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Exploration of single molecular species synchronously featured by long excitation/emission wavelength, accurate diagnosis, and effective therapy, remains supremely appealing to implement high-performance cancer phototheranostics. However, those previously established phototheranostic agents are undiversified and stereotyped in terms of structural skeleton, and generally exhibit insufficient phototheranostic outcomes. Herein, we innovatively utilized indanone-condensed thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline (ITQ) as electron acceptor to construct novel photosensitizer with second near-infrared (NIR-II) emission. Experimental study and theoretical calculation demonstrated that comparing with the counterparts constituting by widely employed NIR-II building block benzobisthiadiazole (BBTD) and 6,7-diphenylthiadiazoloquinoxaline (DPTQ), ITQ-based photosensitizer (TITQ) showed superior aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics, much stronger type-I reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and prominent photothermal conversion capacity. Furthermore, TITQ nanoparticles with excellent biocompatibility were capable of effectively accumulating in the tumor site and visualizing tumor through fluorescence-photoacoustic-photothermal trimodal imaging with highly spatiotemporal resolution, and completely eliminating tumor by type-I photodynamic-photothermal therapy.

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum truncatumand C. gloeosporioides, is amongst the most serious diseases of soybean in China. Picoxystrobin, a quinone outside inhibitor fungicide, is commonly used for the control of anthracnose. Its resistance risk and mechanism in C. truncatumand C. gloeosporioidesare unclear. In this study, the sensitivities of 128 C. truncatumand 121 C. gloeosporioidesisolates to picoxystrobin were investigated, and unimodal distributions were observed with average EC50values of 0.7740 and 1.1561 μg mL−1, respectively. Eleven picoxystrobin-resistant mutants of C. truncatumand six mutants of C. gloeosporioideswere acquired, with EC50values varying from 5.40–152.96 and 13.53–28.30 μg mL−1, respectively. Compared to the parental isolates, mutants showed similar or higher relative fitness in conidial production and germination, and pathogenicity. Collectively, the resistance risk of C. truncatumand C. gloeosporioidesto picoxystrobin is moderate to high. There was positive cross-resistance between picoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin, but not between picoxystrobin and fluazinam, difenoconazole, or propiconazole. The G143S mutation in Cyt bprotein was detected in seven high-resistant mutants of C. truncatum(RF>100), and G137R occurred in four moderate-resistant mutants (RF<50). Contrastingly, there were no point mutations in Cyt bof any C. gloeosporioidesmutants. Molecular docking confirmed that two mutations conferred different resistance levels to picoxystrobin. Under greenhouse trials, picoxystrobin did not control mutants with the G143S mutation, those bearing G137R or no point mutation were somewhat controlled, but at a lower level compared to wild-type isolates. These results showed that integrated management strategies should be implemented to preserve fungicide effectiveness.

Cannabis sativaL. is a medicinal plant with a long history. Phyto-cannabinoids are a class of compounds from C. sativaL. with varieties of structures. Endocannabinoids exist in the human body. This article provides an overview of natural cannabinoids (phyto-cannabinoids and endocannabinoids) with an emphasis on their pharmacology activities.

Developing effective intelligent nanotheranostics is highly desirable for cancer treatment but remains challenging. In this study, an acidic tumor microenvironment-activated organosilica nanosystem, namely AD-Cu-DOX-HA, is straightforwardly constructed, which is composed of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active photosensitizer, copper ion-engineered aminosilica, direct coordination polymer of doxorubicin (DOX), and targeting component hyaluronic acid (HA). AD-Cu-DOX-HA is able to accurately distinguish cancer cells over normal cells; meanwhile, it simultaneously exhibits selective accumulation and copper ion-mediated rapid disassembly and turn-on fluorescence in tumor tissue, consequently achieving efficient tumor diagnosis and tumor-growth inhibition through fluorescence imaging-navigated synergetic photodynamic therapy, copper ion-mediated chemodynamic therapy, and DOX-enabled chemotherapy. This work thus brings fresh insight into the exploration of versatile theranostics and presents a momentous advance for potential clinical cancer treatment.

