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Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells (PSTSCs) have exhibited huge technological potential for breaking the Shockley-Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells. The efficiency of P-I-N type PSTSCs has surpassed the single-junction limit, while the performance of N-I-P type PSTSCs is far below the theoretical value. Here, we developed a composite electron transport layer for N-I-P type monolithic PSTSCs with enhanced open-circuit voltage (VOC) and power conversion efficiency (PCE). Lithium chloride (LiCl) was added into the tin oxide (SnO2) precursor solution, which simultaneously passivated the defects and increased the electron injection driving force at the electron transfer layer (ETL)/perovskite interface. Eventually, we achieved monolithic PSTSCs with an efficiency of 25.42% and VOC of 1.92 V, which is the highest PCE and VOC in N-I-P type perovskite/Si tandem devices. This work on interface engineering for improving the PCE of monolithic PSTSCs may bring a new hot point about perovskite-based tandem devices.

Curcumin has been reported to have a therapeutic effect on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the specific mechanism remains to be elucidated. In the present research, we aimed to investigate the effect and molecular mechanism of curcumin on AD. Mouse primary hippocampal neuron cells were treated with various concentrations of beta-amyloid 42 (Aβ42) and the results found that Aβ42 inhibited cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with 50 ng/mL Aβ42, 500 ng/mL Aβ42 could further promote cell apoptosis, reduce the ratio of Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))/Nicotinamide adenine diphosphate hydride (NADH) and Adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) level, and inhibit Sirtuins 3 (SIRT3) deacetylation activity and protein expression of Thyroid hormone receptor beta (Thrb) and SIRT3. Hence, 500 ng/mL Aβ42 was used to establish a cell model of AD. Curcumin significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of Aβ42 on cell viability, SIRT3 deacetylation activity, the ratio of NAD+/NADH, ATP level and the protein expression of Thrb and SIRT3, and the promotive effect on apoptosis. ChIPBase was used to predict the binding region of Thrb and SIRT3. Dual luciferase reporter gene and Chromatin immune precipitation (ChIP) assays were employed to verify the relationship between Thrb and promoter of SIRT3 mRNA. Overexpression of Thrb recovered Aβ42 induced metabolic dysfunction, while Thrb silence aggravated Aβ42 induced metabolic dysfunction. Moreover, Thrb silence or 3-TYP (a selective inhibitor of SIRT3) treatment abolished the amelioration of curcumin on Aβ42 induced metabolic dysfunction. Additionally, curcumin attenuated memory deficits in Amyloid precursor protein transgenic (APPTG) mice. Collectively, curcumin alleviated Aβ42-induced neuronal metabolic dysfunction through increasing Thrb expression and SIRT3 activity and improved cognition in APPTG mice.

Introduction and Objectives: Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist that has sedative and analgesic properties and myocardial protective effects. However, the mechanism underlying the protective effect of dexmedetomidine on cardiomyocytes remains unknown. This study mainly aimed to investigate the effects of dexmedetomidine on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cardiomyocytes and whether it inhibits the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes by affecting antioxidant enzyme expression. Methods: Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were pretreated with dexmedetomidine (100 nM) for 24 h. The cardiomyocytes were then incubated with 200 μM hydrogen peroxide solution (H2O2) for 4 h. PCR assay was used to determine the mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes. Western blot assay was used to determine the protein expression of antioxidant enzymes. Fluorescence microscopy with the MitoSOX probe was used to detect the formation of ROS in cardiomyocytes, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting with annexin V/PI was used to determine the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes. Results: Dexmedetomidine reduced ROS generation and antioxidant enzymes levels in cardiomyocytes before H2O2 stimulation (p

Using only low-cost materials to achieve a solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of over 20% for solar water splitting systems is still a major challenge for realizing the practical feasibility of photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production technology. Utilizing the electrochemical instability of some metal organic framework ligands is a promising strategy to solve the problem of difficulty in controlling the degree of electrochemical self-reconstruction and obtaining high-performance water oxidation catalysts. Here, a monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell was used for highly efficient standalone solar water splitting. A self-reconstructed NiCoFe-based hydroxide nanosheet electrocatalyst was shown to exhibit remarkable oxygen evolution reaction performance with an overpotential of 191 mV at 10 mA cm−2. Upon pairing with the reported state-of-the-art hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst NiMo4/MnO3−X and a monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell, an unprecedented STH efficiency of 21.32% was achieved for the unbiased solar water splitting system. This low-cost high-efficiency solar water-splitting system will contribute to realizing the practical applications of PEC hydrogen production technology.

The bottom-up strategy for proteome analysis typically employs a multistep sample preparation workflow that suffers from being time-consuming and sample loss or contamination caused by the off-line manual operation. Herein, we developed a hollow fibre membrane (HFM)-aided fully automated sample treatment (FAST) method. Due to the confinement effects of HFMs and the immobilized enzymatic reactor, the proteome samples could be denatured, reduced, desalted and digested within 8–20 min via the one-stop service. This method also showed superiority in trace sample analysis. In one and half hours, we could identify about 1,600 protein groups for 500 HeLa cells as the starting materials, 1.5–8 times more than those obtained by previously reported methods. Through the on-line combination of FAST with nano-liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS), we further established a fully integrated platform for label-free quantification of proteome with high reproducibility and precision. Collectively, FAST presented here represents a major advance in the high throughput sample treatment and quantitative analysis of proteomes.

