Search

Carbon aerogels with nanoporous structure are attractive for thermal insulation under extreme conditions, but their practical applications are usually plagued by the inherent brittleness and easy-oxidation characteristic at high temperature. Herein, silica-modified carbon aerogels (SCAs) with extraordinarily high strength are prepared via a facile sol-gel polymerization of phenolic resin and siloxane, followed by ambient pressure drying and carbonization. The resulting SCAs possess medium-high density of ∼ 0.5 g·cm-3 and mesoporous structure with the mean pore size of 33 nm. During carbonization process, the siloxane could be gradually transformed into the amorphous SiO2 particles and crystalline SiC particles, which are coated on the surface of carbon nanoparticle and consequently improve the oxidation-resistance of carbon aerogels. Due to the density-porosity trade-off, the SCAs have high compressive strength of 10.0 MPa and satisfied thermal conductivities of 0.118 W·m-1·K-1 at 25 °C and 0.263 W·m-1·K-1 at 1000 °C. Furthermore, needled carbon fiber-reinforced SCAs (CF-SCAs) with ultrahigh compressive strength of 210.5 MPa are prepared, which exhibit good thermal conductivities of 0.207 W·m-1·K-1 at 25 °C and 0.407 W·m-1·K-1 at 1000 °C. The ultrahigh mechanical strength, good oxidation-resistance, good thermal insulation as well as the facile preparation make the SACs great promising in high-temperature insulations especially under harsh conditions.

In this work, a pH-tunable multicolor luminescent lanthanide-based hydrogel (CS/DEX/CP) was prepared based on lanthanide coordination polymer (CP), dextran aldehyde (DEX) and chitosan (CS). The CP was obtained by the self-assembly of guanosine acid (GMP), ciprofloxacin (CIP), Eu3+, and Tb3+. As-prepared CS/DEX/CP hydrogel could emit blue, green, and red luminescence of CIP, Tb3+, and Eu3+, respectively. It was also found that the luminescence of CS/DEX/CP hydrogel exhibited visual color change in the pH range of 5.5 to 8. Such pH-sensitive hydrogel was multicolor-responsive to protons produced by bacterial growth, therefore, it could provide early warning of bacterial infection by Naked-eye. In addition, the increased acidity resulted in not only the degradation of acid-labile Schiff base linkages between DEX and CS, but also the fracture of coordination between CIP and lanthanide ions. As a result, the released CIP and CS showed significantly antibacterial activity against both S.aureus and E. coli.

Centella asiatica is well known as an important medicinal plant because of its various pharmacological effects. However, most investigations on C. asiatica focused on the pharmacological activity of its extract or asiatic acid. In the present work, we aimed to explore the bioactive compounds of the whole plants of C. asiatica. As a result, seven compounds including two new flavonol derivates named 4′-hydroxyl-7-methoxyl-6-prenyl-3-O-trans-p-coumaroyl-flavonol (1) and (2R,3R,2″S)-3-furanoyl-brosimacutin E (2), and five known compounds (3-7) were isolated. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses. All the isolates were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic effects on four human cancer cells including A549, HepG2, SGC-7901 and MCF-7. Among them, compounds 1 and 2 exhibited higher cytotoxic activities on HepG2 and SGC-7901 cells compared with 3-7. And compound 2 showed potential cytotoxic activities on HepG2 and SGC-7901 cells with IC50 values of 4.52 and 7.03 μM, respectively.

