[Cadmium Phytoremediation Effect of Sweet Sorghum Assisted with Citric Acid on Typical Parent Soil in Southern China].

Sweet sorghum has a large biomass and strong cadmium (Cd) absorption capacity, which has the potential for phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil. In order to study the Cd phytoremediation effect of sweet sorghum assisted with citric acid on the typical parent materials in southern China, a field experiment was carried out in two typical parent material farmland areas (neutral purple mud field and jute sand mud field) with Cd pollution in Hunan Province. The results showed that:① Citric acid had no inhibitory effect on the growth of sweet sorghum. After the application of citric acid, the aboveground biomass of sweet sorghum at the maturity stage increased by 10.1%-24.7%. ② Both sweet sorghum planting and citric acid application reduced the soil pH value, and the application of citric acid further reduced the soil pH value at each growth stage of sweet sorghum; this decrease was greater in the neutral purple mud field, which decreased by 0.24-0.72 units. ③ Both sweet sorghum planting and citric acid application reduced the total amount of soil Cd, and the decreases in the neutral purple mud field and jute sand mud field were 23.8%-52.2% and 17.1%-31.8%, respectively. The acid-extractable percentage of soil Cd in both places increased by 38.6%-147.7% and 4.8%-22.7%, respectively. ④ The application of citric acid could significantly increase the Cd content in various tissues of sweet sorghum. The Cd content in the aboveground part of the plant in the neutral purple mud field was higher than that in the jute sand mud field, and the Cd content in stems and leaves was 0.25-1.90 mg·kg-1 and 0.21-0.64 mg·kg-1, respectively. ⑤ After applying citric acid, the Cd extraction amount of sweet sorghum in neutral purple mud soil in the mature stage reached 47.56 g·hm-2. In summary, citric acid could enhance the efficiency of sweet sorghum in the phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil, and the effect was better in neutral purple mud fields. This technology has the potential for remediation coupled with agro-production for heavy metal-contaminated farmland.

Hepatitis B surface antigen expression impairs endoplasmic reticulum stress-related autophagic flux by decreasing LAMP2.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) drives hepatocarcinogenesis. Factors and mechanisms involved in this progression remain poorly defined, hindering the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Therefore, the mechanisms involved in the HBsAg-induced transformation of normal liver into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were investigated. Methods: Hemizygous Tg(Alb1HBV)44Bri/J mice were examined for HBsAg-induced carcinogenic events. Gene set-enrichment analysis identified significant signatures in HBsAg-transgenic mice that correlated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, unfolded protein response, autophagy and proliferation. These events were investigated by western blotting, immunohistochemical and immunocytochemical staining in 2-, 8- and 12-month-old HBsAg-transgenic mice. The results were verified in HBsAg-overexpressing Hepa1-6 cells and validated in human HBV-related HCC samples. Results: Increased BiP expression in HBsAg-transgenic mice indicated induction of the unfolded protein response. In addition, early-phase autophagy was enhanced (increased BECN1 and LC3B) and late-phase autophagy blocked (increased p62) in HBsAg-transgenic mice. Finally, HBsAg altered lysosomal acidification via ATF4- and ATF6-mediated downregulation of lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) expression. In patients, HBV-related HCC and adjacent tissues showed increased BiP, p62 and downregulated LAMP2 compared to uninfected controls. In vitro, the use of ER stress inhibitors reversed the HBsAg-related suppression of LAMP2. Furthermore, HBsAg promoted hepatocellular proliferation as indicated by Ki67, cleaved caspase-3 and AFP staining in paraffin-embedded liver sections from HBsAg-transgenic mice. These results were further verified by colony formation assays in HBsAg-expressing Hepa1-6 cells. Interestingly, inhibition of ER stress in HBsAg-overexpressing Hepa1-6 cells suppressed HBsAg-mediated cell proliferation. Conclusions: These data showed that HBsAg directly induces ER stress, impairs autophagy and promotes proliferation, thereby driving hepatocarcinogenesis. In addition, this study expanded the understanding of HBsAg-mediated intracellular events in carcinogenesis. Impact and implications: Factors and mechanisms involved in hepatocarcinogenesis driven by hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) are poorly defined, hindering the development of effective therapeutic strategies. This study showed that HBsAg-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress suppressed LAMP2, thereby mediating autophagic injury. The present data suggest that restoring LAMP2 function in chronic HBV infection may have both antiviral and anti-cancer effects. This study has provided insights into the role of HBsAg-mediated intracellular events in carcinogenesis and thereby has relevance for future drug development.

