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Lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) are dietary carotenoids derived from dark green leafy vegetables, orange and yellow fruits that form the macular pigment of the human eyes. It was hypothesized that they protect against visual disorders and cognition diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), age-related cataract (ARC), cognition diseases, ischemic/hypoxia induced retinopathy, light damage of the retina, retinitis pigmentosa, retinal detachment, uveitis and diabetic retinopathy. The mechanism by which they are involved in the prevention of eye diseases may be due their physical blue light filtration properties and local antioxidant activity. In addition to their protective roles against light-induced oxidative damage, there are increasing evidences that L and Z may also improve normal ocular function by enhancing contrast sensitivity and by reducing glare disability. Surveys about L and Z supplementation have indicated that moderate intakes of L and Z are associated with decreased AMD risk and less visual impairment. Furthermore, this review discusses the appropriate consumption quantities, the consumption safety of L, side effects and future research directions.

A surface plasmon (SP) is a fundamental excitation state that exists in metal nanostructures. Over the past several years, the performance of optoelectronic devices has been improved greatly via the SP enhancement effect. In our previous work, the responsivity of GaN ultraviolet detectors was increased by over 30 times when using Ag nanoparticles. However, the physics of the SP enhancement effect has not been established definitely because of the lack of experimental evidence. To reveal the physical origin of this enhancement, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was used to observe the SP-induced surface potential reduction in the vicinity of Ag nanoparticles on a GaN epilayer. Under ultraviolet illumination, the localized field enhancement induced by the SP forces the photogenerated electrons to drift close to the Ag nanoparticles, leading to a reduction of the surface potential around the Ag nanoparticles on the GaN epilayer. For an isolated Ag nanoparticle with a diameter of ~200 nm, the distribution of the SP localized field is located within 60 nm of the boundary of the Ag nanoparticle. For a dimer of Ag nanoparticles, the localized field enhancement between the nanoparticles was the strongest. The results presented here provide direct experimental proof of the localized field enhancement. These results not only explain the high performance of GaN detectors observed with the use of Ag nanoparticles but also reveal the physical mechanism of SP enhancement in optoelectronic devices, which will help us further understand and improve the performance of SP-based optoelectronic devices in the future. Surface plasmons: probing field enhancement Kelvin probe force microscopy has provided direct evidence of localized electric field enhancement due to surface plasmons. While surface plasmon enhancement is widely used to improve the performance of optoelectronic devices, the physics behind it is still not fully understood. Dabing Li of Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics in China and co-workers illuminated silver nanoparticles on a gallium nitride layer with ultraviolet light and used Kelvin probe force microscopy—a variant of atomic force microscopy used to map the work function of a surface—to probe the properties near the nanoparticles. Their measurements revealed a drop in the surface potential near both isolated single nanoparticles and dimers—closely spaced pairs of nanoparticles. This drop indicates field enhancement and provides insights into the behaviour of surface-plasmon-enhanced optoelectronic devices.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant type of primary brain tumor, and 95% of patients die within 2 years after diagnosis. In this study, aiming to overcome chemoresistance to the first-line drug temozolomide (TMZ), we carried out research to discover a novel alternative drug targeting the oncogenic NFAT signaling pathway for GBM therapy. To accelerate the drug’s clinical application, we took advantage of a drug repurposing strategy to identify novel NFAT signaling pathway inhibitors. After screening a set of 93 FDA-approved drugs with simple structures, we identified pimavanserin tartrate (PIM), an effective 5-HT 2A receptor inverse agonist used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease-associated psychiatric symptoms, as having the most potent inhibitory activity against the NFAT signaling pathway. Further study revealed that PIM suppressed STIM1 puncta formation to inhibit store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) and subsequent NFAT activity. In cellula, PIM significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, division, and motility of U87 glioblastoma cells, induced G1/S phase arrest and promoted apoptosis. In vivo, the growth of subcutaneous and orthotopic glioblastoma xenografts was markedly suppressed by PIM. Unbiased omics studies revealed the novel molecular mechanism of PIM’s antitumor activity, which included suppression of the ATR/CDK2/E2F axis, MYC, and AuroraA/B signaling. Interestingly, the genes upregulated by PIM were largely associated with cholesterol homeostasis, which may contribute to PIM’s side effects and should be given more attention. Our study identified store-operated calcium channels as novel targets of PIM and was the first to systematically highlight the therapeutic potential of pimavanserin tartrate for glioblastoma.

