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Thought of as a metastasis‐associated gene, however, NME/NM23 nucleoside diphosphate kinase 4 (NME4) has rarely been described in the context of the tumour microenvironment. To understand the immunological implications of NME4 in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), we used multiplex immunohistochemistry to analyse the clinicopathological and prognostic importance of NME4 expression. Then, after establishing a syngeneic tumour model with a C57BL/6 mouse strain that can recapitulate the tumour microenvironment of humans, we examined the immunological involvement of NME4 expression. To explore the underlying molecular mechanism, via quantitative proteomics and protein microarray screening, we investigated the potential signalling pathways involved. The clinicopathological and prognostic importance of NME4 expression is limited in ESCC patients. In vivo, single‐cell RNA sequencing showed that NME4 strikingly prevented CD8+ T cells from infiltrating the tumour microenvironment in murine ESCC. Mechanistically, we mapped out the NFκB2‐CCL5 axis that was negatively controlled by NME4 in the murine ESCC cell line AKR. Collectively, these data demonstrated that regulation of NFκB2‐CCL5 axis by NME4 prevents CD8+ T cells infiltration in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite various efforts to optimize the near‐infrared (NIR) performance of perylene diimide (PDI) derivatives for bio‐imaging, convenient and efficient strategies to amplify the fluorescence of PDI derivatives in biological environment and the intrinsic mechanism studies are still lacking. Herein, we propose an alkyl‐doping strategy to amplify the fluorescence of PDI derivative‐based nanoparticles for improved NIR fluorescence imaging. The developed PDI derivative, OPE‐PDI, shows much brighter in n‐Hexane (HE) compared with that in other organic media, and the excited state dynamics investigation experimentally elucidates the solvent effect‐induced suppression of intermolecular energy transfer and intramolecular nonradiative decay as the underlying mechanism for the fluorescence improvement. Theoretical calculations reveal the lowest reorganization energies of OPE‐PDI in HE among various solvents, indicating the effectively suppressed conformational relaxation to support the strongest radiative decay. Inspired by this, an alkyl atmosphere mimicking HE is constructed by incorporating the octadecane into OPE‐PDI‐based nanoparticles, permitting up to 3‐fold fluorescence improvement compared with the counterpart nanoparticles. Owing to the merits of high brightness, anti‐photobleaching, and low biotoxicity for the optimal nanoparticles, they have been employed for probing and long‐term monitoring of tumor. This work highlights a facile strategy for the fluorescence enhancement of PDI derivative‐based nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short for pyruvate kinase M2 subtype, PKM2 can be said of all‐round player that is notoriously known for its metabolic involvement in glycolysis. Holding a dural role as a metabolic or non‐metabolic (kinase) enzyme, PKM2 has drawn extensive attention over its biological roles implicated in tumor cells, including proliferation, migration, invasion, metabolism, and so on. wandering PKM2 can be transboundary both intracellularly and extracellularly. Specifically, PKM2 can be nuclear, cytoplasmic, mitochondrial, exosomal, or even circulate within the body. Importantly, PKM2 can function as an RNA‐binding protein (RBP) to self‐support its metabolic function. Despite extensive investigations or reviews available surrounding the biological roles of PKM2 from different angles in tumor cells, little has been described regarding some novel role of PKM2 that has been recently found, including, for example, acting as RNA‐binding protein, protection of Golgi apparatus, and remodeling of microenvironment, and so forth. Given these findings, in this review, we summarize the recent advancements made in PKM2 research, mainly from non‐metabolic respects. By the way, PKM1, another paralog of PKM2, seems to have been overlooked or under‐investigated since its discovery. Some recent discoveries made about PKM1 are also preliminarily mentioned and discussed. Highlights: Collating all the literatures related to PKM2, we found the following points that have rarely been summarized: PKM2 can be cytoplasmic, nuclear, mitochondrial, exosomal even circulating.PKM2 cameoed nuclear‐binding protein that binds with RNA.PKM2 can protect the Golgi apparatus.PKM2 can modulate the immune checkpoint expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of LEPRE1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its potential implications for treatment. The study reveals that LEPRE1 is highly expressed in ESCC and is associated with a tumor immune landscape that lacks inflammation. Patients with low levels of LEPRE1 have higher levels of immune cells and molecules that suggest a positive response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Conversely, patients with high levels of LEPRE1 have worse overall survival rates. The study suggests that LEPRE1 could serve as a prognostic marker and a target for combination therapy with immune checkpoint blockade in ESCC. The study also investigates the correlation between LEPRE1 expression and the immune landscape in Chinese ESCC patients. The results show that low levels of LEPRE1 are associated with increased infiltration of immune cells, while high levels of LEPRE1 are associated with downregulation of immune markers and chemokines. LEPRE1 expression is also negatively correlated with immune checkpoint blockade. The study further explores the predictive value of LEPRE1 in response to immunotherapy and finds that patients with low levels of LEPRE1 have better survival outcomes. Mechanistically, LEPRE1 promotes tumor growth and metastasis by regulating the TGF-β signaling pathway and contributes to immune evasion in ESCC. [Extracted from the article]

