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In order to develop high value-added rice straw residue biocomposites, nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) from rice straw and chitosan (CS) were used as two main raw materials, the CS/NCC biocomposites were prepared by an acid hydrolysis-ultrasonic treatment and blending casting. The physicochemical properties and evaluation of interfacial compatibility on CS/NCC biocomposites were characterized by TEM, ZP analyzer, UV-vis, FTIR, SEM, XRD, TG, DSC, electron mechanical instrument and water absorption testing. The results reveal that a uniform rod-like or filamentary structure of NCC from rice straw, with the width distribution concentrated on the range of 10–15 nm and several hundred nanometers in length, can be effectively obtained by a relatively high ultrasonic power treatment with the same acid hydrolysis conditions. The superior interfacial compatibility of CS/NCC biocomposites with excellent tensile strength can be achieved at 5% NCC addition level due to optimal dispersion of NCC, strong hydrogen bonding and potential electrostatic interactions between CS and NCC. Additionally the thermal stability and water absorption of biocomposites increase, while the transparency rate, elongation at break decrease as the increase of NCC addition amount from 0% to 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With acquisition of geochemical data of oils and source rocks in mature basins, oil source re-identification is important for petroleum system analysis and subsequent exploration. In the Baxian Depression of the Bohai Bay Basin, the main source rocks are in the Sha-3 (Es 3) and Sha-1 (Es 1) Members of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation. These cannot be differentiated using the standard mass chromatograms and bivariate cross-plots of biomarker parameters obtained from the representative samples of the source rocks. In this paper, discriminant analysis (DA) was employed to highlight the difference between these two sets of the source rocks samples and to identify the sources of the oils in the multivariate space. Based on a comprehensive literature review, we selected twenty three candidate parameters that may reflect the oil sources, and excluded ones which are affected by the thermal maturity and biodegradation in the study area. Eight informative parameters were chosen with stepwise DA from these candidate parameters to establish a discriminant model for the oil-source correlation. The model achieved a high correct discrimination rate using leave-one-out cross-validation (90.7%) and original validation (94.4%). We found that these 8 parameters can describe the characteristics of the main sources and can effectively differentiate these sources. The high posterior probabilities in the oil-source correlation results indicate that the oils in the Wen'an Slope were mainly sourced from the source rock in Es 3. These results, together with geological mapping of reservoir sand-bodies, suggest that more oil derived from the Es 3 source rocks may exist below the thick shale and/or mudstone sequence in the Es 1 than previously thought. • Mass chromatograms and cross-plots could not differentiate source rock samples. • Oil sources could be identified in multivariate space with stepwise discriminant analysis. • High correct rates achieved in the identification of oil sources.. • Significant additional exploration potential in the deep Sha-3 petroleum system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D functional porous frameworks offer a platform for studying the structure-activity relationships during electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR). Yet challenges still exist to breakthrough key limitations on site configuration (typical M-O 4 or M-N 4 units) and product selectivity (common CO 2 -to-CO conversion). Herein, a novel 2D metal-organic framework (MOF) with planar asymmetric N/O mixed coordinated Cu-N 1 O 3 unit is constructed, labeled as BIT-119. When applied to CO 2 RR, BIT-119 could reach a CO 2 -to-C 2 conversion with C 2 partial current density ranging from 36.9 to 165.0 mA cm -2 in flow cell. Compared to the typical symmetric Cu-O 4 units, asymmetric Cu-N 1 O 3 units lead to the re-distribution of local electron structure, regulating the adsorption strength of several key adsorbates and the following catalytic selectivity. From experimental and theoretical analyses, Cu-N 1 O 3 sites could simultaneously couple the atop-type (on Cu site) and bridge-type (on Cu-N site) adsorption of *C 1 species to reach the CO 2 -to-C 2 conversion. This work broadens the feasible C-C coupling mechanism on 2D functional porous frameworks., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Medium-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (MT PEMFCs) operating at 100° to 120°C have improved kinetics, simplified thermal and water management, and broadened fuel tolerance compared with low-temperature PEMFCs. However, high temperatures lead to Nafion ionomer dehydration and exacerbate gas transportation limitations. Inspired by osmolytes found in hyperthermophiles, we developed α-aminoketone-linked covalent organic framework (COF) ionomers, interwoven with Nafion, to act as "breathable" proton conductors. This approach leverages synergistic hydrogen bonding to retain water, enhancing hydration and proton transport while reducing oxygen transport resistance. For commercial Pt/C, the MT PEMFCs achieved peak and rated power densities of 18.1 and 9.5 Watts per milligram of Pt at the cathode at 105°C fueled with H 2 and air, marking increases of 101 and 187%, respectively, compared with cells lacking the COF.

