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Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is considered as the most promising route towards low-cost and scalable growth of 2D nanomaterials. Nevertheless, low melting point substrate is not suitable for the high growth temperature (more than 773 K) requirement of CVD route, which limits its wide applications in electronic and catalysis fields. Under ice/water mixing environment (273 K–278 K) we have developed a low temperature growth of 2D Cu/Cu2O nanosheets, which demonstrate excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity (onset potential: 0.987 V, halfwave potential: 0.921 V) under 273 K–278 K low temperature. Experimental and first-principles calculated results demonstrated that oriented attachment of copper nanostructures played an important role for the low temperature growth of 2D copper nanosheets, and abundant active Cu2O stepped atoms on 2D copper nanosheets resulted in excellent low temperature ORR activity. The unique ice/water mixing environment will pave a new road for low temperature growth of high quality 2D nanomaterials.

The fabrication of catalysts with atomically dispersed metal active sites is a hot research topic in catalysis, but the controllable preparation of single-atom catalysts still possesses several challenges due to the aggregation tendency of active sites. Herein, an elaborate multistep protection strategy for preparation of atomically dispersed Fe atoms on three-dimensional N-doped hollow carbon spheres was reported. Experimental results show that the pre-separation of 1,10-phenanthroline, the anchoring effect with N sites, and the three-dimensional hollow spherical structure of the support are crucial to achieve atomic dispersion of Fe atoms. The obtained single-atom catalysts, defined as Fe-N@HCS-T (T represents the calcination temperatures), were detailed analyzed. Fe-N@HCS-T exhibited excellent catalytic activity and selectivity for the oxidation of ethylbenzene under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, the prepared catalysts exhibit excellent stability and recyclability. Therefore, this study is expected to provide a feasible strategy for the design of high-efficiency single-atom catalysts for future catalytic applications.

Heterogeneous noble metal-based catalysts with stable, precise structures and high catalytic performance are of great research interest for sustainable catalysis. Herein, we designed the novel sandwich-like metal-organic-framework composite nanocatalyst UiO-66-NH2@Pt@mSiO2 using UiO-66-NH2@Pt as the core, and mesoporous SiO2 as the shell. The obtained UiO-66-NH2@Pt@mSiO2 catalyst shows a well-defined structure and interface, and the protection of the mSiO2 shell can efficiently prevent Pt NPs from aggregating and leaching in the reaction process. In the one-pot cascade reaction of nitroarenes and aromatic aldehydes to secondary amines, UiO-66-NH2@Pt@mSiO2 shows excellent catalytic performance due to acid catalytic sites provided by UiO-66-NH2 and Pt hydrogenation catalytic sites. Furthermore, the porous structure of the UiO-66-NH2@Pt@mSiO2 catalyst also enhances reactant diffusion and improves the reaction efficiency. This work provides a new avenue to meticulously design well-defined nanocatalysts with superior catalytic performance and stability for challenging reactions.

Traditional dyeing process of cotton has caused a large amount of wastewater with high salt content, which seriously damages the ecological environment. In this work, cotton fabric was modified with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride in order to decrease the electrostatic repulsion with the anionic dyes. A systematic optimization of the process has been performed. The acid dyes were applied instead of the common reactive dyes to dye the modified fabrics. The advantage of the high dye-uptake of acid dyes is studied. The levelness of the fabric dyed by reactive dyes and acid dyes were compared. The adsorption process and the bindings between the modified fabric and anionic acid dyes were further explored. The dyeing process were optimized. Finally, the dye-uptake of the modified fabric dyed by optimized conditions achieves to about 92%, which is comparable to traditional cotton dyeing process.

