23 research outputs found
Data_Sheet_1_The brain entropy dynamics in resting state.docx
As a novel measure for irregularity and complexity of the spontaneous fluctuations of brain activities, brain entropy (BEN) has attracted much attention in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies during the last decade. Previous studies have shown its associations with cognitive and mental functions. While most previous research assumes BEN is approximately stationary during scan sessions, the brain, even at its resting state, is a highly dynamic system. Such dynamics could be characterized by a series of reoccurring whole-brain patterns related to cognitive and mental processes. The present study aims to explore the time-varying feature of BEN and its potential links with general cognitive ability. We adopted a sliding window approach to derive the dynamical brain entropy (dBEN) of the whole-brain functional networks from the HCP (Human Connectome Project) rs-fMRI dataset that includes 812 young healthy adults. The dBEN was further clustered into 4 reoccurring BEN states by the k-means clustering method. The fraction window (FW) and mean dwell time (MDT) of one BEN state, characterized by the extremely low overall BEN, were found to be negatively correlated with general cognitive abilities (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and processing speed). Another BEN state, characterized by intermediate overall BEN and low within-state BEN located in DMN, ECN, and part of SAN, its FW, and MDT were positively correlated with the above cognitive abilities. The results of our study advance our understanding of the underlying mechanism of BEN dynamics and provide a potential framework for future investigations in clinical populations.</p
Perspective of Chiral Colloidal Semiconductor Nanocrystals: Opportunity and Challenge
Chiral
colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) are an emerging
type of chiral materials. These chiral NCs exhibit unique quantum
confinement-determined optical activity and have aroused much interest
in the multidisciplinary fields of chemistry, physics and biology.
Herein, the state-of-the-art progresses of their rational synthesis,
fundamental understanding and potential application are summarized.
In addition, a personal view about the future development of chiral
semiconductor NCs is offered
Geometry-Modulated Magnetoplasmonic Circular Dichroism of Gold Nanobipyramids
Knowledge
of the critical factors in manipulating the optical activities
in plasmonic nanostructures affords the basis for developing fields,
including advanced optical nanodevices, separation, and detection/diagnosis.
The magnetic field provides an external and straightforward route
to produce magnetoplasmonic circular dichroism, which is highly sensitive
to the geometry of plasmonic nanostructure. Here, we report for the
first time the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) responses of a Au
nanobipyramid (NBP) with symmetry-determined lineshape corresponding
to the plasmonic modes along the transverse and longitudinal axes.
Impressively, the anisotropic factor of the MCD response can be well
tuned by modulating the interaction between longitudinal and transverse
modes under a magnetic field. On the other hand, the dependence of
the MCD intensity on the nanoparticle volume is also revealed in both
Au NBP and nanorod systems. This work provides a simple but effective
strategy for analyzing surface plasmon resonance (SPR) models in Au
nanomaterials, especially their peculiar coupling
True and False Chirality in Chiral Magnetic Nanoparticles
Determining the true or false chirality
of a system is essential
for the design of advanced chiral materials and for improving their
applications. Typically, a magnetic field would cause false optical
activity in the chiral material system, thus confusing the true chirality’s
influence. Here, we provide a simple way to uncover the true and false
chirality in chiral ferrimagnetic nanoparticles (FNPs) by using the
gel as a rigid frame. The remnant local magnetic field of the FNP
gel can be easily adjusted by an external magnetic field or by controlling
the concentration of the FNPs. Moreover, the potential application
of the FNP gel is detected by induced magnetic circularly polarized
luminescence. This work provides deep insight into the true and false
chirality in magnetic nanosystems and offers a strategy to construct
new optic elements with an adjustable local magnetic field
Cathepsin B‑Activated PET Tracer for <i>In Vivo</i> Tumor Imaging
Cathepsin B, a lysosomal protease,
is considered as a crucial biomarker
for tumor diagnosis and treatment as it is overexpressed in numerous
cancers. A stimulus-responsive SF scaffold has been reported
to detect the activity of a variety of tumor-associated enzymes. In
this work, a small-molecule PET tracer ([68Ga]NOTA-SF-CV) was developed by combining an SF scaffold with a cathepsin B-specific recognition substrate
Cit-Val. Upon activation by cathepsin B, [68Ga]NOTA-SF-CV could form the cyclization
product in a reduction environment, resulting in reduced hydrophilicity.
This unique property could effectively prevent exocytosis of the tracer
in cathepsin B-overexpressing tumor cells, leading to prolonged retention
and amplified PET imaging signal. Moreover, [68Ga]NOTA-SF-CV had great targeting specificity
to cathepsin B. In vivo microPET imaging results
showed that [68Ga]NOTA-SF-CV was able to effectively visualize the expression level of cathepsin
B in various tumors. Hence, [68Ga]NOTA-SF-CV may be served as a potential tracer for
diagnosing cathepsin B-related diseases
tRF-003634 alleviates Adr-induced podocyte injury by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA through YTHDC1.
