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Poor cycling stability and low volumetric capacity of sulfur cathode prevents practical application of Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy to address the two drawbacks of sulfur cathode by synthesizing a compact and flexible film cathode with bilayer structure using a two-step vacuum filtration method. Two layers make up the sulfur cathode, active layer (sulfur-acethlene black (S C) spheres) and barrier layer (three dimensional MnO2-graphene oxide-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MnO2-GO-CNTs) composites), which are integrated together by reduced graphene oxide (rGO) through self-binding. The rGO sheets provide an electrical conductive framework and a stable architecture to accommodate volume changes of sulfur. S C spheres stacked orderly between the rGO layers facilitate fast Li+ storage and energy release. Polar MnO2-GO-CNTs composites with large specific surface area have not only afforded efficient sites for chemically binding polysulfides, but also provided fast electron transfer for accelerating polysulfides redox reaction. Consequently, the integrated film cathode exhibits an unprecedented cycling stability of ~0.0279% capacity decay per cycle over more than 600 cycles at 1C and high volumetric capacity of 1021.9 Ah L-1 at 2C. Meanwhile, a foldable Li-S battery based on this flexible cathode is fabricated and shows excellent mechanical and electrochemical properties. The integrated flexible sulfur cathode of this study sheds light on the design strategies for application in flexible high volumetric capacity system.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are one of the most prominent photovoltaic technologies. However, PSCs still encounter great challenges of scaling up from laboratorial cells to industrial modules without serious performance loss while maintaining excellent long-term stability, owing to the resistive losses and extra instability factors that scale quadratically with the device area. Here, we manifest a concept of multifunctional interface modulation for highly efficient and stable perovskite solar modules (PSMs). The advisably designed multifunctional interface modulator GO/QD crosslinks the CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots (QDs) on the conductive graphene oxide (GO) surfaces, which significantly improve charge transport and energy band alignment at the perovskite/hole transporting layer interface to reduce the charge transport resistance while passivating the surface defects of the perovskite to inhibit carrier recombination resistive losses. Moreover, the GO/QD interlayer acts as a robust permeation barrier that modulates the undesirable interfacial ion and moisture diffusion. Consequently, we adopt a scalable vacuum flash-assisted solution processing (VASP) method to achieve a certified stabilized power output efficiency of 17.85% (lab-measured champion efficiency of 18.55%) for the mini-modules. The encapsulated PSMs achieve over 90% of their initial efficiency after continuous operation under 1 sun illumination and the damp heat test at 85 °C, respectively. This journal is, The authors acknowledge financial from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21875081, 91733301, and 51972251), the Chinese National 1000-Talent-Plan program, the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion (Grant No. J18-19-913), and the Frontier Project of the Application Foundation of Wuhan Science and Technology Plan Project (2020010601012202).

The demand for the development of clean and efficient energy is becoming more and more pressing due to depleting fossil fuels and environmental concerns. Hydrogen is a high energy density with sanitary combustion products. However, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) becomes the critical process in water decomposition reaction due to the slow kinetics of OER limits the electrochemical water splitting. In recent years, among many electrocatalysts, transition metal oxides have received extensive attention due to their inexpensive, remarkable activity and stability. Among them, Co3O4-based materials have become one of the best candidates for electrocatalysts dedicated to the oxidation of water to oxygen due to their excellent catalytic performance. The recent progress of Co3O4-based materials in the OER is summarized in detail, involving pure Co3O4, doped Co3O4 and Co3O4-based compound composites. Moreover, this review discusses the influence of strategies on the performance of electrocatalysts, such as morphological engineering, interface engineering, synthesis method and doping. At the end of this review, the obstacles and feasible opinions of Co3O4-based materials in OER are put forward, and their future research prospects are also discussed. This review can provide a valuable reference to the research and exploitation of related transition metal oxide catalysts.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes endemic Burkitt lymphoma, the leading childhood cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. Burkitt cells retain aspects of germinal center B-cell physiology with MYC-driven B-cell hyperproliferation; however, little is presently known about their iron metabolism. CRISPR/Cas9 analysis highlighted the little-studied ferrireductase CYB561A3 as critical for Burkitt proliferation but not for that of the closely related EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cells or nearly all other Cancer Dependency Map cell lines. Burkitt CYB561A3 knockout induced profound iron starvation, despite ferritinophagy ad plasma membrane transferrin upregulation. Elevated concentrations of ascorbic acid, a key CYB561 family electron donor, or the labile iron source ferrous citrate rescued Burkitt CYB561A3 deficiency. CYB561A3 knockout caused catastrophic lysosomal and mitochondrial damage and impaired mitochondrial respiration. Conversely, lymphoblastoid B cells with the transforming EBV latency III program were instead dependent on the STEAP3 ferrireductase. These results highlight CYB561A3 as an attractive therapeutic Burkitt lymphoma target.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze neuroendocrine neoplasm (NEN) bone metastasis (BM) and gallium-68 (68Ga)-DOTA-TATE performance and to explore their correlation with the immunohistochemical proliferation index (Ki-67). Procedures: A total of 112 patients with BMs were screened from 1082 NEN patients who underwent [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE imaging. All patients had pathological results, and BMs were affirmed by clinical/imaging follow-up and/or histopathology. The maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) ratio of BM to normal bone determined for each patient was used in the final analysis. Results: The incidence rate of BMs in NENs was 10.35%. BMs occurred in the spine (75%), pelvis (72.3%), ribs (58%), clavicles and scapulae (41.1%), limbs (37.5%), and skull (28.6%). Most cases were associated with liver metastases (70.5%) and lymph node metastases (65.2%) simultaneously. The SUVmax ratio of G3b (median ratio = 3.77, Ki-67 >55%) was significantly lower than that of G1 (11.43, Ki-67 ≤2%) and G2a (11.15, 3% ≤ Ki-67 ≤10%) separately (p < 0.05), while no differences were found for G2b (8.5, 11% ≤ Ki-67 ≤55%) and G3a (6.64, Ki-67 >55%) groups. In the total patients, there was a significant negative correlation between the SUVmax ratio of BMs to normal bone and Ki-67 (r = −0.267, p < 0.01). According to the changes in bone density on CT scans, the cases were divided into 4 groups: osteogenesis, osteolysis, no change, and a mixed group (median Ki-67: 6.5%, 15%, 12%, and 22.5%). The Ki-67 values were significantly different between the osteogenesis group and the other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: BM is present in 10.35% of NEN patients and most have simultaneous liver and/or lymph node metastases. The occurrence of osteogenesis indicates relatively good differentiation, and there is a negative correlation between SUVmax ratio of BMs and NEN proliferation.