The high density of defects induced by large strains in largely mismatched heteroepitaxy systems, such as AlN and GaN, because of the large lattice and thermal mismatch between substrates and epilayers is the bottleneck problem. Graphene-assisted van der Waals (vdW) heteroepitaxy offers a new opportunity to resolve this problem. However, it suffers from the difficulty of nucleation. Here we theoretically assess the effects of five 2D materials for vdW heteroepitaxy of AlN and GaN, including graphene, hBN, MoS 2 , gC 3 N, and gC 3 N 4 , and provide physical insights using first-principle calculations. MoS 2 and gC 3 N exhibit significant potential to overcome the shortcomings of graphene owing to their appropriate binding strengths and Al (or Ga) diffusion barriers. Moreover, the interface behavior between the epilayers and the substrates are carefully analyzed. Our findings are helpful not only for obtaining high-quality AlN and GaN films but also for developing new criterions to discover effective 2D materials for vdW heteroepitaxy.

Surface potentials in the vicinity of V-pits (cone bottom) and U-pits (blunt bottom) on epitaxial GaN surface have been systematically studied using ultraviolet (UV) light-assisted Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). The band structure models are established to understand variation of the surface potentials at the pits and planar surface with and without UV light. The photo-generated carrier behavior at the pit defects is studied. According to the surface potential results, it can be deduced that the carrier distributions around the V- and U-pits are uneven. In dark, the electron concentration at the bottom of V-pit (30 n 0 ) and Upit (15 n 0 ) are higher than that at planar surface ( n 0 ). Under UV light, for V-pit, the electron concentration at the cone bottom (4.93×10 11 n 0 ) is lower than that at the surrounding planar surface (5.68×10 13 n 0 ). For U-pit, the electron concentration at the blunt bottom is 1.35×10 12 n 0 , which is lower than that at the surrounding planar surface (6.13×10 13 n 0 ). The non-equilibrium electron concentrations at different locations are calculated. Based on the non-equilibrium electron concentration, it can be concluded that the carrier recombination rate at pit defects is higher than that at planar surface.

The role of Fat Mass and Obesity-associated protein （FTO） and its substrate N6-methyladenosine （m6A） in mRNA processing and adipogenesis remains largely unknown. We show that FTO expression and m6A levels are inversely correlated during adipogenesis. FTO depletion blocks differentiation and only catalytically active FTO restores adi- pogenesis. Transcriptome analyses in combination with m6A-seq revealed that gene expression and mRNA splicing of grouped genes are regulated by FTO. M6A is enriched in exonic regions flanking 5＇- and 3＇-splice sites, spatially over- lapping with mRNA splicing regulatory serine/arginine-rich （SR） protein exonic splicing enhancer binding regions. Enhanced levels of m6A in response to FTO depletion promotes the RNA binding ability of SRSF2 protein, leading to increased inclusion of target exons. FTO controls exonic splicing of adipogenie regulatory factor RUNX1T1 by regulating m6A levels around splice sites and thereby modulates differentiation. These findings provide compelling evidence that FTO-dependent m6A demethylation functions as a novel regulatory mechanism of RNA processing and plays a critical role in the regulation of adipogenesis.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and malignant type of primary brain tumor, and 95% of patients die within 2 years after diagnosis. In this study, aiming to overcome chemoresistance to the first-line drug temozolomide (TMZ), we carried out research to discover a novel alternative drug targeting the oncogenic NFAT signaling pathway for GBM therapy. To accelerate the drug's clinical application, we took advantage of a drug repurposing strategy to identify novel NFAT signaling pathway inhibitors. After screening a set of 93 FDA-approved drugs with simple structures, we identified pimavanserin tartrate (PIM), an effective 5-HT receptor inverse agonist used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease-associated psychiatric symptoms, as having the most potent inhibitory activity against the NFAT signaling pathway. Further study revealed that PIM suppressed STIM1 puncta formation to inhibit store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) and subsequent NFAT activity. In cellula, PIM significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, division, and motility of U87 glioblastoma cells, induced G1/S phase arrest and promoted apoptosis. In vivo, the growth of subcutaneous and orthotopic glioblastoma xenografts was markedly suppressed by PIM. Unbiased omics studies revealed the novel molecular mechanism of PIM's antitumor activity, which included suppression of the ATR/CDK2/E2F axis, MYC, and AuroraA/B signaling. Interestingly, the genes upregulated by PIM were largely associated with cholesterol homeostasis, which may contribute to PIM's side effects and should be given more attention. Our study identified store-operated calcium channels as novel targets of PIM and was the first to systematically highlight the therapeutic potential of pimavanserin tartrate for glioblastoma.

