The orientational correlation length of domains in a semiconducting polymer controls its thermoelectric performance.

An altered balance between Th1 and Th2 cytokines is responsible for a variety of immuno-inflammatory disorders such as asthma, yet the role of post-transcriptional mechanisms, such as those mediated by microRNAs, in adjusting the relative magnitude and balance of Th cytokine expression have been largely unexplored. Here we show that miR-21 has a central role in setting a balance between Th1 and Th2 responses to antigens. Targeted ablation of miR-21 in mice led to reduced lung eosinophilia after allergen challenge, with a broadly reprogrammed immunoactivation transcriptome, and significantly increased levels of the Th1 cytokine IFNγ. Biological network-based transcriptome analysis of OVA-challenged miR-21-/-mice identified an unexpected prominent dysregulation of IL-12/IFNγ pathways as the most significantly affected in the lungs with a key role for miR-21 in IFNγ signaling and T-cell polarization, consistent with a functional miR-21 binding site in IL-12p35. In support of these hypotheses, miR-21 deficiency led dendritic cells to produce more IL-12 after LPS stimulation, and OVA-challenged CD4+ T lymphocytes to produce increased IFNγ and decreased IL-4. Further, loss of miR-21 significantly enhanced the Th1-associated delayed-type hypersensitivity cutaneous responses. Thus, our results define miR-21 as a major regulator of Th1 vs. Th2 responses, defining a new mechanism for regulating polarized immuno-inflammatory responses.

Doping of thin films of semiconducting polymers provides control of their electrical conductivity and thermopower. The electrical conductivity of semiconducting polymers rises nonlinearly with the carrier concentration, and there is a lack of understanding of the detailed factors that lead to this behavior. We report a study of the morphological effects of doping on the electrical conductivity of poly­(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin films doped with small molecule 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ). Resonant soft X-ray scattering shows that the morphology of films of P3HT is not strongly changed by infiltration of F4TCNQ from the vapor phase. We show that the local ordering of P3HT, the texture and form factor of crystallites, and the long-range connectivity of crystalline domains contribute to the electrical conductivity in thin films. The thermopower of films of P3HT doped with F4TCNQ from the vapor phase is not strongly enhanced relative to films doped from solution, but the electrical conductivity is significantly higher, improving the thermoelectric power factor.

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) has been emerging as a significant health issue worldwide. This study aimed to systemically assess the prevalence of CFS/ME in various aspects of analyses for precise assessment. Methods: We systematically searched prevalence of CFS/ME from public databases from 1980 to December 2018. Data were extracted according to 7 categories for analysis: study participants, gender and age of the participants, case definition, diagnostic method, publication year, and country of the study conducted. Prevalence data were collected and counted individually for studies adopted various case definitions. We analyzed and estimated prevalence rates in various angles: average prevalence, pooled prevalence and meta-analysis of all studies. Results: A total of 1291 articles were initially identified, and 45 articles (46 studies, 56 prevalence data) were selected for this study. Total 1085,976 participants were enrolled from community-based survey (540,901) and primary care sites (545,075). The total average prevalence was 1.40 ± 1.57%, pooled prevalence 0.39%, and meta-analysis 0.68% [95% CI 0.48-0.97]. The prevalence rates were varied by enrolled participants (gender, study participants, and population group), case definitions and diagnostic methods. For example, in the meta-analysis; women (1.36% [95% CI 0.48-0.97]) vs. men (0.86% [95% CI 0.48-0.97]), community-based samples (0.76% [95% CI 0.53-1.10]) vs. primary care sites (0.63% [95% CI 0.37-1.10]), adults ≥ 18 years (0.65% [95% CI 0.43-0.99]) vs. children and adolescents < 18 years (0.55% [95% CI 0.22-1.35]), CDC-1994 (0.89% [95% CI 0.60-1.33]) vs. Holmes (0.17% [95% CI 0.06-0.49]), and interviews (1.14% [95% CI 0.76-1.72]) vs. physician diagnosis (0.09% [95% CI 0.05-0.13]), respectively. Conclusions: This study comprehensively estimated the prevalence of CFS/ME; 0.89% according to the most commonly used case definition CDC-1994, with women approximately 1.5 to 2 folds higher than men in all categories. However, we observed the prevalence rates are widely varied particularly by case definitions and diagnostic methods. An objective diagnostic tool is urgently required for rigorous assessment of the prevalence of CFS/ME.