Six new xanthone dimers, diaporxanthones A-F (1-6), and an unusual xanthone monomer diaporxanthone G (7), in addition to seven known analogues (8-14), were isolated and identified from endophytic Diaporthe goulteri L17 harbored in the fruits of the salt-tolerant plant Vitex trifolia. The chemical structures of these metabolites were elucidated on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance, high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and reported data in the literature. Their absolute configurations were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis together with time-dependent density functional theory electronic circular dichroism calculations. Among these compounds, compounds 1 and 6 exhibited moderate antifungal activities against Nectria sp. and Colletotrichum musae and compound 4 showed significant cytotoxicity against all selected five cancer cell lines.

Phosphorus (P) plays an important role in soybean growth and reproduction. Wild soybean (Glycine soja) expressed higher tolerance to P-limited environment compared to cultivated soybeans (Glycine max). In this study, wild and cultivated soybean were used to compare the changes and differences in young and old leaves by ion contents and the kinds, number, and metabolic pathways of small molecule metabolites analysis under low P conditions. Our results showed that under low P conditions, Mg2+, Fe3+, and SO42− increased in young and old leaves of wild soybean; NO3− increased in young leaves of wild soybean and decreased in old leaves; H2PO4− was relatively stable in young leaves of wild soybean. And then, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) metabolism was enhanced and hexose-phosphate metabolism was inhibited in young and old leaves of wild soybean; aspartic acid family amino acids, glutamic acid family amino acids, serine family amino acids, aromatic amino acids metabolisms in young and old leaves of wild soybean were enhanced which contributed to the reuse of amino acids; disaccharides metabolism in young leaves of wild soybean was enhanced. Our experiment indicated that wild soybean could tolerate low P by promoting ion, disaccharides and amino acid metabolites accumulation and reuse in young and old leaves, and enhancing the energy metabolism in young and old leaves, and promoting the decomposition of hexose-phosphate in old leaves for reuse in young leaves. Our results provided a new insight for the cultivation of new soybean varieties with tolerance to P deficiency.

BACKGROUND AND AIM Metabolic reprogramming is characterized by dysregulated levels of metabolites and metabolic enzymes. Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic data analysis can help to elucidate changes in the levels of metabolites and metabolic enzymes, screen the core metabolic pathways, and develop novel therapeutic strategies for cancer. METHODS Here, the metabolome of gastric cancer tissues was determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas dataset were integrated with the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry data to identify the common dysregulated gastric cancer-specific metabolic pathways. Additionally, the protein expression and clinical significance of key metabolic enzymes were examined using a gastric cancer tissue array. RESULTS Metabolomic analysis of 16 gastric cancer tissues revealed that among the 15 dysregulated metabolomic pathways, the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathway in the gastric tissues was markedly upregulated relative to that in the adjacent noncancerous tissues, which was consistent with the results of transcriptome analysis. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that among the key regulators in the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathway, the expression levels of threonyl-tRNA synthetase (TARS) and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (FARSB) were correlated with tumor grade and poor survival, respectively. Additionally, gastric tissue array data analysis indicated that TARS and FARSB were upregulated in gastric cancer tissues and were correlated with poor prognosis and tumor metastasis. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathway is upregulated in gastric cancer and both TARS and FARSB play key roles in the progression of gastric cancer. Additionally, a novel therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer was proposed that involves targeting the aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathway.

Eggerthella lenta (E. lenta) is a rare but significant human emerging pathogen. Infections caused by it are rare and little-known, both on clinical and therapeutical aspects, in spite of new emergence of bacteria isolation and identification techniques. In this article, we report a case involving a previously healthy 52-year-old man suffering from a newly diagnosed hepatic abscess who developed E. lenta bacteremia, which was treated successfully using empirical therapy with ertapenem and teicoplanin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented report of E. lenta bacteremia related specifically to liver abscess. Cases related to this bacterial species are infrequent and sporadic; thus, we reviewed English literature on E. lenta infection in PubMed/MEDLINE in the last 50 years. A total of 31 sporadic cases were identified. The majority of patients were male (71%), had an average age of 54.3 years and presented predisposing conditions, such as digestive system trouble (45.2%), immunocompromised state (25.8%) or risk factors (22.6%). Two of the cases had more than one predisposing factors. Fever was common (93.5%). Average days to diagnosis of them were 6.8 days. MALDI-TOF MS is emerging as a fast and useful tool in the identification of it. Teicoplanin, vancomycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, metronidazole, clindamycin, cefoxitin, chloramphenicol, and carbapenems appear to be the most used antibiotic treatment options. The purpose of this review is to increase awareness about the clinical infections caused by E. lenta.

Cancer metastasis is still a major obstacle in clinical cancer therapy and a paramount cause of cancer deaths. Designing multifunctional nanoplatforms with an enhanced diagnostic sensitivity and anti-metastasis efficiency against tumors represents a major trend in current cancer management. Herein, we report the preparation of low-molecular-weight poly(ethylenimine) (PEI)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) nanogels (NGs) loaded with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) siRNA and ultrasmall iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) for gene therapy and T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of tumors and tumor metastasis in a mouse sarcoma model. In this work, ultrasmall Fe3O4 NPs stabilized by sodium citrate were first prepared and then mixed with PEI (800 Da) and PEG (400 Da)-diacrylate as a cross-linker to form Fe3O4/PEI-PEG NGs with an average size of 76.3 nm via an inverse microemulsion method. The developed hybrid NGs display good cytocompatibility and enhanced MR imaging performance (r1 relaxivity = 1.0346 mM-1 s-1). The Fe3O4/PEI-PEG NGs can be further used to compact TGF-β1 siRNA through electrostatic interaction and efficiently deliver siRNA to cancer cells and a tumor model to silence the TGF-β1 gene, which inhibits the growth and invasion of cancer cell in vitro significantly, as well as the growth of a subcutaneous sarcoma tumor model and lung metastasis in vivo. The designed hybrid NG-ultrasmall iron oxide NPs may be extended for the delivery of other drugs or genes for theranostics of different biological systems.

