PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORS 9, 7, and 5 Are Transcriptional Repressors in the Arabidopsis Circadian Clock[W][OA]

PSEUDORESPONSE REGULATOR9 (PRR9), PRR7, and PRR5 regulate the Arabidopsis circadian clock. PRR9, PRR7, and PRR5 proteins associate with CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1 and LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL promoters in a sequential manner to repress their expression. A conserved region common to the three PRR proteins is sufficient for repressor activity

Controlling the Polarity of Fullerene Derivatives to Optimize Nanomorphology in Blend Films

Developing a design strategy to establish the compatibility of acceptor materials with donor materials is important for the rational development of organic solar cells. We synthesized 2,6-dimethoxyphenyl methanofullerene derivatives to realize an enhanced open-circuit voltage, and we investigated polarities and their effects on the film morphology of the active layer. The polarities of the synthesized fullerene derivatives were affected significantly by the presence of functional groups, such as methoxy, ether, and ester groups. Macro/nanoscopic morphological investigation and spectroscopic analysis of the blend films of the poly­(3-hexylthiophene)­(P3HT)/fullerene derivatives showed that a balanced polarity between materials results in the formation of optimized nanomorphology without grains and robust phase separation. Measurements of the device performance of the photovoltaic cells composed of P3HT and the fullerene derivatives confirmed the same tendency as that shown in the morphological analysis. This finding enables us to obtain an improved power conversion efficiency because of the enhanced open circuit voltage derived from the fullerene derivatives

Design of Fullerene Derivatives for Stabilizing LUMO Energy using Donor Groups Placed in Spatial Proximity to the C₆₀ Cage

A series of arylated dihydrofullerene derivatives were synthesized to elucidate the effective design of fullerene derivatives for enhancing the performance of organic photovoltaics. The LUMO energy of the fullerenes was estimated by the first reduction potential and theoretical calculations. The results showed that the methoxy groups substituted at spatial proximity to the fullerene core offered significant stabilization of the LUMO level. The stabilizing effect of the directly arylated fullerenes is more significant than that of conventional methanofullerenes. The theoretical investigation was performed with regard to the electronic interaction between the methoxy and fullerene moieties

The effectiveness and safety of computed tomographic peritoneography and video-assisted thoracic surgery for hydrothorax in peritoneal dialysis patients: A retrospective cohort study in Japan.

IntroductionAlbeit uncommon, hydrothorax is an important complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Due to paucity of evidence for optimal treatment, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of computed tomographic (CT) peritoneography and surgical intervention involving video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for hydrothorax in a retrospective cohort of patients who underwent PD in Japan.MethodsOf the 982 patients who underwent PD from six centers in Japan between 2007 and 2019, 25 (2.5%) with diagnosed hydrothorax were enrolled in this study. PD withdrawal rates were compared between patients who underwent VATS for diaphragm repair (surgical group) and those who did not (non-surgical group) using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.ResultsThe surgical and non-surgical groups comprised a total of 11 (44%) and 14 (56%) patients, respectively. Following hydrothorax diagnosis by thoracentesis and detection of penetrated sites on the diaphragm using CT peritoneography, VATS was performed at a median time of 31 days (interquartile range [IQR], 20-96 days). During follow-up (median, 26 months; IQR, 10-51 months), 9 (64.3%) and 2 (18.2%) patients in the non-surgical and surgical groups, respectively, withdrew from PD (P = 0.021). There were no surgery-related complications or hydrothorax relapse in the surgical group.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of CT peritoneography and VATS for hydrothorax. This approach may be useful in hydrothorax cases to avoid early drop out of PD and continue PD in the long term. Further studies are warranted to confirm these results