Photocatalytic doping of organic semiconductors.

Chemical doping is an important approach to manipulating charge-carrier concentration and transport in organic semiconductors (OSCs) and ultimately enhances device performance. However, conventional doping strategies often rely on the use of highly reactive (strong) dopants, which are consumed during the doping process. Achieving efficient doping with weak and/or widely accessible dopants under mild conditions remains a considerable challenge.

Precise tuning of interlayer electronic coupling in layered conductive metal-organic frameworks.

Two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) have attracted increasing interests for (opto)-electronics and spintronics. They generally consist of van der Waals stacked layers and exhibit layer-depended electronic properties. While considerable efforts have been made to regulate the charge transport within a layer, precise control of electronic coupling between layers has not yet been achieved.

Dorzagliatin add-on therapy to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

Metformin, the first-line therapy for type 2 diabetes (T2D), decreases hepatic glucose production and reduces fasting plasma glucose levels. Dorzagliatin, a dual-acting orally bioavailable glucokinase activator targeting both the pancreas and liver glucokinase, decreases postprandial glucose in patients with T2D. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial, the efficacy and safety of dorzagliatin as an add-on therapy to metformin were assessed in patients with T2D who had inadequate glycemic control using metformin alone.

Synthetic Nuances to Maximize n-Type Organic Electrochemical Transistor and Thermoelectric Performance in Fused Lactam Polymers.

A series of fully fused n-type mixed conduction lactam polymers , systematically increasing the alkyl side chain content, are synthesized via an inexpensive, nontoxic, precious-metal-free aldol polycondensation. Employing these polymers as channel materials in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) affords state-of-the-art n-type performance with recording an OECT electron mobility of 1.20 × 10 cm V s and a μ* figure of merit of 1.

Determination of N-acetyl-DL-leucine in the saliva of healthy volunteers and diabetic patients using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

Background: Recent studies have indicated that N-acetyl-leucine (N-Ac-Leu) is a potential biomarker of diabetes. This study aimed to measure the levels of enantiomers of the chiral molecule N-Ac-DL-Leu in the saliva of patients with type 2 diabetes and further determine the potential association between them.

Method: A novel validated method was established using ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) with fluorescence (FL) detection, in which precolumn derivatization of (R)-(-)-4-(N, N-dimethylaminosulfonyl)-7-(3-aminopyrrolidin-l-yl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole [(R)-(-)-DBD-APy] was used for the simultaneous determination and chiral separation of N-Ac-DL-Leu in human saliva.

Influence of Molecular Weight on the Organic Electrochemical Transistor Performance of Ladder-Type Conjugated Polymers.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) hold promise for developing a variety of high-performance (bio-)electronic devices/circuits. While OECTs based on p-type semiconductors have achieved tremendous progress in recent years, n-type OECTs still suffer from low performance, hampering the development of power-efficient electronics. Here, it is demonstrated that fine-tuning the molecular weight of the rigid, ladder-type n-type polymer poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL) by only one order of magnitude (from 4.

An Oligonucleotide-Distortion-Responsive Organic Transistor for Platinum-Drug-Induced DNA-Damage Detection.

Organic transistor with DNA-damage evaluation ability can open up novel opportunities for bioelectronic devices. Even though trace amounts of drugs can cause cumulative gene damage in vivo, the extremely low occurrence proportion makes them hardly transduced into detectable electric signals. Here, an ultrasensitive DNA-damage sensor based on an oligonucleotide-distortion-responsive organic transistor (DROT) is reported by creating controllable conformation change of double-stranded DNA on the surface of organic semiconductors.

Curcumin Can Activate the Nrf2/HO-1 Signaling Pathway and Scavenge Free Radicals in Spinal Cord Injury Treatment.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating event that often leads to permanent neurological deficits. Evidence from emerging studies has implicated oxygen-derived free radicals and high-energy oxidants as mediators of secondary SCI. Therefore, targeting these mediators using antioxidants could be beneficial for the disease.

A convenient sampling and noninvasive dried spot method of uric acid in human saliva: Comparison of serum uric acid value and salivary uric acid in healthy volunteers and hyperuricemia patients.

Concentration of uric acid (UA) in serum is one of the markers used to diagnose gout and hyperuricemia. However, serum treatment and storage are cumbersome, and wounds are susceptible to infection. Therefore, a new sampling and analysis method using noninvasive biological samples has been developed, called the dried spot method of UA in human saliva (DSM-UHS).

Persistent Conjugated Backbone and Disordered Lamellar Packing Impart Polymers with Efficient n-Doping and High Conductivities.

Solution-processable highly conductive polymers are of great interest in emerging electronic applications. For p-doped polymers, conductivities as high a nearly 10 S cm have been reported. In the case of n-doped polymers, they often fall well short of the high values noted above, which might be achievable, if much higher charge-carrier mobilities determined could be realized in combination with high charge-carrier densities.

