BN-Acene Ladder with Enhanced Charge Transport for Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

The in-depth research on the charge transport properties of BN-embedded polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (BN-PAHs) still lags far behind studies of their emitting properties. Herein, we report the successfully synthesis of novel ladder-type BN-PAHs (BCNL1 and BCNL2) featuring a highly ordered BC3N2 acene unit, achieved via a nitrogen-directed tandem C-H borylation. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis unambiguously revealed their unique and compact herringbone packing structures.

3D bioprinting of the airways and lungs for applications in tissue engineering and in vitro models.

Tissue engineering and in vitro modeling of the airways and lungs in the respiratory system are of substantial research and clinical importance. In vitro airway and lung models aim to improve treatment options for airway and lung repair and advance respiratory pathophysiological research. The construction of biomimetic native airways and lungs with tissue-specific biological, mechanical, and configurable features remains challenging.

Multi-scale perceptual modulation network for low-dose computed tomography denoising.

Background: Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) reduces radiation exposure, but the introduced noise and artifacts impair its diagnostic accuracy. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are widely used for LDCT denoising, but they suffer from a limited receptive field. The use of a larger kernel size can enlarge the receptive field and boost model performance; however, the computational cost of the model greatly increases.

Association of glymphatic clearance function with imaging markers and risk factors of cerebral small vessel disease.

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a common disease in the elderly, and its pathogenesis is still being explored. Glymphatic clearance function can be evaluated by diffusion tensor imaging analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) index. This study aims to investigate the changes in glymphatic clearance function in CSVD patients and its relationship with imaging markers and risk factors of CSVD.

Synthesis, Structures, and Chiroptical Properties of NBN-Doped Helicenes with Boron Atoms in the Inner Rims.

The precise synthesis of helicenes with topologically defined length and specific heteroatomic perturbation in the screw-like conjugated skeletons plays an emerging role in the manipulation of chiral materials. Facile, selective, and programmable routes to helicenes or heterohelicenes are highly desirable yet challenging for structure-chiroptical property relationship studies. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of NBN-doped helicenes with boron atoms in the inner rims, enabled by the highly regioselective one-pot borylation of rationally designed precursors with, namely, fold-in or pan-out manner.

Downregulation of Brf1 Induces Liver Failure and Inhibits Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression by Promoting Apoptosis.

The occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are closely related to abnormal apoptosis. Brf1 is highly expressed in HCC and has clinical prognostic value. Here, attenuation of Brf1-induced apoptosis was found, and the related mechanism was explored.

Ultrastable Luminol-OH-(Ni-WO-CNT) ECL System with High Strength and Its Applications in Sensing.

In traditional luminol electrochemiluminescence (ECL) systems, hydrogen peroxide (HO) and dissolved oxygen (DO) are the commonly used coreactants to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) for ECL emission. However, the self-decomposition of hydrogen peroxide and the limited solubility and content of oxygen in solution undoubtedly restrict the luminescence efficiency and stability of the luminol ECL system. Inspired by the ROS-mediated ECL mechanism, we pioneered hydroxide ion as an advanced luminol ECL coreactant using nickel-doped and carbon nanotube-modified tungsten oxide (Ni-WO-CNT) as the coreactant accelerator.

Spatiotemporal consistency analysis of cerebral small vessel disease: an rs-fMRI study.

Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) affects older adults, but traditional approaches have limited the understanding of the neural mechanisms of SVD. This study aimed to explore the effects of SVD on brain regions and its association with cognitive decline using the four-dimensional (spatiotemporal) consistency of local neural activity (FOCA) method.

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging data from 42 patients with SVD and 38 healthy controls (HCs) were analyzed using the FOCA values.

Longitudinal Extension of Double π-Helix Enables Near-Infrared Amplified Dissymmetry and Chiroptical Response.

Near-infrared (NIR) circularly polarized light absorbing or emitting holds great promise for highly sensitive and precise bioimaging, biosensing, and photodetectors. Aiming at designing NIR chiral molecular systems with amplified dissymmetry and robust chiroptical response, herein, we present a series of double π-helical dimers with longitudinally extended π-entwined substructures via Ullmann or Yamamoto homocoupling reactions. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra revealed an approximate linear bathochromic shift with the rising number of naphthalene subunits, indicating a red to NIR chiroptical response.

Endothelial RSPO3 mediates pulmonary endothelial regeneration by LGR4-dependent activation of β-catenin and ILK signaling pathways after inflammatory vascular injury.

Endothelial repair is essential for restoring tissue fluid homeostasis following lung injury. R-spondin3 (RSPO3), a secreted protein mainly produced by endothelial cells (ECs), has shown its protective effect on endothelium. However, the specific mechanisms remain unknown.