A new alternating polyfluorene copolymer, poly(9,9′-dioctylfluorene-alt-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PFTT), containing a thiophene-condensed thieno [3,2-b]thiophene moiety has been synthesized via a palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling reaction. The synthesized polymer was successfully characterized by 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and elemental analysis. It shows good thermal stability and displays unique phase transition behavior between the crystalline and liquid-crystalline states. The ionization potential and electron affinity of PFTT are -5.38 eV and -2.40 eV, respectively, as determined by cyclic voltammetry. Thus, PFTT has an electrochemical band gap of approximately 2.98 eV, which is smaller than that of common polyfluorene (PF) homopolymers. As a film, PFTT exhibits UV-vis and photoluminescence maxima at 471 and 511 nm, respectively. A light-emitting diode device fabricated with an ITO/PEDOT/PFTT/LiF/Al configuration exhibits pure green light emission with the full width at halfmaximum (fwhm) of only 57 nm and a low turn-on voltage of 3.3 V. Especially, this emission has the CIE coordinates (0.29, 0.63), which are very close to the standard for green used by the National Television System Committee. In addition, PFTT exhibits better electroluminescence performance than other similar PF homopolymers and than fluorene-and thiophene-based copolymers.

The thermoelectric properties of semiconducting polymers are influenced by both the carrier concentration and the morphology that sets the pathways for charge transport. A combination of optical, morphological, and electrical characterization was used to assess the effect of the role of disorder on the thermoelectric properties in thin films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) doped with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F 4 TCNQ). Controlled morphologies were formed by casting blends of regioregular (RR-P3HT) and regiorandom (RRa-P3HT) and then subsequently doping with F 4 TCNQ from the vapor phase. Optical spectroscopy and X-ray scattering show that vapor phase doping induces order in the disordered regions of thin films and increases the long-range connectivity of the film. The thermoelectric properties were assessed and show that while the Seebeck coefficient is affected by structural ordering, the electrical conductivity and power factor are more dominantly correlated with the long-range connectivity of domains.

We report highly photosensitive organic phototransistors ͑OPTs͒ based on a 2,5-bis-biphenyl-4-yl-thieno͓3,2-b͔thiophene ͑BPTT͒. The measured maximum sensitivity and the ratio of photocurrent to dark current ͑I ph / I dark ͒ in BPTT OPTs were 82 A / W and 2.0ϫ 10 5 under 380 nm UV light with 1.55 mW/ cm 2 , respectively. The prepared OPTs show a photocurrent response similar to the absorption spectrum of BPTT. The major mechanisms for photocurrent amplification in this device were verified from experimental results as photovoltaic ͑turn-on͒ and photocurrent effect ͑turn-off͒ by a fitting to theoretic equations.

Ghrelin is an endogenous ligand for GH secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHSR1a), and is produced and released mainly from the stomach. It has been recently demonstrated that ghrelin can function as a neuroprotective factor by inhibiting apoptotic pathways. Kainic acid (KA), an excitatory amino acid L-glutamate analog, causes neuronal death in the hippocampus; previous studies suggest that activated microglia and astrocytes actively participate in the pathogenesis of KA-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration. However, it is unclear whether ghrelin has neuroprotective effect in KA-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration. I.p. injection of KA produced typical neuronal cell death in the CA1 and CA3 pyramidal layers of the hippocampus, and the systemic administration of ghrelin significantly attenuated KA-induced neuronal cell death in these regions through the activation of GHSR1a. Ghrelin prevents KA-induced activation of microglia and astrocytes, and the expression of proinflammatory mediators tumor necrosis factor a, interleukin-1b, and cyclooxygenase-2. The inhibitory effect of ghrelin on the activation of microglia and astrocytes appears to be associated with the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-3 expression in damaged hippocampal neurons. Our data suggest that ghrelin has a therapeutic potential for suppressing KA-induced pathogenesis in the brain.