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects approximately 12% of the aging Western population. The sirtuin/forkhead box O (SIRT/FOXO) signaling pathway plays essential roles in various biological processes. Despite it has been demonstrated that ubiquitin-specific protease 3 (USP3) inhibits chondrocyte apoptosis induced by interleukin (IL)-1β, the role of USP3/SIRT3/FOXO3 in the senescence of chondrocytes in OA is unclear. This study initially isolated articular chondrocytes and investigated the role of USP3 in IL-1β-induced senescence of chondrocytes. After USP3 was overexpressed or silenced by lentivirus, expressions of genes and proteins were detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting, respectively. Cell cycle analysis was performed using flow cytometry. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and senescence were analyzed. Then, SIRT3 was inhibited or overexpressed to explore the underlying mechanism. We found that overexpression of USP3 hindered IL-1β-mediated cell cycle arrest, ROS generation, and chondrocyte senescence. The inhibition of SIRT3 blocked the protective effect of USP3 on cell senescence, whereas the overexpression of SIRT3 abolished USP3-silencing-induced cell senescence. Furthermore, SIRT3 attenuated cell senescence, probably by deacetylating FOXO3. USP3 upregulated SIRT3 to deacetylate FOXO3 and attenuated IL-1β-induced chondrocyte senescence. This study demonstrated that USP3 probably attenuated IL-1β-mediated chondrocyte senescence by deacetylating FOXO3 via SIRT3.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) assisted synthesis of water-soluble silver nanoparticle with a narrow particle size distribution is reported here based on the phase-inversion procedure. Bio-derived chitosan (CS) is used to stabilize the metal nanoparticles according to its abundant functional groups. Formic acid is employed as both a solvent (for the polymer) and a reductant for in-situ reducing the silver precursor along with the solvent evaporation. CO2 is utilized to combine with the amino groups of CS, reducing the viscosity of chitosan/formic acid solution and limiting the formation of hydrogen bonds. This promotes the stabilization and reduction efficiency of silver nanoparticles. In particular, 100% of Ag metal nanoparticles with the size of 7.5 ± 2.3 nm is successfully synthesized with the assistance of CO2. Interestingly, the synthesized CS/Ag nanocomposites are water-soluble owing to the formation of carbamate groups. This water-soluble silver nanoparticle presents an exceptional performance in the selective reduction of 4-nitrophenol, where the turnover frequency (TOF = 599 h−1) is even double with respect to the CO2 free system.

A hydrothermal process was proposed to prepare BiVO4/ diatomite composite photocatalysts, where BiVO4 was grown from a precursor solution containing diatomite, and EDTA used as a chelating agent to prevent the precipitation of precursor solution compositions on diatomite before hydrothermal treatment. The effect of some processing parameters like diatomite percentage and Ag-loaded amount on their photocatalytic performance were also investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), BET, and UV‐Vis spectroscopy. The results show that BiVO4/ diatomite composite photocatalysts can be successfully prepared at 160 °C for the duration of 3h by the hydrothermal process. The diatomite has two significant impacts on their photocatalytic performance: (1) enhancing the dispersion of BiVO4 crystallites due to its high porosity and specific surface area to favor their photocatalytic performance, and (2) having a light screening effect to incident visible light to decrease their photocatalytic activity. Appropriately incorporating diatomite could improve their photocatalytic performance, but the overuse of diatomite would reduce that. Similarly, depositing Ag could effectively improve their photocatalytic activity because of its good light absorption and photosensitive characteristics, but excessive addition would result in their decrease since the overuse of Ag would also promote the electron-hole recombination.

Plastid terminal oxidase (PTOX) accepts electrons from plastoquinol to reduce molecular oxygen to water. We introduced the gene encoding Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Cr)PTOX2 into the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) wild-type (WT) and proton gradient regulation5 (pgr5) mutant defective in cyclic electron transport around photosystem I (PSI). The accumulation of CrPTOX2 only mildly affected photosynthetic electron transport in the WT background during steady-state photosynthesis but partly complemented the induction of nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) in the pgr5 background. During the induction of photosynthesis by actinic light (AL) of 130 µmol photons m−2 s−1, the high level of PSII yield (Y(II)) was induced immediately after the onset of AL in WT plants accumulating CrPTOX2. NPQ was more rapidly induced in the transgenic plants than in WT plants. P700 was also oxidized immediately after the onset of AL. Although CrPTOX2 does not directly induce a proton concentration gradient (ΔpH) across the thylakoid membrane, the coupled reaction of PSII generated ΔpH to induce NPQ and the downregulation of the cytochrome b6f complex. Rapid induction of Y(II) and NPQ was also observed in the pgr5 plants accumulating CrPTOX2. In contrast to the WT background, P700 was not oxidized in the pgr5 background. Although the thylakoid lumen was acidified by CrPTOX2, PGR5 was essential for oxidizing P700. In addition to acidification of the thylakoid lumen to downregulate the cytochrome b6f complex (donor-side regulation), PGR5 may be required for draining electrons from PSI by transferring them to the plastoquinone pool. We propose a reevaluation of the contribution of this acceptor-side regulation by PGR5 in the photoprotection of PSI.