Aims: Dexmedetomidine (Dex) as a highly selective α2-adrenoceptor agonist, was widely used anesthetic in perioperative settings, whether Dex induces cardiac hypertrophy during perioperative administration is unknown. Methods: The effects of Dex on cardiac hypertrophy were explored using the transverse aortic constriction model and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Results: We reported that Dex induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy with activated ERK, AKT, PKC and inactivated AMPK in both wild-type mice and primary cultured rat cardiomyocytes. Additionally, pre-administration of Dex protects against transverse aortic constriction induced-heart failure in mice. We found that Dex up-regulates the activation of ERK, AKT, and PKC via suppression of AMPK activation in rat cardiomyocytes. However, suppression of mitochondrial coupling efficiency and membrane potential by FCCP blocks Dex induced AMPK inactivation as well as ERK, AKT, and PKC activation. All of these effects are blocked by the α2-adrenoceptor antagonist atipamezole. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates Dex preconditioning induces cardiac hypertrophy that protects against heart failure through mitochondria-AMPK pathway in perioperative settings.

In high-efficiency silicon solar cells featuring carrier-selective passivating contacts based on ultrathin SiOx/poly-Si, the appropriate implementation of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers is of vital importance. Considerable deterioration in passivation quality occurs for thin poly-Si-based devices owing to the sputtering damage during TCO deposition. Curing treatment at temperatures above 350 °C can recover such degradation, whereas the opto-electrical properties of the TCO are affected as well, and the carrier transport at the poly-Si/TCO contact is widely reported to degrade severely in such a procedure. Here, we propose straightforward approaches, post-deposition annealing at 400 °C in nitrogen, hydrogen, or air ambience, are proposed to tailor material properties of high-mobility hydrogenated fluorine-doped indium oxide (IFO:H) film. Structural, morphological, and opto-electrical properties of the IFO:H films are investigated as well as their inherent electron scattering and doping mechanisms. Hydrogen annealing treatment proves to be the most promising strategy. The resulting layer exhibits both optimal opto-electrical properties (carrier density = 1.5 × 1020 cm-3, electron mobility = 108 cm2 V-1 s-1, and resistivity = 3.9 × 10-4 ω cm) and remarkably low contact resistivities (∼20 mω cm2 for both n- and p-contacts) in poly-Si solar cells. Even though the presented cells are limited by the metallization step, the obtained IFO:H-base solar cell show an efficiency improvement from 20.1 to 20.6% after specific hydrogen treatment, demonstrating the potential of material manipulation and contact engineering strategy in high-efficiency photovoltaic devices endowed with TCOs.

A rapid in vitro enzymatic biosynthesis system has been developed as a biological manufacturing platform with potential industrial uses. Cytidine 5′-monophosphate (5′-CMP) is a key intermediate in ...

The main objective of the current study was to investigate the components and antioxidant activity of essential oil extracted from Purple Eleutherococcus leaves (identified as Eleutherococcus simonii) (PEEO) by hydrodistillation (HD) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Fourteen chemical components were identified in PEEO using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), accounting for 41.21% of the total essential oil extracted by SPME, including isopropyl toluene, 4-methylene-1-(1-methylethyl) cyclohexene (3.24%), fumaric-red myrrh alcohol (2.94%), farnesol acetate (2.92%), etc. Forty-three compounds were identified by HD, accounting for 73.28% of the total essential oil extracted by HD, including α-Farnesene (3.4%), Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (1.28%), (α-Bisabolol (0.87%), etc. The antioxidant activity of PEEO was characterized for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, ABTS method and FRAP method, and the IC50 values were 1.125 mg/mL, 0.945 mg/mL and 0.862 mg/mL, respectively. The IC50 values for DPPH, ABTS and FRAP of essential oil were similar to those of ascorbic acid (VC; 0.853, 0.945 and 0.037 mg/mL). The results showed that the essential oil of PEEO has a high radical scavenging activity.

Acanthopanax gracilistylus W.W.Smith (AGS) is an traditional Chinese medicine and its leaves that have rich biological activities has been long used as a fresh vegetable in Chinese folk. There are two lupane-type triterpenoids, 3α,11α-dihydroxy-23-oxo-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (1) and 3α,11α,23-trihydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (2), were isolated as the active constituents from leaves of AGS. However, the anti-inflammatory effects and potential mechanisms of 1 and 2 on LPS-induced RAW264.7 Macrophages have not been evaluated. In this study, the results shown that compounds 1 and 2 reduced the levels of early pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, the secretion of late pro-inflammatory cytokine HMGB1, as well as the activation of transcription factor NF-κB in RAW 264.7 macrophages induced by LPS. In conclusion, two lupane-type triterpenes (1 and 2) have anti-inflammatory activities in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells through inhibiting expression of proinflammatory cytokines and NF‐κB activation and could be potentially used in treatment of inflammatory-related diseases in the future.