This research examines the function of protein associated with topoisomerase II homolog 1 ( PATL1 ) in nasal-type natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We analyzed bulk RNA-seq data from NKTCL, nasal polyps, and normal nasal mucosa, identifying 439 differentially expressed genes. Machine learning algorithms highlighted PATL1 as a hub gene. PATL1 exhibited significant upregulation in NKTCL and HNSCC tumor samples in comparison to normal tissues, showing high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 1.000) for NKTCL. Further analysis of local hospital data identified PATL1 as an independent prognostic risk factor for NKTCL. Data analysis of TCGA and GEO datasets revealed that high PATL1 expression correlated with poorer prognosis in HNSCC patients ( p  < 0.05). We also constructed a PATL1 -based nomogram, which emerged as an independent prognostic predictor for HNSCC after addressing missing values. Additionally, we found a strong correlation between PATL1 and various immune cell infiltrates (e.g., activated.CD4 T cell), and a significant association with the expression of 37 immune checkpoints genes (e.g., CTLA4 , PDCD1 ) and 20 N6-methyladenosine-related genes (e.g., ZC3H13 , METTL3 ) (all p  < 0.05). Both TCIA and TIDE algorithms suggested that PATL1 could potentially predict immunotherapy efficacy ( p  < 0.05). Cellular experiments demonstrated that transfection with a silencing plasmid of PATL1 significantly inhibited the malignant behaviors of SNK6 and FaDu cell lines( p  < 0.05). In conclusion, our findings suggest that PATL1 may serve as a valuable prognostic and predictive biomarker in NKTCL and HNSCC, highlighting its significant role in these cancers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Single atomic catalysts (SACs) offer a superior platform for studying the structure-activity relationships during electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR). Yet challenges still exist to obtain well-defined and novel site configuration owing to the uncertainty of functional framework-derived SACs through calcination. Herein, a novel Bi-N 2 O 2 site supported on the (1 1 0) plane of hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) is reported directly for CO 2 RR. In flow cell, the target catalyst Bi1-HOF maintains a faradaic efficiency (FE) HCOOH of over 90 % at a wide potential window of 1.4 V. The corresponding partial current density ranges from 113.3 to 747.0 mA cm -2 . And, Bi1-HOF exhibits a long-term stability of over 30 h under a successive potential-step test with a current density of 100-400 mA cm -2 . Density function theory (DFT) calculations illustrate that the novel Bi-N 2 O 2 site supported on the (1 1 0) plane of HOF effectively induces the oriented electron transfer from Bi center to CO 2 molecule, reaching an enhanced CO 2 activation and reduction. Besides, this study offers a versatile method to reach series of M-N 2 O 2 sites with regulable metal centers via the same intercalation mechanism, broadening the platform for studying the structure-activity relationships during CO 2 RR., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Orbital hybridization to regulate the electronic structures and surface chemisorption properties of transition metals is of great importance for boosting the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, we developed a core-shell rambutan-like nanocarbon catalyst (FeAl-RNC) with atomically dispersed Fe-Al atom pairs from metal-organic framework (MOF) material. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the strong p-d orbital hybridization between Al and Fe results in an asymmetric electron distribution with moderate adsorption strength of oxygen intermediates, rendering enhanced intrinsic ORR activity. Additionally, the core-shell rambutan-like structure of FeAl-RNC with abundant micropores and macropores can enhance the density of active sites, stability, and transport pathways in PEMFC. The FeAl-RNC-based PEMFC achieves excellent activity (68.4 mA cm -2 at 0.9 V), high peak power (1.05 W cm -2 ), and good stability with only 7% current loss after 100 h at 0.7 V under H 2 -O 2 condition.

Retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR), a photosensitive protein, functions as a retinal photoisomerase under light conditions in humans. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is linked to chronic ultraviolet exposure, which suggests that the photoreceptor RGR may be associated with tumorigenesis and progression of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, the expression and function of RGR remain uncharacterized in SCC. This study analysed RGR expression in normal skin and in lesions of actinic keratosis, Bowen's disease and invasive SCC of the skin with respect to SCC initiation and development. A total of 237 samples (normal skin (n = 28), actinic keratosis (n = 42), Bowen's (n = 35) and invasive SCC (n = 132) lesions) were examined using immunohistochemistry. Invasive SCC samples had higher expression of RGR protein than the other samples. A high immunohistochemical score for RGR was associated with increased tumour size, tumour depth, Clark level, factor classification, and degree of differentiation and a more aggressive histological subtype. In addition, RGR expression was inversely correlated with involucrin expression and positively correlated with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67 expression. Furthermore, RGR regulates SCC cell differentiation through the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway, as determined using molecular biology approaches in vitro, suggesting that high expression of RGR is associated with aberrant proliferation and differentiation in SCC.

