Multifunctional emitting materials are scarce and need to be further explored. Now, a newly anthraquinone derivative, 2-(phenothiazine-10-yl)-anthraquinone (PTZ-AQ) was designed and synthesized and found to demonstrate polymorphism, multi-color emission, aggregation-induced emission (AIE), mechanochromic luminescence (MCL), and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in its different solid forms. It is shown for the first time that TADF properties of a compound can be systematically tuned via its aggregation state. The optimized PTZ-AQ crystal shows a small singlet-triplet energy splitting of 0.01 eV and exhibits red TADF with a photoluminescence quantum yield as high as 0.848. This study shows that the unique multiple functions can be integrated into one single compound through controlling the aggregation states, which provides a new strategy for the investigation and application of multifunctional organic materials.

Macrophages play an important role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, the spatial and temporal changes and the polarization of macrophages in murine laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) were investigated, and the polarized M1 and M2 biomarkers in the aqueous humors of neovascular AMD (nAMD) patients were studied. Macrophages, the main infiltrating inflammatory cells in CNV lesions, were evidenced by a significant increase in F4/80 mRNA expression and by the infiltration of F4/80+ cells in the lesions and the vicinity of laser-induced CNV. The mRNA expressions of M1-related markers were dramatically upregulated in the early stage, while the M2-related markers were slightly upregulated in the middle stage and sustained until the late stage. The results of immunostaining showed a similar early-but-transient M1 pattern and a delayed-but-sustained M2 pattern in laser-induced CNV. In addition, a higher M2/M1 ratio was found in both the murine models (Arg-1/iNOS and CCL22/CXCL10) and the aqueous humors of nAMD patients (CCL22/CXCL10) than in the controls. Our results suggested that the dynamic patterns of M1 and M2 were different in both the experimental and clinical CNV. The M2 macrophages were predominant and may play a more important role in the development of CNV.

Rhenium and technetium-99m cyclopentadienyl tricarbonyl complexes mimicking the chalcone structure were prepared. These complexes were proved to have affinity to β-amyloid (Aβ) in fluorescent staining on brain sections of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patient and binding assay using Aβ(1-42) aggregates, with K(i) values ranging from 899 to 108 nM as the extension of conjugated π system. In vitro autoradiograpy on sections of transgenic mouse brain confirmed the affinity of [(99m)Tc]5 (K(i) = 108 nM). In biodistribution, all compounds showed good initial uptakes into the brain and fast blood clearance, while the decreasing of initial brain uptakes correspond to increasing of conjugation length, from 4.10 ± 0.38% ID/g ([(99m)Tc]3) to 1.11 ± 0.34% ID/g ([(99m)Tc]5). These small technetium-99m complexes (<500 Da) designed by an integrated approach provide encouraging evidence that development of a promising (99m)Tc-labeled agent for imaging Aβ plaques in the brain may be feasible.

Preclinical DR can be detected by OCTA. Parameters such as FAZ, PERIM, CCF, VD and CD may be useful for early detection of microvascular impairments in DM patients with NDR. Superficial VD and FAZ are possible sensitive visual acuity predictors in NDR subjects. OCTA may be a promising non-invasive tool in daily DR screening.

A series of fluoro-pegylated (FPEG) 2-pyridinylbenzoxazole and 2-pyridinylbenzothiazole derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as novel β-amyloid (Aβ) imaging probes for PET. They displayed binding affinities for Aβ(1-42) aggregates that varied from 2.7 to 101.6 nM. Seven ligands with high affinity were selected for (18)F labeling. In vitro autoradiography results confirmed the high affinity of these radiotracers. In vivo biodistribution experiments in normal mice indicated that the radiotracers with a short FPEG chain (n = 1) displayed high initial uptake into and rapid washout from the brain. One of the 2-pyridinylbenzoxazole derivatives, [(18)F]-5-(5-(2-fluoroethoxy)benzo[d]oxazol-2-yl)-N-methylpyridin-2-amine ([(18)F]32) (K(i) = 8.0 ± 3.2 nM) displayed a brain(2min)/brain(60min) ratio of 4.66, which is highly desirable for Aβ imaging agents. Target specific binding of [(18)F]32 to Aβ plaques was validated by ex vivo autoradiographic experiment with transgenic model mouse. Overall, [(18)F]32 is a promising Aβ imaging agent for PET and merits further evaluation in human subjects.

BackgroundRetinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness worldwide. Comparisons of anti-VEGF and laser treatments in ROP are relatively lacking, and the data are scattered and limited. The objective of this meta-analysis is to compare the efficacy of both treatments in type-1 and threshold ROP.MethodsA comprehensive literature search on ROP treatment was conducted using PubMed and Embase up to March 2017 in all languages. Major evaluation indexes were extracted from the included studies by two authors. The fixed-effects and random-effects models were used to measure the pooled estimates. The test of heterogeneity was performed using the Q statistic.ResultsTen studies were included in this meta-analysis. Retreatment incidence was significantly increased for anti-VEGF (OR 2.52; 95% CI 1.37 to 4.66; P = 0.003) compared to the laser treatment, while the incidences of eye complications (OR 0.29; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.82; P = 0.02) and myopia were significantly decreased with anti-VEGF compared to the laser treatment. However, there was no difference in the recurrence incidence (OR 1.86; 95% CI 0.37 to 9.40; P = 0.45) and time between treatment and retreatment (WMD 7.54 weeks; 95% CI 2.00 to 17.08; P = 0.12).ConclusionThis meta-analysis indicates that laser treatment may be more efficacious than anti-VEGF treatment. However, the results of this meta-analysis also suggest that laser treatment may cause more eye complications and increase myopia. Large-scale prospective RCTs should be performed to assess the efficacy and safety of anti-VEGF versus laser treatment in the future.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12886-018-0685-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The glass transition and glass-forming ability in a binary eutectic system of methyl o-toluate (MOT) versus methyl p-toluate (MPT) are studied across the whole composition range. The phase diagram is constructed to explore the best glass-forming composition as the characteristic temperatures of the glass transition, crystallization, eutectic, and liquidus are determined. The best vitrification region is found to locate between the eutectic and the midpoint compositions of the eutectic line, indicating a remarkable deviation from the eutectic composition. The compilation of various simple binary eutectic systems covering inorganic, metallic, ionic, and molecular glass-forming liquids reproduces the rule. Kinetics and thermodynamics in binary systems are investigated to associate with the rule. The composition dependence of the structural relaxation time and the kinetic fragility are presented with dielectric measurements. It is found that whereas mixing of binary miscible liquids kinetically favors glass formation, thermodynamic contribution to the deviation of the best glass-forming composition from eutectics is implied.