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Supplementary Figure S2 from Delivery of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Small Interfering RNA in Complex with Positively Charged Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Suppresses Tumor Growth

Purpose: To determine whether -CONH-(CH2)6-NH3+Cl− functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) carrying complexed small interfering RNA (siRNA) can enter into tumor cells, wherein they release the siRNA to silence the targeted gene.Experimental Design: -CONH-(CH2)6-NH3+Cl− was used to mediate the conjugation of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) siRNA to SWNTs. The ability of TERT siRNA delivered via SWNT complexes to silence the expression of TERT was assessed by their effects on the proliferation and growth of tumor cells both in vitro and in mouse models.Results: The functionalized SWNTs -CONH-(CH2)6-NH3+Cl− could facilitate the coupling of siRNAs that specifically target murine TERT expression to form the mTERT siRNA:SWNT+ complex. These functionalized SWNTs rapidly entered three cultured murine tumor cell lines, suppressed mTERT expression, and produced growth arrest. Injection of mTERT siRNA:SWNT+ complexes into s.c. Lewis lung tumors reduced tumor growth. Furthermore, human TERT siRNA:SWNT+ complexes also suppressed the growth of human HeLa cells both in vitro and when injected into tumors in nude mice.Conclusions: -CONH-(CH2)6-NH3+Cl− functionalized SWNTs carry complexed siRNA into tumor cells, wherein they release the siRNA from the nanotube sidewalls to silence the targeted gene. The -CONH-(CH2)6-NH3+Cl− functionalized SWNTs may represent a new class of molecular transporters applicable for siRNA therapeutics.

Supplementary Figure Legends from Delivery of Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Small Interfering RNA in Complex with Positively Charged Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Suppresses Tumor Growth

Optical communication is a particularly compelling technology to tackle the speed and capacity bottlenecks in data communication in modern society. Currently, silicon photodetector plays a dominant role in the high-speed optical communication across the visible-near infrared spectrum. However, its intrinsic rigid structure, high working bias, and low responsivity largely limit its applications in the next-generation flexible optoelectronic devices. Herein, we report a solution-processed flexible organic photodetector (OPD) based on a narrow-bandgap nonfullerene acceptors, which exhibits a remarkable response time of 91 ns and peaking responsivity of 0.53 A W-1 (λ = 830 nm) at zero bias, exceeding the values obtained in the state-of-the-art high-speed commercial Si photodetector (326 ns; 0.26 A W-1). This exceptional performance benefits from the low parasitic capacitance and high charge mobility due to low trap states and energetic disorder in the organic photoactive film. More significantly, the flexible OPD exhibits negligible performance attenuation (

Efficient separation of harmful contaminants (e.g., per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFASs) from valuable components (water and nutrients) is essential to the resource recovery from domestic wastewater for agricultural purposes. Such selective recovery requires precise separation at the angstrom scale. Although nanofiltration (NF) has the potential to achieve solute-solute separation, the state-of-the-art polyamide (PA) membranes are typically constrained by limited precision of solute-solute selectivity and their well-documented permeability-selectivity trade-off. Herein, we present a novel capillary-assisted interfacial polymerization (CAIP) approach to generate metal-organic framework (MOF)-PA nanocomposite membranes with reduced surface charges and more uniform pore sizes that favor solute selectivity by enhanced size exclusion. By uniquely regulating the PA-MOF interactions using the capillary force, CAIP results in effective exposure of MOF nanochannels on the membrane surface and a PA matrix with a high cross-linking gradient in the vertical direction, both of which contribute to an exceptional water permeance of ∼18.7 LMH/bar and an unprecedentedly high selectivity between nutrient ions and PFASs. Our CAIP approach breaks new ground for utilizing nanoparticles with nanochannels in fabricating the next-generation, fit-for-purpose NF membranes for improved solute-solute separations.

Power generation through harvesting human thermal energy provides an ideal strategy for self-powered wearable design. However, existing thermoelectric fibers, films, and blocks have small power generation capacity and poor flexibility, which hinders the development of self-powered wearable electronics. Here, we report a multifunctional superelastic graphene-based thermoelectric (TE) sponge for wearable electronics and thermal management. The sponge has a high Seebeck coefficient of 49.2 μV/K and a large compressive strain of 98%. After 10 000 cyclic compressions at 30% strain, the sponge shows excellent mechanical and TE stability. A wearable sponge array TE device was designed to drive medical equipment for monitoring physiological signals by harvesting human thermal energy. Furthermore, a 4 × 4 array TE device placed on the surface of a normal working Central Processing Unit (CPU) can generate a stable voltage and reduce the CPU temperature by 8 K, providing a feasible strategy for simultaneous power generation and thermal management.