Subjective scales are frequently used in the design process of head-related products to assess pressure discomfort. Nevertheless, some users lack fundamental cognitive and motor abilities (e.g., paralyzed patients). Therefore, it is vital to find non-verbal measurements of pressure discomfort and pressure pain. This study gathered the autonomic response data (heart rate and skin conductance) of 30 landmarks in head, neck and face from 31 participants experiencing pressure discomfort and pressure pain. The results indicate that pressure stimulation can change heart rate (HR) and skin conductance (SC). SC can be more useful in assessing pressure discomfort than HR for specific landmarks, and SC also possesses a faster arousal rate than HR. Moreover, HR decreased in response to pressure stimulation, while SC decreased followed by an increase. In comparisons between genders, the subjective pressure discomfort threshold (PDT) and pressure pain threshold (PPT) of women were lower than those of men, but men's autonomic responses (HR and SC) were more intense. Furthermore, there was no linear correlation between subjective pressure thresholds (PDT and PPT) and autonomic response intensity. This study has significant implications for resolving ergonomic issues (pressure discomfort and pain) associated with head-related products., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Developing highly efficient and stable hydrogen production catalysts for electrochemical water splitting (EWS) at industrial current densities remains a great challenge. Herein, we proposed a heterostructure-induced-strategy to optimize the metal-support interaction (MSI) and the EWS activity of Ru-Ni 3 N/NiO. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations firstly predicted that the Ni 3 N/NiO-heterostructures can improve the structural stability, electronic distributions, and orbital coupling of Ru-Ni 3 N/NiO compared to Ru-Ni 3 N and Ru-NiO, which accordingly decreases energy barriers and increases the electroactivity for EWS. As a proof-of-concept, the Ru-Ni 3 N/NiO catalyst with a 2D Ni 3 N/NiO-heterostructures nanosheet array, uniformly dispersed Ru nanoparticles, and strong MSI, was successfully constructed in the experiment, which exhibited excellent HER and OER activity with overpotentials of 190 mV and 385 mV at 1000 mA cm -2 , respectively. Furthermore, the Ru-Ni 3 N/NiO-based EWS device can realize an industrial current density (1000 mA cm -2 ) at 1.74 V and 1.80 V under alkaline pure water and seawater conditions, respectively. Additionally, it also achieves a high durability of 1000 h (@ 500 mA cm -2 ) in alkaline pure water., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Retinal G protein-coupled receptor (RGR) serves a retinal photoisomerase function to mediate retinoid metabolism and visual chromophore regeneration in the human eyes. Retinoids display critical functions in cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Abnormal retinoid metabolism may contribute to tumor development. However, in human tumor tissues, the expression of RGR remains uncharacterized. Herein, we performed the analysis of RGR expression in 620 samples from 24 types of tumors by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and 33 cancer types from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases by bioinformatic analyses. Furthermore, the biological role of RGR in glioma cells was investigated using molecular biology approaches in vitro. Notably, we found that brain lower grade glioma (LGG), in contrast to other tumor types, had the highest median score of IHC and RNA level of RGR expression. Survival analysis showed that low RGR expression was associated with worse overall survival in LGG (p<0.0001). RGR expression levels in glioma were also associated with pathological subtypes, grades, and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations. Moreover, its molecular function was closely associated with cadherin-related family member 1 (CDHR1), a tumor suppressive protein in glioma, suggesting that RGR might negatively regulate the tumorigenesis and progression of LGG through interacting with CDHR1. Our findings provide new insight into the role of RGR in human cancer, especially in glioma.

