Review on recent progress of nanostructured anode materials for Li-ion batteries

Hypertension 66 (20.3%) 24 (24.2%) 30 (16.3%) NS Diabetes 20 (6.2%) 7 (7.1%) 10 (5.4%) NS Excess weight 78 (24%) 27 (27.3%) 44 (23.9%) NS Smokers 64 (19.7%) 17 (17.2%) 35 (19.0%) NS Age >50 years 137 (42.2%) 54 (54.5%) 67 (36.4%) <0.02 Kidney disease 7 (2.2%) 1 (1%) 5 (2.7%) NS Family history, DM 102 (31.4%) 28 (28.3%) 66 (35.9%) NS

Conflict of interest statement. None declared.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the most prevalent growth factor in the central nervous system (CNS). It is essential for the development of the CNS and for neuronal plasticity. Because BDNF plays a crucial role in development and plasticity of the brain, it is widely implicated in psychiatric diseases. This review provides a summary of clinical and preclinical evidence for the involvement of this ubiquitous growth factor in major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, addiction, Rett syndrome, as well as other psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases. In addition, the review includes a discussion of the role of BDNF in the mechanism of action of pharmacological therapies currently used to treat these diseases, such antidepressants and antipsychotics. The review also covers a critique of experimental therapies such as BDNF mimetics and discusses the value of BDNF as a target for future drug development.

/pdf/brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor-and-neuropsychiatric-3p8rehjqed.pdf

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

We review recent works on the synthesis and application of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs). Novel chemical structures, different synthetic strategies and controllable morphologies are introduced as a supplement to PIL systems already reported. The primary properties determining applications, such as ionic conductivity, aqueous solubility, thermodynamic stability and electrochemical/chemical durability, are discussed. Furthermore, the near-term applications of PILs in multiple fields, such as their use in electrochemical energy materials, stimuli-responsive materials, carbon materials, and antimicrobial materials, in catalysis, in sensors, in absorption and in separation materials, as well as several special-interest applications, are described in detail. We also discuss the limitations of PIL applications, efforts to improve PIL physics, and likely future developments.

Frontiers in poly(ionic liquid)s: syntheses and applications

https://www.mastocytosis.com.au/downloads/Mast-cells-inflammation-BBA-2010.pdf

Mast cells and inflammation

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a cognate ligand for the tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB) receptor, mediates neuronal survival, differentiation, synaptic plasticity, and neurogenesis. However, BDNF has a poor pharmacokinetic profile that limits its therapeutic potential. Here we report the identification of 7,8-dihydroxyflavone as a bioactive high-affinity TrkB agonist that provokes receptor dimerization and autophosphorylation and activation of downstream signaling. 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone protected wild-type, but not TrkB-deficient, neurons from apoptosis. Administration of 7,8-dihydroxyflavone to mice activated TrkB in the brain, inhibited kainic acid-induced toxicity, decreased infarct volumes in stroke in a TrkB-dependent manner, and was neuroprotective in an animal model of Parkinson disease. Thus, 7,8-dihydroxyflavone imitates BDNF and acts as a robust TrkB agonist, providing a powerful therapeutic tool for the treatment of various neurological diseases.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/107/6/2687.full.pdf

A selective TrkB agonist with potent neurotrophic activities by 7,8-dihydroxyflavone

Polydopamine is not only a multifunctional biopolymer with promising optoelectronic properties but it is also a versatile coating platform for different surfaces. The structure and formation of polydopamine is an active area of research. Some studies have supposed that polydopamine is composed of covalently bonded dihydroxyindole, indoledione, and dopamine units, but others proposed that noncovalent self-assembly contributes to polydopamine formation as well. However, it is difficult to directly find the details of supramolecular structure of polydopamine via self-assembly. In this study, we first report the graphite-like nanostructure observed in the carbonized polydopamine nanoparticles in nitrogen (or argon) environment at 800 °C. Raman characterization, which presents the typical D band and G band, confirmed the existence of graphite-like nanostructures. Our observation provides clear evidence for a layered-stacking supramolecular structure of polydopamine. Particularly, the size of graphite-like doma...

Characterization of Carbonized Polydopamine Nanoparticles Suggests Ordered Supramolecular Structure of Polydopamine

Polyoxometalates (POMs), a type of giant transition metal oxide clusters on the nanoscale, are emerging as useful materials with unique catalytic, electrooptical, and biological properties. Lanthanide-containing POMs elements show excellent photoluminescent properties with narrow emission bands, large Stokes shift, long lifetime, and tunable emission, i.e., their long emission timescale (microto milliseconds) also allows autofluorescence from the biological samples to be removed by time-gating the emission decay. Therefore they are attractive for labeling and imaging of biological molecules. In spite of their intriguing functionality, practical POMbased materials are quite scarce because of their inherent limitations, that is, poor processability in the solid state and weakened functionality in solution. For example, the Eucontaining POM Na9EuW10O36·32H2O displays only weak photoluminescence in water in comparison to the solid state due to fluorescence quenching by water molecules. Therefore, the development of supramolecular methodologies to protect and utilize POMs is important for application of POMs. Polymers are ideal protective matrices for this purpose, into which POMs were incorporated to fabricate supramolecular assemblies for improved processability and enhanced functionality. Besides the widely used layer-bylayer assembly of POMs with polyelectrolytes for functional thin films, polymerizable surfactants and amphiphilic block copolymers have been used to organize POMs into stable supramolecular assemblies in organic solution. As far as we know, there are still no reports on the emission enhancement of lanthanide-containing POMs in aqueous solutions through supramolecular assembly strategies. Herein we report a straightforward procedure to fabricate hybrid assemblies of lanthanide-containing POMs with block copolymers in aqueous solution. Core–shell nanostructured organic–inorganic hybrid materials were produced by direct mixing of Na9EuW10O36·32H2O (Eu-POM) with doublehydrophilic neutral–cationic block copolymer poly(ethylene oxide-b-N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PEO-bPDMAEMA) in aqueous solution (Scheme 1). Neither

Yang Liu

Papers

A selective TrkB agonist with potent neurotrophic activities by 7,8-dihydroxyflavone

Characterization of Carbonized Polydopamine Nanoparticles Suggests Ordered Supramolecular Structure of Polydopamine

Hybrid Assemblies of Eu-Containing Polyoxometalates and Hydrophilic Block Copolymers with Enhanced Emission in Aqueous Solution†

Tunable, luminescent, and self-healing hybrid hydrogels of polyoxometalates and triblock copolymers based on electrostatic assembly

Photoaffinity Labeling of Small‐Molecule‐Binding Proteins by DNA‐Templated Chemistry