Efficacy and safety of perampanel as the first add-on therapy for children with epilepsy: A real-world multicenter prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVE: Perampanel (PER) is a new anti-seizure medication (ASM) with a novel mechanism of action. This study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of PER when added to monotherapy in children and adolescents (age, 4-18 years) with epilepsy. METHOD: A multicenter prospective observational study was performed on children and adolescents (age, 4-18 years) with epilepsy who did not respond to ASM monotherapy between July 2021 and October 2022. PER was used as the first add-on therapy for the enrolled patients. Seizure-free rate, response rate, inefficacy rate, and drug retention rate were the main observation indicators during the 6 months of treatment. The patients were grouped based on treatment efficacy, and factors affecting efficacy were statistically analyzed. Adverse reactions were also recorded. RESULTS: In this study, 93 patients with epilepsy were enrolled; among them, 9 patients were lost to follow-up (attrition rate, 9.7 %), and 84 were included in the analysis. Five patients with unknown efficacy discontinued taking PER early due to intolerable adverse reactions, and 79 patients (48 males, 31 females; mean age, 11.0 ± 3.9 years) finally remained. Genetic epilepsy and structural epilepsy were found in 22 patients and 36 patients, respectively. The mean duration of epilepsy history at the time of PER initiation was 4.0 ± 3.8 years, and the mean maintenance dosage of add-on PER was 4.5 ± 1.8 mg/day (equivalent to 0.14 ± 0.07 mg/kg/day). Among the 79 patients, 28 patients were diagnosed with epilepsy syndrome, including 13 patients having self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes, among whom 9 patients were seizure-free after adding PER during the 6-month follow-up (seizure-free rate, 69.2 %). For these 79 patients, the seizure-free, response, and retention rates at the end of follow-up were 45.6 %, 74.7 %, and 82.1 %, respectively. Among the 84 patients included in the analyses, adverse reactions occurred in 20 patients, mainly dizziness (8 patients), somnolence (6 patients), and irritability (4 patients), and 4 patients developed two adverse reactions simultaneously. Univariate analyses revealed statistically significant differences in efficacy between groups with structural and non-structural epilepsy and between groups with different baseline concomitant ASMs, suggesting that these factors affected the efficacy of PER as the first add-on therapy. CONCLUSION: The overall response rate of PER as the first add-on therapy for children and adolescents with epilepsy who were followed up for 6 months was 74.7 %, indicating a relatively favorable safety and tolerability profile. The group of the baseline concomitant ASM administered and the etiological classification of epilepsy as either structural or non-structural were the factors influencing the efficacy of PER as the first add-on therapy.

Recent progress in multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters with an efficient reverse intersystem crossing process.

Multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence (MR-TADF) emitters have become an active research topic at the forefront of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) owing to their excellent photophysical properties such as high efficiency and narrow emission characteristics. However, MR-TADF materials always exhibit slow reverse intersystem crossing rates (kRISC) due to the large energy gap and small spin-orbit coupling values between singlet and triplet excited states. In order to optimize the RISC process, strategies such as heavy-atom-integration, metal perturbation, π-conjugation extension and peripheral decoration of donor/acceptor units have been proposed to construct efficient MR-TADF materials for high-performance OLEDs. This article provides an overview of the recent progress in MR-TADF emitters with an efficient RISC process, focusing on the structure-activity relationship between the molecular structure, optoelectronic feature, and OLED performance. Finally, the potential challenges and future prospects of MR-TADF materials are discussed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the opportunities for efficient narrowband OLEDs.

Double charge transfer processes enable a green multiple resonance-induced thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter for an efficient narrowband OLED.

Benefitting from short-range charge transfer (SR-CT) and through-space charge transfer (TSCT) effects, an efficient green narrowband emitter, BNDCN, was developed. Owing to the synergistic effect of double CT processes, a BNDCN-based organic light-emitting diode showed a high external quantum efficiency of 32.3%.

Physiological tolerance of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and changes of rhizospheric bacterial communities in response to Cd and Pb in the contaminated soil.

