Transfer and Retention Effects of a Motor Program in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The current study examined the acquisition, retention, and transfer effects of a motor program. Children with autism spectrum disorder participated in a 9-week program that targeted 13 fundamental motor skills based upon the Test of Gross Motor Development-3. Assessments were conducted before and after the program, as well as at 2-month follow-up. Significant improvements were found on not only the trained fundamental motor skills (acquisition) but also the untrained tasks on balance (transfer). The follow-up tests revealed continuous improvement on the trained locomotor skills (retention), as well as the untrained skills on balance (retention + transfer). These findings highlight the importance of continuous support and long-term participation on motor practices.

Spatiotemporal Acoustic Vortex Beams with Transverse Orbital Angular Momentum.

Recently, the discovery of optical spatiotemporal (ST) vortex beams with transverse orbital angular momentum (OAM) has attracted increasing attention and is expected to extend the research scope and open new opportunities for practical applications of OAM states. The ST vortex beams are also applicable to other physical fields that involve wave phenomena, and here we develop the ST vortex concept in the field of acoustics and report the generation of Bessel-type ST acoustic vortex beams. The ST vortex beams are fully characterized using the scalar approach for the pressure field and the vector approach for the velocity field. We further investigate the transverse spreading effect and construct ST vortex beams with an ellipse-shaped spectrum to reduce the spreading effect. We also experimentally demonstrated the orthogonality relations between ST vortex beams with different charges. Our study successfully demonstrates the versatility of the acoustic system for exploring and discovering spatiotemporally structured waves, inspiring further investigation of exotic wave physics.

On the Friction Behavior of SiO2 Tip Sliding on the Au(111) Surface: How Does an Amorphous SiO2 Tip Produce Regular Stick-Slip Friction and Friction Duality?

Friction behaviors of an amorphous SiO2 tip sliding on the Au(111) surface in atomic force microscopy (AFM) are investigated through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We observed a regime of extremely low, close-to-zero friction at low normal loads with clear stick-slip friction signals. The friction is almost independent of the applied normal load below a threshold value. However, above this loading threshold, friction can remain low or increase sharply. Such an unexpected friction duality is attributed to the high probability of defect formation at the sliding interface that can induce plowing friction in a high-friction state. The energy difference between the low-friction state and the high-friction state is surprisingly low, which is comparable to kT (∼25 meV) at room temperature. These findings are consistent with previous AFM friction measurements using silicon AFM tips. Further MD simulations show that one can always use an amorphous SiO2 tip to image the crystalline surface with regular stick-slip friction signals. This is largely due to the fact that there is always a small fraction of contacting Si and O atoms at the sliding interface that are sitting on the relatively stable, close-to-hollow sites of the crystalline Au(111) surface during the stick stage; thus, they are capable of sampling local energy minima. We anticipate that regular stick-slip friction can be achieved even in the intermediate loading range, so long as the low-friction state is maintained when friction duality occurs.

Inhibiting Multidrug Resistance with Transferrin-Targeted Polymersomes through Optimization of Ligand Density.

Transferrin-conjugated polymersomes, transferrin-biotin/avidin/biotin-Pluronic F127-poly(lactic acid) (Tf-F127-PLA), were successfully prepared through a biotin-avidin bridging technique to study their ability to inhibit multidrug resistance of cancer cells. Hydrophilic doxorubicin (DOX) was selected as the model drug to be loaded into Tf-F127-PLA polymersomes. DOX loaded in Tf-F127-PLA polymersomes was released fast initially, followed by a slow release. The effect of the transferrin ligand density of Tf-F127-PLA/DOX polymersomes on their targeting properties was studied by both cytotoxicity and cellular uptake assays against A549 lung cancer cells. It was shown that Tf-F127-PLA/DOX polymersomes had better targeting ability than nontargeted drug-loaded polymersomes. Furthermore, Tf-F127-PLA/DOX polymersomes with 2% Tf molar content have more effective antitumor activity and a higher cellular uptake than those with 4 and 5% Tf molar content. 2% Tf-F127-PLA/DOX polymersomes also exhibited better anticancer ability in multidrug resistant cancer cells A549/ADR than nontargeted PLA-F127-PLA/DOX polymersomes. It was further proved that the endocytosis of polymersomes by A549/ADR cells was an energy-dependent endocytosis process, which was related to clathrin, macrocytosis, and caveolin. Also, the endocytosis of Tf-F127-PLA/DOX polymersomes was proven to be mediated by the transferrin receptor.