The selective hydrogenation of alkynes is an important reaction; however, the catalytic activity and selectivity in this reaction are generally conflicting. In this study, ultrafine Pd nanoparticles (NPs) loaded on a graphite-like C 3 N 4 structure with nitrogen defects (Pd/DCN) are synthesized. The resulting Pd/DCN exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance in the transfer hydrogenation of alkynes with ammonia borane. The reaction rate and selectivity of Pd/DCN are superior to those of Pd/BCN (bulk C 3 N 4 without nitrogen defects) under visible-light irradiation. The characterization results and density functional theory calculations show that the Mott-Schottky effect in Pd/DCN can change the electronic density of the Pd NPs, and thus enhances the hydrogenation selectivity toward phenylacetylene. After 1 h, the hydrogenation selectivity of Pd/DCN reaches 95%, surpassing that of Pd/BCN (83%). Meanwhile, nitrogen defects in the supports improve the visible-light response and accelerate the transfer and separation of photogenerated charges to enhance the catalytic activity of Pd/DCN. Therefore, Pd/DCN exhibits higher efficiency under visible light, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 2002 min -1 . This TOF is five times that of Pd/DCN under dark conditions and 1.5 times that of Pd/BCN. This study provides new insights into the rational design of high-performance photocatalytic transfer hydrogenation catalysts., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Elucidation of individual Notch protein biology in specific cancer is crucial to develop safe, effective, and tumor-selective Notch-targeting therapeutic reagents for clinical use [1]. Here, we explored the Notch4 function in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We found that silencing Notch4 enhanced tumorigenic ability in TNBC cells via upregulating Nanog expression, a pluripotency factor of embryonic stem cells. Intriguingly, silencing Notch4 in TNBC cells suppressed metastasis via downregulating Cdc42 expression, a key molecular for cell polarity formation. Notably, downregulation of Cdc42 expression affected Vimentin distribution, but not Vimentin expression to inhibit EMT shift. Collectively, our results show that silencing Notch4 enhances tumorigenesis and inhibits metastasis in TNBC, indicating that targeting Notch4 may not be a potential strategy for drug discovery in TNBC., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This paper presents a position statement on combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and ergonomics to guide the design of personal protective equipment (PPE). We used CFD to simulate 36 exposure scenarios of an infected patient sneezing at different distances and different angles while facing either the front or the side of a healthcare worker with or without goggles. The results show that medical goggles indeed block most droplets from the outer surface, but many droplets still deposit on the bottom edge (especially at the nose), inside the air holes and on the side edge. However, the edges of medical goggles have fitment problems with people in different regions, and the air holes do not function as filters and cannot prevent fine droplets from entering the interior and contacting the eyes. Our research demonstrates the feasibility of studying the design of PPE for airtightness and protection by means of CFD. Practitioner summary: Computational fluid dynamics can quickly and efficiently reflect the airtightness design problems of PPE. A model was developed using CFD to examine the protective effect of medical goggles in preventing the airborne transmission of viruses. The model demonstrates the feasibility of using CFD to solve ergonomic problems. Abbreviations: CFD: computational fluid dynamics; PPE: personal protective equipment; WHO: the World Health Organisation; COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019; SARS-CoV-2: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; OSHA: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; CDC: the Centres for Disease Control; FEM: finite element method; 3M: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Corporation; SPH: smoothed particle hydrodynamics; AROM: active range of motion; DPM: discrete phase model; PISO: pressure implicit with splitting of operators; VR: virtual reality; AR: augmented reality.

The electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (ECO 2 RR) is considered one of the approaches with the most potential to achieve lower carbon emissions in the future, but a huge gap still exists between the current ECO 2 RR technology and industrial applications. Therefore, the design and preparation of catalysts with satisfactory activity, selectivity and stability for the ECO 2 RR have attracted extensive attention. As a classic type of functional porous framework, crystalline porous materials ( e.g. , metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs)) and derived porous materials ( e.g. , MOF/COF composites and pyrolysates) have been regarded as superior catalysts for the ECO 2 RR due to their advantages such as designable porosity, modifiable skeleton, flexible active site structure, regulable charge transfer pathway and controllable morphology. Meanwhile, with the rapid development of nano-characterization and theoretical calculation technologies, the structure-activity relationships of functional porous frameworks have been comprehensively considered, i.e. , metallic element type, local coordination environment, and microstructure, corresponding to selectivity, activity and mass transfer efficiency for the ECO 2 RR, respectively. In this review, the rational design strategy for functional porous frameworks is briefly but precisely generalized based on three key factors including metallic element type, local coordination environment, and microstructure. Then, details about the structure-activity relationships for functional porous frameworks are illustrated in the order of MOFs, COFs, composites and pyrolysates to analyze the effect of the above-mentioned three factors on their ECO 2 RR performance. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of functional porous frameworks for the further development of the ECO 2 RR are reasonably proposed, aiming to offer insights for future studies in this intriguing and significant research field.

