Ultrahigh-efficiency solution-processed simplified small-molecule organic light-emitting diodes using universal host materials

Although solution processing of small-molecule organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) has been considered as a promising alternative to standard vacuum deposition requiring high material and processing cost, the devices have suffered from low luminous efficiency and difficulty of multilayer solution processing. Therefore, high efficiency should be achieved in simple-structured small-molecule OLEDs fabricated using a solution process. We report very efficient solution-processed simple-structured small-molecule OLEDs that use novel universal electron-transporting host materials based on tetraphenylsilane with pyridine moieties. These materials have wide band gaps, high triplet energy levels, and good solution processabilities; they provide balanced charge transport in a mixed-host emitting layer. Orange-red (similar to 97.5 cd/A, similar to 35.5% photons per electron), green (similar to 101.5 cd/A, similar to 29.0% photons per electron), and white (similar to 74.2 cd/A, similar to 28.5% photons per electron) phosphorescent OLEDs exhibited the highest recorded electroluminescent efficiencies of solution-processed OLEDs reported to date. We also demonstrate a solution-processed flexible solid-state lighting device as a potential application of our devices.

Fabrication of FeSe1-x superconducting films with bulk properties

We have fabricated high-quality FeSe1-x superconducting films with a bulk Tc of 11-12 K on different substrates, Al2O3(0001), SrTiO3(100), MgO(100), and LaAlO3(100), by using a pulsed laser deposition technique. All the films were grown at a high substrate temperature of 610 oC, and were preferentially oriented along the (101) direction, the latter being to be a key to fabricating of FeSe1-x superconducting thin films with high Tc. According to the energy dispersive spectroscopy data, the Fe:Se composition ratio was 1:0.90+-0.02. The FeSe1-x film grown on a SrTiO3 substrate showed the best quality with a high upper critical magnetic field [Hc2(0)] of 56 T

MDR-1 gene expression is a minor factor in determining the multidrug resistance phenotype of MCF7/ADR and KB-V1 cells

AbstractThe relevance of MDR-1 gene expression to the multidrug resistance phenotype was investigated. Drug-resistant cells, KB-V1 and MCF7/ADR, constantly expressed mRNA of the MDR-1 gene and were more resistant to vinblastine and adriamycin than drug-sensitive cells, KB-3–1 and MCF7. The drug efflux rate of KB-V1 was the same as KB-3–1 although the MDR-1 gene was expressed in only the resistant cell. The higher intracellular drug concentration of KB-3–1 than KB-V1 was due to the large drug influx. In the case of MCF7 and MCF7/ADR, the influx and efflux of the drug had nearly the same pattern and drug efflux was not affected by verapamil. The amount of ATP, cofactor of drug pumping activity of P-glycoprotein, was not changed by the resistance. These observations suggested that drug efflux mediated by MDR-1 gene expression was not a major determining factor of drug resistance in the present cell systems, and that the drug resistance could be derived from the change in drug uptake and other mechanisms

Use of Nafamostat Mesilate as an Anticoagulant during Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Although the incidence of bleeding complications during extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) support has decreased in various trials, bleeding is still the most fatal complication. We investigated the ideal dosage and efficacy of nafamostat mesilate for use with ECMO in patients with acute cardiac or respiratory failure. We assessed 73 consecutive patients who received ECMO due to acute cardiac or respiratory failure between January 2006 and December 2009. To evaluate the efficacy of nafamostat mesilate, we divided the patients into 2 groups according to the anticoagulants used during ECMO support. All patients of nafamostat mesilate group were male with a mean age of 49.2 yr. Six, 3, 5, and 3 patients were diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, septic shock, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, respectively. The mean dosage of nafamostat mesilate was 0.64 mg/kg/hr, and the mean duration of ECMO was 270.7 hr. The daily volume of transfused packed red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate and the number of complications related to hemorrhage and thrombosis was lower in the nafamostat mesilate group than in the heparin group. Nafamostat mesilate should be considered as an alternative anticoagulant to heparin to reduce bleeding complications during ECMO