Woody plants possess great potential for phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil. A pot trial was conducted to study growth, physiological response, and Cd and Pb uptake and distribution in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), as well as the rhizosphere bacterial communities in Cd and Pb co-contaminated soil. The results showed that R. pseudoacacia L. had strong physiological regulation ability in response to Cd and Pb stress in contaminated soil. The total chlorophyll, malondialdehyde (MDA), soluble protein, and sulfhydryl contents, as well as antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase) activities in R. pseudoacacia L. leaves under the 40 mg·kg-1 Cd and 1000 mg·kg-1 Pb co-contaminated soil were slightly altered. Cd uptake in R. pseudoacacia L. roots and stems increased, while the Pb content in the shoots of R. pseudoacacia L. under the combined Cd and Pb treatments decreased in relative to that in the single Pb treatments. The bacterial α-diversity indices (e.g., Sobs, Shannon, Simpson, Ace, and Chao) of R. pseudoacacia L. rhizosphere soil under Cd and Pb stress were changed slightly relative to the CK treatment. However, Cd and Pb stress could significantly (p < 0.05) alter the rhizosphere soil microbial communities. According to heat map and LEfSe (Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size) analysis, Bacillus, Sphingomonas, Terrabacter, Roseiflexaceae, Paenibacillus, and Myxococcaceae at the genus level were notably (p < 0.05) accumulated in the Cd- and/or Pb-contaminated soil. Furthermore, the MDA content was notably (p < 0.05) negatively correlated with the relative abundances of Isosphaeraceae, Gaiellales, and Gemmatimonas. The total biomass of R. pseudoacacia L. was positively (p < 0.05) correlated with the relative abundances of Xanthobacteraceae and Vicinamibacreraceae. Network analysis showed that Cd and Pb combined stress might enhance the modularization of bacterial networks in the R. pseudoacacia L. rhizosphere soil. Thus, the assembly of the soil bacterial communities in R. pseudoacacia L. rhizosphere may improve the tolerance of plants in response to Cd and/or Pb stress.

Tg1.4HBV-s-rec mice, a crossbred hepatitis B virus-transgenic model, develop mild hepatitis.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-transgenic mice exhibit competent innate immunity and are therefore an ideal model for considering intrinsic or cell-based mechanisms in HBV pathophysiology. A highly replicative model that has been little used, let alone characterized, is the Tg1.4HBV-s-rec strain derived from cross breeding of HBV-transgenic mouse models that either accumulate (Alb/HBs, Tg[Alb1-HBV]Bri44) or lack (Tg1.4HBV-s-mut) the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Tg1.4HBV-s-rec hepatocytes secreted HBsAg, Hepatitis B extracellular antigen (HBeAg) and produced HBV virions. Transmission electron microscopy visualised viral particles (Tg1.4HBV-s-rec), nuclear capsid formations (Tg1.4HBV-s-mut and Tg1.4HBV-s-rec) and endoplasmic reticulum malformations (Alb/HBs). Viral replication in Tg1.4HBV-s-rec and Tg1.4HBV-s-mut differed in HBsAg expression and interestingly in the distribution of HBV core antigen (HBcAg) and HBV × protein. While in Tg1.4HBV-s-mut hepatocytes, the HBcAg was located in the cytoplasm, in Tg1.4HBV-s-rec hepatocytes, the HBcAg appeared in the nuclei, suggesting a more productive replication. Finally, Tg1.4HBV-s-rec mice showed symptoms of mild hepatitis, with reduced liver function and elevated serum transaminases, which appeared to be related to natural killer T cell activation. In conclusion, the study of Alb/HBs, Tg1.4HBV-s-mut and their F1 progeny provides a powerful tool to elucidate HBV pathophysiology, especially in the early HBeAg-positive phases of chronic infection and chronic hepatitis.

Manganese vacancies and tunnel pillars synergistically improve the electrochemical performance of MnO2 in aqueous Zn ion batteries.