Chemotherapy resistance exposes patients to side effects and delays the effect of therapy in patients. So far, there are no predictive tools to predict resistance to chemotherapy and select sensitive chemotherapeutic drugs for the patient. Here, we aim to develop an in-vitro primary cell culture model from breast cancer patients to predict sensitivity to chemotherapy. We created the primary breast cancer cell medium BCMI and culture system with higher efficiency of the model establishment. Immunofluorescence staining of ERa, PR and HER2 were done to identify the primary breast cancer cell from the counterpart breast cancer patient. The killing assay showed that these primary breast cancer cells responded differently to doxorubicin and pirarubicin treatment. These results indicate that our established primary breast cancer cell model holds great promise for predicting breast cancer sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Mou, Huang, Yang, Wan, Pu, Zhang, Liu, Li, Zhang, Tian, Yang, Cui, Hu and Dou.)

Fish meal is increasingly being replaced by plant protein raw materials, meanwhile, it brings phytic acid, which combines with phosphorus to form phytate phosphorus and leads to a low utilization rate of phosphorus in shrimp. To solve this problem, this study investigated the effects of phytase supplementation on growth performance, phosphorus utilization, antioxidants, and digestion in red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Crayfish (initial mean weight: 8.69 ± 0.15 g, N = 324) were randomly divided into six groups each with three replicates of 18 individuals each, and hand-fed for 8 weeks with one of six experimental diets (50 and 490 g kg -1 animal and plant protein raw material, respectively): negative control (NC; 11.0 g kg -1 phosphorus), positive control (PC; 15 g kg -1 NaH 2 PO 4 added to NC; 14.7 g kg -1 phosphorus), and phytase supplementation diets (P1-P4: 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g kg -1 phytase added to NC, respectively). The feeding trial was performed in a micro-flow water culture system. P2 showed a significantly higher weight gain rate (WGR), specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and protein retention efficiency (PRE) but showed the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) than other groups. Broken-line regression analyses using WGR, FCR, and PRE as evaluation indices showed that the optimal dietary phytase supplementation level was 0.233, 0.244, and 0.303 g kg -1 , respectively. P2 showed the highest crude protein content of whole crayfish and abdominal muscle, and phosphorus deposition rate, which was significantly higher than that in NC and PC. P3 showed the highest calcium and phosphorus contents in whole crayfish and phosphorus content in abdominal muscle, and calcium and inorganic phosphorus content in serum, which were significantly higher than those in NC. P3 showed significantly lowest serum alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase activities, malondialdehyde content in hepatopancreas, and highest catalase activity, which were significantly lower and higher, respectively, than those in NC and PC. In summary, the addition of 0.2-0.4 g kg -1 phytase significantly improves the growth performance, feed utilization, digestive enzyme activity, and antioxidant of P. clarkii, which has a similar effect to the direct addition of NaH 2 PO 4 at 15 g kg -1 to the feed., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Opsin3 (OPN3) is a photoreceptor membrane protein with a typical seven-alpha helical transmembrane structure that belongs to the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily and is widely expressed in brain. In recent years, it has been reported that OPN3 is also highly expressed in adipose tissue, and the protein is associated with the production of skin melanin. We found that the N82 site is the glycosylation site of OPN3. SNAP-tag TM has diverse functions and can be applied to a variety of different studies. By constructing a SNAP-tagged OPN3 recombinant protein, the distribution position of SNAP-OPN3 in cells can be clearly observed by fluorescence confocal microscopy using SNAP-Surface ® 549 and SNAP-Cell ® OregonGreen ® , which provides a new method for studying the function of OPN3. It also shows that SNAP-tag does not affect the function of OPN3. Using the SNAP tag we found that OPN3 cannot be taken up to the cell membrane after glycosylation site mutation.