As the main component of silicon (Si)-based Optic Electronics Integrated Circuit (OEIC) chip, Si-based infrared photodetector operating at communication wavebands is very important. In this paper, we report a kind of chromium (Cr)-hyperdoped black Si material fabricated using femtosecond laser pulses irradiation. The concentration of the Cr atoms in the black Si layer exceeds 1020 cm−3 and the Cr-hyperdoped Si has a large sub-bandgap absorptance (~60% for $1.31 \boldsymbol {\mu }\text{m}$ ). The deep-energy level introduced by Cr impurity is 0.39 eV below the bottom of conduction band and thus the ionized electron concentration is very low (~1015 cm−3). Owing to the excellent sub-bandgap absorption of Cr-hyperdoped Si, face-to-face black Si photodiodes are fabricated. Under illumination of $1.31 \boldsymbol {\mu }\text{m}$ light, the responsivity of the photodiodes based on N+-N junction reaches 0.57 A/W at 4.3 V bias. In addition, the rise and delay time of the device to the infrared light are on the order of milliseconds.

Hydrophilic bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) is easily degraded and difficult to load onto hydrophobic carrier materials, which limits the application of polyester materials in bone tissue engineering. Based on soybean-lecithin as an adjuvant biosurfactant, we designed a novel cell-free-scaffold of polymer of poly(ε-caprolactone) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-co-polyetherimide with abundant entrapped and continuously released BMP2 for in vivo stem cell-capture and in situ osteogenic induction, avoiding the use of exogenous cells. The optimized bioactive osteo-polyester scaffold (BOPSC), i.e. SBMP-10SC, had a high BMP2 entrapment efficiency of 95.35%. Due to its higher porosity of 83.42%, higher water uptake ratio of 850%, and sustained BMP2 release with polymer degradation, BOPSCs were demonstrated to support excellent in vitro capture, proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation of mouse adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (mADSCs), and performed much better than traditional BMP-10SCs with unmodified BMP2 and single polyester scaffolds (10SCs). Furthermore, in vivo capture and migration of stem cells and differentiation into osteoblasts was observed in mice implanted with BOPSCs without exogenous cells, which enabled allogeneic bone formation with a high bone mineral density and ratios of new bone volume to existing tissue volume after 6 months. The BOPSC is an advanced 3D cell-free platform with sustained BMP2 supply for in situ stem cell capture and osteoinduction in bone tissue engineering with potential for clinical translation., Graphical abstract Due to the introduction of soybean lecithin (SL) as a biosurfactant, bioactive osteo-polyester scaffold (BOPSC) loaded with BMP2 is a novel 3D cell-free-platform for in vitro/in vivo stem-cell capture and in-situ osteogenic induction. Optimized BOPSCs had a high BMP2 entrapment efficiency and perfect slow-release of activated BMP2, liking invisible hands, which can support excellent cell-capture, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in mice without any exogenous cells.Image 1, Highlights • 3D Cell-Free-Platform for stem-cell capture and in situ osteogenic induction. • Soybean lecithin-mediated introduction of growth factors into polyesters. • No exogenous stem cells for bone regeneration.

Aim. To find the predictors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hospitalized patients. Methods. A prevalence study compared the characteristics of COVID-19 patients with non-COVID-19 patients from January 19, 2020, to February 18, 2020, during the COVID-19 outbreak. Laboratory test results and pulmonary chest imaging of confirmed COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients were collected by retrieving medical records in our center. Results. 96 COVID-19 patients and 122 non-COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this study. COVID-19 patients were older (53 vs. 39; P P = 0.011); however, differences in gender were not observed between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that exposure history (OR: 23.34, P P = 0.006), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (OR: 1.03, P = 0.049), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (OR: 1.01, P = 0.020), lymphocyte (OR: 0.27, P = 0.007), and bilateral involvement on chest CT imaging (OR: 23.01, P P