Gastric cancer treatment remains a major challenge because of its aggressiveness and spread. In this study, we developed a hydrogel system for the treatment of gastric cancer, which can kill tumor cells through photothermal action and drug treatment. Based on the formation of Schiff base linkage, the OSA/AHA/BP/PTX hydrogel was prepared by mixing oxidized sodium alginate (OSA), aminated hyaluronic acid (AHA), black phosphorus (BP), and paclitaxel (PTX) under physiological conditions, which exhibited excellent photothermal effect and slow release ability PTX. Moreover, CCK-8 and live/dead fluorescent confirmed that OSA/AHA/BP/PTX hydrogel could obvious inhibition the proliferation of gastric cancer cells (SGC7901). More importantly, in vivo experiments further show that the prepared hydrogel can significantly improve the tumor treatment effect of tumor-bearing mice by inducing tumor cell apoptosis and inhibiting the proliferation of new tumor cells. Compared with chemotherapy alone, photothermal combined chemotherapy had a better antitumor effect. The results of this study indicate that the composite hydrogel with controlled release of paclitaxel can be used as a candidate material for cancer treatment.

Supramolecular complexation is a powerful strategy for engineering materials in bulk and at interfaces. Metal-phenolic networks (MPNs), which are assembled through supramolecular complexes, have emerged as suitable candidates for surface and particle engineering owing to their diverse properties. Herein, we examine the supramolecular dynamics of MPNs during thermal transformation processes. Changes in the local supramolecular network including enlarged pores, ordered aromatic packing, and metal relocation arise from thermal treatment in air or an inert atmosphere, enabling the engineering of metal-oxide networks (MONs) and metal-carbon networks, respectively. Furthermore, by integrating photo-responsive motifs (i.e., TiO2 ) and silanization, the MONs are endowed with reversible superhydrophobic (>150°) and superhydrophilic (≈0°) properties. By highlighting the thermodynamics of MPNs and their transformation into diverse materials, this work offers a versatile pathway for advanced materials engineering.

Because of the alkaline nature and high calcium content of cements in general, they serve as a CO 2 -absorbing agent through carbonation processes, resembling silicate weathering in nature. This carbon uptake capacity of cements could abate some of the CO 2 emitted during their production. Given the scale of cement production worldwide (4.10 Gt in 2019), a life-cycle assessment is necessary to determine the actual net carbon impacts of this industry. We adopted a comprehensive analytical model to estimate the amount of CO 2 that had been absorbed from 1930 to 2019 in four types of cement materials, including concrete, mortar, construction waste, and cement kiln dust (CKD). In addition, the process CO 2 emission during the same period based on the same datasets was also estimated. The results show that 21.02 Gt CO 2 (95 % confidence interval, CI: 18.01–24.41 Gt CO 2 ) had been absorbed in the cements produced from 1930 to 2019, with the 2019 annual figure mounting up to 0.89 Gt CO 2 yr −1 (95 % CI: 0.76–1.06 Gt CO 2 ). The cumulative uptake is equivalent to approximately 55 % of the process emission based on our estimation. In particular, China's dominant position in cement production or consumption in recent decades also gives rise to its uptake being the greatest, with a cumulative sink of 6.21 Gt CO 2 (95 % CI: 4.59–8.32 Gt CO 2 ) since 1930. Among the four types of cement materials, mortar is estimated to be the greatest contributor (approximately 59 %) to the total uptake. Potentially, our cement emission and uptake estimation system can be updated annually and modified when necessary for future low-carbon transitions in the cement industry. All the data described in this study, including the Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis results, are accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4459729 (Wang et al., 2021).

The use of particulate adjuvants offers an interesting method for enhancing and modulating the immune responses elicited by vaccines. Aluminum salt (Alum) is one of the most important immune adjuvants approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in humans because of its safety and efficacy, but it lacks the capacity to induce strong cellular and mucosal immune responses. In this study, we designed an antigen delivery system that combines aluminum salts with β-glucan particles. The β-glucan-aluminum particles (GP-Al) exhibited a highly uniform size of 2-4 μm and could highly specifically target antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and strongly induce dendritic cell (DC) maturation and cytokine secretion.

© 2021Diabetic wound healing remains a major challenge due to its vulnerability to bacterial infection, as well as the less vascularization and prolonged inflammatory phase. In this study, we developed a hydrogel system for the treatment of chronic infected wounds, which can regulate inflammatory (through the use of antimicrobial peptides) and enhance collagen deposition and angiogenesis (through the addition of platelet-rich plasma (PRP)). Based on the formation of Schiff base linkage, the ODEX/HA-AMP/PRP hydrogel was prepared by mixing oxidized dextran (ODEX), antimicrobial peptide-modified hyaluronic acid (HA-AMP) and PRP under physiological conditions, which exhibited obvious inhibition zones against three pathogenic bacterial strains (E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa) and slow release ability of antimicrobials and growth factors. Moreover, CCK-8, live/dead fluorescent staining and scratch test confirmed that ODEX/HA-AMP/PRP hydrogel could facilitate the proliferation and migration of L929 fibroblast cells. More importantly, in vivo experiments further demonstrated that the prepared hydrogels could significantly improve wound healing in a diabetic mouse infection by regulating inflammation, accelerating collagen deposition and angiogenesis. In addition, prepared hydrogel showed a significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, inhibited pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6), enhanced anti-inflammatory factors (TGF-β1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. The findings of this study suggested that the composite hydrogel with AMP and PRP controlled release ability could be used as a promising candidate for chronic wound healing and infection-related wound healing.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) is one of the reactive sulfur species, which has significant physiological functions in cells. Some physiological processes are closely related to SO2 in organisms, and the high concentration of SO2 in living cells can cause many diseases. In order to investigate the unique function of sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) in subcellular level, developing a molecular tool which could detect of SO2 within organelles is imperative. Hence, we developed a cationic dye named HQ-SO2 as a new fluorescent probe to specifically monitor SO2 , which was easy to obtain through one-step reaction. It took Michael addition reaction as the mechanism of reaction for detection of SO2 . In addition, this probe showed a series of highly favorable properties such as rapid response rate, low cytotoxicity, high selectivity, low detection limit, and good photostability, which enabled the probe to track SO2 in living cells.

