Synthesis and Characterization of a Biometric Model of the Tricopper Binding Site of Multicopper Oxidases

This research employs the principles of bioinorganic modeling, simplifying the extraneous structures of the molecule being mimicked and focusing only on the active components of the large biological molecules. Specifically, this project attempts to mimic the structure and reactivity of tri-copper active sites found in Multi-copper Oxidises, such as Laccase and Ceruloplasmin, that bind with oxygen and reduce it to water. After experimenting with various other structures that failed to mimic the active sites, we selected another potential ligand, 1,3,5-tri(2-pyridylmethyltriazole)-2,4,6-triethyl benzene, abbreviated Ltapma, to be the substrate for this research to bind with three Cu(I) ions and then to bind with oxygen molecules. Our immediate goal for this research is to synthesize and purify the proposed ligand, and bind it to Cu(I) ions to obtain the crystal structure of the tri-copper complex. If possible, we would also like to have this complex bind with oxygen and study the resulting complex. We hope this complexes could emulate the structure and behavior of the tri-copper active sites, and by studying these structures and binding patterns researchers could deduce the mechanism by which the active sites bind to oxygen and, from there, move on to speculating the oxygen reducing mechanism. All these mechanisms could hopefully provide valuable insights into the study of the Wilson’s disease, which occurs when copper-containing oxidases in the human body become defective and lose the ability to bind with copper, and contribute to finding a cure for it

Neuromorphic Imaging with Joint Image Deblurring and Event Denoising

Neuromorphic imaging reacts to per-pixel brightness changes of a dynamic scene with high temporal precision and responds with asynchronous streaming events as a result. It also often supports a simultaneous output of an intensity image. Nevertheless, the raw events typically involve a great amount of noise due to the high sensitivity of the sensor, while capturing fast-moving objects at low frame rates results in blurry images. These deficiencies significantly degrade human observation and machine processing. Fortunately, the two information sources are inherently complementary -- events with microsecond temporal resolution, which are triggered by the edges of objects that are recorded in latent sharp images, can supply rich motion details missing from the blurry images. In this work, we bring the two types of data together and propose a simple yet effective unifying algorithm to jointly reconstruct blur-free images and noise-robust events, where an event-regularized prior offers auxiliary motion features for blind deblurring, and image gradients serve as a reference to regulate neuromorphic noise removal. Extensive evaluations on real and synthetic samples present our superiority over other competing methods in restoration quality and greater robustness to some challenging realistic scenarios. Our solution gives impetus to the improvement of both sensing data and paves the way for highly accurate neuromorphic reasoning and analysis.Comment: Submitted to TI

Position and orientation measurement technology for bolter miner body based on dual-screen visual target

Aiming at the problem that it is difficult to achieve the real-time and accurate measurement of the bolter miner’s position and orientation during the excavation process in coal mines, which leads to the difficulty in achieving directional excavation, a guidance method for bolter miner based on dual-screen visual target is proposed. Using two vertically installed light-sensitive imaging screens to form the dual-screen visual target surfaces and the indication laser emitted by the laser instrument presents light spots on the front and rear target surfaces. Combining with the visual measurement, high-precision raster calibration and other technology are applied to establish the mapping relationship of the spot centroid between 2D-3D coordinates, which is used to form the point cloud data of the coordinates. Based on the principle of grid indexing, coordinate transformation and Euler angle solving, combining with the biaxial inclinometer at the bottom of target to obtain the bolter miner body’s real-time position and orientation, the key points’ horizontal/vertical deviations relative to the roadway axis are calculated, which can provide data support for deviation correction during the excavation process. The off-target problem of the system is analyzed by constructing a mathematical model. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the guidance method is verified by building an experimental platform. The experimental results indicate that this method can achieve a precision measurement of six-degrees-of-freedom spatial pose for the machine body. When the measurement distance is 9 m, the repeatability measurement precision of the yaw angle is better than 0.01º and the error of absolute measurement is less than 0.05º. Within the measurement range of 15−40 m, which uses the total station and mining laser to set the planning line, the measurement errors of key points’ horizontal/vertical deviations are less than 5 mm and 15 mm, respectively. The guiding system developed based on this method has also been successfully applied to the underground roadway excavation in coal mine, which fully meets the requirements of underground roadway excavation and the positioning of the machine body’s key points. The error characteristic of the guiding method is independent of the test distance. Also, all optical measurement functions involved in the method are realized inside the target, which can effectively shield the influence of the underground complex environment for the measurement function, and greatly improve the capacity of anti-dust interference in field application

