Intramuscular Pulsed Radiofrequency Upregulates BNDF-TrKB Expression in the Spinal Cord in Rats as an Alternative Treatment for Complicated Pain.

Two cases of complicated pain exist: posterior screw fixation and myofascial pain. Intramuscular pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) may be an alternative treatment for such patients. This is a two-stage animal study. In the first stage, two muscle groups and two nerve groups were subdivided into a high-temperature group with PRF at 58 °C and a regular temperature with PRF at 42 °C in rats. In the second stage, two nerve injury groups were subdivided into nerve injury with PRF 42 °C on the sciatic nerve and muscle. Blood and spinal cord samples were collected. In the first stage, the immunohistochemical analysis showed that PRF upregulated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the spinal cord in both groups of rats. In the second stage, the immunohistochemical analysis showed significant BDNF and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) expression within the spinal cord after PRF in muscles and nerves after nerve injury. The blood biomarkers showed a significant increase in BDNF levels. PRF in the muscle in rats could upregulate BDNF-TrkB in the spinal cord, similar to PRF on the sciatica nerve for pain relief in rats. PRF could be considered clinically for patients with complicated pain and this study also demonstrated the role of BDNF in pain modulation. The optimal temperature for PRF was 42 °C.

Driving factors and grouping paths of rural sports development in China - A qualitative comparative analysis based on fuzzy sets.

The development of rural sports depends on many factors, but the complex causal relationship between various factors and the level of rural sports development is not clear. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study aims to examine the driving role of various factors on rural sports development and construct various grouping paths to improve the level of rural sports development in China. The results shows that the area of fitness venues and social capital participation are sufficient conditions for the development of rural sports in China. Resource endowment through government fing, social capital participation and the construction of sports venues and facilities is the key driving factor for rural sports development in China. There are four grouping paths for the high-quality development of rural sports, which are divided into three configurations by combining the grouping characteristics: the state-social capital jointly controlled type driven by economic development and the resource endowment driven by the modernization of the agriculture promotes production and the grassroots organizations that are supported by the advantage of resource endowment. The results of the study highlight the complex causal relationships and key driving factors of rural sports development in China, highlight the differences in rural sports development patterns in different regions, and provide new ideas and guidelines for improving the level and quality of rural sports development.

Triple-junction solar cells with cyanate in ultrawide-bandgap perovskites.

Perovskite bandgap tuning without quality loss makes perovskites unique among solar absorbers, offering promising avenues for tandem solar cells1,2. However, minimizing the voltage loss when their bandgap is increased to above 1.90 eV for triple-junction tandem use is challenging3-5. Here we present a previously unknown pseudohalide, cyanate (OCN-), with a comparable effective ionic radius (1.97 Å) to bromide (1.95 Å) as a bromide substitute. Electron microscopy and X-ray scattering confirm OCN incorporation into the perovskite lattice. This contributes to notable lattice distortion, ranging from 90.5° to 96.6°, a uniform iodide-bromide distribution and consistent microstrain. Owing to these effects, OCN-based perovskite exhibits enhanced defect formation energy and substantially decreased non-radiative recombination. We achieved an inverted perovskite (1.93 eV) single-junction device with an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.422 V, a VOC × FF (fill factor) product exceeding 80% of the Shockley-Queisser limit and stable performance under maximum power point tracking, culminating in a 27.62% efficiency (27.10% certified efficiency) perovskite-perovskite-silicon triple-junction solar cell with 1 cm2 aperture area.

Functional characterization of two 3-dehydroquinases of AroQ1 and AroQ2 in the shikimate pathway and expression of genes for the type III secretion system in Ralstonia solanacearum.