The structural elucidation of chiral molecules with more than one stereocenter is usually a tricky problem. In this paper, efficient 1H NMR spectroscopic approaches for assigning the erythro and threo configurations of 1-oxygenated 1,2-diarylpropan-3-ols were developed. By analysis of the chemical shift differences of diastereotopic methylene H2-3 (Δδ3) in CDCl3 or the chemical shift differences of H-1 and H-2 (Δδ1,2) in methanol-d4, deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide, and acetone-d6, the configurations of 1-oxygenated 1,2-diarylpropan-3-ols can be rapidly and conveniently determined.

The visible-light-responsive composite photocatalyst is beneficial to improve the solar energy utilization efficiency through the coupling of narrow bandgap materials. In this work, CdS nanowires were prepared by hydrothermal method, and then BiOBr/CdS composite materials with different mass ratios were successfully prepared by a simple two-step sonography-precipitation method using CdS nanowires as a deposition template. The photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, TEM, and other methods. Rhodamine B (RhB) was used as a model pollutant to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of BiOBr/CdS catalysts with different mass ratios. The photocatalytic test results show that the composite photocatalyst containing 60% BiOBr has the highest photocatalytic activity, which indicates that it is related to the decrease in photogenerated charge recombination rate. Subsequently, the electrochemical and physical methods were used to illustrate the electron transfer mechanism and the main active center of the as-prepared samples. Free radical capture experiments reveal that holes are the main active species in the photocatalytic process of composite samples. BiOBr/CdS composite photocatalyst was prepared by a simple precipitation method using dispersed one-dimensional CdS nanowires as a template. BiOBr/CdS heterostructure combined adsorption and catalysis to degrade RhB molecules more efficiently. Free radical trapping experiments reveal that holes are the main active species in the photocatalytic process of composite samples.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been rapidly established as promising building blocks for versatile atomic scale circuits and multifunctional devices. However, the high contact resistance in TMDs based transistors seriously hinders their applications in complementary electronics. In this work, we show that an Ohmic homojunction n-type tungsten diselenide (WSe2) transistor is realized through spatially controlling cesium (Cs) doping region near the contacts. We find that the remarkable electron doping effect of Cs stimulates a semiconductor to metal (2H to 1T’) phase transition in WSe2, and hence the formation of 2H-1T’ hetero-phase contact. Our method significantly optimizes the WSe2 transport behavior with a perfect low subthreshold swing of ∼ 61 mV/dec and ultrahigh current on/off ratio exceeding ∼ 109. Meanwhile, the electron mobility is enhanced by nearly 50 times. We elucidate that the ideal n-type behavior originates from the negligible Schottky barrier height of ∼ 19 meV and low contact resistance of ∼ 0.9 kΩ·µm in the 2H-1T’ homojunction device. Moreover, based on the Ohmic hetero-phase configuration, a WSe2 inverter is achieved with a high gain of ∼ 270 and low power consumption of ∼ 28 pW. Our findings envision Cs functionalization as an effective method to realize ideal Ohmic contact in 2D WSe2 transistors towards high performance complementary electronic devices.

This study was aimed at predicting and enhancing the properties of the blend, as well as exploring the mechanism, of a polylactic acid (PLA)/amorphous cellulose composite system through molecular characterization. The static properties of the amorphous cellulose/PLA blend model and the mechanical response of the material under uniaxial tension were studied by molecular dynamics simulation to establish the structure-property relationship. PLA and cellulose showed poor miscibility, the change in the compatibility of the mixture can be attributed to the hydrogen bond interaction between the cellulose and PLA functional groups. The radius of gyration, interaction and free volume of the molecular chain in the blend were analyzed. The conformational changes under tensile deformation indicated that the load-bearing role of cellulose in the system was the main reason for increasing the strength of the material. The yield process was considered to be the infiltration of free volume caused by deformation.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), as a significant signaling molecule, is associated with diverse physiological and pathological processes. However, it's still a challenge to explore outstanding tools for detecting endogenous H2S in vivo. Thus, a simple "off-on" H2S fluorescent probe CMHS has been reasonably designed, and it is based on coumarin as the fluorophore group. The probe CMHS displayed a crucial turn-on fluorescence enhancement (180-fold), rapid reaction time, high selectivity, and a low limit of detection (2.31 × 10-7 M). Additionally, probe CMHS could be applied to visualize exogenous and endogenous H2S successfully in HeLa cells with low cytotoxicity and good permeability.

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted intensive attention due to their exceptional optoelectronic properties. With a massive leap of efficiency from 3.8% to 25.2% in a decade, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been considered the most promising next-generation photovoltaic technology. Recently, the methylamine (MA)-gas-mediated approach has been widely studied for preparing precursor solutions to deposit large scale perovskite thin films for PSCs. In this article, high-quality MAPbI3 films were spin-coated using a MA-gas-mediated perovskite precursor. The deposited MAPbI3 films showed larger crystal grains, lower surface roughness, and a preferred (110) crystal orientation compared to the films deposited by the Lewis adduct method. Planar PSC devices fabricated using the MA-gas-mediated precursor showed a high efficiency of 19.28% and a higher average efficiency than the devices fabricated by the Lewis adduct method.

Herein, triformyl cholic acid-modified Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (TCA-MNPs) were first constructed and developed as a novel drug carrier, possessing a uniform size of 12 ± 2 nm, superparamagnetic response, and good stability. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and epirubicin hydrochloride (EPI) could effectively aggregate on the surface of TCA-MNPs via triformyl cholic acid regulatory hydrogen-bonding interaction and the π–π stacking-induced self-assembly of drug molecules. The loading capacity of DOX and EPI reached up to 1363.6 mg g−1 and 1293.5 mg g−1, respectively. Moreover, the release of loaded drugs could be achieved by adjusting the acidic microenvironment of cancer cells. Significantly, the drug-loaded nanocomposite (TCA-MNPs/DOX) showed the functions of triformyl cholic acid-mediated hepatocyte recognition and magnetic-guided targeting for the synergistic targeted therapy of hepatoma cells in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate that the as-prepared drug nanocarriers have potential practical application values for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

A fused tetracyclic BN-species 1 featuring nucleophilic nitrogen and electrophilic boron centers behaves as a reactive N/B frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) for small molecule activation. Specifically, the O–H and CO bonds have been cleaved by 1 with the formation of fused borinic acid 2, borenium species 3, anionic boranuidacarboxylic acid 4 and oxadiazaborolidinone 5, respectively. Quantum-mechanical calculations are conducted to comprehensively understand the activation processes of small molecules by 1.

