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Designing earth-abundant electrocatalysts toward highly efficient CO

Purpose: Breast cancer has over the years been one of major acute carcinomas in women. This study investigated the fundamental mechanistic functions of the lncRNA-NEAT1/miR-148a-3p/Wnt/β-catenin axis in moderating cell viability, apoptosis and autophagy in Breast Cancer (BC). Methods: RT-qPCR measured expression of lncRNA NEAT1 and microRNA-148a-3p in human cell lines for Breast Cancer. Cell transfection upregulated or silenced the genes with CCK-8, western blot and FCM apoptosis assays determining the cellular growth, proliferation and protein expression related to autophagy biomarkers. Furthermore, luciferase assay analyzed the luciferase activity of lncRNA- NEAT1 and microRNA-148a-3p Results: The outcomes indicated that LncRNA-NEAT1 was upregulated in BC cell lines and promoted cell viability, autophagy and inhibited Apoptosis in BC cells. However, lncRNA-NEAT1 knockdown inhibited cell viability, autophagy and enhanced apoptosis. In addition, lncRNA-NEAT1 directly targeted microRNA-148a-3p. And, it was found that microRNA-148a-3p overturns the cellular viability, autophagy and inhibitory effects on Apoptosis imposed by lncRNA-NEAT1 overexpression. Lastly, overexpressed lncRNA-NEAT1 activated the Wnt/β-catenin regulatory network through sponging microRNA-148a-3p in BC cell lines. Conclusion: The present study showcased that lncRNA-NEAT1 could enhance tumor development in breast cancer via playing the role of molecular sponge to microRNA-148a-3p, and eventually hyper invigorating the Wnt/β-catenin regulatory network.

Background:Neuroblastoma (NB), the most common solid tumor in children, exhibits vastly different genomic abnormalities and clinical behaviors. While significant progress has been made on the research of relations between clinical manifestations and genetic abnormalities, it remains a major challenge to predict the prognosis of patients to facilitate personalized treatments.Materials and Methods:Six data sets of gene expression and related clinical data were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, ArrayExpress database, and Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) database. According to the presence or absence of MYCN amplification, patients were divided into two groups. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the two groups. Enrichment analyses of these DEGs were performed to dig further into the molecular mechanism of NB. Stepwise Cox regression analyses were used to establish a five-gene prognostic signature whose predictive performance was further evaluated by external validation. Multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to explore independent prognostic factors for NB. The relevance of immunity was evaluated by using algorithms, and a nomogram was constructed.Results:A five-gene signature comprising CPLX3, GDPD5, SPAG6, NXPH1, and AHI1 was established. The five-gene signature had good performance in predicting survival and was demonstrated to be superior to International Neuroblastoma Staging System (INSS) staging and the MYCN amplification status. Finally, a nomogram based on the five-gene signature was established, and its clinical efficacy was demonstrated.Conclusion:Collectively, our study developed a novel five-gene signature and successfully built a prognostic nomogram that accurately predicted survival in NB. The findings presented here could help to stratify patients into subgroups and determine the optimal individualized therapy.

Summary The emergence of all-inorganic halide perovskites has shown great potential in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices. However, the photo-induced phase segregation in lead mixed-halide perovskites has severely limited their application. Herein, by real-time monitoring the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of metal mixed-halide perovskites under light irradiation, we found that the photo-induced phase transition can be significantly inhibited by B-site doping. For pristine mixed-halide perovskites, an intermediate phase of CsPbBrxI3-x can only be stabilized under low excitation power. After introducing Sn2+ ions, such intermediate phase can be stabilized in nitrogen atmosphere under high excitation power and phase segregation can be started after the exposure in oxygen due to oxidization of Sn2+. Replacing Sn2+ by Mn2+ can further improve the intermediate phase's tolerance to oxygen proving that B-site doping in perovskites structure by Sn2+ or Mn2+ could effectively minimize the light-induced phase segregation and promote them to serve as promising candidates in photovoltaic and light-emitting devices., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Phase segregation process of perovskite materials can be real-time monitored by PL • Sn2+/Mn2+ doping can significantly improve the phase stability of CsPbIxBr3-x • Mn2+ doping brings CsPbIxBr3-x higher tolerance to oxygen and moisture, Electrical Property; Optical Property; Devices

As emerging 2D materials, arsenene and arsenic materials have attracted rising interest in the past few years. The diverse crystalline phases, exotic electrical characteristics, and widespread applications of 2D arsenene and arsenic bring them great research value and utilization potential. Herein, the recent progress of 2D arsenene and arsenic is reviewed in terms of fundamental properties, preparation, and applications. The fundamental properties of 2D arsenene and arsenic, including the crystal phases, environmental stability, and electrical structure, from theoretical to experimental reports are first summarized. Then, the experimental processes for preparing 2D arsenene and arsenic, along with their respective advantages and disadvantages, are introduced including epitaxial growth, mechanical exfoliation, and liquid-phase exfoliation. Moreover, applications of 2D arsenene and arsenic are discussed, suggesting a wide range of applications of 2D arsenene and arsenic in field-effect transistors, sensors, catalysts, biological applications, and so on. Finally, some perspectives about the challenges and opportunities of promising 2D arsenene and arsenic are provided. This review provides a helpful guidance and stimulates more focus on future explorations and developments of 2D arsenene and arsenic.

Objective The aim of the present study was to analyze the prognostic factors in patients with hepatoblastoma (HB) in our single center and to evaluate periostin (POSTN) expression in HB and its association with clinicopathological variables. In addition, the underlying mechanism of how POSTN promotes HB progression was discussed.Methods POSTN expression was investigated in HB tumors by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF) and Western blot (WB). The association among POSTN expression, clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) was also evaluated. The migration and adhesion ability of HB cells were measured using chemotaxis and cell-matrix adhesion assays, respectively. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated markers and activation of the ERK pathway were detected by WB.Results HB patients had poor prognosis which displayed lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion, POSTN and vimentin expression. POSTN expression was also associated with lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, overexpressed POSTN promoted migration and the adhesive ability of HB cells in vitro. In addition, we demonstrated that POSTN activated the MAPK/ERK pathway, upregulated the expression of Snail and decreased the expression of OVOL2. Finally, POSTN promoted the expression of EMT-associated markers.Conclusions POSTN might modulate EMT via the ERK signaling pathway, thereby promoting cellular migration and invasion. Our study also suggests that POSTN may serve as a therapeutic biomarker in HB patients.

Hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved intriguingly high photoelectric conversion efficiencies (PCEs), but their operational stability is still not satisfactory owing to their vulnerability to moisture and heat. Herein, we report the introduction of pseudohalide thiocyanate ions and potassium dopants into formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) to obtain a new class of pseudohalide-substituted lead halide perovskites FAPb(SCN)2I that can be prepared in ambient air and exhibit broad-range light absorption. Through the introduction of K+-cation doping, hole-conductor-free PSCs based on a FA0.98K0.02Pb(SCN)2I perovskite light absorber and a low-cost, screen-printable carbon-based counter electrode exhibited a PCE of 13.39%. Importantly, the FA0.98K0.02Pb(SCN)2I-based hole-conductor-free PSCs exhibited an 88% PCE retention even after continuous heating at 100 °C for 1020 h, indicating excellent thermal stability. This study suggests that the compositional engineering of non-iodine X-site pseudohalide anion substitution and A-site cation doping hold great promise for improving the stability of PSCs.