Herein, perovskite La0.64(Ba1−xCax)0.36FeO3−δ (0≤x≤0.4$0 \leq x \leq 0.4$) samples are synthesized and investigated by X‐ray diffraction and mechanical spectroscopy. The room‐temperature structure of La0.64Ba0.36FeO3−δ is a mixture of orthorhombic and cubic phases. The structures of calcium‐doped La0.64(Ba1−xCax)0.36FeO3−δ are orthorhombic at room temperature. A modulus dip is observed above room temperature in La0.64(Ba1−xCax)0.36FeO3−δ (0≤x≤0.4$0 \leq x \leq 0.4$) samples. This corresponds to a phase transition from orthorhombic to rhombohedral structure with increasing temperature. The effect of oxygen nonstoichiometry on the room‐temperature structure and phase transition is observed by mechanical spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing photostable two‐photon dyes with high brightness and negligible photocytotoxicity is of key importance in fluorescence imaging but remains a huge challenge. Here, a two‐photon dye with ultrahigh brightness and photostability is demonstrated for high‐performance long‐term two‐photon fluorescence imaging. By terminated donor engineering, the designed DBD shows a higher two‐photon absorption cross‐section (δ, 418 GM vs 329 GM) and photoluminescence quantum yield (ΦPL, 62.74% vs 54.63%) than its counterpart DBA. As a consequence, two‐photon fluorescence brightness (δ×ΦPL) of DBD exhibits a 10‐folded enhancement (262 GM vs 19 GM) in comparison with typical Coumarin 307 dye. More importantly, DBD displays ultrahigh photostability and negligible photobleaching under 10 min femtosecond laser irradiation, which stands in marked contrast to Coumarin 307. Furthermore, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy ascribes this ultrahigh photostability and negligible photobleaching to the inefficient intersystem crossing. With these merits, DBD can be used long‐term two‐photon fluorescence imaging in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second near‐infrared (NIR‐II, 1000–1700 nm) window fluorescence imaging‐guided photothermal therapy probes are promising for precise cancer phototheranostics. However, most of the currently reported probes do not demonstrate high NIR‐II fluorescent brightness (molar absorption coefficient (ε) × quantum yield (QY)) and photothermal performance (ε × photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE)) in a single molecule. Herein, a versatile strategy to solve this challenge is reported by fabricating a large π‐conjugated molecule (BNDI‐Me) with a rigid molecular skeleton and flexible side groups. The proposed BNDI‐Me nanoprobe boosts the ε and simultaneously optimizes its QY and PCE. Therefore, high NIR‐II fluorescent brightness (ε × QY = 2296 m−1 cm−1) and strong photothermal performance (ε × PCE = 82 000) are successfully incorporated in a single small molecule, and, to the best of knowledge, either of these two parameters is better than the best currently available fluorescent or photothermal probes. Thus, superior NIR‐II imaging effect in vivo and high photothermal tumor inhibition rate (81.2%) at low systemic injection doses are obtained. The work provides further insights into the relationship of photophysical mechanisms and structures, and presents promising molecular design guidelines for the integration of more efficient multiple theranostic functions in a single molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic devices based on ferroelectric materials have broad application prospects; however, there are also problems of narrow bandwidth and low sensitivity. In this paper, polycrystalline BiFeO3 (BFO) films are prepared directly on n‐Si (100) substrates to form ferroelectric/semiconductor heterostructures, the electrical response of which under weak light intensity (0.8 W m−2) is systematically investigated. Accompanied by the dielectric relaxation originated from photocarriers, the polarization of BFO increases while the coercive voltage decreases. Especially, current–voltage (I–V) curve under negative bias voltage changes obviously with illumination, and cyclically switchable photocurrent is detected at 0 V bias, with the on‐off ratio increasing for lower temperature. Although the photoresponse is detectable in the broad wavelength range of 275–1100 nm, it is more pronounced for visible light. It is considered that the built‐in electric field of the PN junction at the BFO/n‐Si interface drives the separation and migration of photocarriers, which in turn affects the interface barrier and the distribution of monovalent oxygen vacancies (VO•$V_{\rm{O}}^ \bullet $) in BFO while producing the photovoltaic effect. This work provides an effective route for developing photodetectors with high sensitivity and broadband detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manipulation of ferroelectric domains is a bridge connecting the basic research and the applications