(A) The binding of tRF-003634 to YTHDC1. (B) The binding of TLR4 to YTHDC1. (C) The interference efficiency of YTHDC1 was determined using the qRT-PCR. (D) Expression levels of TLR4 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR after the knockdown of YTHDC1. (E) Expression levels of TLR4 mRNA were evaluated by qRT-PCR after the overexpression of tRF-003634. n = 3, *P<0.05 vs. respective NC. YTHDC1 NC, YTHDC1 siRNA negative control; tRF-003634 NC, tRF-003634 negative control.</p
Cellulose Nanocrystal Films with NIR-II Circularly Polarized Light for Cancer Detection Applications
Near-infrared circularly polarized light is attractive
for wide-ranging
applications. However, high-performance near-infrared circularly polarized
light is challenging to realize. Here, we show that left-handed chiral
photonic cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films produced from ultrasonicated
suspensions enable right-handed circularly polarized luminescence
with a dissymmetry factor of −0.330 in the second near-infrared
window (NIR-II). We present a theoretical analysis of the adverse
effect of structural defects and luminescence intensity heterogeneity
on the right-handed circularly polarized luminescence glum inside the bandgap and the occurrence of left-handed
circularly polarized luminescence at the band edges. We demonstrate
the potential of the chiral photonic CNC films with NIR-II circularly
polarized light for cancer cell discrimination. The present work identifies
key scientific questions in CNC-based circularly polarized luminescence
materials research
S1 Raw images -
Podocyte injury plays a key role in the production of proteinuria and is closely related to the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Alleviating podocyte injury is beneficial to prevent the occurrence and development of CKD. tRNA-derived RNA fragments (tRFs) are associated with podocytes injury processes such as protein binding, cell adhesion, synapses, the actin cytoskeleton. Our previous data showed that tRF-003634 tightly correlated with podocyte injury, while its effect remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of tRF-003634 in podocyte injury and the potential mechanisms. The expression level of tRF-003634, nephrin, podocin and tRF-003634 targeted toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in podocytes and kidney tissues were examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry. The biochemical indices were monitored and renal pathological changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin PAS staining. Furthermore, potential target genes of tRF-003634 were screened using high-throughput mRNA sequencing, and then confirmed by RNA pulse-chase analysis. The results showed that tRF-003634 was downregulated in adriamycin (Adr)-induced podocyte injury. Overexpression of tRF-003634 increased the expression of nephrin and podocin in vivo and in vitro and alleviated podocyte injury. Meanwhile, overexpression of tRF-003634 alleviated proteinuria and renal pathological damage. In addition, high-throughput sequencing after overexpression of tRF-003634 showed that TLR4 might be a downstream target gene. tRF-003634 can alleviate podocyte injury by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA, possibly by competing with TLR4 mRNA to bind to YTH domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1). In conclusion, tRF-003634 was underexpressed in Adr-induced podocyte injury, and its overexpression alleviated podocyte injury in vitro and in vivo by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA.</div
Sequences of PCR primers.
Podocyte injury plays a key role in the production of proteinuria and is closely related to the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Alleviating podocyte injury is beneficial to prevent the occurrence and development of CKD. tRNA-derived RNA fragments (tRFs) are associated with podocytes injury processes such as protein binding, cell adhesion, synapses, the actin cytoskeleton. Our previous data showed that tRF-003634 tightly correlated with podocyte injury, while its effect remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of tRF-003634 in podocyte injury and the potential mechanisms. The expression level of tRF-003634, nephrin, podocin and tRF-003634 targeted toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in podocytes and kidney tissues were examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry. The biochemical indices were monitored and renal pathological changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin PAS staining. Furthermore, potential target genes of tRF-003634 were screened using high-throughput mRNA sequencing, and then confirmed by RNA pulse-chase analysis. The results showed that tRF-003634 was downregulated in adriamycin (Adr)-induced podocyte injury. Overexpression of tRF-003634 increased the expression of nephrin and podocin in vivo and in vitro and alleviated podocyte injury. Meanwhile, overexpression of tRF-003634 alleviated proteinuria and renal pathological damage. In addition, high-throughput sequencing after overexpression of tRF-003634 showed that TLR4 might be a downstream target gene. tRF-003634 can alleviate podocyte injury by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA, possibly by competing with TLR4 mRNA to bind to YTH domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1). In conclusion, tRF-003634 was underexpressed in Adr-induced podocyte injury, and its overexpression alleviated podocyte injury in vitro and in vivo by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA.</div
