and nanostructures.

n-Type Water/Alcohol-Soluble Naphthalene Diimide-Based Conjugated Polymers for High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells

With the demonstration of small-area, single-junction polymer solar cells (PSCs) with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over the 10% performance milestone, the manufacturing of high-performance large-area PSC modules is becoming the most critical issue for commercial applications. However, materials and processes that are optimized for fabricating small-area devices may not be applicable for the production of high-performance large-area PSC modules. One of the challenges is to develop new conductive interfacial materials that can be easily processed with a wide range of thicknesses without significantly affecting the performance of the PSCs. Toward this goal, we report two novel naphthalene diimide-based, self-doped, n-type water/alcohol-soluble conjugated polymers (WSCPs) that can be processed with a broad thickness range of 5 to 100 nm as efficient electron transporting layers (ETLs) for high-performance PSCs. Space charge limited current and electron spin resonance spectroscopy studies confirm that the presence of amine or ammonium bromide groups on the side chains of the WSCP can n-dope PC71BM at the bulk heterojunction (BHJ)/ETL interface, which improves the electron extraction properties at the cathode. In addition, both amino functional groups can induce self-doping to the WSCPs, although by different doping mechanisms, which leads to highly conductive ETLs with reduced ohmic loss for electron transport and extraction. Ultimately, PSCs based on the self-doped WSCP ETLs exhibit significantly improved device performance, yielding PCEs as high as 9.7% and 10.11% for PTB7-Th/PC71BM and PffBT4T-2OD/PC71BM systems, respectively. More importantly, with PffBT4T-2OD/PC71BM BHJ as an active layer, a prominent PCE of over 8% was achieved even when a thick ETL of 100 nm was used. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest efficiency demonstrated for PSCs with a thick interlayer and light-harvesting layer, which are important criteria for eventually making organic photovoltaic modules based on roll-to-roll coating processes.

Erratum to: Novel Hybrid Ligands for Passivating PbS Colloidal Quantum Dots to Enhance the Performance of Solar Cells

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s40820-015-0046-4.].

Solution-processable bipolar S,S-dioxide-dibenzothiophene chromophores for single-layer organic light-emitting diodes

Four novel solution processable small molecular chromophores that consist of regioisomeric S,S-dioxide-dibenzothiophene units are designed and synthesized.

Side-chain manipulation on accepting units of two-dimensional benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene polymers for organic photovoltaics

Two donor–acceptor alternating polymers of bis(octylthio)thienyl BDT and fluorinated BT or 5-dodecylthienyl-6-fluorobenzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole were designed for organic photovoltaics.

Perylene Bisimide as a Promising Zinc Oxide Surface Modifier: Enhanced Interfacial Combination for Highly Efficient Inverted Polymer Solar Cells

We report the application of a perylene bisimide (PBI-H) as zinc oxide (ZnO) surface modifier to afford an organic-inorganic co-interlayer for highly efficient inverted organic photovoltaics (i-OPV). By thermal annealing, a N-Zn chemical bond formed between PBI-H and ZnO, inducing close organic-inorganic combination. In addition, this co-interlayer shows decreased work function and increased electron transportation and conductivity, which are benefits for the cathode to enhance charge extraction efficiency and decrease recombination losses. As a result a highly efficient i-OPV was achieved with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.43% based on this co-interlayer with PTB7:PC71BM as the active layer, which shows over 35% enhancement compared to that of the device without the PBI-H layer. Moreover, this co-interlayer was widely applicable for i-OPVs based on various material systems, such as P3HT:PC61BM and PTB7-Th:PC71BM, resulting in PCE as high as 4.78% and 10.31%, respectively.

Jian Pi Li Qi Decoction Alleviated Postembolization Syndrome Following Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of Jian Pi Li Qi (JPLQ) decoction in improving quality of life of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 150 patients with HCC were randomly assigned into 3 groups. Groups were designed as follows: neither herbal medicine nor placebo administration (group A), placebo treatment (group B), and JPLQ decoction treatment (group C). The measurement methods of the observed outcomes include MD Anderson Symptom Inventory–Gastrointestinal module, armpit temperature, and laboratory tests. Results. Among the 140 patients studied, the 12 symptoms rated as most severe, which characterize postembolization syndrome (PES), were fever, pain, fatigue, nausea, disturbed sleep, distress, lack of appetite, drowsiness, dry mouth, vomiting, constipation, and feeling bloated. All these increased significantly (all P < .05) after TACE; 7 symptoms, including fever, pain, fatigue, lack of appetite, drowsiness, dry mouth, and constipation (all P < .05), were found to be relieved significantly by JPLQ. JPLQ also improved the liver function damage caused by TACE. Conclusion. JPLQ decoction may be an effective modality to relieve PES and protect liver function in patients with HCC after TACE.

Toward Highly Sensitive Polymer Photodetectors by Molecular Engineering

Modified 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene is employed as the conjugated side chain in conjugated polymers, which can significantly depress the dark current of the polymer photodetectors with little associated decrease in photovoltaic properties, thus enhanceing the detectivities. This approach can be applied to a variety of conjugated polymers covering a photoresponse range from UV to NIR.