A therapeutic regimen of ceftazidime-avibactam for a critical patient receiving prolonged intermittent renal replacement therapy.

The present report firstly described a critically ill patient receiving a dosing regimen of ceftazidime-avibactam (CAZ-AVI) (1.875g q24h) to eliminate multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and a scheduled time for prolonged intermittent renal replacement therapy (PIRRT) every 48h (6h-session beginning 12h after the previous dosage on hemodialysis day). This dosing regimen for CAZ-AVI and a scheduled time for PIRRT allowed pharmacodynamic parameters of ceftazidime and avibactam to have little difference on hemodialysis and non-hemodialysis days so that we can maintain a relatively stable drug concentration. Our report highlighted not only the importance of dosing regimens in patients with PIRRT but also the significance of hemodialysis time points during the dosing interval. The innovative therapeutic plan proved to be suitable for patients infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae when on PIRRT according to the trough plasma concentrations of ceftazidime and avibactam which were maintained above the minimum inhibitory concentration during the dosing interval.

Daily Effects of COVID-19 News on Personal Protective Behaviors Through COVID-19 Anxiety: The Significance of Direct Wuhan Epidemic Experience.

BACKGROUND: Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study investigates the effect of daily COVID-19 news on daily anxiety and protective behaviors (e.g., wearing masks and washing hands). This study proposes that such processes, leading to self-protection, are highly likely when individuals have directly experienced the Wuhan epidemic at the beginning of 2020, which is the most serious COVID-19 outbreak in history. METHODS: The positive effect of daily COVID-19 news on daily protective behaviors through daily COVID-19 anxiety was examined in this study, which was hypothesized to be accentuated by direct Wuhan epidemic experience. An online survey based on the experience sample method (ESM) was conducted during the COVID-19 epidemic in Hebei Province, China, at the beginning of 2021, in which 82 working adults participated in a daily survey for five consecutive days. Once a day during the five-day period, the participants reported their daily COVID-19 news exposure, daily COVID-19 anxiety, and daily protective behaviors. Wuhan epidemic experience was measured by the place of residence of the participants during the 2020 Wuhan epidemic through a separate general survey conducted before the ESM survey. RESULTS: Analysis of 392 day-level data confirmed the positive link between daily COVID-19 news and daily protective behaviors, mediated by daily COVID-19 anxiety (b = 0.03, SE = 0.01, p = 0.018). Furthermore, the mediated effect was significant for the participants with direct COVID-19 experience in Wuhan in 2020 (b = 0.05, SE = 0.03, p = 0.041) but not significant for those without direct experience in Wuhan (b = 0.01, SE = 0.01, p = 0.461). Thus, the results confirmed the positive moderating role of Wuhan epidemic experience. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis reveals the psychological mechanism through which COVID-19 information promotes self-protection measures to control the infectious disease and highlights the importance of direct COVID-19 experience in generating such an effect.

Resonance-Induced Stimuli-Responsive Capacity Modulation of Organic Ultralong Room Temperature Phosphorescence.

Organic ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (OURTP) materials having stimuli-responsive attributes have attracted great attention due to their great potential in a wide variety of advanced applications. It is of fundamental importance but challengeable to develop stimuli-responsive OURTP materials, especially such materials with modulated optoelectronic properties in a controlled manner probably due to the lack of an authentic construction approach. Here, we propose an effective strategy for OURTP materials with controllably regulated stimuli-responsive properties by engineering the resonance linkage between flexible chain and phosphor units. A quantitative parameter to demonstrate the stimuli-responsive capacity is also established by the responsivity rate constant. The designed OURTP materials demonstrate efficient photoactivated OURTP with lifetimes up to 724 ms and tunable responsivity rate constants ranging from 0.132 to 0.308 min-1 upon continuous UV irradiation. Moreover, the applications of stimuli-responsive resonance OURTP materials have been illustrated by the rewritable paper for snapshot and Morse code for multiple information encryption. Our works, which enable the accomplishment of OURTP materials capable of on-demand manipulated optical properties, demonstrate a viable design to explore smart OURTP materials, giving deep insights into the dynamically stimuli-responsive process.

Recent Advances on Host-Guest Material Systems toward Organic Room Temperature Phosphorescence.