Background and objectives Laparoscopic colorectal surgery causes a lower stress response than open surgery. Adiponectin is mainly derived from adipocytes and has antidiabetic, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory capabilities. The objective of the present study was to investigate the protein expression of adiponectin in adipose tissue, and the serum levels of adiponectin, oxidative stress markers and proinflammatory factors during laparoscopic colorectal surgery and open surgery periods. Methods Forty patients aged 60 to 80, with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I ~ II who underwent radical resection of colorectal cancer were recruited to the study. Laparoscopic group and open group included 20 patients each. Mesenteric adipose tissue and venous blood before (T1) and at the end (T2) of surgery were collected to examine adiponectin levels, and venous blood was collected to examine serum levels of oxidative stress related markers (superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxide (LPO), malondialdehyde (MDA)), and inflammation-related factors (interleukin (IL)-1β, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)). Results Protein and serum levels of adiponectin were analyzed, and adiponectin levels were significantly increased at T2 than T1 in the laparoscopic surgery, while adiponectin levels were significantly higher in the laparoscopic surgery than in the open surgery at T2. In addition, the serum levels of SOD and GSH were significantly higher in the laparoscopic surgery than in open surgery at T2. However, the serum levels of LPO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly lower in the laparoscopic group than in open group at T2. Conclusion Laparoscopic surgery induced higher levels of adiponectin in both adipose tissue and the bloodstream. Oxidative stress and the inflammatory response were lower during laparoscopic colorectal surgery than during conventional open surgery. These data suggest that adipose tissue may alleviate the stress response during laparoscopic surgery by releasing adiponectin in patients with colorectal cancer.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) injection has become an important technology to enhance oil recovery in ultra-low permeability reservoirs. Compared with other CO2 flooding technologies, CO2 miscible flooding has a better development effect, and the minimum miscible pressure (MMP) is a key parameter to realize miscible flooding. Therefore, it is very important to accurately predict the MMP. The prediction methods of MMP generally include laboratory experiment method and theoretical calculation method. In this study, a long-slim-tube displacement experiment method was used to determine the MMP in the study area, and the experimental temperature and pressure were consistent with those under reservoir conditions. The research results show that the recovery ratio increased gradually with the increase of experimental pressure, but the increase amplitude gradually decreased. According to the relation curve between crude oil recovery ratio and experimental displacement pressure, when the experimental pressure was larger than 29.6 MPa, the recovery ratio did not increase significantly with the increase of displacement pressure, which indicates that the interfacial tension between crude oil and CO2 disappeared under this pressure and they reached a miscible state. It is speculated that the MMP between crude oil and CO2 system in the study area predicted by the long-slim-tube displacement experiment method was 29.6 MPa. The results of this study help to realize miscible flooding in ultra-low permeability reservoirs and thus enhance oil recovery.

Background and Objective: Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza (RSM) has been used clinically for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases; therefore, it is important to strengthen its quality management. Considering multiple constituents when assessing RSM quality is essential. We established a simple, rapid method to identify and quantify the major bioactive constituents in RSM using ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to a triple quadruple mass spectrometry (QqQ-MS). Methods: We analyzed 17 markers from 50 batches of wild S. miltiorrhiza samples that were collected from different locations in China. The ultrasonic extracts of all samples were determined using the UPLC-QqQ-MS method and were assessed by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). Results: We used this method to analyze 50 sample batches of the 17 compounds and obtained results with excellent linearity (R2, 0.9915-0.9997), precision (relative standard deviation, RSD, 0.15-1.94%), repeatability (RSD, 1.28-4.71%), stability (RSD, 0.97-5.60%) and recovery (RSD, 0.305-6.40%). The hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify the 50 samples based on the characteristics of the 17 compound markers. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the developed method was simple, reproducible and sensitive, and it is capable of systematic and scientific evaluation for quality control of RSM. The HCA clearly demonstated that the RSM samples from different locations were significantly different and the quality of wild Radix S. miltiorrhiza could generally be judged according to its geographical origin.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of genetic polymorphism on fluvastatin pharmacokinetics. In addition, we compared the fluvastatin pharmacokinetics differences between extended-release (ER) 80 mg tablet and immediate-release (IR) 40 mg capsule in terms of drug metabolism enzyme and transporter genetic polymorphisms. In this open-label, randomized, two-period, two-treatment, crossover study (n = 24), effects of ABCG2, SLCO1B1, ABCB1, CYP2C9 and CYP3A5 polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics of fluvastatin were analyzed. The administration dosage for IR 40 mg and ER 80 mg were twice and once daily, respectively, for total 7 d. Blood samples for pharmacokinetic evaluation were taken on the 1st and 7th d. The lower exposure following ER was observed. For ER tablets, SLCO1B1 T521C genotype correlated with AUC0-24 of repeat doses (P = 0.010). SLCO1B1 T521C genotype had no statistically significant effect on AUC0-24 of IR capsule of fluvastatin after single or repeated doses. In vitro study demonstrated that when the concentration of fluvastatin was low (< 1 µmol/l), the uptake of fluvastatin in the HEK293-OATP1B1 with SLCO1B1 521TT (Km=0.18 µmol/l) was faster than that with SLCO1B1 521CC (Km=0.49 µmol/l), On the other hand, when concentration reached to higher level (> 1 µmol/l), transport velocity of fluvastatin by HEK293-OATP1B1 with SLCO1B1 521TT (Km = 11.4 µmol/l) and with SLCO1B1 521TCC (Km=15.1 µmol/l) tend to be the same. It suggests that the increased effect of SLCO1B1 T521C genotype on ER formulation of fluvastatin was mainly caused by lower blood concentrations. We recommend that formulation should be incorporated into future pharmacogenomics studies., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract

Herein, nickel-doped cobalt molybdate (NixCo1-xMoO4, x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6) with nanorods structure are successfully prepared through a facile co-precipitation approach. The molar ratio of nickel and cobalt would affect the morphologies. The Ni0.5Co0.5MoO4 electrode exhibits satisfactory specific capacity and rate performance (325.9 C/g at 0.5 A/g, 260 C/g at 10 A/g). Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device is assembled using Ni0.5Co0.5MoO4 and carbon spheres as positive and negative electrodes, respectively. The ASC device possesses high energy density of 31.57 Wh/kg at the power density of 400 W/kg, and even maintains high energy density of 13.56 Wh/kg at the power density of 8000 W/kg. Meantime, the ASC device possesses excellent capacitance retention rate and coulomb efficiency after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. And a red light-emitted diode is illumed using two ASC devices in series.

In this work, wide-spectrum Mg- and Ga co-doped ZnO (MGZO) transparent conductive films are developed via reactive plasma deposition (RPD) technique with soft thin-film growth process. MGZO film with a work function of ~4.36 eV can be achieved within 12 min without any intentional substrate-heating treatment. 480nm-thickness MGZO film exhibits a low resistivity of ~9.9x10-4 Ωcm and a high transmittance of ~82.6% in the UV-VIS-NIR region (λ approximately 400 nm-1200 nm). XRD spectra show that MGZO films exhibit (103) preferred orientation as the film thickness increases. A silicon hetero-junction (SHJ) solar cell based on 480nm-thick MGZO at the front side is completed. Excellent continuity of MGZO film is proven by the cross-sectional SEM images and there are no cracks and pinholes on the top and bottom of the c-Si pyramids. Further efficiency improvements are achieved using an ultra-thin SnOx buffer layer with an ameliorated p-a-Si:H/TCO interface. Also, a silicon hetero-junction (SHJ) solar cell using M...

Photovoltaics based on metal halide perovskites have recently achieved a certificated efficiency of 25.2%. One of the factors that limit further development of these devices comes from the defectiv...

A self-templated strategy was adopted to design hollow Co3O4/MO3 (M = Mo, W) mixed-metal oxides via the Mo or W doping of ZIF-67, and subsequent pyrolysis under an atmosphere of air at a low temperature of 450 °C. The hollow Co3O4/MO3 (M = Mo, W) mixed-metal oxides displayed tunable oxidase-like and peroxidase-like activities able to efficiently catalyze the oxidation of TMB to generate a deep blue color in the absence or presence of H2O2. Relative to that of the un-doped Co3O4, the oxidase mimic activity of the Mo-doped Co3O4 increased to 1.3 to 2.1-fold, while its peroxidase mimic activity increased to 7.1 to 19.9-fold, depending on different Mo doping amounts. The oxidase mimic activity of the W-doped Co3O4 increased to 2.1 to 2.3-fold, while its peroxidase mimic activity increased to 4.8 to 5.9-fold, depending on the different W doping amounts. The Mo- and W-doped Co3O4 nanohybrid exhibited both higher O2 and H2O2 activating capability, and their H2O2 activating capacity was superior to the O2 activating capability. Furthermore, the Mo- and W-doped Co3O4 nanohybrids exhibited similar O2 activating abilities, while the Mo-doped one displayed a higher H2O2 activating capability than the W-doped one. The discrepant peroxidase-like nature of Mo- and W-doped Co3O4 nanohybrids is likely attributed to their different catalytic mechanisms. The peroxidase-like activity of Mo-doped Co3O4 is highly related to the ˙OH free radical, while that of W-doped Co3O4 is likely ascribed to the electron transfer between TMB and H2O2. The Km values of Co3O4/MoO3 for TMB and H2O2 were 0.0352 mM and 0.134 mM, which were 3.2- and 1.9-fold lower than that of pure Co3O4, respectively. A Co3O4/MoO3-based colorimetric platform was developed for the determination of H2O2 in the 0.1-200 μM range, with a limit of detection of 0.08 μM (3σ). Based on the thiocholine (TCh) inhibition of the excellent peroxidase-like activity of Co3O4/MoO3 and the TCh generation via acetylcholinesterase (AChE) catalyzed hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine chloride (ATCh), the colorimetric platform was extended to screen AChE activity and its inhibitor.

Perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells hold great promise for commercialization for their high efficiency and low cost. One of the major challenges for semi-transparent perovskite and tandem devices is the availability of suitable transparent electrodes. Here, we report an alternative high-performance cerium-doped indium oxide (ICO) transparent electrode with high mobility, low carrier concentration and high transmittance by Radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at room temperature (RT) for thus applications. A high mobility of 51.6 cm2/Vs, a low resistivity of 5.74 × 10−4 Ω cm as well as a high average transmittance of 83.5% ranging from 400 nm to 1800 nm were obtain at RT. The spectral response of a planar semi-transparent perovskite solar cell (ST-PSC) proportion accelerated in 450–700 nm range and resulted in an absolute 1.1 mA/cm2 (from 17.38 to 18.48 mA/cm2) and 1.47 mA/cm2 (from 13.63 to 15.10 mA/cm2) short-circuit current improvement by replacing commercial ITO electrodes with ICO at different illuminate sides. Finally, the preliminary perovskite/silicon-heterojunction (SHJ) two-terminal tandem solar cell achieves a relative 8.06% improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) (from 18.85% to 20.37%) in the use of ICO transparent electrode, illustrating a promising alternative transparent electrode to further improve high-efficiency semi-transparent perovskite and its tandem solar cells.