By employing 5-(pyridin-3-yl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid ligand, a new coordination polymer [Cd(HPPC−)2(H2O)2]n (1) has been prepared via the one-pot solvothermal reation with CdI2 and structurally characterized via elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and X-ray powder diffraction. The results represented that 1 is a three-dimensional (3D) framework based on the 2D corrugated layers and Cd–O pillars, which can be considered as a (3,6)-connected trl topology with Schlafli symbol of {4·62}2{42·610·83}. In this work, the photoluminescence and electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) behavior of complex 1 were investigated and thermal stability was confirmed by TGA analysis. Meanwhile, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurement of 1 was also conducted to address the porosity of this 3D structure. Complex 1 exhibited high intense ECL in dimethyl sulfoxide and after eight circulations the ECL efficiency still remained stable, thus providing the possibility for construction of potential polymers ECL materials. In addition, Hirshfeld surface analysis for 1 mapped with various functions and 2D fingerprint plots revealed that the H···H and O···H contacts outnumbered the other contacts in 1 (25.3% and 23.0% of the total interactions, respectively).

Background This study sought to evaluate the effects of pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy lactate dehydrogenase (pre-NAC LDH) levels, preoperative LDH levels, and changes in LDH levels on the pathological response and outcomes of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) patients treated with liver resection after NAC. Methods This study included 152 colorectal CRLM patients, who underwent NAC followed by liver resection. Patients were excluded if they were diagnosed with other malignancies or lacked follow-up and clinical data. Demographic and clinicopathological data were collected from hospital records. Pathological response and postoperative complications were measured according to the tumor regression grade (TRG) and Clavien-Dindo classification system, respectively. The optimal cutoff values were determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve and the X-tile analysis. Changes in LDH levels were graded as 0, 1, and 2. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the independent predictors of pathological response and postoperative major complications. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify the independent risk factors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results The multivariate analysis indicated that a grade 2 LDH level change was a risk factor of an unfavorable histological response [odds ratio (OR) 0.249, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.066-0.942; P=0.041] and major postoperative complications (OR 2.523, 95% CI: 1.179-10.530; P=0.024), which were independent of other clinical covariates. A pre-NAC LDH level ≥145 IU/L [hazards ratio (HR) 0.584, 95% CI: 0.359-0.950; P=0.030], a grade 1 LDH level change (HR 0.584, 95% CI: 0.359-0.950; P=0.030) and a grade 2 LDH level change (HR 0.447, 95% CI: 0.231-0.864; P=0.017) were independent prognostic predictors of PFS. A preoperative a LDH level ≥231 IU/L (HR 0.405, 95% CI: 0.192-0.852; P=0.017) and a grade 2 LDH level change (HR 0.362, 95% CI: 0.157-0.834; P=0.017) were independent prognostic factors of OS, which were independent of other clinical covariates. Conclusions LDH levels and changes in LDH levels are potentially useful biomarkers for predicting the pathological response and prognosis of CRLM patients receiving NAC followed by liver resection.

Objective Ischemic stroke is a major cause of death in the global population, with a high disability and mortality rate. Lack of regenerative ability is considered to be the fundamental cause. This study aims to determine the effect of Shh pathway, which mediates regenerative signaling in response to CNS injury, on myelin repair and Olig1 expression in focal ischemic lesions in the rat. Methods A model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was established using the intraluminal suture method where the middle cerebral artery (MCA) was restricted for 120 min. Cyclopamine, a specific inhibitor of Shh, or saline was administered 12 h after MCAO surgery and lasted for 7 days. After MCA occlusion, male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to cyclopamine- or saline-treated groups. A group of no-injection animals after MCAO were used as controls. The Shh signaling pathway, myelinogenesis-related factor MBP and Olig1 were testedby immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR assay. Results The levels of Shh and its component Gli1 were elevated from 1 d up to 14 d following ischemia, indicating that the Shh-Gli1 axis was broadly reactivated. Treatment with cyclopamine can partially block the Shh signaling pathway, prevent myelin repair, and decrease the Olig1 expression following ischemic stroke. Conclusion That blockade of Shh signaling concurrently with the creation of a lesion aggravated ischemic myelin damage, probably via its downstream effects on Olig1 transcription. Shh plays a contributory role during regeneration in the CNS, thereby providing promising new therapeutic strategies to assist in recovery from ischemic stroke.

