Multifunctional thermal management materials with highly efficient electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance are urgently required to tackle the heat dissipation and electromagnetic ...interference issues of high integrated electronics. However, the high thermal conductivity (λ) and outstanding EMW absorption performance are often incompatible with each other in a single material. Herein, a through‐thickness arrayed NiCo2O4/graphene oxide/carbon fibers (NiCO@CFs) elastomer with integrated functionalities of high thermal conductivity, highly efficient EMW absorption, and excellent compressibility is reported. The NiCO@CFs elastomer realizes a high out‐of‐plane thermal conductivity of 15.55 W m−1 K−1, due to the through‐thickness vertically aligned CFs framework. Moreover, the unique horizontal segregated magnetic network effectively reduces the electrical contact between the CFs, which significantly enhances impedance matching of NiCO@CFs elastomer. As a result, the vertically arrayed NiCO@CFs elastomer synchronously exhibits ultrabroad effective absorption bandwidth of 8.25 GHz (9.75–18 GHz) at a thickness of 2.4 mm, good impedance matching, and a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) of −55.15 dB. Given these outstanding findings, the multifunctional arrayed NiCO@CFs elastomer opens an avenue for applications in EMW absorption and thermal management. This strategy of constructing thermal/electrical/mechanical pathways provides a promising way for the high‐performance multifunctional materials in electronic devices.
A novel strategy of constructing a through‐thickness array pathway segregated by horizontal magnetic network is proposed to reconcile the conflict between high thermal conductivity and high electromagnetic wave absorption performance within one material. Such an original strategy avoids trade‐off between the functional components and maximizing the performance of multifunctions.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are key signalling pathways that regulate a wide variety of cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and stress ...responses. The MAPK pathway includes three main kinases, MAPK kinase kinase, MAPK kinase and MAPK, which activate and phosphorylate downstream proteins. The extracellular signal-regulated kinases ERK1 and ERK2 are evolutionarily conserved, ubiquitous serine-threonine kinases that regulate cellular signalling under both normal and pathological conditions. ERK expression is critical for development and their hyperactivation plays a major role in cancer development and progression. The Ras/Raf/MAPK (MEK)/ERK pathway is the most important signalling cascade among all MAPK signal transduction pathways, and plays a crucial role in the survival and development of tumour cells. The present review discusses recent studies on Ras and ERK pathway members. With respect to processes downstream of ERK activation, the role of ERK in tumour proliferation, invasion and metastasis is highlighted, and the role of the ERK/MAPK signalling pathway in tumour extracellular matrix degradation and tumour angiogenesis is emphasised.
The rapid development of electronic equipment and the sharp increase in the demand for wireless communication have resulted in a substantial increase in electromagnetic pollution. Consequently, ...electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials have been developed to solve the grim problem of electromagnetic pollution. However, 5G communication technology and modern electronic products demand shielding materials with higher requirements in terms of EMI shielding performance, weight, flexibility, and reliability. This review focuses on the recent research progress in the structural design, characterization, and properties of various EMI shielding materials including metal type, carbon type, and MXene type. The basic theory of EMI shielding is introduced in detail and the current testing technologies for EMI shielding effectiveness are summarized, which can help elucidate the structural design principles for shielding materials. The effect of different types of carbon materials, which are classified as zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional, on the shielding performance, and the corresponding shielding mechanism are discussed. Moreover, near-field shielding and its application in the field of electronic packaging are introduced. Based on our comprehensive analysis, we present the main challenges and outlook of EMI shielding materials in future research.
Novel structure design and shielding mechanism of various shielding materials are critically reviewed. Measurement methods of far-field and near-field shielding are presented. Challenges and future perspectives for shielding materials are discussed.
Multigene panel testing of breast cancer predisposition genes have been extensively conducted in Europe and America, which is relatively rare in Asia however. In this study, we assessed the frequency ...of germline mutations in 40 cancer predisposition genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2, among a large cohort of Chinese patients with high hereditary risk of BC. From 2015 to 2016, consecutive BC patients from 26 centers of China with high hereditary risk were recruited (n = 937). Clinical information was collected and next‐generation sequencing (NGS) was performed using blood samples of participants to identify germline mutations. In total, we acquired 223 patients with putative germline mutations, including 159 in BRCA1/2, 61 in 15 other BC susceptibility genes and 3 in both BRCA1/2 and non‐BRCA1/2 gene. Major mutant non‐BRCA1/2 genes were TP53 (n = 18), PALB2 (n = 11), CHEK2 (n = 6), ATM (n = 6) and BARD1 (n = 5). No factors predicted pathologic mutations in non‐BRCA1/2 genes when treated as a whole. TP53 mutations were associated with HER‐2 positive BC and younger age at diagnosis; and CHEK2 and PALB2 mutations were enriched in patients with luminal BC. Among high hereditary risk Chinese BC patients, 23.8% contained germline mutations, including 6.8% in non‐BRCA1/2 genes. TP53 and PALB2 had a relatively high mutation rate (1.9 and 1.2%). Although no factors predicted for detrimental mutations in non‐BRCA1/2 genes, some clinical features were associated with mutations of several particular genes.
What's new?
The prevalence of mutations in breast cancer predisposition genesare not well investigated in Asia. We assessed germline mutations of 40 cancer susceptibility genes in 937 consecutive selected breast cancer patients from 26 centers of China, and discovered 23.8% of participates carried the pathogenic mutation, including 6.8% with mutations in non‐BRCA1/2 genes, while TP53 and PALB2 had a relatively high mutation rates (1.9% and 1.2%).There was no factors predicted for detrimental mutations in non‐BRCA1/2 genes when treated as a whole.