High-oxidation niobium was used for the first time in manganese dioxide cation doping to reduce the diffusion resistance of zinc ions, in order to improve its kinetic and electrochemical properties. The results show that using a simple hydrothermal process, all niobium ions were doped into the manganese dioxide lattice. As niobium(v) was incorporated into the [2 × 2] tunnel of α-MnO2, it induced manganese vacancies, which reduced the diffusion resistance of Zn2+ in manganese dioxide, improving the migration kinetics. It acted as a tunnel pillar, avoiding the collapse of the tunnel structure during the repeated insertion/extraction of the Zn2+ process, and prevented a rapid degradation of the cycling performance. In particular, the sample with the Nb/Mn molar ratio of 0.003 exhibited the best kinetic reversibility and rate performance. After 400 cycles at 1C, the capacity retention of Nb-doped MnO2 significantly increased to 89%, which was only 55% for the undoped sample. Meanwhile, at a power density of 400 W kg-1, it presented the highest energy density of 765 W h kg-1 due to the existing doping of metal ions.

A 3D tetrathiafulvalene-based metal-organic framework with intramolecular charge transfer for efficient near-infrared photothermal conversion.

The selection of metal centers can endow donor-metal-accepter (D-M-A) type MOFs with progressive framework dimensions. 3D Cd-based MOFs with intramolecular charge transfer caused by D-M-A exhibit a satisfactory photothermal conversion efficiency of 35.7%, with the temperature rapidly rising from 25 °C to 201 °C in 7 s under 808 nm laser irradiation.

Design of carbazole-based platinum complexes with steric hindrance for efficient organic light-emitting diodes.

The construction of platinum complexes with high steric hindrance is expected to suppress triple-triplet annihilation and π-π stacking to achieve high-performance organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with low efficiency roll-off. Herein, two large steric hindrance platinum complexes (N-CzPhPtacac and N-CzCF3PhPtacac) were prepared by taking advantage of steric hindrance between the phenyl group on carbazole and the functional group (phenyl and trifluoromethyl substituted phenyl) at the 3-position of a pyridine moiety. Due to the similar electron cloud distribution and gap difference between the HOMO and LUMO, the two complexes showed similar orange-red emission peaks at 590 and 596 nm with high PL quantum yields of 90% and 92% and short excited state lifetimes of 2.77 and 3.08 µs in doped films, respectively. Consequently, OLEDs based on N-CzPhPtacac and N-CzCF3PhPtacac showed maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) values of 15.4% and 18.9%, respectively. Importantly, benefitting from the more stretched spatial configuration from the -CF3 effect, the corresponding OLED exhibited a lower efficiency roll-off, with an EQE of 18.1% at 1000 cd m-2.

Nuclear translocation of YAP drives BMI-associated hepatocarcinogenesis in hepatitis B virus infection.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression. The aim of this study was to mechanistically investigate the involvement of Hippo signalling in HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)-dependent neoplastic transformation. METHODS: Liver tissue and hepatocytes from HBsAg-transgenic mice were examined for the Hippo cascade and proliferative events. Functional experiments in mouse hepatoma cells included knockdown, overexpression, luciferase reporter assays and chromatin immunoprecipitation. Results were validated in HBV-related HCC biopsies. RESULTS: Hepatic expression signatures in HBsAg-transgenic mice correlated with YAP responses, cell cycle control, DNA damage and spindle events. Polyploidy and aneuploidy occurred in HBsAg-transgenic hepatocytes. Suppression and inactivation of MST1/2 led to the loss of YAP phosphorylation and the induction of BMI1 expression in vivo and in vitro. Increased BMI1 directly mediated cell proliferation associated with decreased level of p16INK4a , p19ARF , p53 and Caspase 3 as well as increased Cyclin D1 and γ-H2AX expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and the analysis of mutated binding sites in dual-luciferase reporter assays confirmed that the YAP/TEAD4 transcription factor complex bound and activated the Bmi1 promoter. In chronic hepatitis B patients, paired liver biopsies of non-tumour and tumour tissue indicated a correlation between YAP expression and the abundance of BMI1. In a proof-of-concept, treatment of HBsAg-transgenic mice with YAP inhibitor verteporfin directly suppressed the BMI1-related cell cycle. CONCLUSION: HBV-associated proliferative HCC might be related to the HBsAg-YAP-BMI1 axis and offer a potential target for the development of new therapeutic approaches.

Poly(I:C) Induces Distinct Liver Cell Type-Specific Responses in Hepatitis B Virus-Transgenic Mice In Vitro, but Fails to Induce These Signals In Vivo.