In this study, an ultrasonic-extracted polysaccharide (nCPTP-55) was obtained with the highest yield (61.08%, w/w) from tamarind pulp, which consisted chiefly of total sugar (85.98%, w/w) with few protein (2.10%, w/w). Monosaccharide analysis showed nCPTP-55 was mainly composed of arabinose (39.19 mol%) and glucose (50.48 mol%) with negligible GlcA (2.05 mol%), indicating the neutral nature of nCPTP-55, which was further elucidated structurally via GC–MS and NMR, i.e., an arabinoglucan composed of →3)-β-D-Glcp-(1→ backbone with only T-α-L-Araf-(1→ branched at O-4 (27.82%) and O-6 (39.99%), resulting in relatively high A/G ratio (0.68–0.70). Based on MM2 minimized energy, the 3D schematic structures of nCPTP-55 could be considered as structural basis for its conformational behavior, which was preliminarily estimated via HPSEC-MALLS as between compact sphere and loosely hyper-branched chain (ρ = 0.84). Therefore, the relationship between molecular structure and conformational behavior was basically established for nCPTP-55, which was in a bid to have a better knowledge of its structure-property and structure-bioactivity relationships potentially required for more applications in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields.

The tracking of body motion, such as bending or twisting, plays an important role in modern sign language translation. Here, a subtle flexible self-powered piezoelectric sensor (PES) made of graphene (GR)-doped polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers is reported. The PES exhibits a high sensitivity to pressing and bending, and there is a stable correlation between bending angle and piezoelectric voltage. The sensitivity can be adjusted by changing the doping concentration of GR. Also, when the PES contacts a source of heat, a pyroelectric signal can be acquired. The positive correlation between temperature and signal can be used to avoid burns. The integrated sensing system based on multiple PESs can accurately recognize the action of each finger in real time, which can be effectively applied in sign language translation. PES-based motion-tracking applications have been effectively used, especially in human–computer interaction, such as gesture control, rehabilitation training, and auxiliary communication.

Despite the high microwave attenuation ability of the titanium carbide MXene, exploiting the two-dimensional (2D) material as an efficient microwave absorber is a challenging task due to the strongly reflective feature caused by high electrical conductivity. Here, the plate-like MXene/SiO2 composites with a unique core-rim microstructure (MXene@SiO2) are rationally constructed by a simple Stober method. The abundant functional groups on the edge of MXene leads to the formation of thick rim on MXene@SiO2 nanoplates, which remarkably increases the interfacial polarization loss. Meanwhile, the SiO2 coating with tunable thickness can balance the impedance at surface, which largely prevents the reflection of incident microwaves. As a result, very low specific reflection loss of −34.33 dB mm−1 in X band and −55.68 dB mm−1 in Ku band are realized in the composite with optimized coating thickness. Moreover, the reflection loss lower than −20 dB (MA efficiency more than 99%) can always be achieved with certain matching thickness lower than 2 mm in the whole X and Ku band. These findings imply that the 2D core-rim MXene@SiO2 nanoplates can be applied as ultrathin microwave absorber in various portable devices.

Background Although single-drug chemotherapy is still an effective treatment for esophageal cancer, its long-term application is limited by severe side-effects, poor bioavailability, and drug-resistance. Increasing attention has been paid to nanomedicines because of their good biological safety, targeting capabilities, and high-efficiency loading of multiple drugs. Herein, we have developed a novel T7 peptide-modified pH-responsive targeting nanosystem co-loaded with docetaxel and curcumin for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Methods Firstly, CM-β-CD-PEI-PEG-T7/DTX/CUR (T7-NP-DC) was synthesized by the double emulsion (W/O/W) method. The targeting capacity of the nanocarrier was then investigated by in vitro and in vivo assays using targeted (T7-NP) and non-targeted nanoparticles (NP). Furthermore, the anti-tumor efficacy of T7-NP-DC was studied using esophageal cancer cells (KYSE150 and KYSE510) and a KYSE150 xenograft tumor model. Results T7-NP-DC was synthesized successfully and its diameter was determined to be about 100 nm by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. T7-NP-DC with docetaxel and curcumin loading of 10% and 6.1%, respectively, had good colloidal stability and exhibited pH-responsive drug release. Good biosafety was observed, even when the concentration was as high as 800 μg/mL. Significant enhancement of T7-NP uptake was observed 6 hours after intravenous injection compared with NP. In addition, the therapeutic efficacy of T7-NP-DC was better than NP-DC and docetaxel in terms of growth suppression in the KYSE150 esophageal cancer model. Conclusion The findings demonstrated that T7-NP-DC is a promising, non-toxic, and controllable nanoparticle that is capable of simultaneous delivery of the chemotherapy drug, docetaxel, and the Chinese Medicine, curcumin, for treatment of esophageal cancer. This novel T7-modified targeting nanosystem releases loaded drugs when exposed to the acidic microenvironment of the tumor and exerts a synergistic anti-tumor effect. The data indicate that the nanomaterials can safely exert synergistic anti-tumor effects and provide an excellent therapeutic platform for combination therapy of esophageal cancer.

Unprecedented double S2- templated Ag27 clusters have been stabilized by 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TPyP-H2 ) ligands to afford a robust 2D metal-organic framework (Ag27-MOF). This silver cluster-assembled material serves as a highly efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the cyclization of both terminal and internal propargylamines with CO2 under atmospheric pressure. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations illustrate that the high catalytic activity and broad substrate scope are attributable to the saddle-shaped metallic node in Ag27-MOF, which features an accessible platform with high-density silver atoms as π-Lewis acid sites for activating C≡C triple bonds. As a result, different sterically hindered alkyne substrates can be effectively activated through π-interactions with these cationic silver centers.

A novel pneumonia‐associated respiratory syndrome named coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19), which was caused by SARS‐CoV‐2，broke out in Wuhan, China, in the end of 2019. Unfortunately, there is no specific antiviral agent or vaccine available to treat SARS‐CoV‐2 infections. The information regarding the immunological characteristics in COVID‐19 patients remains limited. Here, we collected the blood samples from 18 healthy donors (HD) and 38 COVID‐19 patients to analyze changes on γδ T cell population. In comparison with HD, the γδ T cell percentage decreased, while the activation marker CD25 expression increased in response to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Interestingly, the CD4 expression was upregulated in γδ T cells reflecting the occurrence of a specific effector cell population, which may serve as a biomarker for the assessment of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection.