Self-assembly of dendritic amphiphiles has attracted great attention due to their various applications in fundamental and practical areas. However, it still remains a great challenge to prepare dendritic amphiphiles with a facile protocol because of their complex molecular structures and tedious synthesis process. Herein, we develop a simple and straightforward strategy to construct dendritic amphiphiles with aggregation-induced emission characteristics by using tetraphenylethene derivatives as the bridge fragment. These dendritic amphiphiles can self-assemble into well-defined structures, and their supramolecular topological structures can be further transformed from spheres into other morphological structures, such as tubules and nanofibers, showing the diversiform self-assembly manipulated by the solvent effect. Furthermore, the supramolecular materials well performed as fluorescent photosensitizers for fluorescence image-guided photodynamic cancer therapy, ascribing to the high-performance fluorescence emission, good biocompatibility, and high electron donor–acceptor strength characteristics. This work provides a new way to construct functional dendritic amphiphiles and greatly broadens their applications in supramolecular chemistry and material science.

Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome is an extremely rare autoimmune disease with complex and diverse clinical manifestations. Cutaneous necrosis is one of its rare clinical features. However, interventions for this manifestation are not standardized and lack evidence, which increases treatment difficulty. Here, study authors report the successful care and follow-up of a 46-year-old female patient with nephrotic syndrome and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome complicated by full-thickness cutaneous necrosis of the dorsum of the right hand that lasted more than 4 months and 1 month prior to wound treatment, respectively. Study authors set up an interprofessional team, including a nephrologist, a vascular surgeon, and two specialist wound care nurses to provide holistic wound care and treat her complex systemic conditions. After 84 days of treatment, which involved removing necrotic tissue with autolytic wound debridement, reducing inflammation with hydrofiber dressings containing silver, and promoting re-epithelialization with hydrocolloid paste and systemic medications, the wound healed successfully. Authors followed up with the patient at 1, 4, 6, 11, and 19 months after healing. The quality of scar was monitored, and the function of her right hand recovered normally.

As an important noninvasive tumor treatment method, phototherapy has drawn extensive research interest. However, the requirements of separate excitation wavelengths, high degree of electron–hole recombination, and low reactive oxygen species (ROS) production capability are still the major barriers. This work reports the construction of a novel nanoplatform: design and synthesis of an aza-BODIPY (AB) probe-decorated mesoporous black titanium dioxide (TiO2) (MT) nanoparticles (NPs) for enhanced photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy under single-wavelength near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation for the first time. AB probe-decorated MT NPs (abbreviated as MTAB) were synthesized through the Al reduction of mesoporous anatase TiO2NPs and subsequent adsorption of the AB probe. The mesoporous structure of MT ensured AB loading capacity and avoided the complicated modification and synthesis processes. Heterogeneous MTAB, which possessed staggered energy levels, were assessed for their capability for effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes for the first time. Upon NIR laser light irradiation, MTAB exhibited sufficient ROS generation, resulting in distinct tumor cell killing and tumor tissue elimination. This unique heterogeneous nanoplatform with staggered energy levels provides a new strategy to enhance ROS generation and improve the therapeutic efficacy.

A hydroxyl functionalized perylene monoimide probe (PMI-OH) was prepared and self-assembled with the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX100) to fabricate a fluorescent micelle sensor for the selective and sensitive detection of picric acid (PA), a common explosive and environmental pollutant. The synthesized PMI-OHprobe exhibited excimer fluorescence emission, and the intensity of the excimer fluorescence emission was significantly enhanced after the PMI-OHprobe formed micelles with TX100. The obtained PMI-OH@TX100micelles presented excellent photoluminescence properties and had a maximum fluorescence emission at 630 nm. The red fluorescence of the PMI-OH@TX100micelles was quenched upon introduction of the nitro explosive PAdue to electron transfer from the donor (PMI-OH) to the acceptor (PA). The fluorescence quenching of the fluorescent micelle sensor was proportional to the concentration of PAin the range of 2 to 10 μM. The limit of detection was 500 nM using 3σ/k. Thus, the developed PMI-OH@TX100micelle sensor has great potential to detect PAin ordinary samples.