Clinical Efficacy of Temozolomide and Its Predictors in Aggressive Pituitary Tumors and Pituitary Carcinomas: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: A growing number of evidences suggest that TMZ applications can generate impressive benefits for APT and PC patients. However, the definite role of TMZ for individuals remains unclarified due to the variation between studies. And the predictive factors to alter its efficacy remain debatable.Objective: To evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety profile of TMZ in the treatment of pituitary malignancies, and delineate the predictors during its clinical employment.Results: A literature retrieval was conducted from online databases for studies published up to December 31, 2020. Twenty one studies involving 429 patients were identified. TMZ exhibited 41% radiological overall response rate (rORR). The biochemical response rate was determinate in 53% of the functioning subset. Two-year and 4-year survival rate were 79 and 61%, respectively. TMZ prolonged the median PFS and OS as 20.18 and 40.24 months. TMZ-related adverse events occurred in 19% of patients. Regarding predictors of TMZ response, rORR was dramatically improved in patients with low/intermediate MGMT expression than those with high-MGMT (>50%) (p < 0.001). The benefit of TMZ varied according to functioning subtype of patients, with greater antitumor activities in functioning subgroups and fewer activities in non-functioning sets (p < 0.001). Notably, the concomitant therapy of radiotherapy and TMZ significantly increased the rORR (p = 0.007).Conclusion: TMZ elicits clinical benefits with moderate adverse events in APT and PC patients. MGMT expression and clinical subtype of secreting function might be vital predictors of TMZ efficacy. In the future, the combination of radiotherapy with TMZ may further improve the clinical outcomes than TMZ monotherapy

Transcriptome profiling reveals the role of ZBTB38 knock-down in human neuroblastoma

ZBTB38 belongs to the zinc finger protein family and contains the typical BTB domains. As a transcription factor, ZBTB38 is involved in cell regulation, proliferation and apoptosis, whereas, functional deficiency of ZBTB38 induces the human neuroblastoma (NB) cell death potentially. To have some insight into the role of ZBTB38 in NB development, high throughput RNA sequencing was performed using the human NB cell line SH-SY5Y with the deletion of ZBTB38. In the present study, 2,438 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ZBTB38−/− SH-SY5Y cells were obtained, 83.5% of which was down-regulated. Functional annotation of the DEGs in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database revealed that most of the identified genes were enriched in the neurotrophin TRK receptor signaling pathway, including PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathway. we also observed that ZBTB38 affects expression of CDK4/6, Cyclin E, MDM2, ATM, ATR, PTEN, Gadd45, and PIGs in the p53 signaling pathway. In addition, ZBTB38 knockdown significantly suppresses the expression of autophagy-related key genes including PIK3C2A and RB1CC1. The present meeting provides evidence to molecular mechanism of ZBTB38 modulating NB development and targeted anti-tumor therapies

Characterization of Aniline Tetramer by MALDI TOF Mass Spectrometry upon Oxidative and Reductive Cycling.

By combining electrochemical experiments with mass spectrometric analysis, it is found that using short chain oligomers to improve the cycling stability of conducting polymers in supercapacitors is still problematic. Cycling tests via cyclic voltammetry over a potential window of 0 to 1.0 V or 0 to 1.2 V in a two-electrode device configuration resulted in solid-state electropolymerization and chain scission. Electropolymerization of the aniline tetramer to generate long chain oligomers is shown to be possible despite the suggested decrease in reactivity and increase in intermediate stability with longer oligomers. Because aniline oligomers are more stable towards reductive cycling when compared to oxidative cycling, future conducting polymer/oligomer-based pseudocapacitors should consider using an asymmetric electrode configuration

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

Core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Exploration of Oligoaniline Synthesis and Applications in Supercapacitors