Selenium-Substituted Diketopyrrolopyrrole Polymer for High-Performance p-Type Organic Thermoelectric Materials.

Development of high-performance organic thermoelectric (TE) materials is of vital importance for flexible power generation and solid-cooling applications. Demonstrated here is the significant enhancement in TE performance of selenium-substituted diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives. Along with strong intermolecular interactions and high Hall mobilities of 1.

Mimicking Sensory Adaptation with Dielectric Engineered Organic Transistors.

Mimicking sensory adaptation with transistors is essential for developing next-generation smart circuits. A key challenge is how to obtain controllable and reversible short-term signal decay while simultaneously maintaining long-term electrical stability. By introducing a buried dynamic-trapping interface within the dielectric layer, an organic adaptive transistor (OAT) with sensory adaptation functionality is developed.

MiR-1281, a p53-responsive microRNA, impairs the survival of human osteosarcoma cells upon ER stress via targeting USP39.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory non-coding RNAs that have been reported to play an important role in a variety of cellular functions. Recent studies indicated that some miRNAs are involved in regulating endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress adaptation. However, the miRNAs were still unknown in osteosarcoma.

Enhancing the n-Type Conductivity and Thermoelectric Performance of Donor-Acceptor Copolymers through Donor Engineering.

Conjugated polymers with high thermoelectric performance enable the fabrication of low-cost, large-area, low-toxicity, and highly flexible thermoelectric devices. However, compared to their p-type counterparts, n-type polymer thermoelectric materials show much lower performance, which is largely due to inefficient doping and a much lower conductivity. Herein, it is reported that the development of a donor-acceptor (D-A) polymer with enhanced n-doping efficiency through donor engineering of the polymer backbone.

Exploring Peltier effect in organic thermoelectric films.

Organic materials are emerging thermoelectric candidates for flexible power generation and solid-cooling applications. Although the Peltier effect is a fundamental thermoelectric effect that enables site-specific and on-demand cooling applications, the Peltier effect in organic thermoelectric films have not been investigated. Here we experimentally observed and quasi-quantitatively evaluated the Peltier effect in a poly(Ni-ett) film through the fabrication of thermally suspended devices combined with an infrared imaging technique.

Deficiency of the AIM2-ASC Signal Uncovers the STING-Driven Overreactive Response of Type I IFN and Reciprocal Depression of Protective IFN-γ Immunity in Mycobacterial Infection.

The nucleic acids of can be detected by intracellular DNA sensors, such as cyclic GMP-AMP synthase and absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2), which results in the release of type I IFN and the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β. However, whether cross-talk occurs between AIM2-IL-1β and cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-type I IFN signaling upon infection in vivo is unclear. In this article, we demonstrate that mycobacterial infection of AIM2 mice reciprocally induces overreactive IFN-β and depressive IFN-γ responses, leading to higher infection burdens and more severe pathology.

Conjugated-Backbone Effect of Organic Small Molecules for n-Type Thermoelectric Materials with ZT over 0.2.

Conjugated backbones play a fundamental role in determining the electronic properties of organic semiconductors. On the basis of two solution-processable dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-diylidenebis(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) derivatives with aromatic and quinoid structures, we have carried out a systematic study of the relationship between the conjugated-backbone structure and the thermoelectric properties. In particular, a combination of UV-vis-NIR spectra, photoemission spectroscopy, and doping optimization are utilized to probe the interplay between energy levels, chemical doping, and thermoelectric performance.

Circulating soluble form of LR11, a regulator of smooth muscle cell migration, is a novel marker for intima-media thickness of carotid arteries in type 2 diabetes.

Background: Smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration from the media to the intima, a process affecting plaque stability in advanced-stage atherosclerosis, is under the control of LR11. To delineate the clinical significance of the circulating soluble form of LR11 (sLR11) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), we analyzed the correlation of sLR11 levels with intima-media thickness (IMT) of carotid arteries.

Methods: Plasma sLR11 levels were measured in 165 patients with T2D (mean age 56.

Uric acid quantification in fingernail of gout patients and healthy volunteers using HPLC-UV.

The presence of elevated uric acid (UA) levels is a sign of gout, that is, hyperuricemia. In this study the monitoring of the UA levels in less-invasive biological samples, such as the human fingernail, is suggested for the diagnosis and therapy of gout. Twenty-six healthy volunteers (HV) and 22 gout patients (GP) were studied.

Soluble LR11/SorLA represses thermogenesis in adipose tissue and correlates with BMI in humans.

Thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an important component of energy expenditure in mammals. Recent studies have confirmed its presence and metabolic role in humans. Defining the physiological regulation of BAT is therefore of great importance for developing strategies to treat metabolic diseases.