The shikimate pathway is a general route for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids (AAAs) in many microorganisms. A 3-dehydroquinase, AroQ, controls the third step of the shikimate pathway that catalyzes the formation of 3-dehydroquinate from 3-dehydroshikimate via a trans-dehydration reaction. Ralstonia solanacearum harbors two 3-dehydroquinases, AroQ1 and AroQ2, sharing 52% similarity in amino acids. Here, we demonstrated that two 3-dehydroquinases, AroQ1 and AroQ2, are essential for the shikimate pathway in R. solanacearum. The growth of R. solanacearum was completely diminished in a nutriment-limited medium with the deletion of both aroQ1 and aroQ2, while substantially impaired in planta. The aroQ1/2 double mutant was able to replicate in planta but grew slowly, which was ~4 orders of magnitude less than the parent strain to proliferate to the maximum cell densities in tomato xylem vessels. Moreover, the aroQ1/2 double mutant failed to cause disease in tomato and tobacco plants, whereas the deletion of either aroQ1 or aroQ2 did not alter the growth of R. solanacearum or pathogenicity on host plants. Supplementary shikimic acid (SA), an important intermediate of the shikimate pathway, substantially restored the diminished or impaired growth of aroQ1/2 double mutant in a limited medium or inside host plants. The necessity of AroQ1 and AroQ2 on the pathogenicity of solanacearum toward host plants was partially due to insufficient SA inside host plants. Moreover, the deletion of both aroQ1 and aroQ2 significantly impaired the expression of genes for the type III secretion system (T3SS) both in vitro and in planta. Its involvement in the T3SS was mediated through the well-characterized PrhA signaling cascade and was independent of growth deficiency under nutrient-limited conditions. Taken together, R. solanacearum 3-dehydroquinases play important roles in bacterial growth, the expression of the T3SS, and pathogenicity in host plants. These results could extend our insights into the understanding of the biological function of AroQ and the sophisticated regulation of the T3SS in R. solanacearum.

Electrically Amplified Circularly Polarized Luminescence by a Chiral Anion Strategy.

The development of circularly polarized electroluminescence (CPEL) is currently hampered by the high difficulty and cost in the syntheses of suitable chiral materials and the notorious chirality diminishment issue in electrical devices. Herein, diastereomeric IrIII and RuII complexes with chiral (±)-camphorsulfonate counteranions are readily synthesized and used as the active materials in circularly polarized light-emitting electrochemical cells to generate promising CPELs. The addition of the chiral ionic liquid (±)-1-butyl-3-methylimidazole camphorsulfonate into the active layer significantly improves the device performance and the electroluminescence dissymmetry factors (≈10-3 ), in stark contrast to the very weak circularly polarized photoluminescence of the spin-coated films of these diastereomeric complexes. Control experiments with enantiopure IrIII complexes suggest that the chiral anions play a dominant role in the electrically-induced amplification of CPELs.

Smart thermally responsive perovskite materials: Thermo-chromic application and density function theory calculation.

With the continuous improvement of human's requirements for temperature control suitable for living, the energy consumption of electrical appliances such as air conditioners has become a major challenge in traditional architectural design. Generally, most of the solar energy passes through the glass to enter and exit the building, but the traditional glass can hardly control the light and heat energy, causing the indoor temperature to change dramatically with the environment. Therefore, it is more urgent to develop green and efficient smart windows. Perovskite is a temperature-adaptive material, which has the ability of phase transition and can adjust its band gap for thermochromic applications. In this work, we study the perovskite-based thermochromic smart window. As a new application of perovskite, a number of experiments have been carried out. However, there is still a lack of theoretical analysis on phase transition mechanisms and crystal structure prediction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation is the most useful tool in optoelectronics, especially for perovskite crystal. Here, we extracted typical cases from published literature for analysis and comparison and summarized the crystal structure, electronic structure stability, interface engineering, and thermal characteristics employing DFT calculation We believe this work will pave the way for DFT application for the study of thermochromic perovskite.

Regulation of wakefulness by GABAergic dorsal raphe nucleus-ventral tegmental area pathway.

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) has previously been proved to be involved in the regulation of the sleep-wake behavior. DRN contains several neuron types, such as 5-HTergic and GABAergic neurons. GABAergic neurons, which are the second largest cell subtype in the DRN, participate in a variety of neurophysiological functions. However, their role in sleep-wake regulation and the underlying neural circuitry remains unclear. Herein, we used fiber photometry and synchronous electroencephalogram (EEG)/electromyography (EMG) recording to demonstrate that DRN GABAergic neurons exhibit high activities during wakefulness and low activities during NREM sleep. Short-term optogenetic activation of DRN GABAergic neurons reduced the latency of NREM-to-wake transition and increased the probability of wakefulness, while long-term optogenetic activation of these neurons significantly increased the amount of wakefulness. Chemogenetic activation of DRN GABAergic neurons increased wakefulness for almost 2 h and maintained long-lasting arousal. In addition, inhibition of DRN GABAergic neurons with chemogenetics caused a reduction in the amount of wakefulness. Finally, similar to the effects of activating the soma of DRN GABAergic neurons, optogenetic stimulation of their terminals in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) induced instant arousal and promoted wakefulness. Taken together, our results illustrated that DRN GABAergic neurons are vital to the induction and maintenance of wakefulness, which promote wakefulness through the GABAergic DRN-VTA pathway.