Abstract: In this study, data related to the total soft tissue thickness and fat layer thickness of 41 anatomical landmarks were extracted from the craniofacial computerized tomography data of 280 Chinese individuals (160 males and 120 females). The measurements were assessed according to the following factors: a. sex, b. age, and c. sex × age. Descriptive statistics and a differential analysis were carried out in each group to analyze both the total soft tissue thickness and fat layer thickness. The results showed the following. 1. The results showed that the greater the total thickness of the soft tissue, the thicker the fat layer. 2. The thicknesses of the head and face soft tissues are strongly affected by sex. The total thickness of all landmark points in the men, except for the zygomatic points, was on average greater than that in the women. In contrast to the total thickness, the fat layer, except for the point of rhinion, in the women was larger than that in the men. 3. In the comparison of the 4 age groups, most feature points did not show an evident increasing or decreasing trend with age in the total thickness of the soft tissue. However, regarding the thickness of fat, the thickness at the other points, except for the feature infraorbital fossa point, decreased with age. 4. In the analysis of the sex × age group, no statistically significant differences were found at any landmark points. This paper is significant for facial reconstruction and cosmetic surgery in the Chinese population., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.)

Background : Dysregulated migration and invasion of endometrial stromal cells is implicated in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Hypoxia functions as critical microenvironmental factor that results in promotion of endometrial stromal cells migration and invasion through up-regulation of autophagy. Paeonol functioned as a tumor suppressor in human ovarian cancer and promoted cytoprotective autophagy. However, the role of paeonol in hypoxia-induced autophagy in endometriosis remains unknown. Methods : Stromal cells were isolated from endometriotic patients by enzymatic digestion of ectopic endometrial tissues, and then characterized by immunohistochemical analysis of cytoskeleton 19 (CK19) and vimentin. Cellular morphology was evaluated under microscope. Cell viability, proliferation and apoptosis of stromal cells were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8, EdU labeling and flow cytometry, respectively. Wound healing and transwell assays were performed to detect metastasis of the stromal cells. Hypoxia-induced autophagy was evaluated through immunohistochemistry and western blot. Results : Paeonol treatment dosage dependently decreased cell proliferation and metastasis of the ectopic endometrial stromal cells (ecESCs), while promoted the cell apoptosis. Hypoxia-induced autophagy in the ecESCs was repressed by paeonol through down-regulation of LC3-II/LC3-I and Beclin-1, while up-regulation of p62. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was reduced post paeonol treatment, and paeonol-induced increase of p62 and decrease of LC3-II/LC3-I and Beclin-1 were reversed by over-expression of HIF-1α. Over-expression of HIF-1α also attenuated the suppressive effect of paeonol on cell growth of ecESCs. Conclusions : Paeonol attenuated HIF-1α-induced promotion of ecESCs migration and invasion through reducing autophagy, and reduced HIF-1α-induced endometriotic lesion in rats, providing potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of endometriosis., (© 2021 The Author(s). Published by BRI.)

Exploring highly active non-noble metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts and understanding the mechanism are very essential for future energy conversion and storage devices. Herein, we provide a novel method to produce FeP nanoparticles and single atom Fe co-doped porous hollow carbon hybrids (FeP@SA-Fe/HC) from iron metal-organic framework (NH 2 -MIL(Fe)), phytic acid and melamine. Interestingly, thanks for the co-existence of the atomic Fe and FeP nanoparticles, porous hollow microstructure, and heteroatom doping, the obtained FeP@SA-Fe/HC-900 hybrid shows very high ORR activity with a more positive half-wave potential of 0.843 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) in 0.10 M KOH, comparing with the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C catalyst (0.807 V). Our methodology puts forwards a new sight to enhance the electrochemical catalytic performance of carbon composite materials through the synergistic effect of the atomic-metal and metal nanoparticles., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is an extremely important reaction in many renewable energy-related devices. The sluggish kinetics of the ORR limits the development of many fuel cells. Design and synthesis of highly efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts are of vital importance for electrochemical reduction of oxygen. Herein, we develop a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 )-derived bamboo-like carbon nanotubes/carbon-wrapped Co nanoparticles (BCNT/Co) electrocatalyst by a simple high-temperature pyrolysis and acid-leaching method. The catalytic performance of the as-designed electrocatalyst toward ORR outperforms the commercial Pt/C catalyst in alkaline solution. The onset potential of nonprecious BCNT/Co-800 catalyst was 1.12 V. The half-wave potential was 0.881 V. The result was superior to that of commercial Pt/C (0.827 V vs RHE). The Co nanoparticles, bamboo-like carbon nanotubes, defects, and Co-N x active sites all result in the remarkable ORR activity, stability, and great methanol tolerance.