Compared to rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors or electrochemical capacitors demonstrate higher power and much greater cycle life. As the demand increases for energy storage devices with safe operations, high power ratings and long cycle life, supercapacitors have attracted much attention from both industry and academia. However, most commercial supercapacitors are carbon based, capable of storing only a fraction of the amount of charge that batteries do, limiting their applications to those that need short power bursts, but lower capacities. To enhance the energy density of supercapacitors, pseudocapacitance materials, such as transition metal oxides/hydroxides and conducting polymers, are introduced.Polyaniline is a promising pseudocapacitance material with high conductivity, tunable morphology and high theoretical specific capacitance. Tetra-aniline (TANI) is the shortest oligomer of PANI that demonstrates high conductivity and redox activities. Furthermore, the short chain length of TANI is believed to improve its resistance to chain breaking during cycling that undermines PANI’s cycle stability. However, compared to PANI, research on the synthesis and supercapacitor applications of nanostructured TANI is relatively scarce. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to develop methods to prepare TANI with various nanostructures and study the supercapacitor applications of TANI-based supercapacitors. Chapter 2 presents a facile interfacial chemical synthesis to produce high purity TANI nanowires, while Chapter 3 is a study on the electrochemical deposition of TANI on different substrates using aniline dimer in organic-aqueous electrolyte solutions. Both methods are able to trigger nanostructure formation within TANI, and improve upon the pseudocapacitor performances of the TANI-based electrodes. Chapter 4 reports an original one-pot-one-step hydrothermal synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) - oligoaniline (OANI) nanocomposites. This process simultaneously reduces graphene oxide and deposits oligoaniline onto the rGO surfaces, inducing synergetic effects between the conducting oligomer and the carbon substrates. Chapter 5 presents an in-depth evaluation on the supercapacitor performances of TANI and its carbon nanocomposites. We composited TANI with 1D (carbon nanotubes), 2D (GO and rGO) and 3D (activated carbon) carbon materials to investigate how morphology and surface functional groups affect the supercapacitor performances of TANI-based electrodes

Exploration of Oligoaniline Synthesis and Applications in Supercapacitors

Compared to rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors or electrochemical capacitors demonstrate higher power and much greater cycle life. As the demand increases for energy storage devices with safe operations, high power ratings and long cycle life, supercapacitors have attracted much attention from both industry and academia. However, most commercial supercapacitors are carbon based, capable of storing only a fraction of the amount of charge that batteries do, limiting their applications to those that need short power bursts, but lower capacities. To enhance the energy density of supercapacitors, pseudocapacitance materials, such as transition metal oxides/hydroxides and conducting polymers, are introduced.Polyaniline is a promising pseudocapacitance material with high conductivity, tunable morphology and high theoretical specific capacitance. Tetra-aniline (TANI) is the shortest oligomer of PANI that demonstrates high conductivity and redox activities. Furthermore, the short chain length of TANI is believed to improve its resistance to chain breaking during cycling that undermines PANI’s cycle stability. However, compared to PANI, research on the synthesis and supercapacitor applications of nanostructured TANI is relatively scarce. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to develop methods to prepare TANI with various nanostructures and study the supercapacitor applications of TANI-based supercapacitors. Chapter 2 presents a facile interfacial chemical synthesis to produce high purity TANI nanowires, while Chapter 3 is a study on the electrochemical deposition of TANI on different substrates using aniline dimer in organic-aqueous electrolyte solutions. Both methods are able to trigger nanostructure formation within TANI, and improve upon the pseudocapacitor performances of the TANI-based electrodes. Chapter 4 reports an original one-pot-one-step hydrothermal synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) - oligoaniline (OANI) nanocomposites. This process simultaneously reduces graphene oxide and deposits oligoaniline onto the rGO surfaces, inducing synergetic effects between the conducting oligomer and the carbon substrates. Chapter 5 presents an in-depth evaluation on the supercapacitor performances of TANI and its carbon nanocomposites. We composited TANI with 1D (carbon nanotubes), 2D (GO and rGO) and 3D (activated carbon) carbon materials to investigate how morphology and surface functional groups affect the supercapacitor performances of TANI-based electrodes