Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Biomarkers of Retinal Thickness and Microvascular Alterations in Sjogren's Syndrome

Purpose

To investigate the differences of retinal thickness (RT) and superficial vascular density (SVD) between patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) and healthy controls (HCs) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods

Individuals with SS and healthy controls were enrolled (n = 12 per group). An en-face OCTA scan was performed on each eye. Images were segmented into 9 subregions and macular RT and SVD were measured and compared between the 2 groups.

Results

Visual acuity (VA) differed significantly between patients with SS (24 eyes) and controls (24 eyes) (p < 0.001). In patients with SS, inner RT was reduced in the inner superior region, outer RT was reduced in the outer nasal (ON) region, and full RT was reduced in the ON region compared with the control group (p < 0.05). RT was negatively correlated with serum IgG level in the outer and full retina at ON regions (p < 0.05). SVD in the inner nasal, ON, and inner temporal regions was significantly lower in patients with SS than in control subjects (p < 0.05). SVD was positively correlated with full RT in the ON region in patients with SS (p < 0.05). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the diagnostic sensitivity of outer RT and full RT in the ON region for SS were 0.828 (95% CI: 0.709–0.947) and 0.839 (95% CI: 0.715–0.963), respectively.

Conclusions

In patients with SS, retinal thinning in the macular area—which affects vision—can also reflect the severity of dry eyes in SS and has clinical value for assisted imaging diagnosis.

Natural products for the treatment of stress-induced depression: Pharmacology, mechanism and traditional use

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Depression, one of the most common psychiatric disorders, is the fourth leading cause of long-term disability worldwide. A series of causes triggered depression, including psychological stress and conflict, as well as biological derangement, among which stress has a pivotal role in the development of depression. Traditional herbal medicine has been used for the treatment of various disorders including depression for a long history with multi-targets, multi-levels and multi-ways, attracting great attention from scholars. Recently, natural products have been commercialized as antidepressants which have become increasingly popular in the world health drug markets. Major research contributions in ethnopharmacology have generated and updated vast amount of data associated with natural products in antidepressant-like activity.

AIMS OF THE REVIEW

This review aims to briefly discuss the pathological mechanism, animal models of stress-induced depression, traditional use of herbal medicines and especially recapitulate the natural products with antidepressant activity and their pharmacological functions and mechanism of action, which may contribute to a better understanding of potential therapeutic effects of natural products and the development of promising drugs with high efficacy and low toxicity for the treatment of stress-induced depression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The contents of this review were sourced from electronic databases including PubMed, Sci Finder, Web of Science, Science Direct, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Chinese Knowledge On frastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang, Chinese Scientific and Technological Periodical Database (VIP) and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM). Additional information was collected from Yao Zhi website (https://db.yaozh.com/). Data were obtained from April 1992 to June 2021. Only English language was applied to the search. The search terms were 'stress-induced depression', 'pathological mechanism' in the title and 'stress', 'depression', 'animal model' and 'natural products' in the whole text.

RESULTS

Stress-induced depression is related to the monoaminergic system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, neuronal plasticity and a series of inflammatory factors. Four main types of animal models of stress-induced depression were represented. Fifty-eight bioactive phytochemical compounds, fifty-six herb medicines and five formulas from traditional Chinese medicine were highlighted, which exert antidepressant effects by inhibiting monoamine oxidase (MAO) reaction, alleviating dysfunction of the HPA axis and nerve injury, and possessing anti-inflammatory activities.

CONCLUSIONS

Natural products provide a large number of compounds with antidepressant-like effects, and their therapeutic impacts has been highlighted for a long time. This review summarized the pathological mechanism and animal models of stress-induced depression, and the natural products with antidepressant activity in particular, which will shed light on the action mechanism and clinical potential of these compounds. Natural products also have been a vital and promising source for future antidepressant drug discovery.