The combination of the molecular imprinting technology and porous materials is a promising way to obtain high-efficient selective adsorption and separation materials for bioactive macromolecules. In this work, we developed a novel approach to prepare near-infrared (NIR)-light-response inverse-opal lysozyme (Lyz)-imprinted polydopamine/polypyrrole (IO-PDA/PPy-MIP) composite microspheres using micron-sized SiO 2 colloidal crystal microspheres as the sacrificed template. The pore size of the IO-PDA/PPy-MIP microspheres can be tuned from 200 to 800 nm by the size of silica nanoparticles which self-assemble to form the template SiO 2 colloidal crystal microspheres. The IO-PDA/PPy-MIP microspheres show a rapid selective adsorption ability for Lyz due to the inverse-opal macroporous structure. The adsorption capacity exceeds 800 mg/g within 20 min, and the imprinting factor is as high as 24. The bound Lyz molecules can be released rapidly from IO-PDA/PPy-MIP microspheres triggered by the irradiation of NIR laser and remain enough bioactivity to decompose Escherichia coli efficiently. The prepared IO-PDA/PPy-MIP microspheres also exhibit excellent structure stability and good recyclability. The adsorption capacity can remain up to 90% of the initial value after 5 times recycle. This work provides not only a method to prepare novel NIR-light-response inverse-opal macroporous molecularly imprinted microspheres, but also a new perspective on the design of selectively separation materials for the fast, high-efficient recognition and separation of biomacromolecules., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This report presents a simple method to produce an ultrasmall-Fe7C3/N-doped porous carbon hybrid (u-Fe7C3@NC) as an excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst. A zinc-air battery assembled with u-Fe7C3@NC performs at a higher open potential (1.486 V) and at a lower discharge overpotential compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Despite its very high capacity (4200 mAh g -1 ), the widespread application of the silicon anode is still hampered by severe volume changes (up to 300%) during cycling, which results in electrical contact loss and thus dramatic capacity fading with poor cycle life. To address this challenge, 3D advanced Mxene/Si-based superstructures including MXene matrix, silicon, SiO x layer, and nitrogen-doped carbon (MXene/Si@SiO x @C) in a layer-by-layer manner were rationally designed and fabricated for boosting lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The MXene/Si@SiO x @C anode takes the advantages of high Li + ion capacity offered by Si, mechanical stability by the synergistic effect of SiO x , MXene, and N-doped carbon coating, and excellent structural stability by forming a strong Ti-N bond among the layers. Such an interesting superstructure boosts the lithium storage performance (390 mAh g -1 with 99.9% Coulombic efficiency and 76.4% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 10 C) and effectively suppresses electrode swelling only to 12% with no noticeable fracture or pulverization after long-term cycling. Furthermore, a soft package full LIB with MXene/Si@SiO x @C anode and Li[Ni 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 ]O 2 (NCM622) cathode was demonstrated, which delivers a stable capacity of 171 mAh g -1 at 0.2 C, a promising energy density of 485 Wh kg -1 based on positive active material, as well as good cycling stability for 200 cycles even after bending. The present MXene/Si@SiO x @C becomes among the best Si-based anode materials for LIBs.

The design of high-efficient and durable bi-functional oxygen electrocatalysts is still a great challenge. In this work, novel Co 9 S 8 nanoparticles/N,S-codoped defect-rich carbon nanotubes (Co 9 S 8 /N,S-CNTs) were fabricated by an ingenious template method. CdS nanowires, as a sacrificial template, can be removed simultaneously during the carbonization process without additional post-treatments. The large BET surface area (661.2 m 2 g -1 ) and pore volume (1.49 cm 3 g -1 ) of Co 9 S 8 /N,S-CNTs could largely enhance the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activities by facilitating the mass transportation and exposing more active sites. The abundant defects produced by the evaporation of Cd and S doping could provide more active sites for ORR and OER. Coupling with Co 9 S 8 , Co 9 S 8 /N,S-CNTs possesses more defects in the carbon skeleton, better electron conductivity, and larger effective electrochemical area. Co 9 S 8 /N,S-CNTs not only performs excellent ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.821 V but also owns RuO 2 -like OER activity in alkaline solution. The potential difference (ΔE) between ORR and OER is as low as 0.78 V in 0.10 M KOH. The excellent bi-functional performance enables the potential to be utilized in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