Immunopathology in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is driven by innate and adaptive immunity. Whether the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) affects hepatic antiviral signalling was investigated in HBV-transgenic mouse models that either accumulate (Alb/HBs, Tg[Alb1HBV]Bri44), lack (Tg1.4HBV-s-mut3) or secrete (Tg1.4HBV-s-rec (F1, Tg1.4HBV-s-mut × Alb/HBs) the HBsAg. Herein, the responsiveness of TLR3 and RIG-I in primary parenchymal and non-parenchymal liver cells was determined in vitro and in vivo. Cell type-specific and mouse strain-dependent interferon, cytokine and chemokine expression were observed by LEGENDplex™ and validated by quantitative PCR. In vitro, the hepatocytes, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells of Tg1.4HBV-s-rec mice showed poly(I:C) susceptibilities similar to the wild-type controls, while in the remaining leucocyte fraction the interferon, cytokine and chemokine induction was reduced. On the contrary, poly(I:C)-injected 1.4TgHBV-s-rec mice showed suppressed interferon, cytokine and chemokine levels in hepatocytes but increased levels in the leucocyte fraction. Thus, we concluded that liver cells of Tg1.4HBV-s-rec mice, which produce HBV particles and release the HBsAg, responded to exogenous TLR3/RIG-I stimuli in vitro but exhibited a tolerogenic environment in vivo.

Low incidence of hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients with hematological malignancies receiving novel anticancer drugs: A report from a high epidemic area and literature review.

BACKGROUND: More and more novel anticancer drugs have been approved for patients with hematological malignancies in recent years, but HBV reactivation (HBV-R) data in this population is very scarce. This study aimed to evaluated HBV-R risk in patients with hematological malignancies receiving novel anticancer drugs. METHODS: HBV markers and serum HBV DNA levels of patients with hematological malignancies receiving novel anticancer drugs in a tertiary cancer hospital were retrospectively collected. HBV-R risk in the whole cohort and subgroups was described. The relevant literature was reviewed to make a pooled analysis. RESULTS: Of 845 patients receiving novel anticancer drugs, 258 (30.5%) were considered at risk for HBV-R. The median duration of exposure to novel drugs was 5.6 (0.1-67.6) months. The incidence of HBV-R was 2.1% in patients with past HBV infection without prophylactic antiviral treatment (PAT) and 1.2% in all patients at risk of HBV-R. In a pooled analysis of 11 studies with 464 patients, the incidence of HBV-R was 2.4% (95% CI: 1.3-4.2) in all at-risk patients receiving novel anticancer drugs and 0.6% (95% CI: 0.03-3.5) in patients with anticancer drugs plus PAT. The incidence of death due to HBV-R was 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1-1.6) in all at-risk patients and 18.2% (95% CI: 3.2-47.7) in patients with HBV-R. CONCLUSION: Most episodes of HBV-R are preventable, and most cases with HBV-R are manageable. We recommend that novel anticancer drugs should not be intentionally avoided when treating cancer patients with HBV infection.

An indolo[3,2,1-jk]carbazole-fused multiple resonance-induced thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter for an efficient narrowband OLED.

By inserting a tricoordinate B atom into an indolo[3,2,1-jk]carbazole precursor, an efficient fused multiple resonance-induced thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitter was prepared, which exhibits a narrowband emission and a considerable reverse intersystem crossing rate. The corresponding organic light-emitting diode displays an external quantum efficiency of 27.2% with a suppressed efficiency roll-off.

Co-application of combined amendment (limestone and sepiolite) and Si fertilizer reduces rice Cd uptake and transport through Cd immobilization and Si-Cd antagonism.

Limestone and sepiolite combined amendment (LS) and silicon (Si) fertilizers are commonly applied for the remediation of Cd-polluted paddy soil. However, it is difficult to further decrease cadmium (Cd) accumulation in rice grains by the individual application of LS or Si fertilizer to heavily Cd-polluted paddy fields. Two seasons of continuous field experiments were conducted in heavily Cd-polluted soil to study how the co-application of LS and Si fertilizer (namely soil-applied Si and foliar-sprayed Si) influences Cd and Si bioavailability in soil and Cd uptake and transport in rice. The results indicated that LS co-applied with soil-applied Si fertilizer treatments can enhance pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and available Si content in soil by 0.56-1.26 units, 19.3%-57.2%, and 14.7%-58.9% (p < 0.05), respectively, and reduce the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) extractable Cd content in soil by 26.5%-49.8% (p < 0.05) relative to the control. Furthermore, the co-application of LS and soil and foliar-sprayed Si fertilizer treatments reduced the Cd content in brown rice by 18.8%-70.6% (p < 0.05) compared with the control. Particularly, the brown rice Cd content under the co-application treatment (4500 kg/ha of soil applied LS, 90 kg/ha of Si fertilizer, and 0.4 g/L of foliar-sprayed Si fertilizer) was below 0.20 mg/kg in both seasons. Meanwhile, the Si content in rice was considerably enhanced by LS co-applied with Si fertilizer and negatively (p < 0.05) correlated with the rice Cd content. Therefore, the reduction of Cd bioavailability in soil and the antagonistic effect between Cd and Si in rice might be the key factors regulating Cd accumulation in rice via the co-application of LS and Si fertilizer.

