22 results match your criteria: "National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hsinchu 30010[Affiliation]"

This report presents the design and synthesis of quinazolinone-based derivatives as promising SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitors. Two novel series, namely, febrifugine analogues 4a-i and quinazolinone conjugated benzimidazoles 9a-c, were successfully synthesized starting from isatoic anhydride. The synthesized quinazolinone derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines and SARS-CoV-2 3CL inhibitory activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The lncRNA tumor protein translationally controlled 1-antisense RNA 1 (TPT1-AS1) is known for its oncogenic role in various cancers, but its impact on the pathological progression of prostate cancer remains unclear. Our previous study demonstrated that the RE1-silencing transcription factor (REST) regulates neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) in prostate cancer (PCA) by derepressing specific long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), including TPT1-AS1. In this study, we revealed that TPT1-AS1 is overexpressed in LNCaP and C4-2B cells after IL-6 and enzalutamide treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Osteoporosis is a prevalent chronic disease worldwide, particularly affecting the aging population. The gold standard diagnostic tool for osteoporosis is Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). However, the expensive cost of the DXA machine and the need for skilled professionals to operate it restrict its accessibility to the general public.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Perovskite quantum dots (QDs) are considered as promising materials for numerous optoelectronic applications due to their narrow emission spectra, high color purity, high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs), and cost-effectiveness. Herein, we synthesized various types of perovskite QDs and incorporated Au nanoparticles (NPs) to systematically investigate the impact of plasmonic effects on the photoluminescence performance of perovskite QDs. The PLQYs of the QDs are enhanced effectively upon the inclusion of Au NPs in the solutions, with an impressive PLQY approaching 99% achieved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The high heterogeneity and low percentage of neuroendocrine cells in prostate cancer limit the utility of traditional bulk RNA sequencing and even single-cell RNA sequencing to find better biomarkers for early diagnosis and stratification. Re-clustering of specific cell-type holds great promise for identification of intra-cell-type heterogeneity. However, this has not yet been used in studying neuroendocrine prostate cancer heterogeneity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The association between REST reduction and the development of neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), a novel drug-resistant and lethal variant of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), is well established. To better understand the mechanisms underlying this process, we aimed to identify REST-repressed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that promote neuroendocrine differentiation (NED), thus facilitating targeted therapy-induced resistance. In this study, we used data from REST knockdown RNA sequencing combined with siRNA screening to determine that LINC01801 was upregulated and played a crucial role in NED in prostate cancer (PCa).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In gene transcription, certain sequences of double-stranded (ds)DNA play a vital role in nucleosome positioning and expression initiation. That dsDNA is deformed to various extents in these processes leads us to ask: Could the genomic DNA also have sequence specificity in its chemical-scale mechanical properties? We approach this question using statistical machine learning to determine the rigidity between DNA chemical moieties. What emerges for the polyA, polyG, TpA, and CpG sequences studied here is a unique trigram that contains the quantitative mechanical strengths between bases and along the backbone.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Halide perovskite is a material with fantastic properties that could substantially impact next-generation optoelectronics. However, toxic Pb cations in the most excellent and stable perovskites have raised environmental concerns and hindered their commercialization. A new lead-free perovskite material needs to be discovered and address this issue.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Substituted tetrahydrochromenes and dihydronaphthofurans are easily accessible by the treatment of β-tetralone with -β-nitro styrene derived Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) acetates through a formal [3 + 3]/[3 + 2] annulation. The reaction proceeds through a cascade Michael/oxa-Michael pathway with moderate to good yields. A DFT study was carried out to account for the formation of the corresponding six and five-membered heterocycles 6- and 5- cyclization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two-dimensional perovskite materials have been investigated as potential candidates for next-generation-wide band gap devices and lead-based perovskites are the most common materials within two-and three-dimensional structures due to their superior optoelectronic properties. Nevertheless, the stability and toxic element issues are the two significant shortcomings of device commercialization. The fluoro-benzene-based divalent ammonium spacer cations and replacing Zn with Pb will improve the two-dimensional perovskite stability.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