Autonomous Visualization of Damage in Polymers by Metal-Free Polymerizations of Microencapsulated Activated Alkynes

The development of autonomous materials with desired performance and built-in visualizable sensing units is of great academic and industrial significance. Although a wide range of damage indication methods have been reported, the "turn-on" sensing mechanism by damaging events based on microcapsule systems, especially those relying on chemical reactions to elicit a chromogenic response, are still very limited. Herein, a facile and metal-free polymerization route with an interesting reaction-induced coloration effect is demonstrated. Under the catalysis of 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO), the polymerizations of difunctional or trifunctional activated alkynes proceed very quickly at 0 °C in air. A series of polymers composed of stereoregular enyne structure (major unit) and divinyl ether structure (minor unit) are obtained. Both the catalyst and monomers are colorless while the polymerized products are deep-colored. This process can be applied for the damage visualization of polymers using the microencapsulation technique. Microcapsules containing the reactive alkyne monomer are prepared and mixed in a DABCO-dispersed polymer film. Both the external and internal damage regions of this composite film can be readily visualized once the reaction is initiated from the ruptured microcapsules. Moreover, the newly formed polymer automatically seals the cracks with an additional protection function.

Systematic Analysis of Molecular Characterization and Clinical Relevance of Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation Regulators in Digestive System Neoplasms

Background: The role of liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) in cancer has also attracted more and more attention, which is found to affect transcriptional regulation, maintaining genomic stability and signal transduction, and contribute to the occurrence and progression of tumors. However, the role of LLPS in digestive system tumors is still largely unknown.

Results: Here, we characterized the expression profiles of LLPS regulators in 3 digestive tract tumor types such as COAD, STAD, and ESCA with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. Our results for the first time showed that LLPS regulatory factors, such as Brd4, FBN1, and TP53, were frequently mutated in all types of digestive system tumors. Variant allele frequency (VAF) and APOBEC analysis demonstrated that genetic alterations of LLPS regulators were related to the progression of digestive system neoplasms (DSNs), such as TP53, NPHS1, TNRC6B, ITSN1, TNPO1, PML, AR, BRD4, DLG4, and PTPN1. KM plotter analysis showed that the mutation status of LLPS regulators was significantly related to the overall survival (OS) time of DSNs, indicating that they may contribute to the progression of DSN. The expression analysis of LLPS regulatory factors showed that a variety of LLPS regulatory factors were significantly dysregulated in digestive system tumors, such as SYN2 and MAPT. It is worth noting that we first found that LLPS regulatory factors were significantly correlated with tumor immune infiltration of B cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells in digestive system tumors. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the LLPS regulators’ expression was closely related to multiple signaling, including the ErbB signaling pathway and T-cell receptor signaling pathway. Finally, several LLPS signatures were constructed and had a strong prognostic stratification ability in different digestive gland tumors. Finally, the results demonstrated the LLPS regulators’ signature score was significantly positively related to the infiltration levels of CD4⁺ T cells, neutrophil cells, macrophage cells, and CD8⁺ T cells.

Conclusion: Our study for the first time showed the potential roles of LLPS regulators in carcinogenesis and provide novel insights to identify novel biomarkers for the prediction of immune therapy and prognosis of DSNs.

Two phenanthroimidazole turn-on probes for the rapid detection of selenocysteine and its application in living cells imaging

Detection of selenocysteine (Sec) content in cells by fluorescence probe is of great significance for the identification of human related diseases. To achieve fast and sensitive detection of Sec, two isomers A4 and B4 as turn-on fluorescent probes to detect Sec were designed and synthesized. Both A4 and B4 display fast turn-on response, high selectivity and sensitivity toward Sec, which can be applied for fluorescence imaging of Sec in living cells. Compared with B4, A4 has a larger Stokes shift (125 nm), wider pH range (5-10) and lower detection limit (65.4 nM) due to its ESIPT (excited state intramolecular proton transfer) effect. In view of the detection performance of these two probes, they can be used as effective tools for detecting Sec in biological systems.