Plasma EBV-DNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cell EBV-DNA have disparate clinical relevance in patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL) is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related hematological malignancy. The presence of EBV-DNA in peripheral blood is a widely used ENKTCL tumor marker. However, there is no consensus on the preferred blood specimen type for EBV testing. Furthermore, discordance between EBV-based and imaging-based disease assessments is common, and how to interpret this discordance is important. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed the data of ENKTCL patients in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou university and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. All EBV-DNA and imaging-based disease assessment data were collected at diagnosis, during treatment, at the end of treatment, and during follow-up. We compared matched plasma EBV-DNA and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) EBV-DNA and matched EBV-based and imaging-based assessments to uncover their clinical relevance. RESULT: A total of 450 patients with adequate data were included, of whom 278 had plasma EBV-DNA data, 250 had PBMC EBV-DNA data, and 78 had matched plasma and PBMC EBV-DNA data. No significant correlations were found between PBMC and plasma EBV-DNA and between PBMC EBV-DNA and imaging-based assessment, but patients with positive PBMC EBV-DNA at diagnosis or intermittently/persistently positive PBMC EBV-DNA during follow-up had poorer survival. In contrast, plasma EBV-DNA strongly correlated with lymphoma status. Detectable pre- and post-treatment plasma EBV-DNA was associated with significantly worse survival. Patients with early-stage disease who had detectable plasma EBV-DNA at the end of treatment shared similar survival to those with advanced-stage disease, even if their imaging-based assessments were negative. For disease relapse monitoring, 78 (55.7%) episodes of relapse were detected by both imaging and plasma EBV-DNA; 58 (41.4%) detected by plasma EBV-DNA earlier than imaging, with a median time of 9.3 (0.3 - 37.8) months; and only 4 (2.9%) detected by plasma EBV-DNA later than imaging. The sensitivities of plasma EBV-DNA, PET/CT, and CT/MRI were 97.1%, 76.8%, and 45.1%, respectively, and their specificities were 91.7%, 84.2%, and 96.7%, respectively. Analysis of EBV kinetic patterns in EBV+/imaging- episodes revealed that relapse occurred only in patients with intermittently/persistently positive plasma EBV-DNA. Persistent plasma EBV+ was also seen in patients after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Occasional EBV+ was not associated with relapse. CONCLUSION: Plasma and PBMC EBV-DNA have different clinical relevance in ENKTCL patients. PBMC EBV-DNA does not correlate with imaging-based disease assessment. PBMC or even whole blood should not be used for response evaluation and relapse monitoring. However, PBMC EBV-DNA still has prognostic value. Plasma EBV-DNA is strongly related to tumor status and is not only a prognosticator at diagnosis and end of treatment, but also a sensitive marker in relapse monitoring compared to PET/CT and CT/MRI. The specificity of plasma EBV-DNA is relatively low, but when EBV-DNA kinetic patterns are considered, it can identify at-risk patients.

Multiple-Resonance-Induced Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Materials Based on Indolo[3,2,1-jk]carbazole with an Efficient Narrowband Pure-Green Electroluminescence.

Herein, we report two multiple-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters (VTCzBN and TCz-VTCzBN) based on indolo[3,2,1-jk]carbazole unit and boron-nitrogen skeletons, whose emissions peaking at 496 and 521 nm with full width at half maximum of 34 and 29 nm, respectively. Meanwhile, fast rate constants of reverse intersystem crossing of above 106  s-1 are obtained due to small singlet-triplet energy gaps and large spin-orbital coupling values. Notably, planar molecular structures along the transition dipole moment direction endow them with high horizontal emitting dipole ratios of up to 94 %. Consequently, the corresponding organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) show the maximum external quantum efficiencies of 31.7 % and 32.2 %, respectively. Particularly, OLED with TCz-VTCzBN display ultra-pure green emission with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinates of (0.22, 0.71), consistent with the green display standard of the National Television System Committee.