of ferroelectric materials. Here, after cooling across the Curie temperature under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination, out‐of‐plane (OP) polarization of a whole 0.72Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3‐0.28PbTiO3 (PMN‐28PT) crystal is poled in one direction. With the help of light‐dependent temporal Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), the unified upward OP polarization is attributed to the negative charge accumulation at the surface upon exposure to UV light, which is also effective in the control of in‐plane (IP) polarization. Especially, a center‐convergent topological domain structure is formed in a PMN‐28PT crystal lamella via an optical method, which is easily engineered to fabricate large‐scale periodic arrays. This method is expected for high efficiency, low energy consumption, and large‐scale domain manipulation in ferroelectric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanotheranostics aims to utilize nanomaterials to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases to improve the quality of patients' lives. Blood vessels are responsible to deliver nutrients and oxygen to the whole body, eliminate waste, and provide access for patrolling immune cells for healthy tissues. Meanwhile, they can also nourish disease tissues, spread disease factors or cells into other healthy tissues, and deliver nanotheranostic agents to cover all the regions of a disease tissue. Thus, blood vessels are the first and the most important barrier for highly efficient nanotheranostics. Here, the structure and function of blood vessels are explored and how these characteristics affect nanotheranostics is discussed. Moreover, new mechanisms and related strategies about overcoming vascular obstacles for improved nanotheranostic outcomes are critically summarized, and their merits and demerits of each strategy are analyzed. Moreover, the present challenges to completely exhibit the potential of overcoming vascular barriers to improve the theranostic outcomes of nanomedicines in life science are also discussed. Finally, the future perspective is further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excited‐state dynamics of indocyanine green (ICG) fundamentally determine its photophysical properties for phototheranostic. However, its dynamics are predictable to be susceptible toward intracellular viscosity due to its almost freely rotating structure, making the precise phototheranostic very challenging. Therefore, correlating the viscosity with the dynamics of ICG is of great importance and urgency for precise phototheranostic prospects. This study presents systemic investigations on the viscosity‐dependent dynamics of ICG for phototheranostic. Femtosecond transient absorption (fs‐TA) experiments elucidate a prolonged radiative transition (225 ps vs 152 ps) for ICG in a viscous environment, which benefits fluorescence. High viscosity remarkably extends the triplet excited‐state lifetime of ICG but reduces its internal conversion (6.2 ps vs 2.2 ps). The extended triplet lifetime affords sufficient photosensitization time to enhance photodynamic therapy. A moderative internal conversion is unfavorable for heat production, resulting in inferior photothermal therapy. With this clear picture of excitation energy state dissipation in mind, we readily identified the safety laser power density for precise phototheranostic. This work provides an insightful understanding of viscosity‐relevant excited‐state dynamics toward phototheranostic, which is also beneficial for designing novel ICG derivatives with improved phototheranostic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of periodically intermittent stabilization of a class of uncertain time‐delay systems is investigated. Two cases of time‐varying delays are considered: the fast‐varying delays and the slowly‐varying delays. For the former case, a piecewise exponential‐type Lyapunov function combined with a novel Razumikhin‐type technique is proposed to analyze the stability of the periodically intermittently controlled systems. For the latter case, the stability analysis is performed by employing a piecewise time‐dependent exponential‐type Lyapunov functional. The exponential‐type Lyapunov functions/functionals are able to capture more information on switching modes than the conventional Lyapunov functions/functionals, and thus lead to less conservative stability criteria. Next, based on the newly established stability criteria, novel sufficient conditions on the existence of periodically intermittent feedback controllers are presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing from Earth‐observing satellites is now providing valuable information about ocean phytoplankton distributions. This paper presents the new ocean subsurface optical properties obtained from two space‐based lidars: the Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations satellite and the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) aboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite‐2 satellite. Obtaining reliable estimates of subsurface biomass necessitates removing instrument artifacts peculiar to each sensor, that is, polarization crosstalk artifacts in the CALIOP signals and after pulsing effects arising from the ATLAS photodetectors. We validate the optical properties derived from the corrected lidar backscatter signals using