The design and characterization of purely organic room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials for optoelectronic applications is currently the focus of research in the field of organic electronics. Particularly, with the merits of preparation controllability and modulation flexibility, host-guest material systems are encouraging candidates that can prepare high-performance RTP materials. By regulating the interaction between host and guest molecules, it can effectively control the quantum efficiency, luminescent lifetime, and color of host-guest RTP materials, and even produce RTP emission with stimuli-responsive features, holding tremendous potential in diverse applications such as encryption and anti-counterfeiting, organic light-emitting diodes, sensing, optical recording, etc. Here a roundup of rapid achievement in construction strategies, molecule systems, and diversity of applications of host-guest material systems is outlined. Intrinsic correlations between the molecular properties and a survey of recent significant advances in the development of host-guest RTP materials divided into three systems including rigid matrix, exciplex, and sensitization are presented. Providing an insightful understanding of host-guest RTP materials and offering a promising platform for high throughput screening of RTP systems with inherent advantages of simple material preparation, low-cost, versatile resource, and controllably modulated properties for a wide range of applications is intended.

MIR99AHG inhibits EMT in pulmonary fibrosis via the miR-136-5p/USP4/ACE2 axis.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are closely related to the occurrence and development of cancer. Abnormally expressed lncRNA can be used as a diagnostic marker for cancer. In this study, we aim to investigate the clinical significance of MIR99AHG expression in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and its biological roles in LUAD progression. METHODS: The relative expression of MIR99AHG in LUAD tissues and cell lines was analyzed using public databases and RT-qPCR. The biological functions of MIR99AHG were investigated using a loss-of-function approach. The effect of MIR99AHG on lung fibrosis was assessed by scratch assay, invasion assay and lung fibrosis rat model. FISH, luciferase reporter assay and immunofluorescence were performed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. RESULTS: LncRNA MIR99AHG expression level was downregulated in LUAD tissues and cell lines. Low MIR99AHG levels were associated with poorer patient overall survival. Functional analysis showed that MIR99AHG is associated with the LUAD malignant phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic studies showed that, MIR99AHG functions as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to antagonize miR-136-5p-mediated ubiquitin specific protease 4 (USP4) degradation, thereby unregulated the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a downstream target gene of USP4, which in turn affected alveolar type II epithelial cell fibrosis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In summary, the MIR99AHG/miR-136-5p/USP4/ACE2 signalling axis regulates lung fibrosis and EMT, thus inhibiting LUAD progression. CONCLUSION: This study showed that downregulated MIR99AHG leads to the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, overexpression of MIR99AHG may provide a new approach to preventing LUAD progression.

Will Polycrystalline Platinum Tip Sliding on a Gold(111) Surface Produce Regular Stick-Slip Friction?

Friction measurements by an atomic force microscope (AFM) frequently showed regular stick-slip friction signals with atomic-scale resolutions. Typically, for an AFM metal tip sliding on a metal crystal surface, the microstructure of the tip made from the thermally evaporated metal coating on a silicon cantilever was polycrystalline. Our detailed molecular dynamics(MD) simulations of a polycrystalline Pt tip (R = 10 nm in radius) sliding on an Au(111) surface revealed how the geometry of the polycrystalline tip took effect on the friction behavior at the contact interface. We found that the apex of the Pt tip with multiple grains near the edge of contact could induce severe plastic deformations of the gold substrate, leading to irregular stick-slip frictions upon sliding. Simulation results showed that in order to achieve a clear stick-slip friction signal with single atomic slips, the apex of the Pt tip must adopt a single crystalline protrusion without any neighboring grains involved in the metal contact. We showed that such a single crystalline protrusion, which presumably could be achieved during initial run-in or wear-out of high-energy Pt atoms in the neighboring grains, was passivated by a large number of gold atoms due to metal adhesion in the contact periphery. Using such a crystalline protrusion tip, we demonstrated that the stick-slip friction produced was very "tolerant" to the adhesion of a large number of gold atoms on the tip apex. We further showed that AFM tip mass used in MD simulations also played an important role in determining the transition between friction regimes, which could be well explained by the Prandtl-Tomlinson thermal activation model.

Evaluation of anti-tick efficiency in rabbits induced by DNA vaccines encoding Haemaphysalis longicornis lipocalin homologue.