Uveitis as an important ocular sign to help early diagnosis in Kawasaki disease

PurposeIncomplete Kawasaki disease (KD) is frequently associated with delayed diagnosis and treatment. Delayed diagnosis leads to increasing risk of coronary artery aneurysm. Anterior uveitis is an important ocular sign of KD. The purpose of this study was to assess differences in laboratory findings, including echocardiographic measurements, clinical characteristics such as fever duration and treatment responses between KD patients with and those without uveitis.MethodsWe conducted a prospective study with 110 KD patients from January 2008 to June 2013. The study group (n=32, KD with uveitis) was compared with the control group (n=78, KD without uveitis). Laboratory data were obtained from each patient including complete blood count (CBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), platelet count, and level of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, serum total protein, albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP). Echocardiographic measurements and intravenous immunoglobulin responses were compared between the two groups.ResultsThe incidence of uveitis was 29.0%. Neutrophil counts and patient age were higher in the uveitis group than in the control group. ESR and CRP level were slightly increased in the uveitis group compared with the control group, but the difference between the two groups was not significant. No significant differences in coronary arterial complication and treatment responses were observed between the two groups.ConclusionUveitis is an important ocular sign in the diagnosis of incomplete KD. It is significantly associated with patient age and neutrophil count

Autonomous control of metabolic state by a quorum sensing (QS)-mediated regulator for bisabolene production in engineered E. coli

Inducible gene expression systems are widely used in microbial host strains for protein and commodity chemical production because of their extensive characterization and ease of use. However, some of these systems have disadvantages such as leaky expression, lack of dynamic control, and the prohibitively high costs of inducers associated with large-scale production. Quorum sensing (QS) systems in bacteria control gene expression in response to population density, and the LuxI/R system from Vibrio fischeri is a well-studied example. A QS system could be ideal for biofuel production strains as it is self-regulated and does not require the addition of inducer compounds, which reduce operational costs for inducer. In this study, a QS system was developed for inducer-free production of the biofuel compound bisabolene from engineered E. coli. Seven variants of the Sensor plasmid, which carry the luxI-luxR genes, and four variants of the Response plasmid, which carry bisabolene producing pathway genes under the control of the PluxI promoter, were designed for optimization of bisabolene production. Furthermore, a chromosome-integrated QS strain was engineered with the best combination of Sensor and Response plasmid and produced bisabolene at a titer of 1.1g/L without addition of external inducers. This is a 44% improvement from our previous inducible system. The QS strain also displayed higher homogeneity in gene expression and isoprenoid production compared to an inducible-system strain

Laparoscopic splenectomy for sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation of the spleen

Primary splenic tumors are rare and mainly found incidentally on radiologic studies. Among them, sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation (SANT) of the spleen is a new entity defined as a benign pathologic lesion. Most SANTs have no clinical symptoms and are occasionally accompanied by other splenic diseases such as malignancies. So, the exact diagnosis of the nature of the splenic tumor is mandatory for further treatment. But, preoperative diagnosis is not easy since it is difficult to obtain the tissue from the spleen for pathological study. Recently, laparoscopic splenectomy has become the more standard procedure for the spleen for diagnosis and treatment. Here, we report a rare case of SANT diagnosed following laparoscopic splenectomy

CTCF cooperates with CtIP to drive homologous recombination repair of double-strand breaks

The pleiotropic CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) plays a role in homologous recombination (HR) repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). However, the precise mechanistic role of CTCF in HR remains largely unclear. Here, we show that CTCF engages in DNA end resection, which is the initial, crucial step in HR, through its interactions with MRE11 and CtIP. Depletion of CTCF profoundly impairs HR and attenuates CtIP recruitment at DSBs. CTCF physically interacts with MRE11 and CtIP and promotes CtIP recruitment to sites of DNA damage. Subsequently, CTCF facilitates DNA end resection to allow HR, in conjunction with MRE11-CtIP. Notably, the zinc finger domain of CTCF binds to both MRE11 and CtIP and enables proficient CtIP recruitment, DNA end resection and HR. The N-terminus of CTCF is able to bind to only MRE11 and its C-terminus is incapable of binding to MRE11 and CtIP, thereby resulting in compromised CtIP recruitment, DSB resection and HR. Overall, this suggests an important function of CTCF in DNA end resection through the recruitment of CtIP at DSBs. Collectively, our findings identify a critical role of CTCF at the first control point in selecting the HR repair pathway