Biomimetic nanodecoys deliver cholesterol-modified heteroduplex oligonucleotide to target dopaminergic neurons for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregates called Lewy bodies leading to the gradual loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra. Although α-syn expression can be attenuated by antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and heteroduplex oligonucleotide (HDO) by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection, the challenge to peripheral targeted delivery of oligonucleotide safely and effectively into DA neurons remains unresolved. Here, we designed a new DNA/DNA double-stranded (complementary DNA, coDNA) molecule with cholesterol conjugation (Chol-HDO (coDNA)) based on an α-syn-ASO sequence and evaluated its silence efficiency.

Water-Stable Metal Azolate Frameworks Showing Interesting Flexibilities for Highly Effective Bioethanol Dehydration.

The ethanol/water separation challenge highlights the adsorption capacity/selectivity trade-off problem. We show that the target guest can serve as a gating component of the host to block the undesired guest, giving molecular sieving effect for the adsorbent possessing large pores. Two hydrophilic/water-stable metal azolate frameworks were designed to compare the effects of gating and pore-opening flexibility.

Apoptotic bodies for advanced drug delivery and therapy.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as promising candidates for multiple biomedical applications. Major types of EVs include exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies (ABs). ABs are conferred most properties from parent cells in the final stages of apoptosis.

Screen-Printable Silver Paste Material for Semitransparent and Flexible Metal-Semiconductor-Metal Photodetectors with Liquid-Phase Procedure.

Photodetectors are widely applied in modern industrial fields because they convert light energy into electrical signals. We propose a printable silver (Ag) paste electrode for a highly flexible metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) broadband visible light photodetector as a wearable and portable device. Single-crystal and surface-textured silicon substrates with thicknesses of 37.

Boosting the High Performance of BiFeO-BaTiO Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics: One-Step Preparation and Reaction Mechanisms.

One of the notorious problems in BiFeO-based piezoelectric ceramics is how to limit the formation of BiFeO and BiFeO impurities to achieve excellent piezoelectric performance. In this study, a one-step preparation technology, namely, excluding PVA, calcining, and sintering are completed in one step, instead of three steps in the ordinary sintering method, is developed to prepare BiFeO-BaTiO (BF-BT) ceramics. The significance of this one-step method is that the thermodynamically unstable region of BiFeO is successfully avoided based on the Gibbs free energy of BiFeO, BiFeO, and BiFeO.

Cytotoxic triterpenoid glycosides from leaves of .

Three previously undescribed dammarane triterpenoid glycosides () along with five known analogues () were isolated from the leaves of . Their structures and configurations were determined on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, chemical hydrolysis and DFT GIAO C NMR calculation. All the isolates were evaluated cytotoxic activities against seven human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, PC-3, Du145, NCI-H1975, PC-9, SKVO3 and HepG2).

Discovery of small molecular (D)-leucinamides as potent, Notch-sparing γ-secretase modulators.

Structural optimization of the prior lead 3 led to the small molecular (D)-leucinamides with potent modulating activity and Notch-sparing selectivity on the proteolytic processing of amyloid-β precursor proteins. The N-(R)-epoxypropyl analog 10c exhibited potent γ-secretase modulation compared to DAPT and showed substantial substrate selection for APP cleavage over Notch cleavage, while N-(2-fluoro)benzyl analog 10e showed the most potent γ-secretase inhibition with dull selectivity. The exceptional suppression of ERK-mediated activation suggested that these potent γ-secretase modulators may adapt an alternative pathway to prominently induce the differential inhibition of C99 cleavage by γ-secretase.

Use of CD40L immunoconjugates to overcome the defective immune response to vaccines for infections and cancer in the aged.

Multiple investigators have reported the presence of defects in the immune response of the elderly [Castle In: Clin Infect Dis 31:578, 2000; Ortqvist et al. In: Eur Respir J 30:414-422, 2007; Saurwein-Teissl et al. In: J Immunol 168:5893, 2002; Haynes et al.

[Paragonimus skrjabini infection in animal reservoir hosts and questionnairing in residents at a village of Hubei Province].

Freshwater crabs (Sinopotamon denticulatum) were examined for metacercariae. Cats and dogs were also examined for Paragonimus infection. Questionnairing was carried out on health knowledge and behaviors among local residents in a village of Baokang County, Hubei Province.