Aim： Considering the characterization of vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor of ectopic fat deposition, the association of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 [25（OH）D3] levels with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） was evaluated in Chinese men with normal body mass index （BMI） and enzyme markers of liver function. Methods： A total of 514 participants （22 to 79 years old） with normal BMI and liver enzymes were identified for analysis. Abdominal ultrasound was performed to diagnose NAFLD, and the fatty liver index （FLI） was calculated to quantify liver steatosis. Serum 25（OH）D3 levels were determined by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results： Among the entire study population, the mean levels of serum 25（OH）D3 were 15.32±5.77 ng/mL. However, when serum 25（OH）D3 levels were compared between non-NAFLD subjects （n=438） and NAFLD subjects （n=76）, the latter showed significantly lower levels （15.65±5.89 ng/mL vs 13.46±4.65 ng/mL, P=0.002）. In addition, serum 25（OH）D3 levels were found to be significantly correlated with FLI after adjustment for age and BMI （r=-0.108, P=0.014）. Logistic regression showed that serum 25（OH）D3 levels were independently correlated with NAFLD （OR： 0.937, 95% CI： 0.884-0.993, P=0.028）. Furthermore, stepwise regression analysis revealed that serum 25（OH）D3 levels were inversely associated with FLI （β=-0.055, P=0.040）. Conclusion： The present study demonstrated that serum 25（OH）D3 levels were inversely associated with NAFLD, even in subjects with normal total body fat, suggesting a potential role of lower levels of vitamin D in the occurrence and development of NAFLD.

Striatal neurons can be either projection neurons or interneurons, with each type exhibiting distinct susceptibility to various types of brain damage. In this study, 6-hydroxydopamine was injected into the right medial forebrain bundle to induce dopamine depletion, and/or ibotenic acid was injected into the M1 cortex to induce motor cortex lesions. Immunohistochemistry and western blot assay showed that dopaminergic depletion results in significant loss of striatal projection neurons marked by dopamine- and cyclic adenosine monophosphate-regulated phosphoprotein, molecular weight 32 k Da, calbindin, and μ-opioid receptor, while cortical lesions reversed these pathological changes. After dopaminergic deletion, the number of neuropeptide Y-positive striatal interneurons markedly increased, which was also inhibited by cortical lesioning. No noticeable change in the number of parvalbumin-positive interneurons was found in 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rats. Striatal projection neurons and interneurons show different susceptibility to dopaminergic depletion. Further, cortical lesions inhibit striatal dysfunction and damage induced by 6-hydroxydopamine, which provides a new possibility for clinical treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Using novel ideas for the fabrication of epitaxial graphene （EG） on SiC, two forms of graphene termed as vertical aligned gra- phene sheets （VAGS） and graphene covered SiC powder （GCSP） were derived, respectively, from SiC slices and SiC powder, aimed for applications in energy storage and photocatalysis. Herein, the fabrication procedures, morphology characteristics, some intrinsic physical properties and performances for applications in field effect transistor （FET） and cold cathode field emission source are revealed and analyzed based on the graphene materials. The EG on a 2-inch SiC （0001） showed an average sheet resistance about 720 D,/~5 with a non-uniformity 7.2%. The FETs fabricated on the EG possessed a cutoff frequency 80 GHz. Based on the VAGS derived from a completely carbonized SiC slice, a magnetic phase diagram of graphene with irregu- lar zigzag edges is also reported.