N-linked glycosylation of proteins is one of the post-translational modifications (PTMs) that shield tumor antigens from immune attack. Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family 7 (SLAMF7) suppresses cancer cell phagocytosis and is an ideal target under clinical development. PTM of SLAMF7, however, remains less understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The fomite transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has drawn attention because of its highly contagious nature. Therefore, surfaces that can prevent coronavirus contamination are an urgent and unmet need during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Conventional surfaces are usually based on superhydrophobic or antiviral coatings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thermoelectric (TE) generators have come a long way since the first commercial apparatus launched in the 1950s. Since then, the -ZnSb has manifested its potential as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly TE generator compared with the tellurium-bearing TE materials. Although the -ZnSb features an intrinsically low thermal conductivity , it suffers from a long-lasting structural instability issue arising from the highly mobile zinc ions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The circularly polarized light source is one of the keys to chiral photonic circuits and systems. However, it is difficult to integrate conventional light-emitting devices with circular polarization converters directly into compact chip-scale photonic systems partly because of their bulky structures. In this study, optical chirality tunable nanorod trimer metasurfaces consisting of two types of nanorod dimers are demonstrated and integrated with a flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reaction of two phenol-quinoline molecules (namely PQ-1 and PQ-2) were investigated using time-dependent density functional theory. The five-(six-) membered-ring carbocycle between the phenol and quinolone moieties in PQ-1 (PQ-2) actually causes a relatively loose (tight) hydrogen bond, which results in a small-barrier (barrier-less) on an excited-state potential energy surface with a slow (fast) ESIPT process with (without) involving the skeletal deformation motion up to the electronic excitation. The skeletal deformation motion that is induced from the largest vibronic excitation with low frequency can assist in decreasing the donor-acceptor distance and lowering the reaction barrier in the excited-state potential energy surface, and thus effectively enhance the ESIPT reaction for PQ-1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) spectra accompanied by excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) for two triphenylamine salicylaldehyde derivatives (namely, TS and TS-OMe) are investigated by performing molecular spectral and dynamics simulations associated with the hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) at the quantum level of the time-dependent density functional theory. The simulated emission spectral peaks and Stokes' shifts are in good agreement with the experimental results for both TS and TS-OMe. Furthermore, the AIE spectral mechanisms are well explained to be associated with the ESIPT processes for both TS and TS-OMe monomers in the aggregated crystal state, while the AIE spectra mechanism for the TS-OMe (TS) dimer is accompanied by intermolecular charge-transfer excitation process.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We performed laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy of 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and its solvated complexes with acetonitrile (ACN) and benzene (Bz), under the jet-cooled gas-phase condition. We also carried out fluorescence and its time profile measurements in TCNQ/Bz/hexane solution to compare with the gas-phase results. The LIF excitation spectrum of the S (ππ*)-S electronic transition of TCNQ monomer exhibited unusual vibronic structure with the maximum intensity at ∼3000 cm above the band origin.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Structure-mechanics statistical learning uncovers mechanical relay in proteins.

Chem Sci

March 2022

Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Department of Biological Science and Technology, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS2B), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan Republic of China

A protein's adaptive response to its substrates is one of the key questions driving molecular physics and physical chemistry. This work employs the recently developed structure-mechanics statistical learning method to establish a mechanical perspective. Specifically, by mapping all-atom molecular dynamics simulations onto the spring parameters of a backbone-side-chain elastic network model, the chemical moiety specific force constants (or mechanical rigidity) are used to assemble the rigidity graph, which is the matrix of inter-residue coupling strength.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Solar energy has long been regarded as a promising alternative and sustainable energy source. In this regard, photocatalysts emerge as a versatile paradigm that can practically transform solar energy into chemical energy. At present, unsatisfactory conversion efficiency is a major obstacle to the widespread deployment of photocatalysis technology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Herein, we report the total synthesis of landomycins Q and R as well as the aglycone core, namely anhydrolandomycinone and a related core analogue. The synthesis features an acetate-assisted arylation method for construction of the hindered B-ring in the core component and a one-pot aromatization-deiodination-denbenzylation procedure to streamline the global functional and protecting group manuipulation. Subsequent cytotoxicity and antibacterial studies revealed that the landomycin R is a potential antibacterial agent against methicillin-resistant .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein interacts with cancer cells, leading to changes that promote aggressive cancer behaviors, specifically in breast cancer models.
  • Researchers found that the virus induces a process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is linked to increased invasiveness and stemness in cancer cells, with Snail identified as a key player in this process.
  • By blocking Snail expression, the study showed a reduction in the aggressive traits induced by the spike protein, highlighting a potential link between COVID-19 infection and breast cancer progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF