Unruptured pregnancy in a noncommunicating rudimentary horn at37 weeks with a live fetus:a case report

We report an extremely rare case of an unmptured non-communicating rudimentary horn full-term pregnancy. A woman who had a uterine malformation was misdiagnosed as uterus didelphys and gave birth to a live, healthy fetus. The correct diagnosis was not made until cesarean section at 37 4/7 weeks. The case suggests that women who are pregnant in a rudimentary horn could obtain a full-term delivery and give birth to a live and healthy baby.

Medroxyprogestogen enhances apoptosis of SKOV-3 cells via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

We sought to assess the effect of progestin on the apoptosis of epithelial ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3 and via regulation of phosphorylation signaling in. Epithelial ovarian cancer cell line SKOV-3 was treated with me- droxyprogestogen, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002 and vehicle control. Akt, phospho-Akt, Bcl-2 and phospho-Bad proteins were examined by immunoblotting assays. Medroxyprogestogen-induced apoptosis was assessed by MTT assays and Annexin V apoptosis assay. We found no significant difference in Akt and Bad expression in both the medroxyprogestogen groups and the control group. The levels of phospho-Akt, Bcl-2 and phospho-Bad were decreased in all the medroxyprogestogen groups and significantly decreased in the high dose mitogen-activated protein （MAP） group （10 gmol/L）. Viability of SKOV-3 was reduced and apparent apoptosis of SKOV-3 cells was observed with increased doses of MAP. The findings suggest that medroxyprogestogen can induce SKOV-3 cell apoptosis by inhibiting Akt phosphorylation.

人体生物矿化与病态结晶研究进展

生物体通过矿化结晶可制备出具有多层级结构有序的功能材料以实现特定生物功能,但是有害(或病态)的结晶过程则会诱发诸如肾结石、动脉粥样硬化、疟疾、痛风等疾病.迄今为止,科学家对哺乳动物体内无机或有机盐病态矿化结晶的分子机制认识仍不清楚,但随着结晶科学推动病态矿化领域的发展,生物病态结晶研究近年来已取得了众多突破性成果和重要进展.本文从结晶过程机理认识和抑制药物分子开发需求出发,首先介绍了病态矿化结晶过程诱发的几种常见人类疾病,综述了这些疾病相关的无机或有机盐晶体结晶过程机制的研究进展,重点阐述了诱发肾结石形成的晶体成核、生长、聚结和黏附不同阶段、不同尺度的分子机制研究进展以及结晶抑制药物分子的设计开发策略.最后,梳理了今后生物病态结晶领域研究的重点方向,为病态矿化引发的人类疾病的预防、治疗和药物研究开发提供指导.

Optical manipulation: from fluid to solid domains

Light carries energy and momentum,laying the physical foundation of optical manipulation that has facilitated advances in myriad scientific disciplines,ranging from biochemistry and robotics to quantum physics.Utilizing the momentum of light,optical tweezers have exemplified elegant light–matter interactions in which mechanical and optical momenta can be interchanged,whose effects are the most pronounced on micro and nano objects in fluid suspensions.In solid domains,the same momentum transfer becomes futile in the face of dramatically increased adhesion force.Effective implementation of optical manipulation should thereupon switch to the“energy”channel by involving auxiliary physical fields,which also coincides with the irresistible trend of enriching actuation mechanisms beyond sole reliance on light-momentum-based optical force.From this perspective,this review covers the developments of optical manipulation in schemes of both momentum and energy transfer,and we have correspondingly selected representative techniques to present.Theoretical analyses are provided at the beginning of this review followed by experimental embodiments,with special emphasis on the contrast between mechanisms and the practical realization of optical manipulation in fluid and solid domains.

Fibre tapering using plasmonic microheaters and deformation-induced pull

Optical fibres with diameters at micro-or sub-micrometre scale are widely adopted as a convenient tool for studying light–matter interactions.To prepare such devices,two elements are indispensable:a heat source and a pulling force.In this paper,we report a novel fibre-tapering technique in which micro-sized plasmonic heaters and elaborately deformed optical fibres are compactly combined,free of flame and bulky pulling elements.Using this technique,micro-nano fibres with abrupt taper and ultra-short transition regions were successfully fabricated,which would otherwise be a challenge for traditional techniques.The compactness of the proposed system enabled it to be further transferred to a scanning electron microscope for in-situ monitoring of the tapering process.The essential dynamics of“heat and pull”was directly visualised with nanometre precision in real time and theoretically interpreted,thereby establishing an example for future in-situ observations of micro and nanoscale light-matter interactions.