Exosomes derived from pericardial adipose tissues attenuate cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction by Adipsin-regulated iron homeostasis.

As a vital adipokine, Adipsin is closely associated with cardiovascular risks. Nevertheless, its role in the onset and development of cardiovascular diseases remains elusive. This study was designed to examine the effect of Adipsin on survival, cardiac dysfunction and adverse remodeling in the face of myocardial infarction (MI) injury. In vitro experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of Adipsin on cardiomyocyte function in the face of hypoxic challenge and the mechanisms involved. Our results showed that Adipsin dramatically altered expression of proteins associated with iron metabolism and ferroptosis. In vivo results demonstrated that Adipsin upregulated levels of Ferritin Heavy Chain (FTH) while downregulating that of Transferrin Receptor (TFRC) in peri-infarct regions 1 month following MI. Adipsin also relieved post-MI-associated lipid oxidative stress as evidenced by decreased expression of COX2 and increased GPX4 level. Co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence imaging prove a direct interaction between Adipsin and IRP2. As expected, cardioprotection provided by Adipsin depends on the key molecule of IRP2. These findings revealed that Adipsin could be efficiently delivered to the heart by exosomes derived from pericardial adipose tissues. In addition, Adipsin interacted with IRP2 to protect cardiomyocytes against ferroptosis and maintain iron homeostasis. Therefore, Adipsin-overexpressed exosomes derived from pericardial adipose tissues may be a promising therapeutic strategy to prevent adverse cardiac remodeling following ischemic heart injury.

Orange-emissive carbon quantum dots for ligand-directed Golgi apparatus-targeting and in vivo imaging.

The Golgi apparatus is one of the most important organelles in cells. Targeting and monitoring the morphology and structure of the Golgi apparatus are crucial and challenging. Aimed at the cysteine (Cys) receptor on the surface of the Golgi apparatus, ligand-directed carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized for Golgi apparatus-targeting imaging. In order to reduce the interference of tissue self-fluorescence and enhance the tissue penetration depth, orange-emissive levorotatory CQDs (L-CQDs) with Golgi apparatus-targeting ability were synthesized using the strategy of inheriting Cys residues and the inherent conjugated electronic structure of neutral red. They exhibit excitation-dependent, fluorescence stability, rich surface Cys residues, excellent biocompatibility, and low toxicity. As a Golgi apparatus-targeting agent, L-CQDs can quickly enter cells for Golgi apparatus-targeting imaging, and can also penetrate through biological tissue for imaging in vivo. The surface Cys residues of CQDs actively target the Cys receptors on the surface of the Golgi apparatus to achieve Golgi apparatus-targeting imaging.

Control of Behavioral Arousal and Defense by a Glutamatergic Midbrain-Amygdala Pathway in Mice.

In response to external threatening signals, animals evolve a series of defensive behaviors that depend on heightened arousal. It is believed that arousal and defensive behaviors are coordinately regulated by specific neurocircuits in the central nervous system. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a key structure located in the ventral midbrain of mice. The activity of VTA glutamatergic neurons has recently been shown to be closely related to sleep-wake behavior. However, the specific role of VTA glutamatergic neurons in sleep-wake regulation, associated physiological functions, and underlying neural circuits remain unclear. In the current study, using an optogenetic approach and synchronous polysomnographic recording, we demonstrated that selective activation of VTA glutamatergic neurons induced immediate transition from sleep to wakefulness and obviously increased the amount of wakefulness in mice. Furthermore, optogenetic activation of VTA glutamatergic neurons induced multiple defensive behaviors, including burrowing, fleeing, avoidance and hiding. Finally, viral-mediated anterograde activation revealed that projections from the VTA to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) mediated the wake- and defense-promoting effects of VTA glutamatergic neurons. Collectively, our results illustrate that the glutamatergic VTA is a key neural substrate regulating wakefulness and defensive behaviors that controls these behaviors through its projection into the CeA. We further discuss the possibility that the glutamatergic VTA-CeA pathway may be involved in psychiatric diseases featuring with excessive defense.

A glutamatergic basal forebrain to midbrain circuit mediates wakefulness and defensive behavior.