MODerate‐resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ocean color measurements and autonomous biogeochemical Argo float profiles. Our results support the continued use of present and future spaceborne lidars to study the global plankton system and characterize its vertical structures in the upper ocean. Key Points: Global ocean subsurface properties are retrieved from Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP)The CALIOP crosstalk artifact and Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) after pulsing effects are removedHigh vertical resolution of ocean subsurface profiles can be obtained from ATLAS/Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite‐2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the problems of achieving exponential stability and finite hybrid L2 × l2‐gain with respect to continuous and discrete disturbances for linear neutral time‐delay systems with impulsive effects. In the framework of descriptor system representation, a piecewise timer‐dependent Lyapunov functional is introduced to analyze the double impacts of state‐delay and impulse‐dwell‐time on stability of the underlying system. This functional depends on the state over an impulse interval and the state over a delay interval. Its construction is based on a delay‐fractioning scheme which ensures all delay subintervals contains at most one impulse instant. The relations among the augmented state variables are explored by using the impulse‐timer functions and the Newton–Leibniz formula. It is proved that the positive definiteness property of the functional at nonimpulse instants is not necessary for ensuring stability. The hybrid L2 × l2‐gain analysis is carried out by jointly using the introduced functional and a discrete‐time Lyapunov function. The obtain criteria for exponential stability and hybrid L2 × l2‐gain are expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Their effectiveness is verified through two numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CXCL6, contraction of C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 6, whose biological roles have been rarely described in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). To understand the clinicopathological and biological roles played by CXCL6 in the growth and metastasis of ESCC, immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of CXCL6 in ESCC tissues, totaling 105 cases; and the correlation was statistically analyzed between CXCL6 expression and clinicopathological parameters. The role mediated in migration and invasion was evaluated using wound‐healing and Transwell assays. MTT and flow cytometry were used to assay the proliferative variation. In vivo, tail vein injection model was established in nude mice xenografted with human ESCC cell lines whose CXCL6 were artificially manipulated. It was found that relative to normal control, CXCL6 was profoundly higher in ESCC; upregulated CXCL6 only significantly correlated with differentiation degree. In vitro, CXCL6 was found to promote the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ESCC cells; which was fully corroborated by nude mice experiment that CXCL6 can promote the growth and metastases of ESCC cells in vivo. Mechanistically, CXCL6 was discovered to be capable of promoting epithelial‐mesenchymal transition and upregulating PD‐L1 expression through activation of the STAT3 pathway. Collectively, all the data we showed here demonstrate that CXCL6 can enhance the growth and metastases of ESCC cells both in vivo and in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) aboard the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite‐2 (ICESat‐2) has been making very high resolution measurements of the Earth's surface elevation since October 2018. ATLAS uses photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) as detectors in photon counting mode, so that a single photon reflected back to the receiver triggers a detection within the ICESat‐2 data acquisition system. However, one characteristic of ICESat‐2 detected photons is the possible presence of afterpulses, defined as small amplitude pulses occurring after the primary signal pulse due to photon arrival. The disadvantage of these afterpulses is that they often confound the accurate measurements of low level signals following a large amplitude of signal and can degrade energy resolution and cause errors in pulse counting applications. This paper discusses and summarizes the after‐pulsing effects exhibited by the ATLAS PMTs based on on‐orbit measurements over different seasons and geographic regions. The potential impacts of these after‐pulsing effects on altimetry and ocean subsurface retrievals are discussed. Plain Language Summary: After‐pulsing effects occurring in the ICESat‐2 Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) are characterized from the on‐orbit measurements acquired over different surface types. Multiple echoes due to after‐pulsing effects in the ATLAS photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are clearly seen below the Earth's surface where the signal should be totally attenuated. The afterpulses captured from on‐orbit measurements are caused by three different reasons: (1) the effects of the dead‐time circuit (∼3 ns) due to PMT saturation; (2) the effects of optical reflections within the ATLAS receiver optical components; (3) PMT afterpulses. The echoes separated by ∼0.45 m are attributed to the effect of the dead‐time