The catalytic dehydrogenation of readily available alcohols to high value-added carbonyl compounds is a research hotspot with scientific significance. Most of the current research about this reaction is performed with noble metal-based homogeneous catalysts of high price and poor reusability. Herein, highly dispersed Co-cluster-decorated N-doped carbon nanotubes (Co/N-CNTs) were fabricated via a facile strategy and used for the dehydrogenation of alcohols with high efficiency. Various characterization techniques confirmed the presence of metallic Co clusters with almost atomic dispersion, and the N-doped carbon supports also enhanced the catalytic activity of Co clusters in the dehydrogenation reaction. Aldehydes as dehydrogenation products were further transformed in situ to carboxylic acids through a Cannizzaro-type pathway under alkaline conditions. The reaction pathway of the dehydrogenation of alcohols was clearly confirmed by theoretical calculations. This work should provide an effective and simple approach for the accurate design and synthesis of small Co-clusters catalysts for the efficient dehydrogenation-based transformation of alcohols to carboxylic acids under mild reaction conditions.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contamination in feed and food seriously threatens the healthy growth of animals and humans, and it may lead to huge economic losses in livestock and poultry production. Therefore, screening of high-efficient AFB1-degrading bacteria is necessary to ensure the safety of feed and food. The study aims to isolate and characterize bacteria from various sources to explore its AFB1 degradation potential. Fifteen bacterial were obtained using a medium containing coumarin as the sole carbon source; only one strain showed a good-degrading ability in culture media by adding AFB1 and it was selected for further studies. A gram-negative and spore-forming, designated E1, was identified as Paenibacillus pabuli, with the highest sequence similarity to P. pabuli NBRC13638T (98.97%). The growth of the strain E1 was observed under 22–47 °C, pH 5.5–9.5 and NaCl concentration 0–6% (w/v), with optimum growth at 37 °C, pH 7.5 and 1% NaCl. The biodegradation characteristics of object strain were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The degradation ratio of AFB1 reached 55% at 24 h and 70.2% at 48 h. After 96 h, the degradation rate of AFB1 reached 85.9%. The active degradation components were present in the cell-free supernatant of strain E1, and the degradation ratio of AFB1 reached 80.0% after 96 h. It is the first report that genus Paenibacillus could degrade AFB1. Moreover, E1 has highly adaptable to diverse environmental conditions. It will be a potential candidate for biodegradation of mycotoxins in feed and food.

The phycobilisomes (PBSs) of cyanobacteria and red-algae are unique megadaltons light-harvesting protein-pigment complexes that utilize bilin derivatives for light absorption and energy transfer. Recently, the high-resolution molecular structures of red-algal PBSs revealed how the multi-domain core-membrane linker (LCM ) specifically organizes the allophycocyanin subunits in the PBS's core. But, the topology of LCM in these structures was different than that suggested for cyanobacterial PBSs based on lower-resolution structures. Particularly, the model for cyanobacteria assumed that the Arm2 domain of LCM connects the two basal allophycocyanin cylinders, whereas the red-algal PBS structures revealed that Arm2 is partly buried in the core of one basal cylinder and connects it to the top cylinder. Here, we show by biochemical analysis of mutations in the apcE gene that encodes LCM , that the cyanobacterial and red-algal LCM topologies are actually the same. We found that removing the top cylinder linker domain in LCM splits the PBS core longitudinally into two separate basal cylinders. Deleting either all or part of the helix-loop-helix domain at the N-terminal end of Arm2, disassembled the basal cylinders and resulted in degradation of the part containing the terminal emitter, ApcD. Deleting the following 30 amino-acids loop severely affected the assembly of the basal cylinders, but further deletion of the amino-acids at the C-terminal half of Arm2 had only minor effects on this assembly. Altogether, the biochemical data are consistent with the red-algal LCM topology, suggesting that the PBS cores in cyanobacteria and red-algae assemble in the same way.