Defensive behavior, a group of responses that evolved due to threatening stimuli, is crucial for animal survival in the natural environment. For defensive measures to be timely and successful, a high arousal state and immediate sleep-to-wakefulness transition are required. Recently, the glutamatergic basal forebrain (BF) has been implicated in sleep-wake regulation; however, the associated physiological functions and underlying neural circuits remain unknown. Here, using in vivo fiber photometry, we found that BF glutamatergic neuron is activated by various threatening stimuli, including predator odor, looming threat, sound, and tail suspension. Optogenetic activation of BF glutamatergic neurons induced a series of context-dependent defensive behaviors in mice, including escape, fleeing, avoidance, and hiding. Similar to the effects of activated BF glutamatergic cell body, photoactivation of BF glutamatergic terminals in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) strongly drove defensive behaviors in mice. Using synchronous electroencephalogram (EEG)/electromyogram (EMG) recording, we showed that photoactivation of the glutamatergic BF-VTA pathway produced an immediate transition from sleep to wakefulness and significantly increased wakefulness. Collectively, our results clearly demonstrated that the glutamatergic BF is a key neural substrate involved in wakefulness and defensive behaviors, and encodes these behaviors through glutamatergic BF-VTA pathway. Overexcitation of the glutamatergic BF-VTA pathway may be implicated in clinical psychiatric diseases characterized by exaggerated defensive responses, such as autism spectrum disorders.

Optimal Cut-Off Points of Sagittal Spinopelvic Parameters as a Morphological Parameter to Predict Efficiency in Nerve Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency for Lumbar Facet Joint Pain: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND: After proper patient selection, anatomically correct pulsed radiofrequency of the lumbar facet joints provide long-term pain relief in a routine clinical setting. In the study, we performed an analysis of clinical and radiological predictive factors and provide the scientific basis for this promising modality. METHODS: The study included 198 patients with lower back pain due to lumbar facet joint disease who underwent medial branch block and pulsed radiofrequency during the period 2015-2019. According to the improvement in pain score, the patients were divided into good and poor outcome groups. Clinical and radiological data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The multivariable analysis revealed the predictive factors, including lumbar lordosis, lower lumbar lordosis, pelvic tilt, the number of facet joints, old compression fracture with/without vertebroplasty, and post lumbar fusion procedures. CONCLUSION: With the results of this study, we demonstrated that the improved outcome after the surgery was related to lumbar lordosis, lower lumbar lordosis, pelvic tilt, the number of facet joints, old compression fracture with/without vertebroplasty, and the lumbar fusion procedures. Old compression fractures and lumbar fusion would change the radiological factors and cause refractory lumbar facet joint pain.

Nonresectable Thoracic Rosai-Dorfman Disease: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

INTRODUCTION: Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare disease that can be triggered by either viral or bacterial infection. Several parts of the body can be involved, from the central nervous system to the pelvic regions had been reported. At present, there is a serious lack of guidelines as to how to treat cases of RDD involving the spine. Current trends show that surgery remains the first method of choice to cure this disease, but in refractory or recurrent RDD, repeat surgery cannot guarantee total resection. Under such circumstances, adjuvant therapy can be very useful. Here, we share our experience of treating recurrent spinal RDD. CASE DESCRIPTION: Our patient was a 32-year-old male patient with hepatitis B virus infection. He suffered from lower back pain with lower limb weakness after being hit by a metal pipe. Laminectomy of T11-12 was performed to decompress the spinal cord. The final pathological results demonstrated chronic inflammation. After surgery, the lower limbs improved and the patient recovered quite well. However, he returned 3 years later with the same complaints and was diagnosed with RDD. Durectomy was performed and repaired with an artificial dura. Thalidomide therapy was initiated. Currently, 9 years later, the patient has not experienced recurrence or any form of neurological deficit. CONCLUSIONS: RDD is a rare disease and can be misdiagnosed easily. Although it may resolve spontaneously, recurrence is possible. Hence, extensive follow-up is necessary. Surgery remained the first choice of surgery, however, when encountered recurrent or nonresectable RDD, adjuvant therapy such as corticosteroids, thalidomide, and radiotherapy could help. In this article, we shared our experience using thalidomide in treating nonresectable RDD.

Preparation of High-Quality Fermented Fish Product.