Nanozymes are one of the ideal alternatives to natural enzymes for various applications. The rational design of nanozymes with improved catalytic activity stimulates increasing attention to address the low activity of current nanozymes. Here, we reported a general strategy to fabricate the Co-based homobimetallic hollow nanocages (HNCs) (C-CoM-HNC, M = Ni, Mn, Cu, and Zn) by ion-assistant solvothermal reaction and subsequent low-temperature calcination from metal-organic frameworks. The C-CoM-HNCs are featured with HNCs composed of interlaced nanosheets with homogeneous bimetallic oxide dispersion. The hierarchical structure and secondary metallic doping endow the C-CoM-HNC highly active sites. In particular, the Cu-doped C-CoCu-HNCs nanostructures exhibit superior performances over the other C-CoM-HNC as both the oxidase mimicking and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator. A sensitive bioassay for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was established based on the excellent oxidase-like activity of C-CoCu-HNC, offering a linear detection range from 0.0001 to 1 mU/mL with an ultralow detection limit of 0.1 mU/L. As the PMS activator, the C-CoCu-HNC was applied for targeted organic pollutant (rhodamine B, RhB) degradation. A highly efficient RhB degradation was realized, along with good adaptability in a wide pH range and good reusability during the eight-cycle run. The results suggest that C-CoCu-HNC holds a practical potential for clinical diagnostics and pollution removal. Further density functional theory calculation reveals that Cu doping leads to a tighter connection and more negative adsorption energy for O2/PMS, as well as an upshifted d-band center in the C-CoCu-HNCs nanostructures. These changes facilitated the adsorption of O2/PMS on the C-CoCu-HNC surface for dissociation. This work not only offers a promising multifunctional nanozyme catalyst for clinical diagnostics and pollution removal but also gives some clues for the further development of novel nanozymes with high catalytic activities.

Wall-coating is an attractive approach for immobilizing catalyst into microchannels due to potential enhancement in heat and mass transfer and a small pressure drop. A novel hybrid method was thus ...

Glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate mutase 1 (PGAM1) plays a critical role in cancer metabolism by coordinating glycolysis and biosynthesis. A well-validated PGAM1 inhibitor, however, has not been reported for treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which is one of the deadliest malignancies worldwide. By uncovering the elevated PGAM1 expressions were statistically related to worse prognosis of PDAC in a cohort of 50 patients, we developed a series of allosteric PGAM1 inhibitors by structure-guided optimization. The compound KH3 significantly suppressed proliferation of various PDAC cells by down-regulating the levels of glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration in correlation with PGAM1 expression. Similar to PGAM1 depletion, KH3 dramatically hampered the canonic pathways highly involved in cancer metabolism and development. Additionally, we observed the shared expression profiles of several signature pathways at 12 h after treatment in multiple PDAC primary cells of which the matched patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models responded similarly to KH3 in the 2 wk treatment. The better responses to KH3 in PDXs were associated with higher expression of PGAM1 and longer/stronger suppressions of cancer metabolic pathways. Taken together, our findings demonstrate a strategy of targeting cancer metabolism by PGAM1 inhibition in PDAC. Also, this work provided “proof of concept” for the potential application of metabolic treatment in clinical practice.

WZ35 is a monocarbonyl analog of curcumin, which had been proved advantage over curcumin in chemical stability and antitumor activity. However, its pharmacokinetic profile has not been determined. In the present study, an ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay was developed to detect concentration of WZ35 in rat plasma. Subsequently, pharmacokinetic study showed that the oral bioavailability of WZ35 is 10.56%. Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) plays a major role in metabolizing exogenous substance. The concentration of WZ35 was sharply decreased while incubating with microsome. It’s indicated that WZ35 is a substrate of CYP450s. Molecular docking assay showed that WZ35 can combine with CYP2B6 and CYP2C9 to form much more stable complex. The lowest docking energy was generated in complex with CYP2E1. The inhibition of CYP450s by WZ35 was also evaluated. Pan inhibitions of WZ35 on rat CYP3A2, CYP2B1, CYP2C11, CYP2D1, and ­CYP2E1 were observed by detecting probe substrates (midazolam, bupropion, tolbutamide, dextromethorphan, chlorzoxazone) and metabolites accordingly. On an average, 80% activities of enzymes were blocked. Mechanistically, the inhibitions of WZ35 on CYP3A2, CYP2B1, CYP2E1 were in a time-dependent manner according to the results of IC50 shift assay. The collective data demonstrated that the oral bioavailability of monocarbonyl analog of curcumin has significantly improved compared to curcumin. It’s both the substrate and inhibitor of CYP450s through in a time-dependent mechanism.