Charge-Discharge Mechanism of High-Entropy Co-Free Spinel Oxide Toward Li+ Storage Examined Using Operando Quick-Scanning X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

Transition metal high-entropy oxides (HEOs) are an attractive class of anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, owing to the multiple electroactive centers of HEOs, the Li+ storage mechanism is complex and debated in the literature. In this work, operando quick-scanning X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is used to study the lithiation/delithiation mechanism of the Cobalt-free spinel (CrMnFeNiCu)3 O4 HEO. A monochromator oscillation frequency of 2 Hz is used and 240 spectra are integrated to achieve a 2 min time resolution. High-photon-flux synchrotron radiation is employed to increase the XAS sensitivity. The results indicate that the Cu2+ and Ni2+ cations are reduced to their metallic states during lithiation but their oxidation reactions are less favorable compared to the other elements upon delithiation. The Mn2+/3+ and Fe2+/3+ cations undergo two-step conversion reactions to form metallic phases, with MnO and FeO as the intermediate species, respectively. During delithiation, the oxidation of Mn occurs prior to that of Fe. The Cr3+ cations are reduced to CrO and then Cr0 during lithiation. A relatively large overpotential is required to activate the Cr reoxidation reaction. The Cr3+ cations are found after delithiation. These results can guide the material design of HEOs for improving LIB performance.

Upregulated YAP promotes oncogenic CTNNB1 expression contributing to molecular pathology of hepatoblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatoblastoma (HB) is one of the most common cancers in children. Recent studies have shown that the occurrence of nuclear accumulation of ß-catenin reaches 90%-100% because of the anomalous activation of the Wnt pathway in HB patients. Furthermore, emerging studies have shown that concomitant activated forms of YAP and ß-catenin trigger the formation and progression of HB. YAP might play a vital role in ß-catenin-mediated HB development. However, the molecular mechanisms by which YAP/TEAD4 transcription factor regulates CTNNB1 underlying HB pathogenesis are still unclear. PROCEDURE: YAP and CTNNB1 expression and correlation were analyzed by a combination of network enrichment analysis and gene set enrichment analysis of the public microarray datasets (GSE131329 and GSE81928). The protein levels of YAP and ß-catenin were further validated by Western blotting in paired patients' samples. The direct interplay between YAP/TEAD4 and the promoter region of CTNNB1 was proven by the combination of dual-luciferase report assay and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. RESULTS: YAP-conserved signature and WNT signaling pathway were significantly enriched in HB patients, with upregulated expression of YAP and ß-catenin compared to non-HB patients. Further functional assays demonstrated that YAP/TEAD4 transcription factor complex could bind to the CTNNB1 promoter region directly to promote ß-catenin expression and cell proliferation. Targeting the YAP/TEAD4 complex with a specific small-molecule compound markedly suppressed HepaG2 cell proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: As the upstream transcription factor of CTNNB1, YAP/TEAD4 is a promising target for the treatment of HB patients with high levels of YAP and ß-catenin.

Chiral Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Emitters-Based Efficient Circularly Polarized Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Featuring Low Efficiency Roll-Off.

Direct emission of circularly polarized light from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is a research hotspot as it could increase the efficiency and significantly simplify device architecture of OLED-based 3D displays. In this study, R/S-OBS-Cz and R/S-OBS-TCz with axial chirality were efficiently prepared by using a stable chiral octahydro-binaphthol unit, carbazole/3,6-ditert-butylcarbazole donors, and a 5,5,10,10-tetraoxide acceptor. The chiral unit-acceptor-donor structure provides them not only thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) characteristics with minor singlet-triplet energy gaps of 0.04 and 0.05 eV but also obvious circularly polarized photoluminescence (CPPL) phenomenon with dissymmetry factors of 8.7 × 10-4 and 6.4 × 10-4 in codoped films. Meanwhile, the CP-OLEDs prepared by enantiomers exhibit good device performances with the maximum external quantum efficiency reaching 20.3% and ideal efficiency roll-off as well as obvious CPEL properties with a |gEL| factor up to 1.0 × 10-3.