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To achieve high-precision vector measurement values in a geomagnetic field, it is necessary to develop methods for overcoming alternating magnetic interference (AMI), which is generated by electrical equipment. This paper proposes the adaptive alternating magnetic interference suppression (AAIS) algorithm. In this algorithm, first, only a triaxial fluxgate sensor measures the magnetic field data. The time-frequency diagram of the total magnetic field is obtained quickly through short-time Fourier transform and wavelet transform. Additionally, the time and frequency of AMI appearance are analyzed. Then, the triaxial adaptive notch filter suppresses the three-component related magnetic interference. Herein, simulation and actual experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness of AAIS. The results indicate that the algorithm can quickly detect the frequencies of AMI from the total magnetic field and adaptively fit their amplitude and phase on the vector magnetic field. Finally, AAIS can suppress the interference effectively. The AAIS algorithm realizes error compensation for the vector measurement values by the total magnetic field, which effectively improves the vector measurement accuracy of the geomagnetic field. We highlight that the AAIS algorithm is effective for AMIs of different frequencies, numbers, and intensities without reference sensors. Our work has practical implications in airborne, vehicle-mounted, and shipborne geomagnetic vector detection.

Self-supporting 3D (SSD) carbon nitrides (UCN-X, X = 600-690; where X represents the pyrolytic temperature) consisting of curved layers, with plenty of wrinkles and enlarged size, are synthesized via a facile stepwise pyrolytic strategy. Such unique features of the SSD structure exhibiting dramatically improved charge mobility, extended π-conjugated aromatic system, and partial distortion of heptazine-based skeleton can not only keep the easier activation of the intrinsic π →  π* electronic transition but also awaken the n → π* electronic transition in carbon nitride. The n → π* electronic transition of UCN-X can be controllably tuned through changing the pyrolytic temperature, which can greatly extend the photoresponse range to 600 nm. More importantly, the change regularity of H 2 evolution rates is highly positive, correlated with the change tendency of n → π* electronic transition in UCN-X, suggesting the positive contribution of n → π* electronic transition to enhancing photocatalytic activity. The UCN-670, with optimal structural and optical properties, presents enhanced H 2 evolution rate up to 9230 µmol g -1 h -1 (Pt 1.1 wt%). This work realizes the synergistic optimization of optical absorption and exciton dissociation via fabricating an SSD structure. It offers a new strategy for the development of novel carbon nitride materials for efficient photocatalytic reactions., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In this work, we present an in situ method to probe the evolution of photoelectrochemically driven surface oxidation on photoanodes during active operation in aqueous solutions. A standard solution of K 4 Fe(CN) 6 -KPi was utilized to benchmark the photocurrent and assess progressive surface oxidation on Ta 3 N 5 in various oxidizing solutions. In this manner, a proportional increase in the surface oxygen concentration was detected with respect to oxidation time and further correlated with a continuous decline in the photocurrent. To discern how surface oxidation alters the photocurrent, we experimentally and theoretically explored its impact on the surface carrier recombination and the interfacial hole transfer rates. Our results indicate that the sluggish photocurrent demonstrated by oxidized Ta 3 N 5 arises because of changes in both rates. In particular, the results suggest that the N-O replacement present on the Ta 3 N 5 surface primarily increases the carrier recombination rate near the surface and to a lesser degree reduces the interfacial hole transfer rate. More generally, this methodology is expected to further our understanding of surface oxidation atop other nonoxide semiconductor photoelectrodes and its impact on their operation.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which involves the dramatic reorganization of the cytoskeleton, is a crucial initiating step in tumor invasion and metastasis. Protein 4.1B is a membrane-cytoskeleton cross-linker that plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis; however, the functional roles of 4.1B in melanoma remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of 4.1B on melanoma cells. Our results demonstrated that 4.1B expression was downregulated in murine B16 and B16-F10 melanoma cell lines. Ectopic 4.1B expression significantly inhibited the migration of melanoma cells and pulmonary metastasis. We further investigated the possible mechanism underlying the effect of 4.1B on EMT. The results showed that ectopic 4.1B expression altered the expression of representative EMT markers (E-cadherin, vimentin and N-cadherin), and inhibited the expression of three important transcription factors (Slug, Snail, and Twist) related to EMT in melanoma cells. Moreover, the expression of integrin α5, β3 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), which is known to regulate cell adhesion, migration and invasion, were suppressed. In conclusion, our data indicate that 4.1B is an important regulator during EMT progression in melanoma cells, which may present a potential target for the prevention and treatment of melanoma., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Fundamental photocatalytic limitations of solar CO 2 reduction remain due to low efficiency, serious charge recombination, and short lifetime of catalysts. Herein, two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets with nitrogen vacancies (g-C 3 N x ) located at both three-coordinate N atoms and uncondensed terminal NH x species were prepared by one-step tartaric acid-assistant thermal polymerization of dicyandiamide. Transient absorption spectra revealed that the defects in g-C 3 N 4 act as trapped states of charges to result in prolonged lifetimes of photoexcited charge carriers. Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed that the faster decay of charges is due to the decreased interlayer stacking distance in g-C 3 N x in favor of hopping transition and mobility of charge carriers to the surface of the material. Owing to the synergic virtues of strong visible-light absorption, large surface area, and efficient charge separation, the g-C 3 N x nanosheets with negligible loss after 15 h of photocatalysis exhibited a CO evolution rate of 56.9 μmol g -1  h -1 under visible-light irradiation, which is roughly eight times higher than that of pristine g-C 3 N 4 . This work presents the role of defects in modulating light absorption and charge separation, which opens an avenue to robust solar-energy conversion performance., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Ultra-small metal clusters have attracted great attention owing to their superior catalytic performance and extensive application in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the synthesis of high-density metal clusters is very challenging due to their facile aggregation. Herein, one-step pyrolysis was used to synthesize ultra-small clusters and single-atom Fe sites embedded in graphitic carbon nitride with high density (iron loading up to 18.2 wt %), evidenced by high-angle annular dark field-scanning transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and 57 Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The catalysts exhibit enhanced activity and stability in degrading various organic samples in advanced oxidation processes. The drastically increased metal site density and stability provide useful insights into the design and synthesis of cluster catalysts for practical application in catalytic oxidation reactions.

Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is a member of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide positivity-dependent class III deacetylase sirtuin family. The present study aimed to explore the expression and function of SIRT6 in colon cancer. Furthermore, the partial mechanism underlying the dysregulation of SIRT6 was investigated. The results of immunohistochemistry demonstrated that SIRT6 was markedly downregulated in colon cancer tissues, and patients with high SIRT6 expression had a better prognosis than those who did not. The proliferation and apoptotic assays demonstrated that SIRT6 was able to suppress colon cancer cell proliferation and induce apoptosis via the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are important non-coding RNAs, which have a critical role in the negative regulation of their target genes. Through bioinformatics analysis and further experiments, the results demonstrated that miR-34c-5p was not only dysregulated in colon cancer tissues but may also regulate SIRT6 expression via interaction with the 3'-untranslated region of SIRT6 mRNA. The proliferation and apoptotic assays indicated that miR-34c-5p could directly promote cell growth and inhibit apoptosis via activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, which was similar to silencing SIRT6. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that miR-34c-5p promoted colon cancer cell proliferation by targeting SIRT6 via activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. It may be hypothesized that SIRT6 is a potential biomarker for colon cancer prognosis, and the miR-34c-5p/SIRT6/JAK2/STAT3 axis may provide novel insights into colon cancer treatment.

Magnetic porous Fe3O4/C/Cu2O composites were prepared by a simple two-step process. Porous Fe3O4/C was synthesized via calcining iron tartrate precursor and then Cu2O was composited with Fe3O4/C by a precipitation-reduction method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping. Results show that Fe3O4/C has porous nanorod structure, which is composed of numerous small nanoparticles of about 50nm. Fe3O4 and carbon are uniformly distributed in the Fe3O4/C/Cu2O composite and Cu2O is dispersed on the surface of Fe3O4/C. Fe3O4/C/Cu2O composite exhibits excellent photo-Fenton catalytic performance for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation and neutral pH conditions, and MB (100mg/L) could be almost completely removed within 60min. The composite shows good recyclability and could be conveniently separated by an applied magnetic field. These results demonstrate that the Fe3O4/C/Cu2O composite is a powerful Fenton-like catalyst for degradation of organic pollutants from wastewater., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

By considering a first-order variation in electroaccepting and electrodonating powers, ω±, induced by a change from gas to aqueous solution phase, the solvent effect on ω± for charged ions is examined. The expression of electroaccepting and electrodonating powers in the solution phase, ω±s, is obtained through establishing the quantitative relationship between the change of the ω± due to the solvation and the hydration free energy. It is shown that cations are poorer electron acceptors and anions are poorer electron donors in solution compared to those in gas phase. We have proven that the scaled aqueous electroaccepting power, ω+s, of cations can act as a good descriptor of the reduction reaction, which is expected to be applied in the design of solution reactions.

Single-crystalline nanoporous Nb2O5 nanotubes were fabricated by a two-step solution route, the growth of uniform single-crystalline Nb2O5 nanorods and the following ion-assisted selective dissolution along the [001] direction. Nb2O5 tubular structure was created by preferentially etching (001) crystallographic planes, which has a nearly homogeneous diameter and length. Dense nanopores with the diameters of several nanometers were created on the shell of Nb2O5 tubular structures, which can also retain the crystallographic orientation of Nb2O5 precursor nanorods. The present chemical etching strategy is versatile and can be extended to different-sized nanorod precursors. Furthermore, these as-obtained nanorod precursors and nanotube products can also be used as template for the fabrication of 1 D nanostructured niobates, such as LiNbO3, NaNbO3, and KNbO3.