Cancer stemness represents a major source of development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). c-Met critically contributes to CRC stemness, but how c-Met is activated in CRC remains elusive. We previously identified the lipolytic factor ABHD5 as an important tumour suppressor gene in CRC. Here, we show that loss of ABHD5 promotes c-Met activation to sustain CRC stemness in a non-canonical manner. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that ABHD5 interacts in the cytoplasm with the core subunit of the SET1A methyltransferase complex, DPY30, thereby inhibiting the nuclear translocation of DPY30 and activity of SET1A. In the absence of ABHD5, DPY30 translocates to the nucleus and supports SET1A-mediated methylation of YAP and histone H3, which sequesters YAP in the nucleus and increases chromatin accessibility to synergistically promote YAP-induced transcription of c-Met, thus promoting the stemness of CRC cells. This study reveals a novel role of ABHD5 in regulating histone/non-histone methylation and CRC stemness., This study reveals an unrecognized role of ABHD5 in regulating colon cancer stemness via controlling YAP methylation and nuclear localization, further explaining the molecular mechanism through which ABHD5 functions as a tumour suppressor gene in colon cancer.

A novel artificial Zinc finger – luciferase fusion protein was successfully developed for rapid detection of Salmonella typhimurium, a worldwide-distributed foodborne pathogen. The designed Zinc finger (ZF) protein bound specifically to a 12 bp region of the Salmonella spp invasion gene invA. While the luciferase from Gaussia princeps called Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) was for the first time fused with the artificial ZF domain to improve the detection sensitivity. The fusion protein successfully recognized and bound to the synthesized invA dsDNA with high specificity and sensitivity. The detection limit was as low as 10 fmol of dsNDA. Then, the bacteria PCR products were subsequently used to assess the zinc finger – luciferase fusion protein. The final results indicated that the ZF-Gluc fusion protein system could detect S. typhimurium as low as 1 CFU/mL in 2 h after the PCR. Therefore, this study provided us with a novel artificial zinc finger fusion protein and an efficient method to accomplish the rapid detection of the major foodborne pathogen S. typhimurium. In addition, the specific artificial ZF proteins that bund to particular dsDNA sequences could be easily designed, the ZF-Gluc might has broad application prospects in the field of rapid pathogenic bacteria detection.

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammation of periodontal tissue, and programmed cell death plays an important role in chronic periodontitis induced by P. gingivalis. Studies have shown that the increased expression of pyroptosis-related NLRP3 inflammasome and the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 in gingivitis, invasive periodontitis, and chronic periodontitis patients. The present study aimed to investigate whether the inhibition of pyroptosis could protect porphyromonas gingival lipopolysaccharide (pg-LPS)-induced human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) injury and inflammation. The hPDLSCs were treated with pg-LPS and ATP in the presence of caspase1/4 inhibitor VX765. The cell proliferation and survival were assessed by CCK-8, the osteogenic differentiation capacity was evaluated by Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) assay and alizarin red staining. Then, cell apoptosis, cleavage of gasdermin D (GSDMD) and generation of inflammatory cytokines were estimated. Lastly, western blotting was used to detect the expression of potential target proteins. Results showed that the treatment of pg-LPS plus ATP significantly inhibited the proliferation, survival and osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs, while inducing cell apoptosis, pyroptosis and inflammation. However, the presence of VX765 partially recovered the cell proliferation, survival and osteogenic differentiation. At the same time, VX765 inhibited cell apoptosis, cleavage of GSDMD and generation of inflammatory cytokines. Besides, the expression of related proteins including Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved (c)-caspase3, c-caspase4, c-caspase1, Toll Like Receptor 4, High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB1) and NLRP3 was all rescued by VX765. In conclusion, our results revealed that the blocking of cell pyroptosis could protect hPDLSCs from pg-LPS-induced injury. Therefore, the application of pyroptosis inhibitor may be a valuable therapeutic approach for treating periodontitis.