[Changes of serum uric acid levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C after using direct antiviral agents therapy]

Objective: To observe the changes of serum uric acid levels and clinical characteristic in patients with chronic hepatitis C combined with hyperuricemia after direct antiviral agents (DAA) therapy. Methods: A prospective cohort study was used to investigate the risk of hyperuricemia in patients with chronic hepatitis C who received DAA treatment to obtain sustained virological response. The changes and factors influencing serum uric acid levels after 12 weeks of DAA treatment were observed. Comparisons between groups were performed using χ (2) test or Fisher's exact test, analysis of variance, Student's t test, or the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. Serum uric acid (SUA) changes, liver and kidney function indexes before and after treatment were compared by repeated measurement and paired t-test. Uric acid reduction was defined as a decrease in SUA from baseline at 12 weeks after treatment. Rates of change in eGFR, aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio, alanine aminotransferase and controlled attenuation parameter were defined from baseline (baseline to 12 weeks after treatment). Binary logistic regression analysis was used to compare the risk factors and factors influencing high and low uric acid level. Results: 161 cases with chronic hepatitis C who received DAA treatment were included, of which 19.3% patients were hyperuricemic. eGFR < 60 ml/(min·1.73 m(2)) and body mass index were independent risk factors for hyperuricemia in patients with chronic hepatitis C (eGFR: OR = 0.123, P = 0.002; body mass index: OR = 1.220, P = 0.002). SUA levels was changed significantly before treatment, at the end of treatment and at 12 weeks after treatment (327.96 vs. 320.76 vs. 314.92, F = 3.272, P = 0.042). At 12 weeks after treatment, SUA, liver stiffness, alanine aminotransferase and control attenuation parameters were all significantly lower than baseline (P < 0.05). The rate of increase in eGFR from baseline and the rate of decrease in controlled attenuation parameter during treatment were the factors influencing SUA reduction (eGFR: OR = 5124, P = 0.000; controlled attenuation index: OR = 0.010, P = 0.039). Conclusion: In chronic hepatitis C, reduced eGFR and body mass index are the risk factors for the development of hyperuricemia and a significant reduction in serum uric acid levels after DAA treatment can eradicate the virus.

Retinal thickness and microvascular alterations in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus: a new approach

BACKGROUND

To investigate the differences of retinal thickness (RT) and superficial vascular density (SVD) between patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy controls using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

METHODS

Individuals with SLE (n=12; 24 eyes) and healthy controls (n=12; 24 eyes) were recruited to this study. The study protocol was in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013). The monocular best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was determined using a Snellen eye chart. Each image was segmented into 9 early treatment diabetic retinopathy study subregions, within which the macular RT and SVD were measured by OCTA. The vascular perfusion area as a percentage of the measured area was considered to be the vascular density.

RESULTS

The mean age of the SLE group was 33.80±9.49 years, and the mean age of the control group was 33.20±9.41 years. The mean duration of SLE was 4.33±2.67 years. The BCVA was significantly different between the SLE and control groups (0.17±0.20 vs. 0.05±0.07, respectively; P=0.021). In the SLE group, inner RT was reduced in the outer superior and temporal regions and full RT was reduced in the outer temporal region, compared with the control group (P<0.05). In the outer temporal region, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the inner RT was 0.805 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.674 to 0.935], and the full RT was 0.828 (95% CI: 0.701 to 0.955). Thinning of RT was negatively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in the inner retina at the outer temporal and outer superior regions and the full retina at the outer temporal region (P<0.05). The SVD was significantly lower in SLE participants than in controls in the central region, all 4 inner quadrants, and 4 outer quadrants (P<0.05). In the SLE group, SVD was positively correlated with inner RT in the outer superior region, inner RT, and full RT in the outer temporal region (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Variations in RT within the macular area may affect visual acuity. The OCTA measurement of RT may be a potential marker for diagnosis of SLE and an indicator of its inflammatory activity.

Well-defined polyacrylamides with AIE properties via rapid Cu-mediated living radical polymerization in aqueous solution: thermoresponsive nanoparticles for bioimaging

There is a requirement for the development of methods for the preparation of well-controlled polymers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties.

