| 1. |
- Sun, Xiaoming, et al.
(author)
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Adjustable hardness of hydrogel for promoting vascularization and maintaining sternness of stem cells in skin flap regeneration
- 2018
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In: Applied Materials Today. - : Elsevier. - 2352-9407. ; 13, s. 54-63
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The matrix mechanical stiffness of biomaterials plays an important role in the pluripotency and biological function of stem cells in the microenvironment. It is a key step to adjust the stiffness of biomaterials for inducing stem cells to promote vascularization in order to promote damaged tissue repair. In this study, we transplant adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) within an in situ forming dextran hydrogel with controllable mechanical strength formed by cross-linking glycidyl methacrylate derivatized dextran and dithiothreitol, which can regulate the stemness and biological functions of stem cells. We show that softer dextran hydrogel can better maintain stemness markers expression of ADSCs, and significantly stimulate ADSCs to secrete angiogenic factors. The ADSCs-encapsulated hydrogel distinctly promote the skin flap survival compared to direct cell injection. Bioluminescence imaging analysis shows that in situ forming dextran hydrogel can improve cells retention, and postmortem analysis reveals that the transplanted ADSCs with hydrogel can promote vascularization. These results support the use of injectable dextran hydrogel for skin ischemia tissue regeneration. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Xie, Yuan, et al.
(author)
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Key molecular alterations in endothelial cells in human glioblastoma uncovered through single-cell RNA sequencing
- 2021
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In: JCI Insight. - : American Society For Clinical Investigation. - 2379-3708. ; 6:15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Passage of systemically delivered pharmacological agents into the brain is largely blocked by the blood-brain-barrier (BBB), an organotypic specialization of brain endothelial cells (ECs). Tumor vessels in glioblastoma (GBM), the most common malignant brain tumor in humans, are abnormally permeable, but this phenotype is heterogeneous and may differ between the tumor's center and invasive front. Here, through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of freshly isolated ECs from human glioblastoma and paired tumor peripheral tissues, we have constructed a molecular atlas of human brain ECs providing unprecedented molecular insight into the heterogeneity of the human BBB and its molecular alteration in glioblastoma. We identified 5 distinct EC phenotypes representing different states of EC activation and BBB impairment, and associated with different anatomical locations within and around the tumor. This unique data resource provides key information for designing rational therapeutic regimens and optimizing drug delivery.
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| 3. |
- Lee, Chunsik, et al.
(author)
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VEGF-B prevents excessive angiogenesis by inhibiting FGF2/FGFR1 pathway
- 2023
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In: SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND TARGETED THERAPY. - : SPRINGERNATURE. - 2095-9907 .- 2059-3635. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although VEGF-B was discovered as a VEGF-A homolog a long time ago, the angiogenic effect of VEGF-B remains poorly understood with limited and diverse findings from different groups. Notwithstanding, drugs that inhibit VEGF-B together with other VEGF family members are being used to treat patients with various neovascular diseases. It is therefore critical to have a better understanding of the angiogenic effect of VEGF-B and the underlying mechanisms. Using comprehensive in vitro and in vivo methods and models, we reveal here for the first time an unexpected and surprising function of VEGF-B as an endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis by inhibiting the FGF2/FGFR1 pathway when the latter is abundantly expressed. Mechanistically, we unveil that VEGF-B binds to FGFR1, induces FGFR1/VEGFR1 complex formation, and suppresses FGF2-induced Erk activation, and inhibits FGF2-driven angiogenesis and tumor growth. Our work uncovers a previously unrecognized novel function of VEGF-B in tethering the FGF2/FGFR1 pathway. Given the anti-angiogenic nature of VEGF-B under conditions of high FGF2/FGFR1 levels, caution is warranted when modulating VEGF-B activity to treat neovascular diseases.
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| 4. |
- Pan, Kui, et al.
(author)
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Monolithically and Vertically Integrated LED-on-FET Device Based on a Novel GaN Epitaxial Structure
- 2023
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In: IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices. - 1557-9646 .- 0018-9383. ; 70:12, s. 6393-6398
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), based on GaN-based semiconductor compounds are widely used for their advantages of long life, high reliability, and low energy consumption. The persistent challenge is integrating LED with transistors to achieve smaller size, lighter weight, higher speed, and more reliable optoelectronic integrated circuits. Here, we report monolithically and vertically integrated LED-on-FET devices fabricated on a novel GaN epitaxial structure. The designed device structure and fabrication process are simple. It also eliminates the extra area occupied by the transistor, and the shared n-GaN layer between the LED and FET reduces interconnect resistance and improves reliability. The measured threshold voltage (V-Th) of the LED-on-FET device is extrapolated as 3.9 V at the voltage (V-DD) of 5 V, and V-Th decreases with the increase of V-DD . More importantly, the gate voltage (V-GS) shows good performance in modulated electroluminescence (EL) intensity and switching capability of the LED. The integrated LED efficiently emits light modulation with a wavelength of 440 nm at V-DD= 9 V and V-GS=4-9 V (step = 1 V), which are necessary for devices in applications, such as displays and smart lighting. This epitaxy structure and integration scheme is promising in achieving large-scale optoelectronic integrated circuits, such as the next-generation micro-LED and nano-LED with super compact integrated drivers.