Poly(phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) is a widely used functional conjugated polymer with applications ranging from organic optoelectronics and fluorescence sensors to optical imaging and theranostics. However, the fluorescence efficiency of PPE in aggregate states is generally not as good as their solution states, which greatly compromises their performance in fluorescence‐related applications. Herein, a series of PPE derivatives with typical aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) properties is designed and synthesized. In these PPEs, the diethylamino‐substituted tetraphenylethene units function as the long‐wavelength AIE source and the alkyl side chains serve as the functionalization site. The obtained AIE‐active PPEs with large π‐conjugation show strong aggregate‐state fluorescence, interesting self‐assembly behaviors, inherently enhanced alkyne vibrations in the Raman‐silent region of cells, and efficient antibacterial activities. The PPE nanoparticles with good cellular uptake capability can clearly and sensitively visualize the tumor region and residual tumors via their fluorescence and Raman signals, respectively, to benefit the precise tumor resection surgery. After post‐functionalization, the obtained PPE‐based polyelectrolyte can preferentially image bacteria over mammalian cells and possesses efficient photodynamic killing capability against Gram‐positive and drug‐resistant bacteria. This work provides a feasible design strategy for developing functional conjugated polymers with multimodal imaging capability as well as photodynamic antimicrobial ability. A series of aggregation‐induced emission (AIE)‐active poly(phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) derivatives are developed by introducing AIE luminogen into PPE backbones. The obtained PPEs possess strong aggregate‐state fluorescence, intrinsic Raman enhancement of alkyne units, and efficient antibacterial activities. Benefiting from these properties, they can be applied in fluorescence‐Raman dual‐modal imaging‐guided tumor surgery, bacteria imaging, and photodynamic killing of drug‐resistant bacteria.

We present dynamic light scattering (DLS) and hydrophobic dye-binding data in an effort to elucidate a molecular mechanism for the ability of gastric mucin to form a gel at low pH, which is crucial to the barrier function of gastric mucus. DLS measurements of dilute mucin solutions were not indicative of intermolecular association, yet there was a steady fall in the measured diffusion coefficient with decreasing pH, suggesting an apparent increase in size. Taken together with the observed rise in depolarized scattering ratio with decreasing pH, these results suggest that gastric mucin undergoes a conformational change from a random coil at pH≥4 to an anisotropic, extended conformation at pH<4. The increased binding of mucin to hydrophobic fluorescent with decreasing pH indicates that the change to an extended conformation is accompanied by exposure of hydrophobic binding sites. In concentrated mucin solutions, the structure factor S(q, t) derived from DLS measurements changed from a stretched exponential decay at pH 7 to a power-law decay at pH 2, which is characteristic of a sol-gel transition. We propose that the conformational change facilitates cross-links among mucin macromolecules through hydrophobic interactions at low pH, which in turn leads to a sol-gel transition when the mucin solution is sufficiently concentrated.

Background:Gallbladder mucin accelerates cholesterol crystal nucleation, an early step in the pathogenesis of gallstones. To examine the role of gallbladder mucin in postnucleation gallstone maturation, the influence of mucin on cholesterol monohydrate crystal growth was studied in a novel model system. Methods:Cholesterol crystals of a uniform size were incubated in model biles at 37 °C with varying cholesterol saturation indices. Crystal size was quantitated by measuring the width and length of individual crystals under polarizing light microscopy and calculating average crystal area. Results:Crystal growth was dependent on the degree of cholesterol supersaturation of bile. Bovine gallbladder mucin (0.5–8 mg/mL) accelerated crystal growth in supersaturated model bile in a concentration- and time-dependent fashion compared with control incubations with bovine serum albumin or model bile alone (P< 0.05). Cholesterol crystal growth was accompanied by a progressive decrease in cholesterol saturation and an increase in total cholesterol crystal mass. Crystal growth was also accompanied by a decrease in total crystal number, suggesting net transfer of cholesterol to larger crystals. Conclusions:The acceleration of cholesterol crystal growth by gallbladder mucin may be of pathophysiological importance in the postnucleation maturation of cholesterol gallstones.

We study the stochastic dynamics of deposition-evaporation cooperative processes of dimers, trimers, etc., in two- and higher-dimensional lattices. The dimer system in bipartite lattices allows for an exact solution of dynamic correlations and scaling functions by means of a quantum spin equivalence. Autocorrelations exhibit a diffusive asymptotic kinetics and crossovers of different dynamic regimes in highly anisotropic lattices. Monte Carlo simulations combined with finite-size scaling arguments support the validity of the diffusive picture in more general situations. Steady-state coverages and diffusion constants are obtained using mean-field approaches, spin wave calculations, and random walk analyses in nearly jammed configurations.