Flashing light alleviates photoinhibition and promotes biomass concentration in purple non- sulfur bacteria wastewater treatment

High light is beneficial for purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) growth. However, excessive light causes photoinhibition. In this novel study, flashing light was used to alleviate photoinhibition and promote biomass growth in PNSB wastewater treatment. Results showed that flashing light effectively increased biomass production. The highest biomass concentration (2688.8 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand removal (in 177 μmol/m²/s-0.75 duty cycle-1000 Hz group) were 41.5% and 28.4% higher than that in the constant stress light group (same incident light). This group also increased biomass concentration by 21.3% and reduced energy consumption by 26.2% compared with the constant normal light group (same energy input). The shortened single light provision time of flashing light increased the relative electron transportation rate by 116.6%, avoiding photoinhibition, promoting energy utilisation, and enhancing substance synthesis. Flashing light can be used as a light regulation strategy to enhance biomass accumulation and reduce energy consumption in PNSB-based industries.

A Review of Data Gathering Methods for Evaluating Socially Assistive Systems

Social interactions significantly impact the quality of life for people with special needs (e.g., older adults with dementia and children with autism). They may suffer loneliness and social isolation more often than people without disabilities. There is a growing demand for technologies to satisfy the social needs of such user groups. However, evaluating these systems can be challenging due to the extra difficulty of gathering data from people with special needs (e.g., communication barriers involving older adults with dementia and children with autism). Thus, in this systematic review, we focus on studying data gathering methods for evaluating socially assistive systems (SAS). Six academic databases (i.e., Scopus, Web of Science, ACM, Science Direct, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore) were searched, covering articles published from January 2000 to July 2021. A total of 65 articles met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The results showed that existing SASs most often targeted people with visual impairments, older adults, and children with autism. For instance, a common type of SASs aimed to help blind people perceive social signals (e.g., facial expressions). SASs were most commonly assessed with interviews, questionnaires, and observation data. Around half of the interview studies only involved target users, while the other half also included secondary users or stakeholders. Questionnaires were mostly used with older adults and people with visual impairments to measure their social interaction, emotional state, and system usability. A great majority of observational studies were carried out with users in special age groups, especially older adults and children with autism. We thereby contribute an overview of how different data gathering methods were used with various target users of SASs. Relevant insights are extracted to inform future development and research.

Retinal Microvasculature and Conjunctival Vessel Alterations in Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study

Purpose: To evaluate the conjunctival and fundus retinal vessel density in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and to investigate the relationship between vessel density and clinical indicators.

Methods: Twelve patients with SLE (24 eyes) and 12 healthy controls (24 eyes) were recruited. OCTA was used to examine the superficial retina layer (SRL) and deep retina layer (DRL) in the macular retina and conjunctival capillary plexus of each eye. We calculated the density of the temporal conjunctival vessels, fundus microvascular (MIR), macrovascular (MAR) and total MIR(TMI) and compared the results in both groups. We used annular partitioning (C1–C6), hemispheric quadrants, and Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study partitioning (ETDRS) to analyze changes in the retinal vascular density. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the association between blood capillary density and clinical indicators.

Results: OCTA results showed significant differences in the conjunctival microvascular density (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in MIR, TMI, and MAR in the superficial layers between the SLE and healthy group (p > 0.05). The DRL and DTMI (Deeper TMI) densities were decreased in the macular regions of SLE patients (p < 0.05). In the hemispheric segmentation analysis, the superficial MIR was significantly decreased in the IL (inferior left) region of the SLE patients (p < 0.05), and the deep MIR in the IR (inferior right) region was significantly reduced (p < 0.05). In the ETDRS partitioning analysis, the superficial MIR in the inferior, right, and left subdivisions was significantly decreased in the SLE patients (p < 0.05). In the circular segmentation analysis, the deep MIR in the C1 and C3 regions was significantly reduced in SLE patients (p < 0.05), while the superficial MIR density was decreased only in the C3 region (p < 0.05). The conjunctival vascular density was negatively correlated with the STMI (Superficial TMI) (r = −0.5107; p = 0.0108) and DTMI (r = −0.9418, p < 0.0001). There was no significant correlation between vascular density and SLEDAI-2k (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index−2000) (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Clinically, patients with SLE and patients suspected of SLE should receive OCTA examination in a comprehensive eye examination to detect changes in ocular microcirculation at an early stage.