Haemaphysalis longicornis is an obligate haematophagous ectoparasite, transmitting a variety of pathogens, which brings great damage to human health and animal husbandry development. Lipocalins (LIP) are a family of proteins that transport small hydrophobic molecules and also involve in immune regulation, such as the regulation of cell homeostasis, inhibiting the host's inflammatory response and resisting the contractile responses in host blood vessels. Therefore, it is one of the candidate antigens for vaccines. Based on previous studies, we constructed the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-HlLIP of LIP homologue from H. longicornis (HlLIP). ELISA results showed that rabbits immunized with pcDNA3.1-HlLIP produced higher anti-rHlLIP antibody levels compared with the pcDNA3.1 group, indicating that pcDNA3.1-HlLIP induced the humoral immune response of host. Adult H. longicornis infestation trial in rabbits demonstrated that the engorgement weight, oviposition and hatchability of H. longicornis fed on rabbits immunized with pcDNA3.1-HlLIP decreased by 7.07%, 14.30% and 11.70% respectively, compared with that of the pcDNA3.1 group. In brief, DNA vaccine of pcDNA3.1-HlLIP provided immune protection efficiency of 30% in rabbits. This study demonstrated that pcDNA3.1-HlLIP can partially protect rabbits against H. longicornis, and it is possible to develop a new candidate antigen against ticks.

A modified lung ultrasound score to evaluate short-term clinical outcomes of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

BACKGROUND: Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a useful tool for assessing the severity of lung disease, without radiation exposure. However, there is little data on the practicality of LUS in assessing the severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and evaluating short-term clinical outcomes. We adapted a LUS score to evaluate BPD severity and assess the reliability of mLUS score correlated with short-term clinical outcomes. METHODS: Prospective diagnostic accuracy study was designed to enroll preterm infants with gestational age < 34 weeks. Lung ultrasonography was performed at 36 weeks postmenstrual age. The diagnostic and predictive values of new modified lung ultrasound (mLUS) scores based on eight standard sections were compared with classic lung ultrasound (cLUS) scores. RESULTS: A total of 128 infants were enrolled in this cohort, including 30 without BPD; 31 with mild BPD; 23 with moderate BPD and 44 with severe BPD. The mLUS score was significantly correlated with the short-term clinical outcomes, superior to cLUS score. The mLUS score well correlated with moderate and severe BPD (AUC = 0.813, 95% CI 0.739-0.888) and severe BPD (AUC = 0.801, 95% CI 0.728-0.875), which were superior to cLUS score. The ROC analysis of mLUS score to evaluate the other short-term outcomes also showed significant superiority to cLUS score. The optimal cutoff points for mLUS score were 14 for moderate and severe BPD and 16 for severe BPD. CONCLUSIONS: The mLUS score correlates significantly with short-term clinical outcomes and well evaluates these outcomes in preterm infants.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals an association of gibel carp fatty liver with ferroptosis pathway.

BACKGROUND: Fatty liver has become a main problem that causes huge economic losses in many aquaculture modes. It is a common physiological or pathological phenomenon in aquaculture, but the causes and occurring mechanism are remaining enigmatic. METHODS: Each three liver samples from the control group of allogynogenetic gibel carp with normal liver and the overfeeding group with fatty liver were collected randomly for the detailed comparison of histological structure, lipid accumulation, transcriptomic profile, latent pathway identification analysis (LPIA), marker gene expression, and hepatocyte mitochondria analyses. RESULTS: Compared to normal liver, larger hepatocytes and more lipid accumulation were observed in fatty liver. Transcriptomic analysis between fatty liver and normal liver showed a totally different transcriptional trajectory. GO terms and KEGG pathways analyses revealed several enriched pathways in fatty liver, such as lipid biosynthesis, degradation accumulation, peroxidation, or metabolism and redox balance activities. LPIA identified an activated ferroptosis pathway in the fatty liver. qPCR analysis confirmed that gpx4, a negative regulator of ferroptosis, was significantly downregulated while the other three positively regulated marker genes, such as acsl4, tfr1 and gcl, were upregulated in fatty liver. Moreover, the hepatocytes of fatty liver had more condensed mitochondria and some of their outer membranes were almost ruptured. CONCLUSIONS: We reveal an association between ferroptosis and fish fatty liver for the first time, suggesting that ferroptosis might be activated in liver fatty. Therefore, the current study provides a clue for future studies on fish fatty liver problems.