This protocol provides a method for preparation of industrialized fermented fish product with sturgeon (Aquilaria sinensis) meat product. The procedures were: (1) pretreatment of farmed sturgeon including decapitation, evisceration, skinning-off, cleaning and cutting; (2) marinating fish cubes in 6-12% (w/v) salt solution (1:1, fish cube mass to solution volume); (3) drying fish cubes to a water content of 50-60% by hot air (40-60 °C) or by vacuum; (4) fermentation involving inoculating fish cubes with 0.4-1.6% (w/w) S. cerevisiae in flavor solution to fish cubes and fermenting at 25-35 °C for 6-10 h; (5) sealing fish cubes in vacuum packages with marinating and fermenting solutions; (6) sterilizing at 115-121 °C for 10-20 min. The sturgeon meat product prepared by this method has delicious taste which is mellow and thick, has various types and large amounts of volatile flavor compounds such as alcohols and esters which could mask musty and unpleasant odor from fish, has moderate salt content but good texture properties such as high springiness, gumminess and chewiness, and has bright russet color and attractive appearance. This new technique could also be applied in the processing of other fish to provide convenient fish snack foods which could be stored at room temperature. It is appropriate for both marine and freshwater fish.

Simvastatin and Simvastatin-Ezetimibe Improve the Neurological Function and Attenuate the Endothelial Inflammatory Response after Spinal Cord Injury in Rat.

During a spinal cord injury (SCI), mechanical trauma rapidly leads to a blood-spinal cord barrier (BSB) disruption, neural cell damage, axonal damage, and demyelination, followed by a cascade of secondary inflammatory reactions. These inflammatory responses spread the damage to the neural cells and impair the recovery of neurological functions. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of simvastatin and a simvastatin-ezetimibe combination therapy in managing the endothelial inflammatory response in an SCI rat model. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were group-housed and SCI was induced by using the modified weight-drop method. The animals were divided into 4 groups: (1) sham group, laminectomy only (n=6); (2) no-treatment group, SCI without therapy (n=8); (3) simvastatin group (n=8), and (4) ezetimibe and simvastatin combination therapy group (n=8). A high dose (15 mg/kg) of simvastatin was given to the simvastatin group, and 10 mg/kg simvastatin and 10 mg/kg ezetimibe were given to the combination group. Neurological function was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan locomotor scale score. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) level was used as an SCI biomarker. ICAM-1 level was the highest at 72 hours after SCI in the no-treament group. The treatment groups showed significant reduction in ICAM-1 levels at 72 hours. The treatment groups, especially the combination treatment group, showed better neurological function scores. Simvastatin and simvastatin- ezetimibe all could improve the neurological function and attenuate the endothelial inflammatory response after spinal cord injury in rat.

Risk of dementia in patients with primary insomnia: a nationwide population-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the association between primary insomnia and dementia using a Taiwanese population-based database. METHODS: This case-control study involved a subset of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database of reimbursement claims. We included 51,734 patients who were diagnosed with primary insomnia from 2002 to 2004 as the test group and 258,715 nonprimary insomnia participants aged 20 years or older as the reference group. We excluded patients under 20 and those with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or sleep disorders caused by organic lesion(s), drugs, or alcohol. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to assess the primary insomnia on the risk of developing dementia after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities. RESULTS: The primary insomnia cohort had a higher prevalence of diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, chronic liver disease, and chronic kidney disease at baseline. After adjusting for select comorbidities, primary insomnia remained a significant predisposing factor for developing dementia, and was associated with a 2.14-fold (95% confidence interval, 2.01-2.29) increase in dementia risk. We also found a higher risk of dementia in younger patients. CONCLUSIONS: Taiwanese patients with primary insomnia, especially those under 40, had a higher risk of developing dementia than those without primary insomnia.