The elaborate control of the surface morphologies and trap states of solution-processed perovskite films significantly governs the photovoltaic performance and moisture resistance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, a thin layer of poly(triaryl amine) (PTAA) was unprecedentedly devised on top of perovskite quasi-film by spin-coating PTAA/chlorobenzene solution before annealing the perovskite film. This treatment induced a smooth and compact perovskite layer with passivated surface defects and grain boundaries, which result in a significantly reduced charge recombination. Besides, the time-resolved photoluminescence spectra of the PTAA-treated perovskite films confirmed a faster charge transfer and a much longer lifetime compared to the control cells without the PTAA treatment. Moreover, such a hydrophobic polymer atop the perovskite layer could effectively protect the perovskite against humidity and retain 83% of its initial efficiency in contrast to 56% of control cells stored for 1 month in ambient conditions (25 °C, 35 RH%). As a result, the PTAA-treated PSCs displayed an average efficiency of 17.77% (with a peak efficiency of 18.75%), in contrast to 16.15% of the control cells, and enhanced stability. These results demonstrate that PTAA and the method thereof constitute a promising passivation strategy for constructing stable and efficient PSCs.

The local stress and strain are analyzed in a heterogeneous microstructure induced by compression of aluminium rings under nearly full sticking conditions. This analysis is based on characterization of mechanical behavior and microstructure applying three complementary techniques covering multiple length scales: microhardness, electron microscopy (electron backscatter diffraction) and finite element modelling. The findings are underpinned by applying those techniques in an analysis of a homogeneous microstructure induced by compression of hot-extruded aluminium cylinders. The local stress and strain are estimated at 14 different positions in two rings representing large variations in strain. A comparison with the stress and strain in the homogeneously compressed cylinders related to the average spacing between deformation induced low and high angle boundaries, validates the characterization techniques and supports a hypothesis that the microstructure of local regions in a heterogeneous structure evolve in accordance with universal principles and mechanisms established for the evolution of the deformation microstructure of polycrystalline metals.

The graphene cathode was doped with boron via a new and fast method of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at room temperature. Various plasma species of BHx (x = 0–3) with high reactivity reacted with graphene electrode via surface re-reactions and gas-interface intersection. The cathode made of boron doping into graphene (BG) exhibited excellent electrochemical performances in Li-ion capacitors, including a large discharge capacity of 140 mAh g−1 (voltage range: 1.5–4.2 V vs. Li/Li+, current density: 100 mA g−1) and the coulombic efficiency of more than 99.6% within 1000 circles. The capacity, coulombic efficiency and circle performance of the BG electrode were more superior to the undoped graphene electrode owing to the uniform doping of boron plasma species. The PECVD method has the advantages of being simple, is conducted at room-temperature, is time efficient and uniform, thus making it a fast and effective way for doping hetero-atoms into the electrode.

Experimental observations indicate that pre-deformation can influence the mechanical properties of magnesium alloys. However, inconsistent or even contradictory conclusions have been drawn mainly due to the difficulty of isolating an individual influencing factor from those playing interactive roles in an experiment. Therefore, a systematical study in terms of crystal plasticity modeling is performed to evaluate the effect of pre-deformation (pre-rolling and pre-compression) in the current work. The subsequent tensile response of the magnesium alloy AZ31B sheet along the transverse direction and the rolling direction after pre-deformation is simulated. It is found that both pre-rolling and pre-compression can either enhance or deteriorate the mechanical properties of the AZ31B sheet. If annealing is applied, the pre-deformed microstructure is retained and the mechanical properties are generally enhanced. Pre-compression with ~ 3% strain and annealing are able to enhance the overall mechanical properties of a rolled Mg alloy sheet the most. Based on the modeling results, the properties of magnesium alloys can be affected differently with different pre-straining paths, different loading directions, with annealing or without. These findings help us understand the inconsistency in different experimental studies and also reveal the role of pre-deformation and the accompanying influencing factors on the properties of magnesium alloys.

The bottleneck arising from castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treatment is its high metastasis potential and antiandrogen drug resistance, which severely affects survival time of prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) is a cardinal mediator of tumor-associated inflammation and facilitates metastasis. In our previous study, we firstly revealed SPP1 was a potential hub signature for predicting metastatic CRPC (mCRPC) development. Herein, we integrated multiple databases to explore the association of SPP1 expression with prognosis, survival, and metastatic levels in CRPC progression and investigated SPP1 expression in PCa tissues and cell lines. Next, PCa cell lines with overexpression or depletion of SPP1 were established to study the effect of SPP1 on enzalutamide sensitivity and adhesion and migration of prostate cancer cell lines and further explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Bioinformatics analysis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemical staining, and western blot results suggested SPP1 upregulation had strong relationship with the malignant progression of CRPC and enzalutamide resistance. SPP1 knockdown enhanced enzalutamide sensitivity and repressed invasion and migration of prostate cancer cells. Importantly, upregulating SPP1 promoted, while silencing SPP1 attenuated epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT). Our results further demonstrated that SPP1 overexpression maintains the activation of PI3K/AKT and ERK1/2 signaling pathways. Overall, our findings unraveled the functional role and clinical significance of SPP1 in PCa progression and help to discover new potential targets against mCRPC.