Neutrophil-to-Apolipoprotein A1 Ratio Predicted Overall Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Transarterial Chemoembolization.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive capability of neutrophil-to-apolipoprotein A1 ratio (NAR) for predicting overall survival (OS) among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated the clinical features of 554 patients with HCC receiving TACE and assessed NAR's predictive value for OS with 222 patients (the discovery cohort) and 332 patients (the validation cohort). The association of NAR with circulation lectin-type oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1-positive (LOX-1+ ) polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) was illustrated. RESULTS: Multivariate Cox regression revealed that lymphocyte count; Tumor, Node, Metastasis (TNM) stage; and NAR were independent prognostic factors in the discovery cohort. The validation cohort confirmed the independent prognostic value of TNM stage and NAR. Patients with low NAR (<2.7) displayed significantly increased OS in the discovery cohort (59.8 months vs. 21 months), the validation group (38.0 months vs. 23.6 months), and the total cohort (44.1 months vs. 22.0 months). A Cox proportional hazards model was used to combine Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) score with discretized NAR. C-index illustrated that NAR-integrated CLIP score was the best model compared with NAR and CLIP score. Furthermore, NAR-CLIP presented superior predictive capacity for 10-, 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-month survival compared with CLIP score by survival receiver-operator characteristic analysis in the discovery cohort, validation cohort, and total cohort. NAR was significantly associated with LOX-1+ PMN-MDSCs by linear regression. CONCLUSION: This study identified NAR as an independent predictor for OS among patients with HCC receiving TACE. NAR reflected circulation LOX-1+ PMN-MDSC level. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The present study identified neutrophil-to-apolipoprotein A1 ratio (NAR) as an independent predictor for overall survival among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving transarterial chemoembolization. NAR reflected circulation level of lectin-type oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1-positive polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

Synergistic effects of α-Mangostin and sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma: New insights into α-mangostin cytotoxicity.

Sorafenib remains the standard first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), although other clinical trials are currently underway for treatments that show better curative effects. However, some patients are not sensitive to sorafenib. α-Mangostin, extracted from the pericarp of the mangosteen, which is widely used as a traditional medicine, has anticancer and anti-proliferative properties in various types of cancers, including HCC. In the present study, we found that combining sorafenib and α-Mangostin could be synergistically toxic to HCC both in vitro and in vivo. We then demonstrated that the combination of sorafenib and α-Mangostin enhances the inhibition of cell proliferation in HCC cell lines. Combination therapy leads directly to apoptosis. In xenograft mouse models, the in vivo safety and effectivity was confirmed by a reduction in tumor size after combination treatment. RNA sequencing and protein testing showed that the expression of LRRC8A and RNF181 genes and mTOR and MAPK pathways may be associated with the synergistic effect of the two drugs. In conclusion, our results highlight the synergistic effect of the combination of sorafenib and α-Mangostin, which indicates a potential treatment for advanced HCC for patients that are not sensitive to sorafenib therapy.

Long non-coding RNA MEG3 mediates the miR-149-3p/FOXP3 axis by reducing p53 ubiquitination to exert a suppressive effect on regulatory T cell differentiation and immune escape in esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) has been implicated in the progression of esophageal cancer (EC). However, the specific mechanism of the involvement of MEG3 in EC development in relation to the regulation of immune escape remains uncertain. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of MEG3 on EC via microRNA-149-3p (miR-149-3p). METHODS: Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were initially performed in EC cells in addition to the establishment of a 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced EC mouse model aimed at evaluating the respective roles of forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), MEG3, miR-149-3p, mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) and p53 in T cell differentiation and immune escape observed in EC. RESULTS: EC tissues were found to exhibit upregulated FOXP3 and MDM2 while MEG3, p53 and miR-149-3p were all downregulated. FOXP3 was confirmed to be a target gene of miR-149-3p with our data suggesting it reduced p53 ubiquitination and degradation by means of inhibiting MDM2. P53 was enriched in the promoter of miR-149-3p to upregulate miR-149-3p. The overexpression of MEG3, p53 or miR-149-3p or silencing FOXP3 was associated with a decline in CD25+FOXP3+CD4+ T cells, IL-10+CD4+ T cells and IL-4+CD4+ T cells in spleen tissues, IL-4, and IL-10 levels as well as C-myc, N-myc and Ki-67 expression in EC mice. CONCLUSION: Collectively, MEG3 decreased FOXP3 expression and resulted in repressed regulatory T cell differentiation and immune escape in EC mice by upregulating miR-149-3p via MDM2-mediated p53.

Observation of Acoustic Skyrmions.