Supplemental digital content is available in the text., Objective The intestinal barrier injury caused by severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) can induce enterogenous infection, further aggravating the inflammatory reactions and immune responses. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that emodin protects the intestinal function and is involved in the immune response in SAP. Methods The network pharmacology was established using the Swiss target prediction and pathway enrichment analysis. The SAP mice model was induced by cerulein (50 μg/kg) and lipopolysaccharide (10 mg/kg) hyperstimulation. The pharmacological effect of emodin in treating SAP was evaluated at mRNA and protein levels by various methods. Results The network analysis provided the connectivity between the targets of emodin and the intestinal barrier–associated proteins and predicted the BAX/Bcl-2/caspase 3 signaling pathway. Emodin alleviated the pathological damages to the pancreas and intestine and reduced the high concentrations of serum amylase and cytokines in vivo. Emodin increased the expression of intestinal barrier–related proteins and reversed the changes in the apoptosis-related proteins in the intestine. Simultaneously, emodin regulated the ratio of T helper type 1 (TH1), TH2, TH17, γδ T cells, and interferon γ/interleukin 17 producing γδ T cells. Conclusions These findings partly verified the mechanism underlying the regulation of the intestinal barrier and immune response by emodin.

Background Retinal biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have been extensively investigated in recent decades. Retinal nervous and vascular parameters can reflect brain conditions, and they can facilitate early diagnosis of AD. Objective Our study aimed to evaluate the difference in retinal neuro-layer thickness and vascular parameters of patients with AD and healthy controls (HCs). Methods Non-invasive optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was used to determine the combined thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and ganglion cell layer (GCL), as well as the full retinal thickness (FRT). The vascular branching (VB), vascular curvature (VC), and vascular density (VD) for AD and HC groups were also obtained. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to evaluate the cognitive performance of all the participants. After obtaining all the parameters, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the mean values of all the retinal parameters of the patients with AD and the HCs. Pearson's correlation was used to test the association between retinal parameters, MMSE scores, and vascular parameters. Results Seventy-eight eyes from 39 participants (19 AD and 20 HC; male, 52.6% in AD and 45.0% in HC; mean [standard deviation] age of 73.79 [7.22] years in AD and 74.35 [6.07] years in HC) were included for the analysis. The average RNFL + GCL thickness (106.32 ± 7.34 μm), FRTs of the four quadrants (290.35 ± 13.05 μm of inferior quadrant, 294.68 ± 9.37 μm of superior quadrant, 302.97 ± 6.52 μm of nasal quadrant, 286.02 ± 13.74 μm of temporal quadrant), and retinal VD (0.0148 ± 0.003) of patients with AD, compared with the HCs, were significantly reduced (p p r2 = 0.2146, p Conclusion Our study suggested that the patients with AD, compared with age-matched HCs, had significantly reduced RNFL + GCL thickness and vascular density. These reductions correlated with the cognitive performance of the participants. By combining nerve and vessel parameters, the diagnosis of AD can be improved using OCTA technology. Trail registration Name of the registry: Chinese Clinical Trail Registry, Trial registration number: ChiCTR2000035243, Date of registration: Aug. 5, 2020. URL of trial registry record: http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx

The involvement of zinc (Zn) in terms of aroma formation has been rarely investigated. This study shows that the regulation of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) biosynthesis was evaluated in two different rice cultivars under foliar Zn application. The results showed that the 2AP and Zn contents in leaves and grains were improved substantially under foliar Zn application. The 2AP content was positively related to the expression P5CS2 gene, contents of proline, 1-pyrroline, and Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C), and the activity of pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS) under Zn application in fragrant rice. Multiple transcription factors (TFs) were differently expressed, such as bZIPs, NACs, and MYBs, to play a role under Zn treatments in fragrant rice, suggesting the crucial role of 46 differently expressed TFs in 2AP improvements in fragrant rice. Furthermore, this study showed that the optimal foliar Zn application at a concentration of 30 mg L-1 could increase the 2AP content of aromatic rice and keep the yield stable or increase the yield. TFs were involved in regulating to promote the 2AP formation in aromatic rice under the foliar Zn application. However, the relationship between 2AP biosynthesis pathway genes and TFs in fragrant rice remains to be further studied.

A new tyramine derivative, glycosamide A (1), together with two known amide alkaloids, N-benzoyltyramine methyl ether (2) and aurantiamide acetate (3), was isolated from the branches and leaves of Glycosmis craibii Tanaka. Their structures were elucidated through extensive 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic analyses. All known compounds were isolated from the genus Glycosmis for the first time. Furthermore, the antiproliferative activities of all isolated alkaloids in vitro were evaluated. Compound 2 displayed weak antiproliferative activities against five human cancer cell lines, HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, and SW480.

Two new aldoximes A–B (1−2), and two known analogues (3−4), were identified from ethanolic extracts of Glycosmis craibii. The structures of new compounds 1−2 were unambiguously elucidated based on spectroscopic methods. All isolated aldoximes were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity in vivo. Compounds 1−4 displayed remarkable inhibitory effects against nitric oxide (NO) production stimulated by lipopolysaccharide in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells with the IC50 values ranging from 2.38 ± 0.08–8.43 ± 0.21 μM.

Endometrial cancer is generally one of the most evident malignant tumours of the female reproductive system, and the mechanisms underlying its cell proliferation and apoptosis are key to research in gynaecological oncology. In the paper, the in-depth molecular mechanism by which DJ-1 protein regulates the proliferation and apoptosis of Ishikawa cells was investigated. DJ-1 knockdown and overexpressing Ishikawa stable cell lines were established by lentiviral transduction. The levels of DJ-1 and noncanonical NF-κB signaling proteins were evaluated by Western blotting. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry were applied to analyze the cell viability and apoptosis. Co-immunoprecipitation experiment was utilized to assess the DJ-1-Cezanne interaction. The results showed that DJ-1 overexpression conferred apoptosis resistance and high proliferation on Ishikawa cells, while DJ-1 knockdown in Ishikawa cells produced the opposite results. These findings again suggested that DJ-1 inhibits the apoptosis and promotes the proliferation of Ishikawa cells. More crucially, further data showed that the noncanonical NF-κB activation was required for the regulation of Ishikawa cell proliferation and apoptosis by DJ-1. Meanwhile, it was found that noncanonical NF-κB pathway may be activated by DJ-1 interacting with and negatively regulating Cezanne in Ishikawa cells. Overall, this work revealed that DJ-1 associates with and negatively regulates Cezanne and consequently triggers the noncanonical NF-κB activation, thereby regulating Ishikawa cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Cyclic strain-induced chondrocyte damage is actively involved in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and arthritis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) carried by exosomes have been implicated in various diseases. However, the role of miR-100-5p in cyclic strain-induced chondrocyte damage remains to be elucidated. miR-100-5p and NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) were silenced or overexpressed in human primary articular chondrocytes. PKH-67 Dye was used to trace exosome endocytosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was monitored using DCFH-DA. Cell apoptosis was measured using a flow cytometer. Quantitative RT-PCR and western blots were used to evaluate gene expression. Cyclic strain promoted ROS production and apoptosis in primary articular chondrocytes in a time-dependent manner. HucMSCs-derived exosomal miR-100-5p inhibited cyclic strain-induced ROS production and apoptosis in primary articular chondrocytes. miR-100-5p directly targeted NOX4. Overexpressing NOX4 attenuated hucMSCs-derived exosomes-mediated protective effects in primary articular chondrocytes. Cyclic strain promotes ROS production and apoptosis in primary articular chondrocytes which was abolished by hucMSCs-derived exosomal miR-100-5p through its target NOX4. The findings highlight the importance of miR-100-5p/NOX4 axis in primary articular chondrocytes injury and provide new insights into therapeutic strategies for articular chondrocytes injury and osteoarthritis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The discovery of new nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals with excellent properties is in urgently demand because of their ability to generate coherent light. Herein, we report an unique NLO lead bromide formate, KCs2 [Pb2 Br5 (HCOO)2 ], which has been synthesized by a mix-solvothermal method. KCs2 [Pb2 Br5 (HCOO)2 ] exhibits strong phase-matching second-harmonic generation (SHG) response (6.5×KDP), large birefringence (0.16@ 1064 nm), and a wide transparent window in most visible light and mid-IR region. Interestingly, KCs2 [Pb2 Br5 (HCOO)2 ] features a polar 3D lead-bromide framework in which adjacent Pb-Br layers containing coplanar Pb6 Br6 rings are not only parallel to each other, but also orient in the same direction. These oriented arrangements are responsible for the strong SHG response and large birefringence that are elucidated by both local dipole moment and theoretical calculations. This research provides a new strategy to explore subsequent NLO crystals.