Study on the Mechanism of Reducing Hepatotoxicity of Water-Grinding Realgar by Metabolomics, Morphology, and Chemical Analysis

BACKGROUND

Realgar was usually selected as a substitute for arsenic trioxide to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia due to its higher effect without high cardiotoxicity. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), realgar is usually processed by the water-grinding method clinically, but the mechanism of realgar processing detoxification is still unclear. However, it is necessary to take safety and efficacy into account while evaluating a drug.

METHODS

Sixty male Wistar rats were divided into control group, realgar products-treated groups, and corresponding subgroups. Biochemistry analysis and histopathological examination were performed in the study, and plasma samples were collected from all the rats for metabolomics analysis.

RESULTS

No significant toxicity was observed in rats treated with 0.64 g/kg/day grinding realgar (G-r) and water-grinding realgar (WG-r). When the dose increased to 1.92 g/kg/day, the liver weight coefficients of the rats treated with G-r (HG-r: 3.65 ± 0.26%) and WG-r (HWG-r: 3.67 ± 0.14%) increased significantly and severe hepatic injury occurred in comparison to the control group (Group C: 3.00 ± 0.21%). After one week's withdrawal, the liver injury caused by the high dose of WG-r significantly recovered, while the liver damage caused by G-r was more difficult to recover. In metabolomics analysis, 14 metabolites were identified as the potential biomarkers in realgar-treated rats. These metabolites indicated that there were perturbations of the primary bile acid biosynthesis, arachidonic acid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, and glycerophospholipid metabolism in the realgar-treated groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These results illustrate that, as a TCM processing method, water grinding had the effect of reducing toxicity, and the metabolomics method may be a valuable tool for studying the toxicity induced by TCM and the mechanism of TCM processing.

A Facile Strategy of Boosting Photothermal Conversion Efficiency through State Transformation for Cancer Therapy

Improving photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE) is critical to facilitate therapeutic performance during photothermal therapy (PTT). However, current strategies of prompting PCE always involve complex synthesis or modification of photothermal agents, thereby significantly inhibiting the practical applications and fundamental understanding of photothermal conversion. A facile strategy is herein present for boosting PCE by transforming photothermal agents from aggregated state to dispersed state. Compared to aggregated state, the developed photothermal agents with semiconducting nature can rotate freely in dispersed state, which allows for an efficient nonradiative dissipation through twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) effect, consequentially offering excellent photothermal performance. Noteworthy, the state transformation can be achieved by virtue of releasing photothermal molecules from nanoparticles on the basis of a pH-responsive polymer nanocarrier, and the PCE is elevated from 43% to 60% upon changing the pH values from 7.4 to 5.0. Moreover, the nanoparticle disassembly and state transformation behaviors can also smoothly proceed in lysosome of cancer cells, demonstrating a distinct photothermal therapeutic performance for cancer ablation. It is hoped that this strategy of transforming state to boost PCE would be a new platform for practical applications of PTT technique.

Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Poly(phenyleneethynylene)s for Fluorescence and Raman Dual-Modal Imaging and Drug-Resistant Bacteria Killing

Poly(phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) is a widely used functional conjugated polymer with applications ranging from organic optoelectronics and fluorescence sensors to optical imaging and theranostics. However, the fluorescence efficiency of PPE in aggregate states is generally not as good as their solution states, which greatly compromises their performance in fluorescence-related applications. Herein, a series of PPE derivatives with typical aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties is designed and synthesized. In these PPEs, the diethylamino-substituted tetraphenylethene units function as the long-wavelength AIE source and the alkyl side chains serve as the functionalization site. The obtained AIE-active PPEs with large π-conjugation show strong aggregate-state fluorescence, interesting self-assembly behaviors, inherently enhanced alkyne vibrations in the Raman-silent region of cells, and efficient antibacterial activities. The PPE nanoparticles with good cellular uptake capability can clearly and sensitively visualize the tumor region and residual tumors via their fluorescence and Raman signals, respectively, to benefit the precise tumor resection surgery. After post-functionalization, the obtained PPE-based polyelectrolyte can preferentially image bacteria over mammalian cells and possesses efficient photodynamic killing capability against Gram-positive and drug-resistant bacteria. This work provides a feasible design strategy for developing functional conjugated polymers with multimodal imaging capability as well as photodynamic antimicrobial ability.