circuit (∼3 ns) due to PMT saturation. The echoes at ∼2.3 and ∼4.2 m below the primary surface returns are caused by the optical reflections within the ATLAS receiver optical components, while the echoes from ∼10 to ∼45 m away from the primary surface signal are due to the PMT afterpulses with a longer time delay. The ICESat‐2 ATLAS instrument response is derived from both a measurement of the transmitted laser pulse shape and measured photon events arising from land surfaces with different surface albedos. The ICESat‐2 on‐orbit measurements demonstrate that the ATLAS impulse response during different months and over different surface types is essentially identical. Key Points: The effects of after‐pulsing by the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) aboard the ICESat‐2 satellite are describedThe transient response of the ATLAS receiver is characterized over different measurement regimesThe potential impacts of these detector artifacts on ICESat‐2 science studies are discussed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a long time, phosphors with long‐lived emission are dominated by rare earth/transition metal ion‐doped sulfides and oxides. Recently, organic materials capable of emitting long‐lived room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) are reported, carbon skeletons are almost the exclusive structural feature of the conjugated luminophores. Herein, we reported that boric acid, a non‐metal and C‐free material, could emit RTP with lifetime up to 0.3 s. Detailed investigations indicated the weak conjugation between the n electrons of the O atoms in the B‐O confined space was the possible origin of RTP. Similar RTP was also found in electron‐rich N/F systems, namely, BN and BF3 (BF4−). Importantly, the vacant pz0 orbital of B was found to contribute to the relevant unoccupied molecular orbitals involved in excitation, which is different from previous reports on phosphorescence from arylboronic acids. The results confirm the unique role of B as a versatile structure motif for construction of new RTP materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct magnetoelectric (ME) coupling between magnetic and ferroelectric orders, which can be realized in spiral magnets, is vital in technological applications of multifunctional materials. Multisusceptible BaFe12O19 is noteworthy for its excellent magnetic, dielectric properties and thus the application in high‐density information storage, while its collinear spin structure limits the emergence of ferroelectrics and ME coupling. In this work, nonzero Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) interaction is created by partial substitution of the spin‐down Fe3+ sites to induce conical spin structure in BaFe12O19. Larger In3+ ions are introduced and prefer to occupy the spin‐down 4f1 and 4f2 lattice sites. The evolution of magnetization versus temperature adduces evidence of conical magnetic structure. As a result, direct ME and magnetodielectric coupling are obtained in In‐doped BaFe12O19 ceramics. An interlayer DM interaction model is built to discuss the intrinsic relationship among crystal structure, noncollinear magnetic structure, and ionic substitution. Moreover, BaZn0.9Zr0.9Fe10.2O19 ceramics are also prepared, and exhibit noncollinear magnetic structure and direct ME coupling since Zn2+ and Zr4+ also possess larger radii than Fe3+ and prefer to enter the spin‐down sites. The present result provides a feasible avenue to develop multiferroic and magnetoelectric coupling in ubiquitous M‐type hexaferrite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phototheranostics conducted in the near‐infrared‐II (NIR‐II) biological window exhibits high superiorities relative to that conducted in the first near‐infrared (NIR‐I) window due to higher penetration depth, higher signal‐to‐noise ratio of imaging, and improved maximum permissible exposure. Currently, most existing agents developed for NIR‐II phototheranostics are limited to inorganic nanoparticles and small‐molecule dyes, which suffer from the issues of long‐term biotoxicity and poor photostability, respectively. Organic semiconducting nanomaterials (OSNs) constructed from π‐conjugated organic semiconducting polymers or oligomers have unique advantages including high photostability, flexible optical features, and good biocompatibility due to the totally organic and biologically inert constituents. These advantages make OSNs more promising for in vivo phototheranostics. We here make a brief review about recent progress of OSNs‐assisted phototheranostics conducted in the NIR‐II biological window. NIR‐II fluorescence imaging and photoacoustic imaging are mainly reviewed as diagnostic modalities to guide various treatments. Besides, multimodal phototheranostics using OSNs in NIR‐II window is also described. At last, the challenges and outlook for OSNs‐assisted NIR‐II phototheranostics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite La0.6Sr0.4Fe1−xCuxO3−δ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2) polycrystalline samples have been synthesized in air and investigated by X‐Ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, magnetization, and mechanical spectroscopy. An antiferromagnetic transition is observed around 300 K, while no corresponding anomaly is observed in the mechanical spectrum, indicating the absence of conventional magnetoelastic coupling. For La0.6Sr0.4FeO3, an internal friction peak (P1) presents around 140 K and shifts to lower temperatures with increasing Cu‐doping content. Meanwhile, a magnetic anomaly is also observed around P1 peak temperature. As explained, the P1 peak is related to the freezing of the ferroelastic domain walls, and the mechanical energy dissipation is induced by the lagging variation of the octahedral tilting under the alternating stress. This work suggests a peculiar magnetic property of the octahedra within ferroelastic domain walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