A lab-scale experiment was conducted to assess effects of the membrane-covered technology and superphosphate on the compost quality and emissions of nitrogen-containing gases during aerobic composting. The results showed that the membrane-covered technology increased the temperature of the compost pile and accelerated degradation of organic matter. The membrane-covered (T1) sample attained a germination index (GI) of 50% and 80%, approximately 2 and 9 d earlier, respectively, relative to the control (CK) sample. However, the application of superphosphate might have an adverse effect on the GI value. The NH3 and N2O emissions during the aerobic composting were decreased by 25.8% and 13.1%, respectively, for the T1 sample compared to the CK sample, while these were reduced correspondingly by 21.3% and 27.2% for the superphosphate addition (T2) sample. Compared with the superphosphate addition, the membrane-covered approach reduced the NH3 emission but not the N2O emission. Thus, the membrane-covered aerobic composting is a potential technology for the adequate utilization of organic waste as a resource.

Hereditary haemochromatosis (HH) is the most common inherited disorder of systemic iron excess in Northern Europeans. Emerging evidence indicates that brain iron overload occurs in HH. Despite this observation, there is a paucity of literature regarding central neurological manifestations, in particular movement disorders, in HH. The current study documents deep gray matter (DGM) nuclei iron deposition, movement disorders, and clinicoradiological correlations in HH without liver failure.This is a cross-sectional study. Consecutive subjects with HFE-haemochromatosis without liver disease were recruited from an outpatient gastroenterology clinic. Age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Iron content in individual DGM nuclei was measured as mean susceptibility on magnetic resonance imaging using quantitative susceptibility mapping-based regions of interest analysis. Occurrence and phenotype of movement disorders were documented and correlated with patterns of DGM nuclei iron deposition in subjects with HH.Fifty-two subjects with HH and 47 HCs were recruited. High magnetic susceptibility was demonstrated in several DGM nuclei in all HH subjects compared to HCs. Thirty-five subjects with HH had movement disorders. Magnetic susceptibility in specific DGM nuclei correlated with individual movement disorder phenotypes. Serum ferritin, phlebotomy frequency, and duration were poor predictors of brain iron deposition.Abnormal brain iron deposition can be demonstrated on imaging in all subjects with HH without liver failure. A significant proportion of these subjects manifest movement disorders. Peripheral iron measurements appear not to correlate with brain iron deposition. Therefore, routine neurological examination and quantitative brain iron imaging are recommended in all subjects with HH.

Vegetable waste was aerobically composed using a trough-type system, and the resulting emitted volatile organic compounds were investigated. In addition, the succession pattern of microorganisms was analyzed. Aerobic fermentation was conducted using a tomato stalk-cow dung mix (a water content of 65% and a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 25:1). The emitted volatile organic compounds comprised of 58 kinds of compounds, including 2 sulfur-containing compounds, 3 alcohols, 3 esters, 3 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 6 halogenated hydrocarbons, 18 aromatic hydrocarbons, 17 alkanes, and 3 alkenes. The primary volatile organic compounds produced were methyl sulfide, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and acetaldehyde. Clustering and principal coordinate analysis suggested that the community succession changed throughout the composting process in the odor-producing habitat. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the bacterial community was comprised of Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, whereas the dominant flora included Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota. These findings could aid in the mitigation of volatile organic compounds and odors during vegetable waste composting as well as contribute to the development of deodorizing bacteria.

A combination of semipermeable membrane-covered composting systems and greenhouses was used to investigate the effects of different insulation systems on the aerobic fermentation of mixed raw materials and changes in the characteristics of fermentation feedstock. The combination of semipermeable membrane-covered and greenhouse systems increased the peak temperature by 6.53 °C, the average fermentation temperature by 28.2%, and extended the duration of the effective high-temperature stage of fermentation (temperature ≥ 50 °C) by 14 days. The decomposition percentage of solid organic matter in the enhanced group was 11.8% higher than that in the normal group, and the fermentation cycle was shortened by 5 days. The duplication provided by using both the semipermeable membrane-covered and greenhouse systems was conducive to the harmless treatment of raw materials, promoted the maturity and efficiency of composting, and reduced the content of biologically toxic substances. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the efficiency of aerobic fermentation and the safe treatment of solid waste.

The global pollution of micro- and nano-plastics (MNPs) calls for monitoring methods. As diverse mixtures of various sizes, morphologies, and chemical compositions in the environment, MNPs are currently quantified based on mass or number concentrations. Here, we show total organic carbon (TOC) as an index for quantifying the pollution of total MNPs in environmental waters. Two parallel water samples are respectively filtered with a carbon-free glass fiber membrane. Then, one membrane with the collected particulate substances is treated by potassium peroxodisulfate oxidation and Fenton digestion in sequence for quantifying the sum of MNPs and particulate black carbon (PBC) as TOC

Three acceptor–donor–acceptor type fused-ring non-fullerene acceptors of FOR-IN, FOR-1F and FOR-2F, were synthesized with the same pyran-composed backbone but different terminals, affording over 15% efficiency in organic solar cells.

A low band gap acceptor F-ThBr is designed for the front cell and CH1007 is selected for the rear cell. Using the two acceptors, a tandem OSC is fabricated and offers an efficiency of 18.67%.

