α-Actinin-1 deficiency in megakaryocytes causes low platelet count, platelet dysfunction, and mitochondrial impairment.

Cytoskeletal remodeling and mitochondrial bioenergetics play important roles in thrombocytopoiesis and platelet function. Recently, α-actinin-1 mutations have been reported in patients with congenital macrothrombocytopenia. However, the role and underlying mechanism of α-actinin-1 in thrombocytopoiesis and platelet function remain elusive.

Drop-on-demand printing of amine-responsive fluorescence-ratiometric sensor array for online monitoring meat freshness.

Aiming to enable online freshness-monitoring of meat within modified-atmosphere package, we developed a ratiometric array that was fluorescently responsive to volatile organic compounds-ammonia (NH) released by protein decaying. The array was consisted of two 3 mm × 6 mm rectangles precisely and uniformly printed with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) as indicator and rhodamine B (RhB) as internal reference on the filter-paper, respectively. The fluorescence intensity of the array area was calibrated according to Green/Red ratio of the digitalized pixels extracted from images facilitated by a smartphone.

Lattice defect engineering advances n-type PbSe thermoelectrics.

Te-free thermoelectrics have garnered significant interest due to their immense thermoelectric potential and low cost. However, most Te-free thermoelectrics have relatively low performance because of the strong electrical and thermal transport conflicts and unsatisfactory compatibility of interfaces between device materials. Here, we develop lattice defect engineering through Cu doping to realize a record-high figure of merit of ~1.

DNA replication stress underpins the vulnerability to oxidative phosphorylation inhibition in colorectal cancer.

Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is a therapeutic vulnerability in glycolysis-deficient cancers. Here we show that inhibiting OXPHOS similarly suppresses the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glycolytically competent colorectal cancer (CRC) cells in vitro and in patient-derived CRC xenografts. While the increased glycolytic activity rapidly replenished the ATP pool, it did not restore the reduced production of aspartate upon OXPHOS inhibition.

A practical distribution pattern of α-SMA-positive carcinoma associated fibroblasts indicates poor prognosis of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Purpose The present study aimed to clarify the distribution pattern of carcinoma associated fibroblasts (CAFs) across pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and its prognostic prediction value. Methods Data of two cohorts were retrospectively collected from consecutive patients who underwent primary pancreatic resection from January 2015 to December 2017. We used tumor specimens to screen out the most suitable markers for the spatial distribution analysis for CAFs subpopulations.