Objective The aims of this study were to evaluate the biomolecular properties of vaginal and perineal granulation tissue in postpartum women and assess the potential impact of vaginal estrogen application. Methods We prospectively identified women referred to a subspecialty peripartum clinic between September 2016 and April 2018 who developed symptomatic perineal or vaginal granulation tissue. As part of routine clinical care, granulation tissue was excised from each participant by a urogynecologist and subjected to RNA extraction, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, histologic evaluation, and immunohistochemistry. Serum steroid hormone levels were measured. Comparisons were made between participants who used topical vaginal estradiol (E2) and those who did not (non-E2 controls). Results Sixteen postpartum women were recruited for this pilot study. More than 30% of patients (n = 5, 31%) had used topical vaginal estradiol (E2) during their postpartum recovery. Histological appearance of granulation tissue evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining was similar in women treated with vaginal E2 and non-E2 controls. Both estrogen receptor α (ERα) and ERβ mRNA and ERα protein were readily detectable in the granulation tissue of E2-treated women. Although not statistically significant, participants who used topical E2 developed granulation tissue that exhibited local estrogen-responsive gene upregulation. Serum levels of estrone, E2, dehydroepiandrosterone, progesterone, and testosterone did not differ between vaginal E2-treated patients and controls. Conclusions Estrogen receptor α seems to be the predominant receptor mediating estrogen action in postpartum perineal and vaginal granulation tissue. Vaginal E2 use does not seem to affect serum levels of estrone, E2, dehydroepiandrosterone, progesterone, and testosterone in postpartum women.

Dechlorination of coal-fired flue gas is a novel approach for realizing zero discharge of desulfurization wastewater. The core principle is to convert the HCl in the flue gas into chloride salt, which will migrate into the fly ash. Pilot-scale experiments were conducted to research the migration and agglomeration of chlorine in actual coal-fired flue gas in a power plant. The results indicate that the HCl removal efficiency in flue gas can rise to 70% at a Na/Cl molar ratio of 7.58 when using NaOH solution with clean water or a ratio of 8.93 when using NaOH solution with desulfurization wastewater. XPS shows that the characteristic peak of chloride in the dechlorinated ash is much more pronounced than that in the original ash. The content of inorganic chloride increases significantly with increasing Na/Cl or the utilization of desulfurization wastewater. SEM–EDS indicates that the various salts agglomerated on the fly ash surface notably increase after dechlorination. The contents of Na, Ca, Mg, Fe and S in the ash increase remarkably, especially with desulfurization wastewater. The chloride salts generated by flue gas dechlorination and the pollutants in the desulfurization wastewater are effectively agglomerated with the fly ash.