The bottleneck arising from castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treatment is its high metastasis potential and anti-androgen drug resistance, which severely affects survival time of prostate cancer (PCa) patients. In our previous study, we firstly revealed SPP1 was a potential hub signature for predicting metastatic CRPC (mCRPC) development. Herein, we integrated multiple databases to explore the association of SPP1 expression with prognosis, survival, metastatic levels in CRPC progression, and also investigated SPP1 expression in PCa tissues and cell lines. Next, PCa cell lines with overexpression or depletion of SPP1 were established to study the effect of SPP1 on enzalutamide sensitivity, and adhesion and migration of prostate cancer cell lines and further explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Bioinformatics analysis, PCR, immunohistochemical staining and western blot results suggested SPP1 upregulation had strong relationship with the malignant progression of CRPC. SPP1 knockdown repressed enzalutamide sensitivity, invasion and migration of prostate cancer cells in vitro. Importantly, upregulating SPP1 promoted, while silencing SPP1 attenuated epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT). Our results further demonstrate that SPP1 overexpression maintains the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling and ERK1/2 pathways. Overall, our findings unraveled the functional role and clinical significance of SPP1 in PCa progression, and help to discover new potential targets against mCRPC.

Background To explore the association of cigarette smoking with retinal thickness and vascular structure in an elderly Chinese population. Methods This cross-sectional study enrolled employees and retirees aged over 50 years at Tianjin University of Sport from October 2020 to December 2020. Information on smoking status and lifestyle was obtained using a detailed questionnaire. All participants underwent full ophthalmic examination. OCTA image was acquired. Vascular and the thickness parameters in central fovea and peripapillary parameters were automatically calculated. Multiple linear regression analyses were utilized to assess the association of smoking with retinal thickness and vascular structure after controlling potential confounders. Results Compared with non-smoking adults, current smokers (β=-36.78; P = 0.01) and ever smokers (β=-35.45; P = 0.00) tended to have thinner macular fovea. Cigarettes daily, pack-years of smoking and CSI were negatively related to macular thickness (cigarettes daily: β=-1.43; pack-years: β=-14.73; CSI: β=-14.70), while they were positively associated with the circumference (cigarettes daily: β=0.03; pack-years: β=0.30; CSI: β=0.31) and the area of FAZ (cigarettes daily: β=0.01; pack-years: β=0.07). Conclusions Cigarette smoking seems associated with decreased macular fovea thickness and elevated circumference and area of the FAZ compared to non-smokers. Our data add to evidence of smoking on retinal thickness and the microvascular system in the macular area.

Cancer is one of the diseases that threatens human health and is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been observed in cancer tissues compared with normal tissues in vivo, and it is not yet known how this influences chemotherapeutic drug action. Cationic porphyrin 5,10,15,20-tetra-(N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin (TMPyP4) is a photosensitizer used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) and a telomerase inhibitor used in the treatment of telomerase-positive cancer. Here, we investigated the anticancer activity of TMPyP4 in A549 and PANC cells cultured in H2O2. The results showed that compared to TMPyP4 alone, the combination of TMPyP4 and H2O2 exhibited sensitization effects on cell viability and colony formation inhibition and apoptosis in A549 and PANC cells, but had no effect in human normal MIHA cells. Mechanistically, the combination of TMPyP4 and H2O2 activates high ROS and mitochondrial membrane potential in A549 and PANC cells, resulting in intense DNA damage and DNA damage responses. Consequently, compared to TMPyP4 alone, TMPyP4 and H2O2 combined treatment upregulates the expression of BAX, cleaved caspase 3, and p-JNK and downregulates the expression of Bcl-2 in A549 and PANC cells. Taken together, these data suggested that H2O2 enhanced the anticancer activity of TMPyP4-mediated ROS-dependent DNA damage and related apoptotic protein regulation, revealing that the high ROS tumor microenvironment plays an important role in chemotherapeutic drug action.

Organic spacers play an important role in 2D/3D hybrid perovskites, which could combine the advantages of high stability of 2D perovskites and high efficiency of 3D perovskites. Here, a class of aromatic formamidiniums (ArFA) was developed as spacers for 2D/3D perovskites. It is found that the bulky aromatic spacer ArFA in 2D/3D perovskites could induce better crystalline growth and orientation, reduce the defect states, and enlarge spatially resolved carrier lifetime thanks to the multiple NH···I hydrogen-bonding interactions between ArFA and inorganic [PbI6]4- layers. As a result, compared to the control device with efficiency of 19.02%, the 2D/3D perovskite device based on such an optimized organic salt, namely benzamidine hydrochloride (PhFACl), exhibits a dramatically improved efficiency of 22.39% along with improved long-term thermal stability under 80 °C over 1400 h. Importantly, a champion efficiency of 23.36% was further demonstrated through device engineering for PhFACl-based 2D/3D perovskite solar cells. These results indicate the great potential of this class of ArFA spacers in highly efficient 2D/3D perovskite solar cells.

Acanthopanax henryi (Oliv.) Harms (Araliaceae), also known as Eleutherococcus henryi and Caoyewujia (Hengliwujia) in Chinese, is a widely used traditional Chinese herb with the effects of expelling wind and removing dampness, relaxing the muscles and stimulating the blood circulation, and regulating the flow of qi to alleviate pain in the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acanthopanax henryi (AH, thereafter) possesses ginseng-like activities and is known as ginseng-like herb. In the past decade, a great number of phytochemical and pharmacological studies on AH have been carried out. Several kinds of chemical compositions have been reported, including terpenoids (monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, and triterpenoid saponins), phenylpropanoids, caffeoyl quinic acid derivatives, flavonoids, lignans, sterols, fatty acids, etc., among which, triterpenoid saponins were considered to be the most active components. Considerable pharmacological experiments in vitro have demonstrated that AH possessed anti-neuroinflammatory, anti-adipogenic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, anti-AChE, anti-BuChE, and antihyaluronidase activities. The present review is an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of the botany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of AH.