In this study, a polymer blend consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane and polycaprolactone, which was used as the self-healing matrix, was prepared via a solution casting method. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were then incorporated to enhance the interfacial compatibility of the multi-material and maintain its self-healing ability via the three-dimension printing method. The effects of the CNCs on the chemical structure, mechanical, and thermal properties of the polymer composites were investigated. The results show that the composites with CNCs exhibit excellent tensile and thermal properties, and a high interfacial compatibility. Specifically, the blend containing 1% of CNCs possesses excellent mechanical properties, as its tensile strength of 31 MPa and elongation at break of 1600% show. Further analyses on the reinforced mechanism of such mixture were carried out by using molecular dynamics simulations. The CNC-reinforced composites maintain their good self-healing properties and function for a minimum of three cycles. Their superior thermal stability, mechanical, and self-healing properties, as well as the low cost of the raw materials, and the simple manufacturing process make these blends ideal for surface protection coatings, sensors, and healthcare materials applications.

Chronic exposure of pancreatic β-cells to saturated fatty acid (palmitic or stearic acid) is a leading cause of impaired insulin secretion. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying stearic-acid-induced β-cell dysfunction remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence indicates that miRNAs are involved in various biological functions. The aim of this study was to explore the differential expression of miRNAs and mRNAs, specifically in stearic-acid-treated- relative to palmitic-acid-treated β-cells, and to establish their co-expression networks. β-TC-6 cells were treated with stearic acid, palmitic acid or normal medium for 24 h. Differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs were identified by high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Co-expression network, gene ontology (GO) and pathway analyses were then conducted. Changes in the expression of selected miRNAs and mRNAs were verified in β-TC-6 cells and mouse islets. Sequencing analysis detected 656 known and 1729 novel miRNAs. miRNA-mRNA network and Venn-diagram analysis yielded two differentially expressed miRNAs and 63 mRNAs exclusively in the stearic-acid group. miR-374c-5p was up-regulated by a 1.801 log2(fold-change) and miR-297b-5p was down-regulated by a −4.669 log2(fold-change). We found that miR-297b-5p and miR-374c-5p were involved in stearic-acid-induced lipotoxicity to β-TC-6 cells. Moreover, the effects of miR-297b-5p and miR-374c-5p on the alterations of candidate mRNAs expressions were verified. This study indicates that expression changes of specific miRNAs and mRNAs may contribute to stearic-acid-induced β-cell dysfunction, which provides a preliminary basis for further functional and molecular mechanism studies of stearic-acid-induced β-cell dysfunction in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Microglia activation can cause degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). This study aimed to investigate the potential therapeutic effect of minocycline on microglia activation-related degeneration of RGCs in both retinas after unilateral optic nerve crush (ONC) in the left eye of male adult C57BL/6 mice.

Effects of circular antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (circANRIL) on vascular endothelial injury, oxidative stress and inflammation in rats with coronary atherosclerosis were studied by establishing a rat model of coronary atherosclerosis in which circANRIL was differentially expressed. A total of 40 healthy Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into research group (n=32) and control group (n=8). In research group, a rat model of coronary atherosclerosis was established without special treatment. The blood calcium (Ca2+) and lipid levels in the two groups were compared. After cell transfection, the rats were divided into blank group (untransfected), negative group (transfected with blank vector), circANRIL group (transfected with circANRIL overexpression plasmid) and circANRIL inhibitor group (transfected with circANRIL silencer). Then the levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in each group were compared. Western blotting was adopted to detect the expressions of phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p-p38MAPK), p38MAPK and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Finally, p-p38MAPK/GAPDH, p38MAPK/GAPDH and p-p38MAPK/p38MAPK were calculated. There were significant differences in the levels of serum Ca2+ and lipid between control group and research group (P

Lithium (Li) anodes suffer from numerous challenges arising from the chemically inhomogeneous nature of the native solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), which impedes smooth plating and leads to dend...

A visible light-induced decarboxylative alkylation of heterocyclic aromatics with aliphatic carboxylic acids was developed by using anthocyanins as a photocatalyst under mild conditions. A series of alkylated heterocyclic compounds were obtained in moderate to good yields by using the metal-free decarboxylative coupling reaction under blue light. This strategy uses cheap and readily available carboxylic acids as alkylation reagents with good functional group tolerance and environmental friendliness. It is worth noting that this is the first time that anthocyanin has been used to catalyze the Minisci-type C-H alkylation. The mechanism of decarboxylation alkylation was studied by capturing the adduct of alkyl radical and hydroquinone, thus confirming a radical mechanism. This protocol provides an alternative visible light-induced decarboxylative alkylation for the functionalization of heterocyclic aromatics.

Based on the abundance of taste compounds in leaves at different leaf positions on the same shoot, green tea made from one bud and one leaf, or even just one bud, has the best quality. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the regulation of the biosynthesis of these compounds, we profiled the metabolome, transcriptome, sRNA, degradome, and WGCNA using leaves from five leaf positions of shoots. Through this analysis, we found 139 miRNA-target pairs related to taste compound biosynthesis and 96 miRNA-target pairs involved in phytohormone synthesis or signal transduction. Moreover, miR166-HD-ZIP, miR169-NF-YA, IAA, ZA, ABA, and JA were positively related to the accumulation of gallated catechin, caffeine, and theanine. However, miR396-GRF, miR393-bHLH, miR156-SBP, and SA were negatively correlated with these compounds. Among these important pairs, the miR396-GRF and miR156-SBP pairs were further validated by using qRT-PCR, Northern blots, and cotransformation. This is the first report describing that miRNA-TF pairs and phytohormones might synergistically regulate the biosynthesis of taste compounds in the leaves of tea plants.

Breast cancer susceptibility gene II (BRCA2) is central in homologous recombination (HR). In meiosis, BRCA2 binds to MEILB2 to localize to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, we identify BRCA2 and MEILB2-associating protein 1 (BRME1), which functions as a stabilizer of MEILB2 by binding to an α-helical N-terminus of MEILB2 and preventing MEILB2 self-association. BRCA2 binds to the C-terminus of MEILB2, resulting in the formation of the BRCA2-MEILB2-BRME1 ternary complex. In Brme1 knockout (Brme1−/−) mice, the BRCA2-MEILB2 complex is destabilized, leading to defects in DSB repair, homolog synapsis, and crossover formation. Persistent DSBs in Brme1−/− reactivate the somatic-like DNA-damage response, which repairs DSBs but cannot complement the crossover formation defects. Further, MEILB2-BRME1 is activated in many human cancers, and somatically expressed MEILB2-BRME1 impairs mitotic HR. Thus, the meiotic BRCA2 complex is central in meiotic HR, and its misregulation is implicated in cancer development., In meiosis, BRCA2 associates to MEILB2 localising at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, the authors identify BRCA2 and MEILB2- associating protein 1 termed BRME1 to work together in regulating meiotic recombination.