Multifunctional Self-Signaling nanoMIP and Its Application for a Washing-Free Assay of Human Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2.

Molecular imprinting techniques have attracted a lot of attention as a potential biomimetic technology, but there are still challenges in protein imprinting. Herein, multifunctional nanosized molecularly imprinted polymers (nanoMIPs) for human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) were prepared by epitope imprinting of magnetic nanoparticles-anchored peptide (magNP-P) templates, which were further applied to construct a competitive displacement fluorescence assay toward ACE2. A cysteine-flanked dodecapeptide sequence was elaborately selected as an epitope for ACE2, which was immobilized onto the surface of magnetic nanoparticles and served as a magNP-P template for imprinting.

Highly Luminescent Chiral Double π-Helical Nanoribbons.

Unveiling the mechanism behind chirality propagation and dissymmetry amplification at the molecular level is of significance for the development of chiral systems with comprehensively outstanding chiroptical performances. Herein, we have presented a straightforward Cu-mediated Ullmann homocoupling approach to synthesize perylene diimide-entwined double π-helical nanoribbons encompassing dimer, trimer, and tetramer while producing homochiral or heterochiral linking of chiral centers. A significant dissymmetry amplification was achieved, with absorption dissymmetry factors (||) increasing from 0.

Investigation of a UPR-Related Gene Signature Identifies the Pro-Fibrotic Effects of Thrombospondin-1 by Activating CD47/ROS/Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Pathway in Lung Fibroblasts.

Unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress have been linked to pulmonary fibrosis. However, the relationship between UPR status and pulmonary function and prognosis in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients remains largely unknown. Through a series of bioinformatics analyses, we established a correlation between UPR status and pulmonary function in IPF patients.

Hydrogen sulfide inhibits alveolar type II cell senescence and limits pulmonary fibrosis via promoting MDM2-mediated p53 degradation.

Aim: Senescence of alveolar type II (AT2) cells is an important driver of pulmonary fibrosis. This study aimed to investigate whether and how dysregulation of hydrogen sulfide (H S) production affected AT2 cell senescence, and then explored the effect of H S on the communication between AT2 and fibroblasts.

Methods: ICR mice were intratracheally administered with bleomycin (3 mg/kg).

A nomogram for predicting echocardiogram prescription in outpatients: an analysis of the NAMCS database.

Background And Objective: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Echocardiography is a commonly used method for assessing the condition of patients with cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the population characteristics of patients who are recommended for echocardiographic examinations.

Molecular Carbons: How Far Can We Go?

The creation and development of carbon nanomaterials promoted material science significantly. Bottom-up synthesis has emerged as an efficient strategy to synthesize atomically precise carbon nanomaterials, namely, molecular carbons, with various sizes and topologies. Different from the properties of the feasibly obtained mixture of carbon nanomaterials, numerous properties of single-component molecular carbons have been discovered owing to their well-defined structures as well as potential applications in various fields.

Fibroblast Upregulation of Vitamin D Receptor Represents a Self-Protective Response to Limit Fibroblast Proliferation and Activation during Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Dysregulation of vitamin D receptor (VDR) is implicated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, whether VDR dysregulation contributes to the development of pulmonary fibrosis remains largely unknown. Analysis of bulk and single-cell RNA profiling datasets revealed VDR upregulation in lung fibroblasts from patients with pulmonary fibrosis or fibrotic mice, which was validated in lung fibroblasts from bleomycin-exposed mice and bleomycin-treated fibroblasts.

Increased R-spondin 3 contributes to aerobic exercise-induced protection against renal vascular endothelial hyperpermeability and acute kidney injury.

Aim: Exercise training exerts protective effects against sepsis-associated multiple organ dysfunction. This study aimed to investigate whether aerobic exercise protected against sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) via modulating R-spondin 3 (RSPO3) expression.

Methods: To investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced AKI, LPS (20 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected after six weeks of treadmill training.

ONX0914 inhibition of immunoproteasome subunit LMP7 ameliorates diabetic cardiomyopathy via restraining endothelial-mesenchymal transition.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a chronic metabolic disease with few effective therapeutic options. Immunoproteasome is an inducible proteasome that plays an important role in the regulation of many cardiovascular diseases, while its role in DCM remains under discussion. The present study aims to demonstrate whether inhibiting immunoproteasome subunit low molecular weight polypeptide 7 (LMP7) could alleviate DCM.

Protocol for siRNA-mediated TET1 knockdown during differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into definitive endoderm cells.

TET1-mediated active DNA demethylation is required for endogenous retrovirus (ERV) enhancer activation during human ES differentiation into definitive endoderm (DE) cells. Here we present a protocol for siRNA-mediated TET1 knockdown during this process to decipher TET1's role in ERV activation and DE differentiation. We describe steps for inducing ES into DE cells.