To overcome nitrogen deficiency, legume roots establish symbiotic interactions with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia that are fostered in specialized organs (nodules). Similar to other organs, nodule formation is determined by a local maximum of the phytohormone auxin at the primordium site. However, how auxin regulates nodule development remains poorly understood. Here, we found that in soybean, (Glycine max), dynamic auxin transport driven by PIN-FORMED (PIN) transporter GmPIN1 is involved in nodule primordium formation. GmPIN1 was specifically expressed in nodule primordium cells and GmPIN1 was polarly localized in these cells. Two nodulation regulators, (iso)flavonoids trigger expanded distribution of GmPIN1b to root cortical cells, and cytokinin rearranges GmPIN1b polarity. Gmpin1abc triple mutants generated with CRISPR-Cas9 showed the impaired establishment of auxin maxima in nodule meristems and aberrant divisions in the nodule primordium cells. Moreover, overexpression of GmPIN1 suppressed nodule primordium initiation. GmPIN9d, an ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana PIN2, acts together with GmPIN1 later in nodule development to acropetally transport auxin in vascular bundles, fine-tuning the auxin supply for nodule enlargement. Our findings reveal how PIN-dependent auxin transport modulates different aspects of soybean nodule development and suggest that the establishment of auxin gradient is a prerequisite for the proper interaction between legumes and rhizobia., In soybean, nodule primordium formation involves GmPIN1-mediated polar auxin transport within primordium cells, and nodule enlargement involves the collaboration of GmPIN9d and GmPIN1-dependent auxin transport within nodule vasculature.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is one of the most prospective technology for hydrogen production. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), as one of the most promising non-noble metal electrocatalysts, suffers from the disadvantages of limited catalytic sites and weak conductivity which urgently needs to be further optimized. Herein, the C3N4-Ti4O7-MoS2 heterostructure is constructed through a simple hydrothermal strategy. The interfacial interaction between the active components leads to more exposed active sites, the redistribution of the surface charge, the optimization of the hydrogen adsorption kinetics and stability, which makes up the typical shortcomings of MoS2. The results indicate that the interface effect endows C3N4-Ti4O7-MoS2 catalyst with excellent electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The current density of 50 mA/cm2 for HER is obtained at the overpotential of 300 mV, with the lower Tafel slope (54 mV/dec) and stable catalytic activity over 33 h, which is much better than that of the pure MoS2. This work indicates that the interface effect, as an effective strategy for rational design of MoS2-based electrocatalysts, is crucial to the future development of catalytic hydrogen production.

Azodicarbonamide (ADA), as a dough conditioner food additive in flour, can be turned into toxic biurea and semicarbazide after high temperature processing. Hence, the using of ADA in food material should be strictly controlled, and the detection of ADA is very important for consumers’ safety and health. Herein, a simple and fast colorimetric strategy has been developed for ADA detection based on the MnO2 nanosheets-3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB)-glutathione (GSH) as oxidative sensing system (MnO2-TMB-GSH). Since the ADA can selectively react with GSH via oxidizing the sulfydryl (-SH) group of GSH to disulfide bond (S-S), which makes GSH unable to reduce MnO2 nanosheets and restore its oxidase-like activity. The absorbance changes of the TMB solution depended on ADA content. The MnO2-TMB-GSH colorimetric platform can detect the ADA with a linear range of 10 μmol L−1 (11.6 ppm) to 400 μmol L−1 (464 ppm), and the limit of detection (LOD) is 3.3 μmol L−1 (3.51 ppm). Some potential interferences in real sample were tested and did not affect the MnO2-TMB-GSH colorimetric platform for ADA detection. Furthermore, the sensing platform was applied for detecting ADA in real flour sample with a recovery of 96%–105% (RSD

In self-incompatible Solanaceous species, the pistil S-RNase acts as cytotoxin to inhibit self-pollination but is polyubiquitinated by the pollen-specific non-self S-locus F-box (SLF) proteins and subsequently degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), allowing cross-pollination. However, it remains unclear how S-RNase is restricted by the UPS. Here, we first show that Petunia hybrida (Ph) S3-RNase is largely ubiquitinated by K48-linked polyubiquitin chains at three regions, R I, II and III. R I is ubiquitinated in unpollinated, self- and cross-pollinated pistils, indicating its occurrence prior to PhS3-RNase uptake into pollen tubes, whereas R II and III are exclusively ubiquitinated in cross-pollinated pistils. Second, removal of R II ubiquitination resulted in significantly reduced seed sets from cross-pollination and that of R I and III in less extents, indicating their increased cytotoxicity. In consistent, the mutated R II of PhS3-RNase resulted in marked reduction of its degradation, whereas that of R I and III in less reductions. Taken together, our results demonstrate that PhS3-RNase R II functions as a major ubiquitination region for its destruction and R I and III as minor ones, revealing that its cytotoxicity is primarily restricted by a stepwise UPS mechanism for cross-pollination in P. hybrida.ONE SENTENCE SUMMARYBiochemical and transgenic analyses reveal that Petunia hybrida S3-RNase cytotoxicity is largely restricted by a stepwise ubiquitination and degradation pathway during cross-pollination.