Hydrogen (H2) energy is a promising candidate to replace carbon monoxide (CO) as a reductant for iron oxide reduction in revolutionary ironmaking industrial processes, and numerous studies have been conducted to intensively study the utilization and impact of H2 in ironmaking processes. Therefore, this review first collects and compares the H2-assisted reduction mechanism and kinetics. The impacts of H2 on the reduction accompanying behaviors, such as the disintegration, swelling, sticking, softening, and melting of iron ores, are then summarized. Third, the performance of H2 predicted by either mass and heat balance models or numerical simulation models in various ironmaking processes is highlighted. Finally, the different applications of hydrogen-rich materials in blast furnace and non-blast furnace ironmaking processes are further compared to illuminate H2 utilization before our outlook on the use of H2 in the ironmaking industry.

The outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), defined as a worldwide pandemic, has been a public health emergency of international concern. Pudilanxiaoyan oral liquid (PDL), an effective drug of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is considered to be an effective and alternative means for clinical prevention of COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to identify potential active constituents of PDL, and explore its underlying anti-COVID-19 mechanism using network pharmacology. Integration of target prediction (SwissTargetPrediction and STITCH database) was used to elucidate the active components of PDL. Protein–protein interaction network analyses, gene ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses, network construction, and molecular docking were applied to analyze the prospective mechanisms of the predicted target genes. Our results showed that the key active ingredients in PDL were luteolin, apigenin, esculetin, chrysin, baicalein, oroxylin A, baicalin, wogonin, cymaroside, and gallic acid. A majority of the predicted targets were mainly involved in the pathways related to viral infection, lung injury, and inflammatory responses. An in vitro study further inferred that inhibiting the activity of nuclear factor (NF)-кB signaling pathway was a key mechanism by which PDL exerted anti-COVID-19 effects. This study not only provides chemical basis and pharmacology of PDL but also the rationale for strategies to exploring future TCM for COVID-19 therapy.

Kinesin family member 18B (KIF18B) is a new tumor-associated protein that contributes to the carcinogenesis of multiple malignancies. However, the detailed relevance of KIF18B in breast cancer has not been fully elucidated. This work aimed was to evaluate a possible relationship between KIF18B and breast cancer progression. Our findings show KIF18B is increased in breast cancer and demonstrate that high KIF18B level predicts a reduced survival rate. Cellular functional studies revealed that knockdown of KIF18B markedly reduces the proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of breast cancer cells and enhances their chemosensitivity toward doxorubicin. Further studies showed that KIF18B modulates the level of phospho-Akt, phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3β, and β-catenin. Notably, suppression of Akt abolished KIF18B-overexpression-induced increases in activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In addition, re-expression of β-catenin reversed KIF18B-silencing-induced cancer-promoting effect. In vivo animal experiments elucidated that knockdown of KIF18B significantly weakened the tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells. Taken together, data of this study illustrate that KIF18B exerts a potential cancer-promoting function in breast cancer via enhancement of Wnt/β-catenin pathway through modulation of the Akt/GSK-3β axis.