Despite a long history of studies, acoustic waves are generally regarded as spinless scalar waves, until recent research revealed their rich structures. Here, we report the experimental observation of skyrmion configurations in acoustic waves. We find that surface acoustic waves trapped by a designed hexagonal acoustic metasurface give rise to skyrmion lattice patterns in the dynamic acoustic velocity fields (i.e., the oscillating acoustic air flows). Using an acoustic velocity sensing technique, we directly visualize a Néel-type skyrmion configuration of the acoustic velocity fields. We further demonstrate, respectively, the controllability and robustness of the acoustic skyrmion lattices by tuning the phase differences between the acoustic sources and by introducing local perturbations in our setup. Our study unveils a fundamental acoustic phenomenon that may enable unprecedented manipulation of acoustic waves and may inspire future technologies including advanced acoustic tweezers for the control of small particles.

Effects of thermal annealing on the distribution of boron and phosphorus in p-i-n structured silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon dioxide.

Thermal annealing temperature and time dictate the microstructure of semiconductor materials such as silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs). Herein, atom probe tomography (APT) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to understand the thermal annealing temperature effects on Si NCs grown in a SiO2matrix and the distribution behaviour of boron (B) and phosphorus (P) dopant atoms. The APT results demonstrate that raising the annealing temperature promotes growth and increased P concentration of the Si NCs. The data also shows that the thermal annealing does not promote the incorporation of B atoms into Si NCs. Instead, B atoms tend to locate at the interface between the Si NCs and SiO2matrix. The DFT calculations support the APT data and reveal that oxygen vacancies regulate Si NC growth and dopant distribution. This study provides the detailed microstructure of p-type, intrinsic, and n-type Si NCs with changing annealing temperature and highlights how B and P dopants preferentially locate with respect to the Si NCs embedded in the SiO2matrix with the aid of oxygen vacancies. These findings will be useful towards future optoelectronic applications.

Strain-mediated bandgap engineering of straight and bent semiconductor nanowires.

Accurate simulation of semiconductor nanowires (NWs) under strain is challenging, especially for bent NWs. Here, we propose a simple yet efficient unit-cell model to simulate strain-mediated bandgap modulation in both straight and bent NWs. This is with consideration that uniaxlly bent NWs experience continuous compressive and tensile strains through their cross-sections. A systematic investigation of a series of III-V and II-VI semiconductors NWs in both wurtzite and zinc blende polytypes is performed using hybrid density functional theory methods. The results reveal three common trend in bandgap evolution upon application of strain. Existing experimental measurements corroborate with our predictions concerning bandgap evolution as well as direct-indirect bandgap transitions upon strain. By examining the variation of previous theoretical studies, our result further highlights the significance of geometrical relaxtion in NW simulation. This simplified model is expected to be applicable to investigations of the electronic, optoelectronic, and sensorial properties of all semiconductor NWs.

LW-213 induces cell apoptosis in human cutaneous T-cell lymphomas by activating PERK-eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP axis.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is characterized by a heterogeneous group of extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphomas, in which monoclonal T lymphocytes infiltrate the skin. LW-213, a derivative of wogonin, was found to induce cell apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). In this study, we investigated the effects of LW-213 on CTCL cells and the underlying mechanisms. We showed that LW-213 (1-25 µM) dose-dependently inhibited human CTCL cell lines (Hut-102, Hut-78, MyLa, and HH) with IC50 values of around 10 µM, meanwhile it potently inhibited primary leukemia cells derived from peripheral blood of T-cell lymphoma patients. We revealed that LW-213-induced apoptosis was accompanied by ROS formation and the release of calcium from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through IP3R-1channel. LW-213 selectively activated CHOP and induced apoptosis in Hut-102 cells via activating PERK-eIF2α-ATF4 pathway. Interestingly, the degree of apoptosis and expression of ER stress-related proteins were alleviated in the presence of either N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an ROS scavenger, or 2-aminoethyl diphenylborinate (2-APB), an IP3R-1 inhibitor, implicating ROS/calcium-dependent ER stress in LW-213-induced apoptosis. In NOD/SCID mice bearing Hut-102 cell line xenografts, administration of LW-213 (10 mg/kg, ip, every other day for 4 weeks) markedly inhibited the growth of Hut-102 derived xenografts and prolonged survival. In conclusion, our study provides a new insight into the mechanism of LW-213-induced apoptosis, suggesting the potential of LW-213 as a promising agent against CTCL.