Spermatogenesis in mammals is characterized by two waves of piRNA expression： one corresponds to classic piR- NAs responsible for silencing retrotransponsons and the second wave is predominantly ...derived from nontransposon intergenic regions in pachytene spermatocytes, but the function of these pachytene piRNAs is largely unknown. Here, we report the involvement of pachytene piRNAs in instructing massive mRNA elimination in mouse elongating spermatids （ES）. We demonstrate that a piRNA-induced silencing complex （pi-RISC） containing murine PIWI （MIWI） and deadenylase CAF1 is selectively assembled in ES, which is responsible for inducing mRNA deadenylation and decay via a mechanism that resembles the action of miRNAs in somatic cells. Such a highly orchestrated program appears to take full advantage of the enormous repertoire of diversified targeting capacity of pachytene piRNAs de rived from nontransposon intergenic regions. These findings suggest that pachytene piRNAs are responsible for inactivating vast cellular programs in preparation for sperm production from ES.
Berberine is an important traditional medicinal herb, which has been effectively used in the treatment of dysentery, diarrhea, stomatitis, throat infections, and hepatitis in folk medicine. In this ...study, the interaction between Berberine and human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and UV−vis absorbance spectroscopy. In the mechanism discussion, it was proved that the fluorescence quenching of HSA by berberine is a result of the formation of berberine−HSA complex. Fluorescence quenching constants were determined using the Stern−Volmer equation and Scatchard equation to provide a measure of the binding affinity between berberine and HSA. The results of thermodynamic parameters ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS at different temperatures indicate that the electrostatic interactions play a major role for berberine−HSA association. Site marker competitive experiments indicated that the binding of berberine to HSA primarily took place in subdomain IIA. Furthermore, the distance r between donor (Trp-214) and acceptor (berberine) was obtained according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET).
Abstract
Aims
Interleukin (IL)-5 mediates the development of eosinophils (EOS) that are essential for tissue post-injury repair. It remains unknown whether IL-5 plays a role in heart repair after ...myocardial infarction (MI). This study aims to test whether IL-5-induced EOS population promotes the healing and repair process post-MI and to reveal the underlying mechanisms.
Methods and results
MI was induced by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed elevated expression of IL-5 in the heart at 5 days post-MI. Immunohistostaining indicated that IL-5 was secreted mainly from macrophages and CD127+ cells in the setting of experimental MI. External supply of recombinant mouse IL-5 (20 min, 1 day, and 2 days after MI surgery) reduced the infarct size and increased ejection fraction and angiogenesis in the border zone. A significant expansion of EOS was detected in both the peripheral blood and infarcted myocardium after IL-5 administration. Pharmacological depletion of EOS by TRFK5 pretreatment muted the beneficial effects of IL-5 in MI mice. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that IL-5 increased the accumulation of CD206+ macrophages in infarcted myocardium at 7 days post-MI. In vitro co-culture experiments showed that EOS shifted bone marrow-derived macrophage polarization towards the CD206+ phenotypes. This activity of EOS was abolished by IL-4 neutralizing antibody, but not IL-10 or IL-13 neutralization. Western blot analyses demonstrated that EOS promoted the macrophage downstream signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) phosphorylation.
Conclusion
IL-5 facilitates the recovery of cardiac dysfunction post-MI by promoting EOS accumulation and subsequent CD206+ macrophage polarization via the IL-4/STAT6 axis.
Background and Purpose
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem and one of the leading causes of all‐cause mortality. However, the pathogenic mechanisms and intervention methods ...for CKD progression are not fully understood.
Experimental Approach
Plasma from patients with uraemia and from healthy controls (n = 30 per group) was analysed with LC‐MS/MS‐based non‐targeted metabolomics to identify potential markers of uraemia. These potential markers were validated in the same cohort and a second cohort (n = 195) by quantitative analysis of the markers, using LC‐MS/MS. The most promising marker was identified by correlation analysis and further validated using HK‐2 cells and mouse models.
Key Results
Trimethylamine N‐oxide (TMAO) was identified as a promising marker among the 18 potential markers found in the first cohort, and it was optimally correlated with renal function of CKD patients in the second cohort. Treatment of HK‐2 cells with TMAO decreased cell viability and up‐regulated expression of α‐smooth muscle actin. In mice, a TMAO‐containing diet decreased kidney mass and increased protein expression of α‐smooth muscle actin. Also, control of TMAO production by inhibiting its biosynthetic pathway with 3,3‐dimethyl‐1‐butanol or disrupting gut microbiota function with an antibiotic cocktail, attenuated renal injury in a murine model of CKD.
Conclusion and Implications
Our data show that decreased TMAO production could be a new strategy to attenuate the progression of renal injury in CKD.
Berberine (BH) is an important traditional medicinal herb endowed with diverse pharmacological and biological activities. In this work, the binding characteristics and molecular mechanism of the ...interaction between the BH and herring sperm DNA were explored by UV–vis absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy. In the mechanism discussion, fluorescence quenching, absorption spectra, competition experiment, and iodide quenching experiment studies hinted at an intercalative mode of binding for BH to DNA. Fluorescence studies revealed the binding constant (K) of BH–DNA was ∼104 L·mol–1. The effects of temperature, chemical denaturants, thermal denaturation, and pH were studied to show the factors of the interaction and provided further support for the intercalative binding mode. The results of thermodynamic parameters ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS at different temperatures indicated that the hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions played major roles in the reaction, and the effect of ionic strength indicated that electrostatic attraction between the BH and DNA was also a component of the interaction.
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