Chemosensor arrays are useful analytical methods in supramolecular analytical chemistry, which discriminate molecular information such as species and their concentrations based on pattern recogniti...

A high-performance quasi-vertical GaN Schottky barrier diode (SBD) was successfully fabricated by using a high-quality n−-GaN drift layer with a precisely-controlled n-type doping. A high current on/off ratio of 1010, an ideality factor of 1.03, a low specific on-resistance of 1.41 $\text{m}\Omega \cdot $ cm2, and a relatively high breakdown voltage (BV) of 250 V have been achieved for the SBD without edge termination. Furthermore, with an Argon-implanted termination, the as-fabricated GaN-on-Si SBD shows a record high BV of 405 V, yielding a critical electric field of ~ 2 MV/cm, while the forward conduction characteristics are well maintained.

Assembly of the top-down graphene units mostly results in 3D porous structure with randomly organized pores. The direct bottom-up synthesis of macroscopic 2D graphene sheets with organized pores are long sought in materials chemistry field, but rarely achieved. Herein, we present a self-catalysis-assisted bottom-up route using L-glutamic acid and iron chloride as starting materials for the fabrication of the millimeter-sized few-layer graphene sheets with aligned porous channels parallel to the 2D direction. The amino- and carboxyl-functional groups in L-glutamic acid can coordinate with iron cations, thus allowing an atomic dispersion of iron cations. The pyrolysis thus initiated the growth of graphene catalyzed by in-situ generated iron nanoparticles, and a dynamic flow of iron nanoparticles eventually led to the formation of millimeter-sized few-layer graphene sheets with aligned channels (60–85 nm in diameter). Used as anodes in lithium-ion batteries, these graphene sheets showed a good rate capability (142 mA h g−1 at 2 A g−1) and high capacity retention of 93% at 2 A g−1 after 1200 cycles. Kinetic analysis revealed that lithium ions storage was dominated by diffusion behavior and capacitive behavior together, in that graphene sheets with aligned channels could accelerate electron transfer and shorten lithium ions transport pathway. This work provides a novel approach to prepare unique porous graphene materials with specific structure for energy storage.

The supported 40 wt% (NH4)3HPMo11VO40 (APMV) catalysts over two different types of supports, supports-I (Cs3PMo12O40, Cs2.5H0.5PMo12O40, Cs4PMo11VO40 and Cs3HPMo11VO40) and supports-II (CeO2, WO3/ZrO2 and S-1 molecular sieve), were synthesized by deposition–precipitation method and further evaluated in the partial oxidation of isobutane to methacrylic acid (MAA) at 340 °C under atmospheric pressure. The fresh and used catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption/desorption, TG/DTG, XRD, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, pyridine- adsorption FT-IR and NH3-TPD to investigate their structure, stability and surface acidity. The better results were obtained by impregnating 40 wt% active APMV phase onto the supports-I phase with same/similar Keggin structure, and it is believed that the formation of coherent interfaces between two structural well-matched phases with the same/similar Keggin anions greatly promotes interfacial transfer abilities of electrons and lattice oxygen, which is responsible for the efficient oxygen insertion to maximize MAA selectivity and conversion of isobutane. The current work provides a concept of phase synergy to design a promising catalyst for selective oxidation of isobutane.

A full elucidation of chemisorbed donor behavior is of fundamental importance for tailoring the active species but has not yet been achieved for Ziegler–Natta catalysts. Herein, by exploiting the s...