Herein, we reported the design and fabrication of polyoxometalates coupling metal-organic framework (POM@MOF) hybrids derived hierarchical hollow Mo/Co bimetal oxides nanocages (Mo/Co HHBONs) for the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to degrade levofloxacin (Lev). The Mo/Co HHBONs are hollow nanocages with high specific-surface areas and hierarchical micropores, mesopores, and macropores. In addition to compositional modulation, polyoxometalate (H3PMo12O40·nH2O) exhibited striking effect on the textural properties of Mo/Co HHBONs. The Mo/Co HHBONs had outstanding catalytic activity with first order-kinetics that were 6 − 10 times higher those previously reported. They exhibited good adaptability over a pH range of 3 − 11, as well as excellent universality and reusability. By altering the surface porosity, electronic structure, and oxygen vacancies of Co3O4, hetero-metal Mo doping induced Mo/Co HHBONs significantly promote the generation of reactive oxygen species, including •OH, SO4•−, O2•−, and 1O2. Density functional theory indicated that Mo/Co HHBONs had better adsorption, enhanced electron-transfer abilities, and a longer O-O bond length than did Co3O4, for improved catalytic reactivity. This research provides a new strategy to design the POM@MOF hybrids derived hierarchical hollow nanocages with highly PMS activating capacity for the removal of antibiotics and other refractory contaminants.

Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is one of the leading causes of end-stage heart disease. Many studies have confirmed that inflammation caused by aldosterone may play an important role in the process of MF. A selective 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) enzyme inhibitor can reduce the inactivation of cortisol, allowing cortisol to compete for mineralocorticoid receptors. This study investigated the protective effect of a novel selective 11βHSD2 inhibitor (WZ51) on MF and described its underlying mechanism. The administration of WZ51 in rats with MF significantly alleviated myocardial injury, accompanied by a decrease in lactate dehydrogenase and the creatine kinase myocardial band. Furthermore, WZ51 significantly inhibited the development of MF and increased the protein level of 11β-HSD2. The results of this study demonstrate that 11β-HSD2 plays an important pathological role in MF. Thus, WZ51 may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of this condition.

As a naturally-occurring polysaccharide which could be found in various ophthalmic tissues, hyaluronic acid (HA) has a wide range of applications in the eye, including treatment of dry eye, vitreous substitutes and ophthalmic viscosurgical devices. Besides that, HA can be used as an effective drug carrier for ocular disease treatment due to its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioadhesion properties, viscoelasticity and receptor interaction characteristic. This review summarizes recent advances in HA-based drug delivery systems for ocular disease treatment in which it could be used as drug-polymer conjugate, drug carrier substrates, and surface modifications of the carrier. To achieve the optimum drug delivery efficacy under varied ophthalmic diseases, the molecular weight (MW) and amount of HA should be selected rationally and applied to design diverse delivery systems.

International audience; Carbon dioxide miscible flooding has become one of the important technologies for improving oil recovery. The Minimum Miscible Pressure (MMP) is the key parameter to realize miscible flooding. As the MMP in the research area is higher than the formation fracture pressure, miscible flooding cannot be formed. To address this problem, it is necessary to find a way to reduce the MMP. Citric acid isobutyl ester is chosen to reduce the MMP of carbon dioxide and crude oil in this research. The effect of citric acid isobutyl ester on reducing the MMP was measured by the method of long-slim-tube displacement experiment. The experiment results show that the MMP is 29.6 MPa and can be obviously reduced by injecting the slug of citric acid isobutyl ester. The MMP could decrease gradually with constantly adding the injected slug of citric acid isobutyl ester, but the decrease becomes smaller and smaller. The optimum injected slug size of the chemical reagent is 0.003 PV. Under the condition of the slug size, the MMP is reduced to 23.5 MPa and the reduction is 6.1 MPa.

The window layers limit the performance of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells with front and back contacts. Here, we optimized tungsten-doped indium oxide (IWO) film deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The opto-electrical properties of the IWO were manipulated when deposited on top of thin-film silicon layers. The optimal IWO on glass shows carrier density and mobility of 2.1 × 1020 cm−3 and 34 cm2 V−1s−1, respectively, which were tuned to 2.0 × 1020 cm−3 and 47 cm2 V−1s−1, as well as 1.9 × 1020 cm−3 and 42 cm2 V−1s−1, after treated on i/n/glass and i/p/glass substrates, respectively. Using the more realistic TCO data that were obtained on thin-film silicon stacks, optical simulation indicates a promising visible-to-near-infrared optical response in IWO-based SHJ device structure, which was demonstrated in fabricated devices. Additionally, by adding an additional magnesium fluoride layer on device, the champion IWO-based SHJ device showed an active area cell efficiency of 22.92%, which is an absolute 0.98% efficiency gain compared to the ITO counterpart, mainly due to its current gain of 1.48 mA/cm2.