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| 5. |
- Bruinsma, Sophie M, et al.
(author)
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The Movember Foundation's GAP3 cohort : a profile of the largest global prostate cancer active surveillance database to date
- 2018
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In: BJU International. - : Wiley. - 1464-4096. ; 121:5, s. 737-744
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: The Movember Foundation launched the Global Action Plan Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance (GAP3) initiative to create a global consensus on the selection and monitoring of men with low-risk prostate cancer (PCa) on active surveillance (AS). The aim of this study is to present data on inclusion and follow-up for AS in this unique global AS database.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2014 and 2016, the database was created by combining patient data from 25 established AS cohorts worldwide (USA, Canada, Australasia, UK and Europe). Data on a total of 15 101 patients were included. Descriptive statistics were used to report patients' clinical and demographic characteristics at the time of PCa diagnosis, clinical follow-up, discontinuation of AS and subsequent treatment. Cumulative incidence curves were used to report discontinuation rates over time.RESULTS: At diagnosis, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) patient age was 65 (60-70) years and the median prostate-specific antigen level was 5.4 (4.0-7.3) ng/mL. Most patients had clinical stage T1 disease (71.8%), a biopsy Gleason score of 6 (88.8%) and one tumour-positive biopsy core (60.3%). Patients on AS had a median follow-up time of 2.2 (1.0-5.0) years. After 5, 10 and 15 years of follow-up, respectively, 58%, 39% and 23% of patients were still on AS. The current version of GAP3 has limited data on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quality of life and genomic testing.CONCLUSIONS: GAP3 is the largest worldwide collaboration integrating patient data from men with PCa on AS. The results will allow individual patients and clinicians to have greater confidence in the personalized decision to either delay or proceed with active treatment. Longer follow-up and the evaluation of MRI, new genomic markers and patient-related outcomes will result in even more valuable data and eventually in better patient outcomes.
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| 6. |
- Deng, Liying, et al.
(author)
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Can fluorophlogopite mica be used as an alkali metal ion source to boost the growth of two-dimensional molybdenum dioxide?
- 2023
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In: Applied Surface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-4332. ; 612
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Everyone familiar with two-dimensional (2D) materials is aware of fluorophlogopite mica (FM), which has an atomic-level flat surface that provides an ideal platform for the growth of 2D materials. Since it has been demonstrated that the alkali metal ions (AMI) can aid in the growth of large-sized 2D materials by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in recent years, it became a major mystery whether FM which contains AMI benefits from them in the preparation of 2D materials by CVD, too. In this article, we dispelled this ambiguity and discovered that temperature is the key for FM as an AMI source to boost the growth of large-sized 2D materials. We carried out variable temperature experiments and found that FM can indeed be incorporated into the growth of large-sized 2D materials as an AMI source at high temperatures and successfully obtained the highly crystalline MoO2 with a larger size compared to those without FM. This finding is of great importance to the understanding of the growth mechanism of FM for 2D materials by CVD and to better exploit its role in the growth of 2D materials.
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| 7. |
- DeWitt, Douglas S., et al.
(author)
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Pre-clinical testing of therapies for traumatic brain injury
- 2018
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In: Journal of Neurotrauma. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 0897-7151 .- 1557-9042. ; 35:23, s. 2737-2754
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite the large number of promising neuroprotective agents identified in experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) studies, none has yet shown meaningful improvements in long-term outcome in clinical trials. To develop recommendations and guidelines for pre-clinical testing of pharmacological or biological therapies for TBI, the Moody Project for Translational Traumatic Brain Injury Research hosted a symposium attended by investigators with extensive experience in pre-clinical TBI testing. The symposium participants discussed issues related to pre-clinical TBI testing including experimental models, therapy and outcome selection, study design, data analysis, and dissemination. Consensus recommendations included the creation of a manual of standard operating procedures with sufficiently detailed descriptions of modeling and outcome measurement procedures to permit replication. The importance of the selection of clinically relevant outcome variables, especially related to behavior testing, was noted. Considering the heterogeneous nature of human TBI, evidence of therapeutic efficacy in multiple, diverse (e.g., diffuse vs. focused) rodent models and a species with a gyrencephalic brain prior to clinical testing was encouraged. Basing drug doses, times, and routes of administration on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data in the test species was recommended. Symposium participants agreed that the publication of negative results would reduce costly and unnecessary duplication of unsuccessful experiments. Although some of the recommendations are more relevant to multi-center, multi-investigator collaborations, most are applicable to pre-clinical therapy testing in general. The goal of these consensus guidelines is to increase the likelihood that therapies that improve outcomes in pre-clinical studies will also improve outcomes in TBI patients.