Investigating socially assistive systems from system design and evaluation: a systematic review

Purpose The development of assistive technologies that support people in social interactions has attracted increased attention in HCI. This paper presents a systematic review of studies of Socially Assistive Systems targeted at older adults and people with disabilities. The purpose is threefold: (1) Characterizing related assistive systems with a special focus on the system design, primarily including HCI technologies used and user-involvement approach taken; (2) Examining their ways of system evaluation; (3) Reflecting on insights for future design research. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted using the keywords "social interactions" and "assistive technologies" within the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, ACM, Science Direct, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore. Results Sixty-five papers met the inclusion criteria and were further analyzed. Our results showed that there were 11 types of HCI technologies that supported social interactions for target users. The most common was cognitive and meaning understanding technologies, often applied with wearable devices for compensating users' sensory loss; 33.85% of studies involved end-users and stakeholders in the design phase; Four types of evaluation methods were identified. The majority of studies adopted laboratory experiments to measure user-system interaction and system validation. Proxy users were used in system evaluation, especially in initial experiments; 42.46% of evaluations were conducted in field settings, primarily including the participants' own homes and institutions. Conclusion We contribute an overview of Socially Assistive Systems that support social interactions for older adults and people with disabilities, as well as illustrate emerging technologies and research opportunities for future work.

In Situ Generation of Heterocyclic Polymers by Triple-Bond Based Polymerizations

Stemming from unique ring structures, heterocyclic polymers exhibit distinguished electrical, mechanical, and photophysical properties and have been widely used in a variety of important applications. Along with the technological significance are the challenges in their synthesis. Traditional synthetic strategies toward heterocyclic polymers often require the direct attachment of heterocycles to polymer backbones, which are generally limited by the lack of suitable and low-cost heterocyclic monomers, tedious reaction process, difficulties in incorporation of multiple substitutents, etc. Alternatively, in situ construction of heterocyclic polymers via triple-bond based polymerization offers promising prospects. This review summarized the recent progress on polymerizations of triple-bond based monomers including alkynes, nitriles, and isonitriles that can in situ generate heterocyclic polymers. The properties and advanced applications of the derived heterocyclic polymers will also be discussed. Finally, the future perspectives and challenges in this field will be addressed.

Highly stable fluorescent probe based on mesoporous silica coated quantum dots for sensitive and selective detection of Cd2

Cadmium ions have been of crucial concern due to the high biological toxicity and serious environmental risks. Various fluorescent Cd-sensitive probes have been reported with improved sensing properties, but still severely suffer from poor stability and insufficient selectivity. In this work, a stable fluorescent probe based on silica encapsulated quantum dots (QDs) have been developed for rapid, sensitive and selective detection of cadmium ion. To improve fluorescence stability, the strategy of mesoporous silica encapsulation was adopted, in which the mesoporous silica shell offers numerous channels for Cd²⁺. Further, the Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) system, where QDs@mSiO₂and rhodamine B (RB) are used as donors and acceptors respectively, has been constructed, in which the mesoporous silica shell also serves as spacers with tunable thickness for controlling the QD-RB distance. Under optimal conditions, the probes possess a sensitive fluorescence response with a detection limit of 1.25μM. Visual detection can be realized by the obvious fluorescence changes of the FRET system. In addition, the FRET system shows promising sensing performances both in tap water samples and rice-washed water samples, confirming a great potential for practical application.