To investigate the role of glycolysis and the M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) in odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs), the glycolytic flux of primary odontogenic keratocyst fibroblasts (OKC-Fs) and normal oral mucosa fibroblasts (OM-Fs) was determined by glucose uptake, lactate production, and cell proliferation assays. Wound healing assay and Matrigel-coated chamber system were used to investigate the effects of PKM2 on migration and invasion capacities of OKC-Fs. Co-culture of OKC-Fs with osteoclast precursors (RAW264.7 cells) was used to clarify the role of glycolysis in the osteoclastogenic effects of OKC-Fs. In addition, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and some key enzymes related to glycolysis, including PKM2, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2, 6-biphosphatase 3, hexokinase 2, and lactate dehydrogenase A, were detected to assess the activation of glycolysis in OKC stroma by immunohistochemistry. Results showed that the glucose uptake and lactate production were significantly higher in OKC-Fs than OM-Fs. PKM2 was elevated in OKC-Fs compared with that in OM-Fs. PKM2 significantly regulated glycolysis, proliferation, migration, invasion, and osteoclastogenic effects of OKC-Fs. Additionally hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2, 6-biphosphatase 3, hexokinase 2, and lactate dehydrogenase A were markedly overexpressed in OKC stroma, and correlated with PKM2. Moreover, the expression of PKM2 was regulated by oxygen concentration in vitro. In sum, PKM2-mediated glycolysis regulated the growth, aggressiveness, and osteoclastogenesis of OKC.

Two new coordination polymers, namely, [Cu2(L)2(4,4′-bpy)]n (1) and [Cd(HL)Cl(1,10′-phen)]n (2) (H2L = 1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid, 4,4′-bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine, 1,10′-phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized via solvothermal method and were structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, elemental analysis and PXRD. The two complexes are both infinite 1D chain structures, in complex 1 the H2L ligands are completely deprotonated and chelating the metal centers, while in complex 2, H2L ligands play a role in chelating-bridging the metal centers. What’s more, the two complexes further extended to 3D supramolecular networks by hydrogen bonds and weak C–H⋯π interactions. The weak intermolecular interactions existed in the complexes structures were further studied by Hirshfeld surface analysis and 2D fingerprint plots. In addition, these two transition mental complexes exhibit high intense electrochemiluminescence (ECL) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and after ten circulations the ECL intensity still remains stable, which can be a useful guide for the construct of new polymers ECL materials.

To suppress space charge accumulation and minimize the antioxidant migration, polyethylene (PE) grafted with reactive hindered amine antioxidant MC prepared by melt radical grafting is investigated in this work. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is used to investigate the grafting reaction, which shows that the antioxidant MC is successfully introduced onto PEe Space charge distribution, DC conductivity, DC breakdown strength and thermally stimulated current are measured and the electronic structure is calculated from first-principles. The results show that PE grafted with antioxidant MC can effectively suppress space charge accumulation, reduce DC electrical conductivity and enhance DC breakdown strength. The polar functional groups of antioxidant MC anchored on PE macromolecular chain form immobile deep traps at the grafted MC sites, which can capture space charges and scatter charge carriers to reduce the amount, mobility and energy of charge carriers. Seen from the oxidative induction time of the specimens before and after acetone extraction, the level of retention of the grafted antioxidant MC are significantly higher than those of conventional antioxidant 300 and antioxidant 4020, which indicates that PE grafted with antioxidant MC has excellent long-term thermal oxidation stability.