A Heisenberg model is employed to study a magnetic impurity layer embedded within a semi-infinite ferromagnet. Using a Green-function formalism we find that, in addition to bulk spin waves, there may be localized modes associated with the impurity layer and with the surface. The modes influence one another when the impurity layer is sufficiently near the surface, modifying the spin-wave energies and spectral intensities. The spin correlation functions and the layer magnetization are also calculated.

The organic matrix of cholesterol gallstones contains a macromolecular complex of mucin and bilirubin that may inhibit stone dissolution by limiting contact of desaturated bile with crystalline cholesterol. The goal of this study was to determine if the mucolytic agent N-acetylcysteine could accelerate gallstone dissolution in vitro. Paired gallstones were dissolved in either pure taurocholate (140 mM) or ursodeoxycholate (100 mM), or in bovine bile supplemented with either taurocholate or ursodeoxycholate to achieve the same respective bile-salt concentrations. N-acetylcysteine was added to 1 stone from each pair at a concentration of 500 mM in pure bile salts and 100 mM in supplemented bile. Gallstones dissolved significantly faster in bovine bile supplemented with taurocholate or ursodeoxycholate than in pure solutions of the respective bile salts (n = 30, p < 0.001). N-acetylcysteine significantly accelerated gallstone dissolution in pure solutions of bile acids (n = 30, p < 0.001 for each) and in supplemented bovine biles (n = 30, p < 0.001). N-acetylcysteine also significantly increased the frequency of complete gallstone dissolution in taurocholate-supplemented (66.6% vs. 40.0%) and ursodeoxycholate-supplemented (76.6% vs. 50.0%) bile. These results indicate that the mucolytic agent N-acetylcysteine significantly accelerates in vitro gallstone dissolution. We speculate that adjuvant therapy with an appropriate mucolytic agent may potentially increase the efficacy of clinical gallstone dissolution.

Background: miR-301b-3p is reported in various human cancers for its abnormal expression, while the role and molecular mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remain unclear, and this is the focus of the present study.Materials and Methods: TCGA database was consulted to know gene expression in LUAD tissue. CCK-8, colony formation assay and Transwell assay were applied to identify the role of target genes in regulating LUAD cell biological properties. Bioinformatics analysis plus dual-luciferase assay were performed to validate the potential connection between genes.Results: miR-301b-3p and DLC1 were the target genes of this study and respectively differentially up-regulated and down-regulated in LUAD. Functional experiments indicated that miR-301b-3p contributed to cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while this effect was reversed with overexpressed DLC1 which was identified as a direct target of and regulated by miR-301b-3p.Conclusions: Collectively, miR-301b-3p was identified to actively function on LUAD malignant progression by suppressing DLC1 expression. This discovery provides a novel therapeutic strategy for LUAD patients, which helps improve the survival of patients.

Heterochain polymers play an essential role in our daily life due to their distinctive properties. Among various heteroatom-rich structures, amidine derivatives serve as a synthetically important and pharmacologically useful structural branch. In this work, we developed a straightforward and powerful polymerization to access diverse heterochain polymers with α,β-unsaturated amidine units. The multicomponent polymerizations of readily accessible diynes, disulfonyl azides, and N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal proceed efficiently at room temperature, producing amidine-containing polymers with high molecular weights in high yields within merely 1 h. All of the obtained polymers are formed with excellent stereoselectivity for the newly formed C═C adjacent to the amidine group. The introduction of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen together with the inherent heteroatom-rich structure feature endows these polymers with multiple functionalities. The nanoaggregates of the diethylamino-substituted polymer show remarkable and reversible fluorescence response to acid and base, and the acid-fumed polymer thin film can be used as a sensitive and reusable fluorescent probe for detecting seafood spoilage. This polymer system can also be employed as a highly selective and sensitive Au3+sensor, and efficient gold recovery can be achieved based on its excellent gold enrichment capability. In addition, the AIE polymers can also be applied in lysosome-specific cell imaging with low cytotoxicity and excellent photostability.