Analysis of Patients with Myelopathy due to Benign Intradural Spinal Tumors with Concomitant Lumbar Degenerative Diseases Misdiagnosed and Erroneously Treated with Lumbar Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: When a cervical or thoracic benign intradural spinal tumor (BIST) coexists with lumbar degenerative diseases (LDD), diagnosis can be difficult. Symptoms of BIST-myelopathy can be mistaken as being related to LDD. Worse, an unnecessary lumbar surgery could be performed. This study was conducted to analyze cases in which an erroneous lumbar surgery was undertaken in the wake of failure to identify BIST-associated myelopathy. METHODS: Cases were found in a hospital database. Patients who underwent surgery for LDD first and then another surgery for BIST removal within a short interval were studied. Issues investigated included why the BISTs were missed, how they were found later, and how the patients reacted to the unnecessary lumbar procedures. RESULTS: Over 10 years, 167 patients received both surgeries for LDD and a cervical or thoracic BIST. In 7 patients, lumbar surgery preceded tumor removal by a short interval. Mistakes shared by the physicians included failure to detect myelopathy and a BIST, and a hasty decision for lumbar surgery, which soon turned out to be futile. Although the BISTs were subsequently found and removed, 5 patients believed that the lumbar surgery was unnecessary, with 4 patients expressing regrets and 1 patient threatening to take legal action against the initial surgeon. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant symptomatic LDD and BIST-associated myelopathy pose a diagnostic challenge. Spine specialists should refrain from reflexively linking leg symptoms and impaired ability to walk to LDD. Comprehensive patient evaluation is fundamental to avoid misdiagnosis and wrong lumbar surgery.

Nucleoplasty for treating lumbar disk degenerative low back pain: an outcome prediction analysis.

PURPOSE: Nucleoplasty is a minimally invasive technique that is considered efficacious in alleviating lumbar disk degenerative low back pain (LBP). The efficacy of nucleoplasty and identified variables that can predict pain relief for nucleoplasty was reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between December 2013 and November 2015, 47 nucleoplasty procedures on 47 lumbar disks in 31 consecutive patients were performed. The outcome was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS) score. Improvements of ≥50% in VAS scores were considered substantial pain relief. The variables associated with pain relief after nucleoplasty included: 1) age; 2) sex; 3) body mass index; 4) hyperintensity zone at the rear of the disk; 5) hypointensity of the disk; 6) Modic changes of the end plates; 7) spinal instability pain; and 8) discography results. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients (67.7%) experienced substantial pain relief. The most common side effects following nucleoplasty were soreness at the needle puncture site (64.5%), numbness in the lower leg (12.9%), and increased intensity of back pain (9.7%). All side effects were transient. Multivariate analysis revealed that the discography results were the most critical predictor for substantial pain relief of nucleoplasty (P=0.03). The sensitivity and specificity of discography were 92.8% and 62.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Discography results could improve the success rate of nucleoplasty in the treatment of disk degenerative LBP.

Prediction of Protein-Protein Interactions by Evidence Combining Methods.

Most cellular functions involve proteins' features based on their physical interactions with other partner proteins. Sketching a map of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) is therefore an important inception step towards understanding the basics of cell functions. Several experimental techniques operating in vivo or in vitro have made significant contributions to screening a large number of protein interaction partners, especially high-throughput experimental methods. However, computational approaches for PPI predication supported by rapid accumulation of data generated from experimental techniques, 3D structure definitions, and genome sequencing have boosted the map sketching of PPIs. In this review, we shed light on in silico PPI prediction methods that integrate evidence from multiple sources, including evolutionary relationship, function annotation, sequence/structure features, network topology and text mining. These methods are developed for integration of multi-dimensional evidence, for designing the strategies to predict novel interactions, and for making the results consistent with the increase of prediction coverage and accuracy.

A flexible transparent gas barrier film employing the method of mixing ALD/MLD-grown Al2O3 and alucone layers.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been widely reported as a novel method for thin film encapsulation (TFE) of organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. Both organic and inorganic thin films can be deposited by ALD with a variety of precursors. In this work, the performances of Al2O3 thin films and Al2O3/alucone hybrid films have been investigated. The samples with a 50 nm Al2O3 inorganic layer deposited by ALD at a low temperature of 80°C showed higher surface roughness (0.503 ± 0.011 nm), higher water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) values (3.77 × 10(-4) g/m(2)/day), and lower transmittance values (61%) when compared with the Al2O3 (inorganic)/alucone (organic) hybrid structure under same conditions. Furthermore, a bending test upon single Al2O3 layers showed an increased WVTR of 1.59 × 10(-3) g/m(2)/day. However, the film with a 4 nm alucone organic layer inserted into the center displayed improved surface roughness, barrier performance, and transmittance. After the bending test, the hybrid film with 4 nm equally distributed alucone maintained better surface roughness (0.339 ± 0.014 nm) and barrier properties (9.94 × 10(-5) g/m(2)/day). This interesting phenomenon reveals that multilayer thin films consisting of inorganic layers and decentralized alucone organic components have the potential to be useful in TFE applications on flexible optical electronics.