KIAA1377 has been found to be linked with lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in our previous study; however, the regulation of KIAA1377 remains far from understood. Herein, to understand the regulation of KIAA1377 from the angle of microRNA (miRNA)–messenger RNA (mRNA) modulation in the setting of SCC cells, the basal level of KIAA1377 was determined by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) and western blot analysis in KYSE‐150 and HeLa cells; biological roles of KIAA1377 contributing in the proliferation, migration, and invasion were evaluated using 3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT), wound‐healing and Transwell assays, respectively, after KIAA1377 was knocked out mediated by the CRISPR‐Cas9 system. Bioinformatic prediction revealed that let‐7b‐5p was a putative miRNA regulating KIAA1377, which was ensuingly validated by the luciferase reporter assay; after which, variation of KIAA1377 expression was further verified by qRT‐PCR and western blot analysis. Moreover, the biological roles of let‐7b‐5p in proliferation, migration, and invasion of KYSE‐150 and HeLa cells were also evaluated. It was exhibited that KIAA1377 was able to promote the proliferation and motility of both KYSE‐150 and HeLa cells, which can be reverted by re‐expression of let‐7b‐5p. The luciferase reporter assay verified that let‐7b‐5p can diametrically target KIAA1377. Collectively, our data demonstrated that let‐7b‐5p can directly but negatively regulate KIAA1377 in SCC cell lines, Ecal109, and HeLa cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The problem of impulsive stabilization of linear neutral delay systems is investigated by using the impulse‐time‐dependent Lyapunov functions. The construction of impulse‐time‐dependent Lyapunov functions is based on the singular system representation of the impulsively controlled neutral delay system. In order to overcome the difficulty arising from time‐varying state delays, a Razumikhin‐type analysis method is developed and the key technique is to establish the relation between the slow and fast state variables by using a difference inequality. The derived stability criterion weakens the restriction condition on the impulse operators found in the previous result. For constant delay case, an improved stability criterion is derived by applying an impulse‐time‐dependent Lyapunov functional. Next, based on the newly established stability criteria, novel sufficient conditions on the existence of impulsive controllers with range dwell‐time constraint are presented. Finally, two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of the coexistence of HBsAg and anti‐HBs is still unclear. This study investigated the variations located in the major hydrophilic region (MHR) of HBV from individuals with simultaneous HBsAg and anti‐HBs in Guangzhou, southern China. Among 4455 samples analyzed, 179 (4.02%) patients were discovered with both HBsAg and anti‐HBs. Finally, 44 individuals with concurrent HBsAg and anti‐HBs (defined as group I), and 88 patients with positive HBsAg and negative anti‐HBs (defined as group II, served as control) were enrolled in the study. The number of residue changes per 100 residues within the MHR in group I was 7.1 times more frequent than group II (P < 0.001) and was discovered mostly in the MHR1 (aa99‐119) (P < 0.001). Two or more residue changes in the MHR were discovered in 15 patients (34.1%) of group I, but were found in only one (1.1%) patient of group II (P < 0.001). The most common variants in group I were at positions s101Q, s133M, s126T/I, s131T, s145G, s120P, and s129Q. In addition, sQ101 K, sT131N, and sM133L were more frequently discovered in group I with significant difference (P < 0.05). In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients, the simultaneous of HBsAg and anti‐HBs were accompanied with an increase of MHR variants, and suggested that the HBsAg mutants were selected by naturally acquired anti‐HBs during chronic carriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many mechanical systems can be modelled by vector second‐order differential equations. In this study, the observation problem of a class of vector second‐order Lipschitz non‐linear systems with discrete measurements is addressed. Under the premise that the discrete measurements of position and velocity vectors are available, an impulsive observer in the second‐order framework is designed. The proposed observation scheme ensures that the second‐order structure of the observed system can be retained, and allows the sampling on the system output to be aperiodic. The stability analysis of the observation error system is performed by employing an impulse‐time‐dependent discretised Lyapunov function based method. The novelty of the introduced Lyapunov function is that its structure relies on the partition on the impulse intervals. With the increase of the partition number, the existence condition of impulsive natural observers can be relaxed. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: MCP2, aliased CCL8, has been suggested to be implicated in the metastasis of cancer cells; however, no direct evidence has been established in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In our present study, to investigate the role MCP2 played in the metastasis of ESCC cells; in vitro cell co‐culture system was established. Wound‐healing and Transwell assays were used to evaluate the migratory and invasive variation of ESCC cells before and after treatment with recombinant human MCP2. It was shown that MCP2 was able to activate the NF‐κB signaling pathway inducing the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promoting the migration and invasion of ESCC cells in vitro. Our study provides an alternative working mechanism for M2 macrophage mediated the metastasis in tumor microenvironment in ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combination of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy has become a major strategy in cancer treatment for enhancing anticancer efficacy. However, developing nanoplatform that can promote siRNA release and collaborate with efficient PDT under NIR light irradiation is still a big challenge. Photo-induced charge-variable conjugated polyelectrolyte brushes encapsulating upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP@CCPEB) as an efficient nanoplatform are reported. Cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte brush (CCPEB) is synthesized through quaternary ammoniation of N-functionalized polyfluorene brush by photodegradable 2-nitrobenzyl-2-bromoacetate. CCPEB with abundant positive charges and intrinsic photosensitizer (PS) performance is good for integrating siRNA carrier and PS into one molecule. The obtained CCPEB next encapsulates upconversion nanoparticle for realizing its NIR light excitation. Agarose gel electrophoresis experiments show that UCNP@CCPEB present good stability and excellent siRNA-loading capacity (1 mol UCNP@CCPEB to at least 32.5 mol siRNA). Under 980 nm light irradiation, UCNP@CCPEB exhibit efficient single oxygen production for PDT. Concurrently, the photoresponsive cationic side-chain of CCPEB turns into zwitterionic chain and thus accelerates its siRNA release to 80%. In vitro and in vivo experiments show that the successful A549 tumor suppression is achieved by UCNP@CCPEB/siPlk1 complex under 980 irradiation. It is envisioned that UCNP@CCPEB can serve as an efficient platform for combining various phototherapies together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the problem of H∞ control for linear singular time‐delay systems subject to impulsive perturbations. Specifically, the impulses are allowed to be destabilising, i.e. they may degrade the closed‐loop performance of the considered systems. With the aid of a descriptor‐type impulse‐time‐dependent Lyapunov functional, a sufficient condition for the solvability of the problem is derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). By solving a set of LMIs, a desired state‐feedback controller is found, which guarantees that the closed‐loop system is impulse‐free, internally exponentially stable, and achieves a prescribed L2 ‐gain. Finally, three numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: boric acid; boron; electronic communication; lone pair electrons; room temperature phosphorescence EN boric acid boron electronic communication lone pair electrons room temperature phosphorescence 1 1 1 02/07/23 20230206 NES 230206 In this Research Article, wrong crystal data of boric acid (CCDC 1500066) were used for theoretical calculations. Berichtigung: Ultralong Room-Temperature Phosphorescence from Boric Acid Boric acid, boron, lone pair electrons, electronic communication, room temperature phosphorescence. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: boric acid; boron; electronic communication; lone pair electrons; room temperature phosphorescence EN boric acid boron electronic communication lone pair electrons room temperature phosphorescence 1 1 1 02/07/23 20230206 NES 230206 In this Research Article, wrong crystal data of boric acid (CCDC 1500066) were used for theoretical calculations. Boron, electronic communication, boric acid, lone pair electrons, room temperature phosphorescence Corrigendum: Ultralong Room-Temperature Phosphorescence from Boric Acid. [Extracted from the article]

Y3Fe5O12 ceramics are prepared by the solid state reaction method. Grain size and Fe2+ concentration-dependent magnetic, dielectric, and magnetodielectric properties are investigated systematically. It is found that grain size and Fe2+ concentration increase with increasing sintering temperature, which thus results in increased saturation magnetization while decreased coercive field and remanent magnetization. Three sets of dielectric relaxation are observed in temperature range from 10 to 500 K, which are considered to be originated from quantum tunneling effect of electrons, electron hopping between Fe2+ and Fe3+, and the migration of oxygen vacancies, respectively. Cole-Cole fitting results of relaxation II indicate that a correlation exists among the hopping electrons, and the correlation is strengthened as Fe2+ concentration increases, which in turn results in easier hopping process and decreased activation energy. More interesting, YIG