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| 8. |
- Jia, Yuehua, et al.
(author)
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Efficient polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells with cesium acetate as the cathode interfacial layer
- 2013
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In: Renewable energy. - : Elsevier. - 0960-1481 .- 1879-0682. ; 50, s. 565-569
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The enhanced performance of polymer solar cells based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and methanofullerene [6,6]-phenyl C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend was achieved by using cesium acetate (CH3COOCs) as cathode buffer layer. Under 100 mW/cm(2) white light illumination, the device with 0.8 nm thick CH3COOCs as cathode buffer layer exhibits power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as (4.16 +/- 0.02) %. Compared to the control devices without cathode buffer layer and with LiF as cathode buffer layer, the PCE is enhanced similar to 100% and similar to 31%, respectively. The introduction of the CH3COOCs buffer layer effectively improves the photo-generated charge collection. The Kelvin Probe measurement shows that the work function of the CH3COOCs is estimated to be -4.0 eV, which has an ideal energy band match with PCBM and a good property for electron collection. The static contact angle results indicated that the CH3COOCs with the hydrophobic CH3COO- group has an improved wettability between the buffer layer and the hydrophobic organic active layer surface, resulting in better interfacial contact and reduced contact resistance. The improved performance may be attributed to the dissociation of semi-conducting CH3COOCs upon deposition to liberate Cs with a low work function, which reduces the interface resistance of the active layer and the cathode and enhances the interior electric field that may result in efficient charge transportation. Therefore, the CH3COOCs interlayer could be a promising alternative to LiF to improve the efficiency of the electron collection of polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells.
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| 9. |
- Luo, Xi, et al.
(author)
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ClinGen Myeloid Malignancy Variant Curation Expert Panel recommendations for germline RUNX1 variants
- 2019
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In: Blood Advances. - : AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY. - 2473-9529 .- 2473-9537. ; 3:20, s. 2962-2979
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Standardized variant curation is essential for clinical care recommendations for patients with inherited disorders. Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) variant curation expert panels are developing disease-associated gene specifications using the 2015 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) guidelines to reduce curation discrepancies. The ClinGen Myeloid Malignancy Variant Curation Expert Panel (MM-VCEP) was created collaboratively between the American Society of Hematology and ClinGen to perform gene- and disease-specific modifications for inherited myeloid malignancies. The MM-VCEP began optimizing ACMG/AMP rules for RUNX1 because many germline variants have been described in patients with familial platelet disorder with a predisposition to acute myeloid leukemia, characterized by thrombocytopenia, platelet functional/ultrastructural defects, and a predisposition to hematologic malignancies. The 28 ACMG/AMP codes were tailored for RUNX1 variants by modifying gene/disease specifications, incorporating strength adjustments of existing rules, or both. Key specifications included calculation of minor allele frequency thresholds, formulating a semi-quantitative approach to counting multiple independent variant occurrences, identifying functional domains and mutational hotspots, establishing functional assay thresholds, and characterizing phenotype-specific guidelines. Preliminary rules were tested by using a pilot set of 52 variants; among these, 50 were previously classified as benign/likely benign, pathogenic/likely pathogenic, variant of unknown significance (VUS), or conflicting interpretations (CONF) in ClinVar. The application of RUNX1-specific criteria resulted in a reduction in CONF and VUS variants by 33%, emphasizing the benefit of gene-specific criteria and sharing internal laboratory data.
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| 10. |
- Ma, Chunyu, et al.
(author)
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Plasmon-enhanced organic solar cells with solution-processed three-dimensional Ag nanosheets
- 2013
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In: Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS. - 0927-0248 .- 1879-3398. ; 109, s. 227-232
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The silver nanosheets (AgNSs) prepared via normal silver mirror reaction were used to improve the performance of organic solar cells. AgNSs with a size of about 100 nm in width and 10 nm in thickness formed a 3-D network on an indium tin oxide (ITO) surface. Organic solar cells with a structure of ITO/AgNSs/poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl C-61 butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PC61BM)/LiF/Al exhibited an open circuit voltage (V-oc) of 0.60 +/- 0.01 V, short circuit current density (J(sc)) of 11.16 +/- 0.08 mA/cm(2), a fill factor (FF) of 53.69 +/- 0.92%, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.60 +/- 0.06%. The PCEs of organic solar cells with 3-D AgNSs layers were 1.29 times that of the control device without 3-D AgNSs layer. We attributed the improvement of the efficiency to localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) induced by the 3-D network of AgNSs, which enhanced the light harvest of active layers, increased the probability of exciton generation and dissociation.
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