Infection by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is a common cause of diarrhea in animals. The development of vaccines against enterotoxins can effectively control the infection. We have previously constructed a recombinant antigen SLS fused by STa, LTB and STb enterotoxin and it showed a high immunogenicity in mice. Herein, we evaluated the expression of SLS in three different E. coli cells with corresponding plasmids. SLS proteins expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and Rosetta-gami B (DE3) were aggregated as inclusion bodies, and the proteins solubility were not obviously promoted in low temperature combined with adjustment of inducer concentration. In contrast, SLS protein with maltose-binding protein (MBP) yielded from TB1 (DE3) cells were partially soluble. After increasing the IPTG concentration in the medium up to 2 mM and incubating at 37 ℃ for 4 h, the soluble protein yield reached the highest level (4.533 mg/0.2 L culture), which was significantly higher than the expression of SLS protein in Rosetta-gami B (DE3) (P

Despite advances in targeted therapies, the prognosis for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is poor because there are few actionable molecular targets. The dependence of solid tumor growth on angiogenesis prompted our development of angiogenic-receptor-targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) to treat TNBC by targeted delivery of therapeutic doses of ionizing radiation to tumors. A high-affinity vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-targeted agent, diZD, was synthesized and labeled with 177Lu and 64Cu by 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelator giving the TRT agent, 177Lu-DOTA-diZD, and PET imaging agent, 64Cu-DOTA-diZD. We showed that "64Cu/177Lu"-DOTA-diZD radiotracers are a promising theranostic pair for TNBC. 4T1-bearing mice treated with 177Lu-DOTA-diZD-based TRT survived with a median of 28 days, which was significantly longer than that of control mice as 18 days. Anti-PD1 immunotherapy resulted in a shorter median survival of 16 days. This work presents for the first time that small-molecule VEGFR-oriented TRT is a promising therapeutic option to treat "immunogenic cold" TNBC.

Many bacteria metabolize aromatic compounds via catechol as a catabolic intermediate, and possess multiple genes or clusters encoding catechol-cleavage enzymes. The presence of multiple isozyme-encoding genes is a widespread phenomenon that seems to give the carrying strains a selective advantage in the natural environment over those with only a single copy. In the naphthalene-degrading strain Pseudomonas putida ND6, catechol can be converted into intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle via either the ortho- or meta-cleavage pathways. In this study, we demonstrated that the catechol ortho-cleavage pathway genes (catBICIAI and catBIICIIAII) on the chromosome play an important role. The catI and catII operons are co-transcribed, whereas catAI and catAII are under independent transcriptional regulation. We examined the binding of regulatory proteins to promoters. In the presence of cis-cis-muconate, a well-studied inducer of the cat gene cluster, CatRI and CatRII occupy an additional downstream site, designated as the activation binding site. Notably, CatRI binds to both the catI and catII promoters with high affinity, while CatRII binds weakly. This is likely caused by a T to G mutation in the G/T-N11-A motif. Specifically, we found that CatRI and CatRII regulate catBICIAI and catBIICIIAII in a cooperative manner, which provides new insights into naphthalene degradation.

In the present research work, gadolinium-doped nickel ferrite (NiFe2-x Gd x O4, x = 0-0.1) thin films have been synthesized by a facile sol-gel approach. The structural, optical, and magnetic performances of Gd-doping on nickel ferrite films have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction pattern indicated a cubic spinel ferrite structure and that the lattice parameter increased, while the crystalline size decreased with increasing the Gd concentration. Scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated that Gd-doped thin films were dense and smooth. The optical band gap value of the as-prepared thin films increased with increasing the Gd concentration. It showed that Gd-doping endowed nickel ferrite thin films with much better saturation magnetization (278.53 emu/cc) and remnant magnetization (67.83 emu/cc) at an appropriate 0.05 Gd-doping concentration. In addition, our results also revealed that the saturation magnetization remarkably increased, then sharply decreased with increasing of Gd doping content, which is attributed to effects of Gd-doping, exchange interaction, and redistribution of cations. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis exhibited the effect of Gd-doping substitution on exchange interaction and redistribution of cations at the octahedral site and tetrahedral site.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. TKP is a serine protease extracted from the fruit of Trichosanthes kirilowii. We investigated the impact of TKP on the pro...