Inspired by natural photosynthesis, the design of new Z-scheme photocatalytic systems is very promising for boosting the photocatalytic performance of H 2 production and CO 2 reduction; however, until now, the direct synthesis of efficient Z-scheme photocatalysts remains a grand challenge. Herein, it is demonstrated that an interesting Z-scheme photocatalyst can be constructed by coupling In 2 O 3 and ZnIn 2 Se 4 semiconductors based on theoretical calculations. Experimentally, a class of ultrathin In 2 O 3 -ZnIn 2 Se 4 (denoted as In 2 O 3 -ZISe) spontaneous Z-scheme nanosheet photocatalysts for greatly enhancing photocatalytic H 2 production is made. Furthermore, Mo atoms are incorporated in the Z-scheme In 2 O 3 -ZISe nanosheet photocatalyst by forming the MoSe bond, confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in which the formed MoSe 2 works as cocatalyst of the Z-scheme photocatalyst. As a consequence, such a unique structure of In 2 O 3 -ZISe-Mo makes it exhibit 21.7 and 232.6 times higher photocatalytic H 2 evolution activity than those of In 2 O 3 -ZnIn 2 Se 4 and In 2 O 3 nanosheets, respectively. Moreover, In 2 O 3 -ZISe-Mo is also very stable for photocatalytic H 2 production by showing almost no activity decay for 16 h test. Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra, photoluminescence spectroscopy, transient photocurrent spectra, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveal that the enhanced photocatalytic performance of In 2 O 3 -ZISe-Mo is mainly attributed to its widened photoresponse range and effective carrier separation because of its special structure., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases 6 (PARP6) is a novel member of the PARP family. Previous studies focused mostly on the role of PARP6 in colorectal cancer; however, the role of PARP6 in gastric cancer is currently unclear. In the present study, we found a high-level expression of PARP6 in gastric cancer cells and PARP6 promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Moreover, we found a positive correlation exists between PARP6 and Survivin, which contributes to tumor ongoing survival. In sum, our data suggest that PARP6 may contribute to gastric cancer progression by activating the Survivin pathway., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2018.)

A microdevice made of glass for genetic analysis has been fabricated, for the first time, for integration of extraction of nucleic acids and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), followed by online fluorescence detection of amplification products on a single chip. The nucleic acid (NA) extraction region consists of a microfabricated serpentine channel in which micropillars were etched to increase the channel surface area and the capture efficiency of NAs. Nucleic acid molecules were bound to these pillars and channel surface in the presence of the chaotropic salt guanidine hydrochloride and eluted into a downstream amplification chamber with low ionic strength buffer where loop-mediated isothermal amplification was efficiently performed. Amplification can be detected online by the increase of fluorescence intensity at 540 nm when a low concentration of SYBR Green I, a fluorescent dsDNA intercalating dye, is employed. Flow control was accomplished by using laminar flow and differential channel flow resistances. Through passivation of the LAMP chamber and the channel between the extraction region and amplification domain, effective nucleic acid extraction and amplification were performed by just using a double-channel syringe pump and a heating block. By using this integrated microdevice, the purification of nucleic acids from complex biological matrixes and their subsequent amplification and detection online could be finished within 2 h.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages are pivotal in innate immunity. With LPS treatment, extracellular signals are transduced into macrophages via Toll-like receptor 4 and induce inflammatory mediator production by activating signaling pathways, including the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. However, the mechanisms by which the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) increases and protein kinase C (PKC) is activated remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated the signaling pathway for Ca2+- and PKC-dependent NF-kappaB activation, inducible nitric-oxide synthase expression, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) production in LPS-stimulated rat peritoneal macrophages. The results demonstrated that the LPS-induced transient [Ca2+]i increase is due to Ca2+ release and influx. Extracellular and intracellular Ca2+ chelators inhibited phosphorylation of PKCalpha and PKCbeta. A PKCbeta-specific and a general PKC inhibitor blunted phosphorylation of serine in mitogen-activated/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase (MEKK) 1. Moreover, a MEKK inhibitor reduced activation of inhibitorykappaB kinase and NF-kappaB. Upstream of the [Ca2+]i increase, a protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor reduced phosphorylation of phospholipase C (PLC) gamma. Furthermore, a PLC inhibitor eliminated the transient [Ca2+]i increase and decreased the amount of activated PKC. Therefore, these results revealed the following roles of Ca2+ and PKC in the signaling pathway for NF-kappaB activation in LPS-stimulated macrophages. After LPS treatment, protein-tyrosine kinase mediates PLCgamma1/2 phosphorylation, which is followed by a [Ca2+]i increase. Several PKCs are activated, and PKCbeta regulates phosphorylation of serine in MEKK1. Moreover, MEKKs regulate inhibitory kappaB kinase activation. Sequentially, NF-kappaB is activated, and inducible nitric-oxide synthase and tumor necrosis factor-alpha production is promoted.