Functional materials composed of proteins have attracted much interest owing to the inherent and diverse functionality of proteins. However, establishing general techniques for assembling proteins into nanomaterials is challenging owing to the complex physicochemical nature and potential denaturation of proteins. Here, a simple, versatile strategy is introduced to fabricate functional protein assemblies through the interfacial assembly of proteins and polyphenols (e.g., tannic acid) on various substrates (organic, inorganic, and biological). The dominant interactions (hydrogen-bonding, hydrophobic, and ionic) between the proteins and tannic acid were elucidated; most proteins undergo multiple noncovalent stabilizing interactions with polyphenols, which can be used to engineer responsiveness into the assemblies. The proteins retain their structure and function within the assemblies, thereby enabling their use in various applications (e.g., catalysis, fluorescence imaging, and cell targeting).

The exploration of original computed tomography (CT) imaging contrast agents with enhanced sensitivity and specificity is currently one of the major challenging tasks for precision medicine. Herein, we develop an innovative nanoprobe of dendrimer-stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au DSNs) linked with folic acid (FA) as a targeting ligand and diatrizoic acid (DTA) for specific enhanced tumor CT imaging. In current work, poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers of generation 5 (G5) with amine termini were adopted to entrap Au NPs through a stepwise complexation/reduction method to achieve a higher Au loading than the conventional one-step complexation/reduction method. The prepared [(Au0)120-G5.NH2] NPs were sequentially functionalized with diatrizoic acid (DTA), a typical CT contrast agent based on iodine(I), FA through a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacer, and carboxylated PEG monomethyl ether (mPEG-COOH), ended with complete acetylation of the leftover dendrimer amine termini. The generated Au DSNs-DTA-FA (Au core diameter = 5.9 nm) were thoroughly characterized. Our data reveal that the Au DSNs-DTA-FA containing Au and I dual radiodense elements are stable, display enhanced CT imaging performance, much higher than the single-radiodense elemental material solely based on Au or I, and possess a quite good cytocompatibility. With the demonstrated FA-rendered specific targeting, the developed Au DSNs-DTA-FA can be employed as a highly efficient nanoprobe for targeted enhanced CT imaging of cancer cells and a subcutaneous tumor model. Overall, the created Au DSNs-DTA-FA may be a powerful nanoprobe for specific enhanced CT imaging of various kinds of FA receptor-expressing tumors or biosystems.

This work examined the contamination of poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFASs) in the water and sediment of the Baiyangdian Lake. The total concentration of PFASs in the surface water varied from 140.5 to 1828.5 ng/L, and the highest concentration of PFASs were observed near the entrance of Fuhe river. The topmost contaminant was sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the north and south of the Baiyangdian Lake respectively, which indicated different contamination sources. The total concentration of PFASs in the sediment varied from 0.48 to 30 ng/g, and the distribution of PFASs in the sediment was similar with that in the surface water. The concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric diesters (diPAPs) were three to four orders of magnitude lower than those of perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) and PFSAs. Although the pore water and the surface water had similar ΣPFASs, the concentration of perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) in pore water was 1.4 to 4.4 times higher than that in surface water, and the concentration of perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) in pore water was 20–70% that in surface water. The results of ecological risk assessment showed that the PFASs were currently of no immediate risk to the aquatic life.

Chronic exposure to high concentrations of stearic acid (C18:0) can result in β -cell dysfunction, leading to development of type 2 diabetes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the destructive effects of stearic acid on β-cells remain largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of miR-297b-5p on stearic acid-induced β-cell apoptosis. Differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) was assessed in a β-TC6 cell line exposed to stearic acid, palmitic acid, or a normal culture medium by high-throughput sequencing. The apoptosis rate was measured by flow cytometry after miR-297b-5p mimic/inhibitor transfection, and large-tumor suppressor kinase 2 (LATS2) was identified as a target of miR-297b-5p using a luciferase activity assay. In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were fed with normal and high-stearic-acid diet, respectively. Mouse islets were used for similar identification of miR-297b-5p and Lats2 in β-TC6 cell. We selected two differentially expressed miRNAs in stearic acid compared with those in the palmitic acid and control groups. miR-297b-5p expression was significantly lower in β-TC6 cells and mouse islets in stearic acid than in control group. Upregulation of miR-297b-5p alleviated the stearic acid-induced cell apoptosis and reduction in insulin secretion by inhibiting Lats2 expression in vitro. Meanwhile, silencing Lats2 significantly reversed the stearic acid-stimulated β-cell dysfunction in both β-TC6 cells and islets. Our findings indicate a suppressive role for miR-297b-5p in stearic acid-induced β-cell apoptosis, which may reveal a potential target for the treatment of β-cell dysfunction in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes.

Development of unique theranostic nanoplatforms for tumor imaging and therapy remains an active topic in current nanomedicine. Here, we designed a novel targeted theranostic nanoplatform for enhanced T1 -weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided chemotherapy by constructing layered double hydroxide (LDH)-stabilized ultrasmall iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with hyaluronic acid (HA) modified as targeting agents, and anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) loaded with a high loading efficiency. Methods: The structure and release property of LDH-Fe3O4-HA/DOX nanoplatforms were characterized systematically. B16 melanoma cells with CD44 receptors overexpressed were used as model cells to determine the biocompatibility, targeting capability, and therapeutic efficiency of nanoplatforms. For in vivo experiment, hyaluronidase (HAase) pretreatment was combined with nanoplatform administration to investigate the MR imaging and chemotherapeutic effect. Results: The LDH-Fe3O4-HA nanohybrids possess good colloidal stability and cytocompatibility, display an r1 relaxivity 10-fold higher than the pristine ultrasmall Fe3O4 (4.38 mM-1 s-1 vs 0.42 mM-1 s-1), and could release drug in a pH-responsive manner. In vitro experiments demonstrate that LDH-Fe3O4-HA/DOX nanohybrids are able to specifically target B16 cells overexpressing CD44 receptors and effectively release DOX to nucleus. In vivo results show that with the pretreatment of tumor tissue by HAase to degrade the overexpressed HA in extra-cellular matrix, the designed nanoplatforms have a better tumor penetration for significantly enhanced MR imaging of tumors and tumor chemotherapy with low side effects. Conclusion: The designed LDH-Fe3O4-HA/DOX nanohybrids may be developed as a novel targeted theranostic nanoplatform for enhanced T1 -weighted MR imaging-guided chemotherapy of CD44 receptor-overexpressing tumors.