Aims Invasive plants may alter soil fungal communities in a way that improves their growth. Nitrogen (N) content of soil affects the symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), further determining plant growth. Yet, it is unclear whether altered AMF communities change the dependence of invasive and native species on N-form, and whether N forms alter the invasive plant–AMF interaction (PSIM). Methods Two synthetic plant communities, including four Solidago canadensis individuals and four native plant species, were inoculated with AMF spores from S. canadensis-invaded soils and adjacent non-invaded soils, and were provided with nitrate, ammonia or glutamate. After their growth, the performance of the two plant communities in treatments of AMF origin and N forms, and the pathways of the N forms affecting S. canadensis growth and PSIM were evaluated. Important Findings Solidago canadensis had no obvious N-form dependence in any of the AMF inoculations. Native plant species showed weak N-form dependence, but invasive AMF could remove their N-form dependence. In the absence of N, AMF did not affect growth of S. canadensis and the native plants. In contrast, with N addition, invasive AMF significantly increased belowground and total biomass of the invasive plants but not those of the native plants. Positive PSIM of S. canadensis was also evidently greater than that of native plant species and was realized through directly or indirectly regulating phenotypic traits including plant height, leaf number and number of rhizomes. Our findings emphasize the importance of plant–AMF interactions and a unique N-acquisition strategy during plant invasions.

Dissimilar TC4 titanium alloy and 316L stainless steel were successfully joined utilizing thermoplastic bonding (TPB) with a Ti-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) as the filler. Good physical pre-bonding and metallurgical bonding were successively achieved through superplastic flowing in the superliquid region and solid-sate atomic diffusion and reaction. The experimental results indicated that the superplastic flow of BMG in the superliquid region greatly promoted void shrinkage in the interfaces. Hence, a compact contacting was obtained at temperature much lower than the melting point of the filler metal, which is beneficial to the atomic diffusion between the filler metal and base metals as temperature increased. After holding for some time below the melting point of the filler metal, three different reaction layers derived from the atomic diffusion and reaction between the base metal and filler metal were formed in the interfacial regions. A series of irregular bulky and small plate-shaped fine phases were formed and uniformly distributed in the interfacial regions and intermediate region. The shearing tests showed that a high strength of 225 MPa was obtained after diffusing at 695 °C for 60min. The fracture surface of the joint shifted from the 316L interface to then central crystallization layer as temperature increased.

The phytochemical investigation of the stems of Homalium stenophyllum afforded seven new phenolic glycosides (1−5 and 8−9) and two known compounds (6 and 7). Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive analyses of NMR spectroscopic, mass spectrometric data and chemical hydrolysis. Additionally, their anti-inflammatory activities against the NO production in LPS-induced macrophages were evaluated.

Recent studies have proven that the overall pathophysiology of pancreatitis involves not only the pancreatic acinar cells but also duct cells, however, pancreatic duct contribution in acinar cells homeostasis is poorly known and the molecular mechanisms leading to acinar insult and acute pancreatitis (AP) are unclear. Our previous work also showed that S100A9 protein level was notably increased in AP rat pancreas through iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis. Therefore, we investigated the actions of injured duct cells on acinar cells and the S100A9-related effects and mechanisms underlying AP pathology in the present paper. Methods: In this study, we constructed S100A9 knockout (s100a9-/-) mice and an in vitro coculture system for pancreatic duct cells and acinar cells. Moreover, a variety of small molecular inhibitors of S100A9 were screened from ChemDiv through molecular docking and virtual screening methods. Results: We found that the upregulation of S100A9 induces cell injury and inflammatory response via NLRP3 activation by targeting VNN1-mediated ROS release; and loss of S100A9 decreases AP injury in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, molecular docking and mutant plasmid experiments proved that S100A9 has a direct interaction with VNN1 through the salt bridges formation of Lys57 and Glu92 residues in S100A9 protein. We further found that compounds C42H60N4O6 and C28H29F3N4O5S can significantly improve AP injury in vitro and in vivo through inhibiting S100A9-VNN1 interaction. Conclusions: Our study showed the important regulatory effect of S100A9 on pancreatic duct injury during AP and revealed that inhibition of the S100A9-VNN1 interaction may be a key therapeutic target for this disease.