Radiosynthesis and preclinical evaluation of a carbon-11 labeled PET ligand for imaging metabotropic glutamate receptor 7.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu) is a G protein-coupled receptor that is preferentially found in the active zone of neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system (CNS). mGlu plays a vital role in memory, learning, and neuronal development, rendering it a potential target for treating epilepsy, depression, and anxiety. The development of noninvasive imaging ligands targeting mGlu could help elucidate the functional significance of mGlu and accelerate drug discovery for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Development of a Candidate C-Labeled Selective Phosphodiesterase 1 Radioligand for Positron Emission Tomography.

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) constitute a superfamily of phosphohydrolytic enzymes that regulate intracellular second messenger signaling by hydrolyzing cyclic adenosine monophosphate and cyclic guanosine monophosphate. Among the 11 subfamilies of PDEs, phosphodiesterase 1 (PDE1) stands out due to its broad implications in central and peripheral pathologies. There are three subtypes of PDE1: PDE1A, PDE1B, and PDE1C.

A Scalable, High-Efficiency, Low-Energy-Spread Laser Wakefield Accelerator Using a Tri-Plateau Plasma Channel.

The emergence of multi-petawatt laser facilities is expected to push forward the maximum energy gain that can be achieved in a single stage of a laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) to tens of giga-electron volts, which begs the question-is it likely to impact particle physics by providing a truly compact particle collider? Colliders have very stringent requirements on beam energy, acceleration efficiency, and beam quality. In this article, we propose an LWFA scheme that can for the first time simultaneously achieve hitherto unrealized acceleration efficiency from the laser to the electron beam of >20% and a sub-1% energy spread using a stepwise plasma structure and a nonlinearly chirped laser pulse. Three-dimensional high-fidelity simulations show that the nonlinear chirp can effectively mitigate the laser waveform distortion and lengthen the acceleration distance.

Potential for visualization of intracellular pH gradient in the brain using PET imaging.

Intracellular pH is a valuable index for predicting neuronal damage and injury. However, no PET probe is currently available for monitoring intracellular pH . In this study, we developed a new approach for visualizing the hydrolysis rate of monoacylglycerol lipase, which is widely distributed in neurons and astrocytes throughout the brain.