ceramics sintered at 1350 °C show both considerable magnetic and dielectric properties at room temperature, opening a new window for the application of YIG as a possible multi-susceptibile single-phase material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel water-soluble fluorescent amphiphile based on amino polyethylene glycol (PEG-NH2) substituted oligo( p-phenyleneethynylene) (OPE) was designed and synthesized successfully. Taking anion OPE amphiphile as a comparison, the photophysical features were investigated through ultraviolet absorption (UV) and photoluminescence (PL) analyses. Due to the hydrophobic-hydrophilic property of the OPE conjugated molecule, self-assembled nanoparticles with the size ranging from 19.6 to 93.5 nm along with the change of morphology from "grain" to "strawberry" were conveniently prepared via adjusting concentrations of OPE aqueous solution. Interestingly, after aging for a period of time, homogeneous hollow nanospheres were spontaneously constructed with a diameter of about 200 nm. Cytotoxicity test and cellular uptake behavior of the nanoparticles were further investigated to evaluate their potential biomedical applications. Subsequently, the promising applications of two-photon cell imaging were explored using human pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1 cells), which indicated that the nanoparticles were mainly located within the cell cytoplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated a novel water-soluble conjugated polymer (WSCP) for thiol detection based on "turn-off" effect. This WSCP was modified with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by disulfide linkages to achieve good solubility in aqueous solution (34 mg/mL) and high quantum yield (0.47). The separation of water-soluble PEG chains from the conjugated backbone induced by the cleavage of the disulfide linkages would lead to a significant decrease of the water solubility and a dramatical fluorescence quenching of the probe. The combined intuitive images and fluorescence spectrophotometer further confirmed that decreased solubility produced an aggregation of the hydrophobic conjugated backbone. The fluorescence intensity of the probe showed a good linear relationship with glutathione (GSH) (1-200 nmol·L−1), and the detection limit was 16 nmol·L−1. This WSCP probe was confirmed to be a good sensing material with high selectivity to thiols by testing various biological molecules. And this WSCP probe exhibited good detection effect to intracellular thiols by testing Hela cells. Considering the good sensitivity and selectivity, the probe could be further used in vivo. In conclusion, this conjugated polymer probe made up for the drawbacks of the micromolecue probes and contributed to the development of new probes based on conjugated polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical spectra of Pr1- xSr xFeO3- δ ( x = 0.5, 0.55, and 0.6) ceramics were performed at kHz frequencies from 100 to 350 K. An internal friction (IF) peak associated with modulus defect around 130 K and a modulus kink at 200 K were observed. This IF peak temperature shows frequency-dispersive behavior. The dielectric spectra and magnetization measurements were used to clarify the origin of the anomaly in IF and modulus. The dielectric spectra provide clear evidence for the relaxation behavior of IF peak and the activation energies of 0.14, 0.13, and 0.11 eV were derived from the Arrhenius law for Pr0.5Sr0.5FeO3, Pr0.45Sr0.55FeO3, and Pr0.4Sr0.6FeO3 samples, respectively. The relaxation behavior is ascribed to the charge-carrier hopping between Fe3+ and Fe4+. Furthermore, the magnetization measurement confirms that the kink in the reduced Young's modulus is associated with a spin-glass transition. In addition, another dielectric anomaly at 200 K may be related to the magneto dielectric effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To investigate the expression of let-7 and its regulation of high-mobility group A2 protein ( HMGA2), and to verify the relationship between let-7, HMGA2 and the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition ( EMT), in oesophageal squamous cell carcinomas ( OSCC) of Kazakh patients. Methods and results Expression of let-7 was significantly lower in Eca109 cells than in normal oesophageal squamous epithelium ( P = 2.4 × 10−7). Increased accumulation of let-7 after transfection of Eca109 cells with synthetic let-7 inhibited cell proliferation. Let-7 could repress expression of HMGA2 after co-transfection with let-7 and HMGA2 ( P = 0.002). Moreover, let-7 expression was observed less frequently ( P = 2.0 × 10−8), and HMGA2 expression more frequently ( P = 1.0 × 10−10), in OSCC than in normal adjacent tissues; and let-7 expression was observed less frequently in OSCC from Kazakh patients than in those from Han and Uygur patients ( P = 0.041). There was a reverse correlation between expression of let-7 and HMGA2 ( P = 0.018). Expression of Snail was statistically higher in Kazakhs' OSCC ( P = 0.029), and was correlated with depth of invasion ( P = 0.021) and HMGA2 expression ( P = 0.026). Conclusions Expression of let-7 can suppress cell proliferation by acting directly on regulation of HMGA2 in OSCC. High expression of Snail and its correlation with HMGA2 expression and tumour invasion suggest that HMGA2 may be involved in EMT in the OSCC of Kazakh patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]