A series of acceptor–donor–acceptor type non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), FCn-2Cl, with gradient substitution lengths of side chains (SCs) on molecular backbones, have been designed and synthesized for all-small-molecule organic solar cells (ASM-OSCs).

The environmental occurrence of PFAS in different water systems and their likely sources and fate is discussed.

It is a great challenge to simultaneously improve the short-circuit current density (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) of organic solar cells (OSCs) owing to the trade-off effect between the two photovoltaic parameters. Delicate chemical structure modulation of the active layer materials is always one of the effective strategies to address this issue. In this work, following a simple and efficient strategy through fine-tuning the molecular configuration in combination with the side chain modulation to address the issue, three non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), 5T-2C8-IN, 5T-2C8-Cl and 5T-2C8-2Cl with a five-thiophene (5T) fused asymmetric molecular backbone and octyl side chains at the terminal position of the molecular backbone, have been designed and synthesized. Among them, the 5T-2C8-2Cl based photovoltaic device showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.02% with a simultaneously improved Voc of 0.802 V and a Jsc of 24.97 mA cm−2 compared with the device of the control acceptor 6T-2C8-2Cl with a PCE of 12.43%, a Voc of 0.785 V and a Jsc of 24.40 mA cm−2.

An asymmetric acceptor NQF is designed to minimize the nonradiative loss. Using this acceptor, a binary OSC is fabricated and offers an efficiency of 17.57% with a low nonradiative energy loss (ΔEnr) of 0.177 eV.

Suppressing intramolecular vibration of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) by molecular rigidification has been proven to be an effective way to reduce the non-radiative recombination loss and energetic disorder of organic solar cells (OSCs). Thus far, extensive attention has been drawn on rigidifying the fused-ring backbones of NFAs, whereas the highly flexible alkyl side chains are barely concerned. Herein, an effective strategy of side chain rigidification by introducing a spiro-ring is developed for the first time and applied to construct the NFA of Spiro-F. Compared to its counterpart F-2F, the rigid spirocyclic side chain can constrain the vibrational-rotational motion and control the orientation of two highly flexible

Six dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]pyrrole (DTP)-based asymmetric non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) were designed and synthesized to investigate the effects of DTP linked by gradient alkyl chains on the performance of organic solar cells.

Three isomeric acceptors FOM-1, FOM-2 and FOM-3 incorporating the fluorene center are designed and synthesized.

MnxCo1−xOδ/3DOM-m Ti0.7Si0.2W0.1Oy catalysts exhibited good catalytic performance for the simultaneous removal of soot and NOx.

A new synthetic route to realize efficient screening of aryl side chains on the Y6 skeleton was reported, and then three acceptors with different side chains were synthesized. Among them, the BTP-OC6-based device exhibits the best PCE and stability.

The widespread availability of nano-enabled products in the global market may lead to the release of a substantial amount of engineered nanoparticles in the environment, which frequently display drastically different physiochemical properties than their bulk counterparts. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of citrate-stabilised silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana at three levels, physiological phytotoxicity, cellular accumulation and subcellular transport of AgNPs. The monodisperse AgNPs of three different sizes (20, 40 and 80 nm) aggregated into much larger sizes after mixing with quarter-strength Hoagland solution and became polydisperse. Immersion in AgNP suspension inhibited seedling root elongation and demonstrated a linear dose–response relationship within the tested concentration range. The phytotoxic effect of AgNPs could not be fully explained by the released silver ions. Plants exposed to AgNP suspensions bioaccumulated higher silver content than plants exposed to AgNO3 solutions (Ag+ representative), indicating AgNP uptake by plants. AgNP toxicity was size and concentration dependent. AgNPs accumulated progressively in this sequence: border cells, root cap, columella and columella initials. AgNPs were apoplastically transported in the cell wall and found aggregated at plasmodesmata. In all the three levels studied, AgNP impacts differed from equivalent dosages of AgNO3.

Polymeric membrane design is a multidimensional process involving selection of membrane materials and optimization of fabrication conditions from an infinite candidate space. It is impossible to explore the entire space by trial-and-error experimentation. Here, we present a membrane design strategy utilizing machine learning-based Bayesian optimization to precisely identify the optimal combinations of unexplored monomers and their fabrication conditions from an infinite space. We developed ML models to accurately predict water permeability and salt rejection from membrane monomer types (represented by the Morgan fingerprint) and fabrication conditions. We applied Bayesian optimization on the built ML model to inversely identify sets of monomer/fabrication condition combinations with the potential to break the upper bound for water/salt selectivity and permeability. We fabricated eight membranes under the identified combinations and found that they exceeded the present upper bound. Our findings demonstrate that ML-based Bayesian optimization represents a paradigm shift for next-generation separation membrane design.

Diesel engines have been widely applied, while the pollutants emitted from diesel engines have caused serious environmental pollution and human health hazards, especially for soot and NOx. Nowadays...

Inefficiencies and imprecise input control in agriculture have caused devastating consequences to ecosystems. Urban controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is a proposed approach to mitigate the i...