The energy band structure analysis and 2 μm Q-switched laser application of layered rhenium diselenide.

Layered rhenium diselenide (ReSe) has triggered strong interest because of its outstanding optical and electrical properties. In this paper, we prepared a high-quality multilayer ReSe saturable absorber with a liquid-phase exfoliation method and characterized its saturable absorption properties around 2 μm. During the Q-switching regime, a maximum average output power of 1.

Aspidin PB, a novel natural anti-fibrotic compound, inhibited fibrogenesis in TGF-β1-stimulated keloid fibroblasts via PI-3K/Akt and Smad signaling pathways.

Keloid is an overgrowth of scar tissue that develops around a wound. The mechanisms of keloid formation and development still remain unknown, and no effective treatment is available. Searching for active natural resources may develop better prevention and treatment approaches for keloids.

Knowledge-based virtual screening of HLA-A*0201-restricted CD8+ T-cell epitope peptides from herpes simplex virus genome.

A novel knowledge-based method is developed to virtually screen potential HLA-A*0201 binders from large-scale peptide candidates. This method utilizes the information from both the crystal structures and experimental affinities of various peptides bound with HLA-A*0201 to construct a single-position mutation free energy profile for accurately characterizing HLA-A*0201-peptide interaction and for effectively predicting the binding affinities of peptides to HLA-A*0201. We employ this method to analyze physicochemical properties and structural implication underlying the specific recognition and association between the HLA-A*0201 and a large panel of peptide segments generated from the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) genome, and to evaluate the binding potencies of these peptide candidates to HLA-A*0201.

Stepwise identification of HLA-A*0201-restricted CD8+ T-cell epitope peptides from herpes simplex virus type 1 genome boosted by a StepRank scheme.

Identification of immunodominant epitopes is the first step in the rational design of peptide vaccines aimed at T-cell immunity. To date, however, it is yet a great challenge for accurately predicting the potent epitope peptides from a pool of large-scale candidates with an efficient manner. In this study, a method that we named StepRank has been developed for the reliable and rapid prediction of binding capabilities/affinities between proteins and genome-wide peptides.