Recent Progress in Light‐Scattering Porous Polymers and Their Applications

Conventional inorganic-nanoparticles-based scattering systems have dominated many practical applications for years. In contrast, the rise of porous polymers is perceived as a game-changer due to their low cost, facile preparation, and great abundance. One challenging issue to be tackled is the design and fabrication of porous polymers with light-scattering properties comparable to those of inorganic nanoparticles. Taking inspiration from nature (e.g., from white beetles Cyphochilus), scientists have achieved remarkable progress in the field of light-scattering porous polymers and their related applications in recent years. Therefore, here, an up-to-date review about this emerging field is provided. This overview covers materials for making porous polymer structures, detailed fabrication methods, and applications benefitting from their tailorable light-scattering properties. It is envisioned that more bioinspired light-scattering porous polymers will be made to be potential alternatives of conventional nanoparticles-based scatterers

Automaticity in processing spatial-numerical associations: Evidence from a perceptual orientation judgment task of Arabic digits in frames.

Human adults are faster to respond to small/large numerals with their left/right hand when they judge the parity of numerals, which is known as the SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect. It has been proposed that the size of the SNARC effect depends on response latencies. The current study introduced a perceptual orientation task, where participants were asked to judge the orientation of a digit or a frame surrounding the digit. The present study first confirmed the SNARC effect with native Chinese speakers (Experiment 1) using a parity task, and then examined whether the emergence and size of the SNARC effect depended on the response latencies (Experiments 2, 3, and 4) using a perceptual orientation judgment task. Our results suggested that (a) the automatic processing of response-related numerical-spatial information occurred with Chinese-speaking participants in the parity task; (b) the SNARC effect was also found when the task did not require semantic access; and (c) the size of the effect depended on the processing speed of the task-relevant dimension. Finally, we proposed an underlying mechanism to explain the SNARC effect in the perceptual orientation judgment task

MAP Kinase-Interacting Kinases—Emerging Targets against Cancer

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-interacting kinases (Mnks) regulate the initiation of translation through phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E). Mnk-mediated eIF4E activation promotes cancer development and progression. While the phosphorylation of eIF4E is necessary for oncogenic transformation, the kinase activity of Mnks seems dispensable for normal development. For this reason, pharmacological inhibition of Mnks could represent an ideal mechanism-based and nontoxic therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of Mnk biological roles, structures, and functions, as well as clinical implications. Importantly, we propose different strategies for identification of highly selective small molecule inhibitors of Mnks, including exploring a structural feature of their kinase domain, DFD motif, which is unique within the human kinome. We also argue that a combined targeting of Mnks and other pathways should be considered given the complexity of cancer

Nanoporous Polymer Reflectors for Organic Solar Cells

Due to their high transparency, electrodes fabricated from conductive polymers are often implemented in semitransparent organic solar cells. Opaque solar cells usually employ metal back electrodes with high reflectivity for best photon confinement in the light-harvesting layer. Herein, a bilayer back electrode comprising conductive polymers and nanofoamed poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is investigated, the latter of which creates diffuse reflection of the incoming light. By tuning the thickness of the nanofoamed PMMA layer, absorption and transmission of the solar cells can be tailored from opaque to vastly transparent. Due to its diffusive character, this versatile electrode enhances the light absorption in the wavelength regimes with lower absorption coefficient. The solar cells are particularly suited for deployment in frosted window applications

Amygdala connectivity related to subsequent stress responses during the COVID-19 outbreak

Introduction: The amygdala plays an important role in stress responses and stress-related psychiatric disorders. It is possible that amygdala connectivity may be a neurobiological vulnerability marker for stress responses or stress-related psychiatric disorders and will be useful to precisely identify the vulnerable individuals before stress happens. However, little is known about the relationship between amygdala connectivity and subsequent stress responses. The current study investigated whether amygdala connectivity measured before experiencing stress is a predisposing neural feature of subsequent stress responses while individuals face an emergent and unexpected event like the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: Data collected before the COVID-19 pandemic from an established fMRI cohort who lived in the pandemic center in China (Hubei) during the COVID-19 outbreak were used to investigate the relationship between amygdala connectivity and stress responses during and after the pandemic in 2020. The amygdala connectivity was measured with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and effective connectivity. Results: We found the rsFC of the right amygdala with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) was negatively correlated with the stress responses at the first survey during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the rsFC between the right amygdala and bilateral superior frontal gyri (partially overlapped with the dmPFC) was correlated with SBSC at the second survey. Dynamic causal modeling suggested that the self-connection of the right amygdala was negatively correlated with stress responses during the pandemic. Discussion: Our findings expand our understanding about the role of amygdala in stress responses and stress-related psychiatric disorders and suggest that amygdala connectivity is a predisposing neural feature of subsequent stress responses

Targeting CDK 9 for treatment of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most lethal human malignancies and pursuit of new therapeutic targets for treatment has been a major research focus. Cyclin‐dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), which plays a crucial role in transcription, has emerged as a target for cancer treatment. CDKI‐73, one of the most potent and pharmacologically superior CDK9 inhibitors, has demonstrated excellent anti‐tumor efficacy against several types of cancers. In this study, we evaluated its therapeutic potential against CRC. CDKI‐73 elicited high cytotoxicity against all colon cancer cell lines tested. Cell cycle and apoptosis analysis in HCT 116 and HT29 cells revealed that CDKI‐73 induced cell death without accumulation of DNA at any phase of the cell cycle. Moreover, it caused depolarisation of mitochondrial membrane leading to caspase‐independent apoptosis. Knockdown by shRNA demonstrated the CDK9 targeted mechanism of CDKI‐73, which also affected the Mnk/eIF4E signalling axis. In addition, RT‐qPCR analysis showed that CDKI‐73 downregulated multiple pro‐survival factors at the mRNA level. Its in vivo anti‐tumor efficacy was further evaluated in Balb/c nude mice bearing HCT 116 xenograft tumors. CDKI‐73 significantly inhibited tumor growth (***p < 0.001) without overt toxicity. Analysis of the tumor tissues collected from the xenografted animals confirmed that the in vivo anti‐tumor efficacy was associated with CDK9 targeting of CDKI‐73. Overall, this study provides compelling evidence that CDKI‐73 is a promising drug candidate for treating colorectal cancer