Graphene has been attracting wide interests owing to its excellent electronic, thermal, and mechanical performances. Despite the availability of several production techniques, it is still a great challenge to achieve wafer-size graphene with acceptable uniformity and low cost, which would determine the future of graphene electronics. Here we report a universal segregation growth technique for batch production of high-quality wafer-scale graphene from non-noble metal films. Without any extraneous carbon sources, 4 in. graphene wafers have been obtained from Ni, Co, Cu-Ni alloy, and so forth via thermal annealing with over 82% being 1-3 layers and excellent reproducibility. We demonstrate the first example of monolayer and bilayer graphene wafers using Cu-Ni alloy by combining the distinct segregation behaviors of Cu and Ni. Together with the easy detachment from growth substrates, we believe this facile segregation technique will offer a great driving force for graphene research.

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A three-dimensional Cu nanobelt cathode was developed to efficiently catalyze the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction process.

AimsOxidative stress and apoptosis are among the earliest lesions of diabetic retinopathy. This study sought to examine the anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic effects of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in early diabetic retinas and to explore the underlying mechanisms in retinal vascular endothelial cells.MethodsSprague-Dawley rats were injected intravenously with streptozocin to induce diabetes. The diabetic rats were injected intravitreally with α-MSH or saline. At week 5 after diabetes, the retinas were analyzed for reactive oxygen species (ROS) and gene expression. One week later, the retinas were processed for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling staining and transmission electron microscopy. Retinal vascular endothelial cells were stimulated by high glucose (HG) with or without α-MSH. The expression of Forkhead box O genes (Foxos) was examined through real-time PCR. The Foxo4 gene was overexpressed in endothelial cells by transient transfection prior to α-MSH or HG treatment, and oxidative stress and apoptosis were analyzed through CM-H2DCFDA and annexin-V assays, respectively.ResultsIn diabetic retinas, the levels of H2O2 and ROS and the total anti-oxidant capacity were normalized, the apoptotic cell number was reduced, and the ultrastructural injuries were ameliorated by α-MSH. Treatment with α-MSH also corrected the aberrant changes in eNOS, iNOS, ICAM-1, and TNF-α expression levels in diabetic retinas. Furthermore, α-MSH inhibited Foxo4 up-regulation in diabetic retinas and in endothelial cells exposed to HG, whereas Foxo4 overexpression abrogated the anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic effects of α-MSH in HG-stimulated retinal vascular endothelial cells.Conclusionsα-MSH normalized oxidative stress, reduced apoptosis and ultrastructural injuries, and corrected gene expression levels in early diabetic retinas. The protective effects of α-MSH in retinal vascular endothelial cells may be mediated through the inhibition of Foxo4 up-regulation induced by HG. This study suggests an α-MSH-mediated potential intervention approach to early diabetic retinopathy and a novel regulatory mechanism involving Foxo4.

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IntroductIon: Mild therapeutic hypothermia (hT) reduces brain injury in survivors after perinatal asphyxia. Recent guidelines suggest that resuscitation of term infants should be started with air, but supplemental oxygen is still in use. It is not known whether supplemental oxygen during resuscitation affects the protection offered by subsequent hT. results: Wilcoxon median (95% confidence interval) hippocampal injury scores (range 0.0-4.0; 0 to ≥90% injury) were 21% O 2 normothermia (NT): 2.00 (1.25-2.50), 21% O 2 hT: 1.00 (0.50-1.50), 100% O 2 NT: 2.50 (1.50-3.25), and 100% O 2 hT: 2.00 (1.25-2.50). although hT significantly reduced hippocampal injury (B = -0.721, seM = 0.297, P = 0.018), reoxygenation with 100% O 2 increased injury (B = +0.647, seM = 0.297, P = 0.033). Regression constant B = 1.896, seM = 0.257 and normally distributed residuals. dIscussIon: We confirm an ~50% neuroprotective effect of therapeutic hT in the neonatal rat. Reoxygenation with 100% O 2 increased injury and worsened reflex performance. hT was neuroprotective whether applied after reoxygenation with air or 100% O 2 . however, hT after 100% O 2 gave no net neuroprotection. Methods: In an established neonatal rat model, hypoxiaischemia (hI) was followed by 30-min reoxygenation in either 21% O 2 or 100% O 2 before 5 h of NT (37 °c) or hT (32 °c). The effects of hT and 100% O 2 on histopathologic injury in the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cortex, and on postural reflex performance 7 d after the insult, were estimated by linear regression.P erinatal asphyxia occurs in 1 to 6 per 1,000 term human births (1) and is an important cause of severe neurologic impairment and neonatal mortality. Therapeutic hypothermia (HT) has emerged as a neuroprotective therapy in both newborn animal models (2-4) and clinical trials (5-7). The collective evidence from these studies confirms that mild therapeutic HT improves outcome in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a condition in which ~50% of cooled infants normally die or have significant neurologic disability (8) as compared with before the advent of HT treatment when ~65% had poor outcome. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has declared that HT should be used as standard of care after perinatal asphyxia (9). HT after perinatal asphyxia is also recommended by the recent 2010 International Resuscitation Guidelines (International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation) (10). HT suppresses many of the pathways that lead to delayed energy failure and cell death after hypoxia (11,12), including generation of reactive oxygen species (13), excitotoxicity (14), and the inflammatory response (15).Supplemental oxygen was previously recommended for resuscitation of the asphyxiated newborn infant, but after the changes in the 2010 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation guidelines, it is now recommended that resuscitation of the term infant is best started with air, rather than pure oxygen (10). Evidence from animal studies shows that supplemental oxygen during resuscitation...

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Intracellular components (including organelles and biomolecules) at the submicron level are typically analyzed in situ by special preparation or expensive setups. Here, a label-free and cost-effective approach of screening microalgal...