High-permeability zones (HPZ) are common occurrences in carbonate reservoirs of the Middle East and act to improve productivity in primary depletion but lead to water breakthrough in secondary depletion. Bioturbation aggravated the reservoir heterogeneity of the Khasib Formation carbonates in AD oilfield, Iraq, resulting in the development of HPZ. The observations of cores and thin sections, measurements of porosity, permeability, capillary pressure and probe permeability were conducted to investigate the characteristics and genesis of the HPZ. Well log responses of the HPZ in cored wells were analysed to identify the HPZ in uncored wells and predict its distribution. Results demonstrate that the HPZ is demarcated by Glossifungites ichnofacies and Thalassinoides ichnofabric. The burrow systems filled passively with overlying sediments that were apparently different from the unbioturbated matrix, in terms of the lithologic associations, pores types, and pore connectivity. The burrow systems, which contribute to the high permeability of the HPZ, were merely composed of grainstone with well-connected interparticle pores and vugs. The matrix comprises packstone and hardground-associated strongly cemented grainstone, which developed some fractures and exhibited poorly connected pores, including intraparticle, moldic, and residual interparticle pores. The arithmetic mean permeability of the HPZ is 241.0 mD, which is much higher than that of the non-HPZ (17.3 mD). The entry pressure and pore throat radius of the burrows in HPZ is 0.02–0.05 MPa and 5–20 μm, respectively, which reveal the high-quality pore structure of the burrow systems. There is strong heterogeneity within the HPZ. The permeability of burrow systems could reach up to 10133.5 mD with an arithmetic mean permeability of 712.2 mD, while the permeability of the matrix is only 0.05 to 69.29 mD, with an arithmetic mean permeability of 8.7 mD. Interconnected burrow networks in the HPZ were formed by bioturbation. The efficiency of connectivity of the HPZ was further enhanced by the early dissolution occurred within burrow architecture and matrix in the meteoric freshwater environment. These resulted in the formation of the high-permeable network composing of interparticle pores, vugs, and the dissolution-enlarged fractures. The high-permeable burrow systems and low-permeable matrix jointly contributed to the distinct well log responses, which are markedly different from the conventional shoal HPZ. The bioturbated HPZ can be identified by medium natural gamma (GR), high bulk density value (RHOB), low acoustic transit-time value (DT), low compensated neutron (NPHI), high deep induction value (RILD), and high microspherically focused resistivity value (MSFL). A well log-model based three cutoffs, namely RHOBnor/DTnor, RILD*MSFL and GR, was built and shows good prediction of the HPZ.

Ischemic heart disease remains the largest cause of death worldwide. Accordingly, many researchers have sought curative options, often using laboratory animal models such as rodents. However, the physiology of the human heart differs significantly from that of the rodent heart. In this study, we developed a model of ischemic heart disease using cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS-CMs). After optimizing the conditions of ischemia, including the concentration of oxygen and duration of application, we evaluated the consequent damage to hiPS-CMs. Notably, exposure to 2% oxygen, 0 mg/ml glucose, and 0% fetal bovine serum increased the percentage of nuclei stained with propidium iodide, an indicator of membrane damage, and decreased cellular viability. These conditions also decreased the contractility of hiPS-CMs. Furthermore, ischemic conditioning increased the mRNA expression of IL-8, consistent with observed conditions in the in vivo heart. Taken together, these findings suggest that our hiPS-CM-based model can provide a useful platform for human ischemic heart disease research.

Viscosity is a key factor that determines the diffusion-controlled processes in biological systems. The matrix of mitochondria contains various enzymes and other proteins with high density, and the diffusion of which are severely restricted by the cristae, making it the most crowded place in the cells. Herein, we reported a new near-infrared probe NV-1 with increased Stokes shift for monitoring viscosity changes in mitochondria. A remarkable increase of the fluorescence was observed in glycerol compared with which was observed in methanol at 744 nm. The probe was applied for measuring viscosity changes not only in mitochondria, but also in vivo (in zebra fishes and mice).

Supercharged proteins exhibit high solubility and other desirable properties, but no engineered superpositively charged enzymes have previously been made. Superpositively charged variants of proteins such as green fluorescent protein have been efficiently encapsulated within Archaeoglobus fulgidus thermophilic ferritin (AfFtn). Encapsulation by supramolecular ferritin can yield systems with a variety of sequestered cargo. To advance applications in enzymology and green chemistry, we sought a general method for supercharging an enzyme that retains activity and is compatible with AfFtn encapsulation. The zinc metalloenzyme human carbonic anhydrase II (hCAII) is an attractive encapsulation target based on its hydrolytic activity and physiologic conversion of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate. A computationally designed variant of hCAII contains positively charged residues substituted at 19 sites on the protein's surface, resulting in a shift of the putative net charge from -1 to +21. This designed hCAII(+21) exhibits encapsulation within AfFtn without the need for fusion partners or additional reagents. The hCAII(+21) variant retains esterase activity comparable to the wild type and spontaneously templates the assembly of AfFtn 24mers around itself. The AfFtn-hCAII(+21) host-guest complex exhibits both greater activity and thermal stability when compared to hCAII(+21). Upon immobilization on a solid support, AfFtn-hCAII(+21) retains enzymatic activity and exhibits an enhancement of activity at elevated temperatures.

Studies on the synthesis of antifungal and anticancer natural product, pseudolaric acid B, have led to the enantioselective synthesis of di-epi-trans-fused [5–7]-bicyclic core skeleton. The synthesis was achieved in 10 linear steps, which features the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation, cyanide-opening reaction of epoxide, and intramolecular [5 + 2] cycloaddition reaction as the key transformations. The stereochemistry was determined by the X-ray crystallographic analysis.