Miltirone induces cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma cell through GSDME-dependent pyroptosis

Pyroptosis is a form of programmed cell death,and recently described as a new molecular mechanism of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of tumors.Miltirone,a derivative of phenanthrenequinone isolated from the root of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge,has been shown to possess anti-cancer activities.Here,we found that miltirone inhibited the cell viability of either HepG2 or Hepa1-6 cells,and induced the proteolytic cleavage of gasdermin E(GSDME)in each hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)cell line,with concomitant cleavage of caspase 3.Knocking out GSDME switched miltirone-induced cell death from pyroptosis to apoptosis.Additionally,the induction effects of miltirone on GSDMEdependent pyroptosis were attenuated by si RNA-mediated caspase three silencing and the specific caspase three inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK,respectively.Miltirone effectively elicited intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species(ROS),and suppressed phosphorylation of mitogen-activated and extracellular signal-regulated kinase(MEK)and extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2(ERK1/2)for pyroptosis induction.Moreover,miltirone significantly inhibited tumor growth and induced pyroptosis in the Hepa1-6 mouse HCC syngeneic model.These results provide a new insight that miltirone is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC via GSDME-dependent pyroptosis.

The mechanisms of sorafenib resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma:theoretical basis and therapeutic aspects

Sorafenib is a multikinase inhibitor capable of facilitating apoptosis,mitigating angiogenesis and suppressing tumor cell proliferation.In late-stage hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),sorafenib is currently an effective first-line therapy.Unfortunately,the development of drug resistance to sorafenib is becoming increasingly common.This study aims to identify factors contributing to resistance and ways to mitigate resistance.Recent studies have shown that epigenetics,transport processes,regulated cell death,and the tumor microenvironment are involved in the development of sorafenib resistance in HCC and subsequent HCC progression.This study summarizes discoveries achieved recently in terms of the principles of sorafenib resistance and outlines approaches suitable for improving therapeutic outcomes for HCC patients.

Black phosphorus quantum dots: A new-type of water-based high-efficiency lubricant additive

Black phosphorus quantum dots(BPQDs),obtained via a typical solution-based top-down method,were used as water-based lubricant additives.BPQDs exhibited remarkable friction reduction and anti-wear properties even at the ultra-low concentration of 0.005 wt%,which reduced the friction coefficient and wear volume of the base liquid by 32.3%and 56.4%,respectively.In addition,the load-supporting capacity of the base liquid increased from 120 N to over 300 N.BPQDs-based additives exhibited a relatively long lifetime at a relatively high load of 80 N.The performance of BPQDs considerably exceeded that of the BP;this may be attributed to their small and uniform particle size,good dispersion stability in water,and high reactivity at the frictional surfaces.The results of the surface wear resistance analysis demonstrated that a robust tribochemical film with a thickness of approximately 90 nm was formed on the rubbing surface lubricated with 0.005 wt%of BPQDs dispersion.Moreover,the film served as a direct evidence of the excellent tribological performance of BPQDs.

Tribological performance of various metal-doped carbon dots as water-based lubricant additives and their potential application as additives of poly(ethylene glycol)

Advances in nano-lubricant additives are vital to the pursuit of energy efficiency and sustainable development.Carbon dots(CDs)have been widely investigated in the domain of lubricant additives owing to their extraordinary tribological properties,in particular,their friction-reducing and anti-wear properties.Metal-doped CDs are a new type of CDs,and their friction-reducing and anti-wear properties are attracting increasing attention.Therefore,a series of CDs doped with various divalent metal ions have been successfully synthesized via one-pot pyrolysis.The tribological properties of the synthesized CDs as water-based lubricant additives are in the following order:Zn-CDs>Cu-CDs>>Mg-CDs>Fe-CDs>U-CDs.Specifically,adding 1.0 wt%of Zn-CDs into water-based lubricant results in 62.5%friction and 81.8%wear reduction.Meanwhile,the load-carrying capacity of the water-based lubricant increases from 120 N to at least 500 N.Zn-CDs as an additive have long service life.Additionally,anion-tuned Zn-CDs fabricated via anion exchange exhibit promise as lubricant additives for poly(ethylene glycol).Based on the results of wear scar surface analyses,it is discovered that tribochemical films,primarily composed of iron oxides,nitrides,metal carbonates,zinc oxides,zinc carbonates,organic compounds,and embedded carbon cores,formed on the rubbing surfaces with a thickness of approximately 270 nm when Zn-CDs are used as additives.This film combined with the“ball-bearing”and third-particle effects of Zn-CDs contributed to excellent lubrication performance.

Micro-scale opto-thermo-mechanical actuation in the dry adhesive regime

Realizing optical manipulation of microscopic objects is crucial in the research fields of life science,condensed matter physics,and physical chemistry.In non-liquid environments,this task is commonly regarded as difficult due to strong adhesive surface force(~µN)attached to solid interfaces that makes tiny optical driven force(~pN)insignificant.Here,by recognizing the microscopic interaction mechanism between friction force—the parallel component of surface force on a contact surface—and thermoelastic waves induced by pulsed optical absorption,we establish a general principle enabling the actuation of micro-objects on dry frictional surfaces based on the opto-thermo-mechanical effects.Theoretically,we predict that nanosecond pulsed optical absorption with mW-scale peak power is sufficient to tameµN-scale friction force.Experimentally,we demonstrate the two-dimensional spiral motion of gold plates on micro-fibers driven by nanosecond laser pulses,and reveal the rules of motion control.Our results pave the way for the future development of micro-scale actuators in non-liquid environments.

Controllable generation of large-scale highly regular gratings on Si films

The application of femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface texturing has significant potential in medicine,optics,tribology,and biology,among other areas.However,when irradiated by a large intense laser spot,the periodic structures usually exhibit an uncontrollable regularity,forming bifurcated patterns,thus limiting their widespread application.Irregularity originates from numerous independent branching seeds.The usual solution to this problem is to utilize the quasi-direct laser writing technique,that is,by limiting the laser beam size(diameter of<10 wavelengths)and scanning the beam or samples using 2D translation stages.Herein,we demonstrate an optical localization-induced nonlinear competition mechanism to solve this problem,which occurs at a fluence nearly one order of magnitude below the ablation threshold.Owing to the low intrinsic absorption of silicon and ultralow applied fluence,this mechanism ensures the self-selection of a single seed to initiate an array of bifurcated-free gratings under stationary irradiation with a large laser spot(diameter>100 wavelengths).Surprisingly,some unconventional complex patterns,such as radial,annular,and spiral gratings,can also be easily produced by structured light fields with unprecedented regularity.Their diameters reach up to>500μm.Moreover,we can artificially control the initial seeding structure to further improve the regularity of the gratings,defined by dispersion in the ripple orientation angle in their 2D Fourier transform.As a result,the regularity in our experiments produced by a large laser spot is even higher than that scanned by a tiny beam.Controllable and highly regular ripples are beneficial to the structural coloring effects because they arise from the light diffraction by subwavelength gratings.

High-frequency enhanced response based on Sb_(2)Te_(3)topological insulators

Topological insulators represent a new quantum phase of matter with spin-polarized surface states that are protected from backscattering, exhibiting electronic responses to light, such as topological quantum phase transitions. However, the effects of high-frequency driving topological intrinsic systems have remained largely unexplored challenges experimentally for high-sensitivity terahertz detection. In this study, by integrating Sb2Te3 topological insulators with subwavelength metal antennas through micro-nano processing, a high-frequency terahertz detector with high sensitivity is proposed. The enhanced response originates from the asymmetric scattering of the surface electrons in the Sb_(2)Te_(3) flakes induced by the terahertz wave. The device displays room-temperature photodetection with a responsivity of 192 mA/W and equivalent noise power of less than 0.35 nW/Hz^(1/2) in the frequency range from 0.02 to 0.3 THz. These results pave the way for the exploitation of topological insulators for high-frequency operation in real-time imaging within long-wavelength optoelectronics.