CHPF promotes gastric cancer tumorigenesis through the activation of E2F1

Chondroitin polymerizing factor (CHPF) is an important glycosyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of chondroitin sulfate. However, the relationship between CHPF and gastric cancer has not been fully investigated. CHPF expression in gastric cancer tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry and correlated with gastric cancer patient prognosis. Cultured gastric cancer cells and human gastric epithelial cell line GES1 were used to investigate the effects of shCHPF and shE2F1 on the development and progression of gastric cancer by MTT, western blotting, flow cytometry analysis of cell apoptosis, colony formation, transwell and gastric cancer xenograft mouse models, in vitro and in vivo. In gastric cancer tissues, CHPF was found to be significantly upregulated, and its expression correlated with tumor infiltration and advanced tumor stage and shorter patient survival in gastric cancer. CHPF may promote gastric cancer development by regulating cell proliferation, colony formation, cell apoptosis and cell migration, while knockdown induced the opposite effects. Moreover, the results from in vivo experiments demonstrated that tumor growth was suppressed by CHPF knockdown. Additionally, E2F1 was identified as a potential downstream target of CHPF in the regulation of gastric cancer, and its knockdown decreased the CHPF-induced promotion of gastric cancer. Mechanistic study revealed that CHPF may regulate E2F1 through affecting UBE2T-mediated E2F1 ubiquitination. This study showed, for the first time, that CHPF is a potential prognostic indicator and tumor promoter in gastric cancer whose function is likely carried out through the regulation of E2F1.

Effects of nano metal oxide particles on activated sludge system: Stress and performance recovery mechanism

Nano metal oxide particles (NMOPs) are widely used in daily life because of their superior performance, and inevitably enter the sewage treatment system. Pollutants in sewage are adsorbed and degraded in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) depending on the microbial aggregates of activated sludge system to achieve sewage purification. NMOPs may cause ecotoxicity to the microbial community and metabolism due to their complex chemical behavior, resulting in a potential threat to the safe and steady operation of activated sludge system. It is of great significance to clarify the influencing mechanism of NMOPs on activated sludge system and reduce the risk of WWTPs. Herein, we first introduce the physicochemical behavior of six typical engineering NMOPs including ZnO, TiO₂, CuO, CeO₂, MgO, and MnO₂ in water environment, then highlight the principal mechanisms of NMOPs for activated sludge system. In particular, the performance recovery mechanisms of activated sludge systems in the presence of NMOPs and their future development trends are well documented and discussed extensively. This review can provide a theoretical guidance and technical support for predicting and evaluating the potential threat of NMOPs on activated sludge systems, and promoting the establishment of effective control strategies and performance recovery measures of biological wastewater treatment process under the stress of NMOPs.

Significant Improvements in Dielectric Constant and Energy Density of Ferroelectric Polymer Nanocomposites Enabled by Ultralow Contents of Nanofillers

Polymer dielectrics with excellent processability and high breakdown strength (E_b ) enable the development of high-energy-density capacitors. Although the improvement of dielectric constant (K) of polymer dielectric has been realized by adding high-K inorganic fillers with high contents (>10 vol%), this approach faces significant challenges in scalable film processing. Here, the incorporation of ultralow ratios (<1 vol%) of low-K Cd_{1- x} Zn_x Se_{1- y} S_y nanodots into a ferroelectric polymer is reported. The polymer composites exhibit substantial and concurrent increase in both K and E_b , yielding a discharged energy density of 26.0 J cm^-3 , outperforming the current dielectric polymers and nanocomposites measured at ≤600 MV m^-1 . The observed unconventional dielectric enhancement is attributed to the structural changes induced by the nanodot fillers, including transformation of polymer chain conformation and induced interfacial dipoles, which have been confirmed by density function theory calculations. The dielectric model established in this work addresses the limitations of the current volume-average models on the polymer composites with low filler contents and gives excellent agreement to the experimental results. This work provides a new experimental route to scalable high-energy-density polymer dielectrics and also advances the fundamental understanding of the dielectric behavior of polymer nanocomposites at atomistic scales.