FUSCA3 (FUS3) is a B3 domain transcription factor that is a member of the LEAFY COTYLEDON (LEC) group of genes. The LEC genes encode proteins that also include LEC2, a B3 domain factor related to ...FUS3, and LEC1, a CCA AT box-binding factor. LEC1, LEC2, and FUS3 are essential for plant embryo development. All three loss-of-function mutants in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) prematurely exit embryogenesis and enter seedling developmental programs. When ectopically expressed, these genes promote embryo programs in seedlings. We report on chromatin immunoprecipitation-tiling array experiments to globally map binding sites for FUS3 that, along with other published work to assess transcriptomes in response to FUS3, allow us to determine direct from indirect targets. Many transcription factors associated with embryogenesis are direct targets of FUS3, as are genes involved in the seed maturation program. FUS3 regulates genes encoding microRNAs that, in turn, control transcripts encoding transcription factors involved in developmental phase changes. Examination of direct targets of FUS3 reveals that FUS3 acts primarily or exclusively as a transcriptional activator. Regulation of microRNA-encoding genes is one mechanism by which FUS3 may repress indirect target genes. FUS3 also directly up-regulates VP1/ABI3-LIKE1 (VAL1), encoding a B3 domain protein that functions as a repressor of transcription. VAL1, along with VAL2 and VAL3, is involved in the transition from embryo to seedling development. Many genes are responsive to FUS3 and to VAL1/VAL2 but with opposite regulatory consequences. The emerging picture is one of complex cross talk and interactions among embryo transcription factors and their target genes.
The value of Chinese culture’s external communication is used as an entry point to construct the external communication ecosystem in this paper. In order to be able to analyze the factors affecting ...communication power, the differential game in game theory is used to make the optimal decision of the communication power strategy and then construct the system of the external communication power of Chinese culture. The specific factors affecting the external communication power of Chinese culture are analyzed through multiple covariance tests, regression tests, and robustness tests. The results show that there is a significant positive correlation between Confucius Institutes (CIs) and the spread of Chinese culture to the outside world. The power of Chinese culture spreading to the outside world will increase by 0.9%-2.5% with every 10% increase in the number of CIs. For every 10% increase in the proportion of the total population using the Internet, the contribution to the spread of Chinese culture abroad is approximately 10%-15%. This shows that the foreign communication power of Chinese culture can be further enhanced by building Confucius Cloud Academy in the era of big data.
In this paper, a Fenton reagent assisted flotation process is developed to recover valuable electrode materials LiCoO2 and graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). At room temperature, ...effect of key parameters for Fenton reaction such as the ratios of H2O2/Fe2+ (40–280) and liquid-solid (25–100) are investigated to determine the most efficient conditions of surface modification of electrode materials by Fenton reagent. The modified electrode materials are separated by flotation operation to recover the cathode material and anode materials respectively. The results show that in the optimum conditions that the Fe2+/H2O2 ratio is 1:120, and the liquid-solid ratio is 75:1, most of the organic outer layer coated on the surface of electrode materials can be removed. After modified by Fenton reagent, the original wettability of LiCoO2 and graphite is regained. The −0.25 mm crushed products of spent LiBs can be separated into LiCoO2 concentrate and graphite concentrate by flotation process efficiently.
•Flotation process was applied in the recycling of LiBs.•Recovered electrode materials regained their original wettability by Fenton reaction.•The mechanism of the improvement of floatability was presented.•PVDF was oxidized and decomposed by Fenton reagent.
Owing to the growing heat removal issue of modern electronic devices, polymer composites with high thermal conductivity have drawn much attention in the past few years. However, a traditional method ...to enhance the thermal conductivity of the polymers by addition of inorganic fillers usually creates composite with not only limited thermal conductivity but also other detrimental effects due to large amount of fillers required. Here, novel polymer composites are reported by first constructing 3D boron nitride nanosheets (3D‐BNNS) network using ice‐templated approach and then infiltrating them with epoxy matrix. The obtained polymer composites exhibit a high thermal conductivity (2.85 W m−1 K−1), a low thermal expansion coefficient (24–32 ppm K−1), and an increased glass transition temperature (Tg) at relatively low BNNSs loading (9.29 vol%). These results demonstrate that this approach opens a new avenue for design and preparation of polymer composites with high thermal conductivity. The polymer composites are potentially useful in advanced electronic packaging techniques, namely, thermal interface materials, underfill materials, molding compounds, and organic substrates.
Polymer composites are fabricated by constructing 3D boron nitride nanosheet (3D‐BNNS) networks using an ice‐templated approach. The polymer composites exhibit a high thermal conductivity, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and an increased glass transition temperature at relatively low BNNS loading (9.29 vol%). This approach finds uses in the preparation of the polymer composites with high thermal conductivity.
Minimizing drug leakage in systemic circulation, synchronizing the in vivo fate of multiple drugs, and precisely controlling tumor locoregional drug release, remain challenging for nanomedicine‐based ...cancer therapy. Here, a reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐responsive camptothecin (CPT) prodrug delivery system (MPEG‐(TK‐CPT)‐PPa) is developed, in which CPT and photosensitizer pyropheophorbide‐a (PPa) are concurrently conjugated to the same poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (MPEG) via ROS‐responsive thioketal (TK) and lipid linkage. The synthesized MPEG‐(TK‐CPT)‐PPa conjugate self‐assembles to form nanoparticles (NPs) (43.6 ± 0.8 nm) in solution. The covalently conjugated prodrug prevents drug leakage during systemic circulation and synchronizes the in vivo distribution of the two drugs. The generated fluorescence signal of PPa helps precisely track and locate the NPs at tumor sites. Under the guidance of imaging, a near‐infrared laser locally irradiates tumor tissue upon reaching the strongest fluorescence. The ROS generated by PPa not only cleaves the TK linkage and then triggers locoregional, controllable and on‐demand CPT release, but also exhibits cytotoxic effects on tumor cells. Thus, CPT‐mediated chemotherapy and PPa‐induced photodynamic therapy lead to the combined and enhanced suppression of tumor growth. Accordingly, such laser‐triggered, localized, controllable, and on‐demand drug release systems may provide an alternative option for CPT formulations.
A reactive oxygen species (ROS)‐responsive camptothecin (CPT) prodrug system with the covalently conjugated CPT and pyropheophorbide‐a (PPa) is developed to reduce the toxicity and synchronize the in vivo fate of two drugs. The generated ROS by PPa under laser irradiation not only triggers on‐demand release of CPT, but also enables photodynamic therapy.
In this paper, a mechanical separation and thermal treatment process is developed to recover valuable metals and graphite from the −0.25 mm crushed products of spent lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). ...Effect of key parameters for roasting such as the temperature and roasting time are investigated to determine the most efficient conditions for surface modification of the mixed electrode materials by roasting. The roasted mixed electrode materials are separated by flotation operation to recover the cathode material and anode materials respectively. The results show that most of the organic outer layer coated on the surface of the mixed electrode materials can be removed at the temperature of 450 °C for 15 min. After roasting treatment, the original wettability of LiCoO2 and graphite is regained. The −0.25 mm crushed products of spent LiBs can be separated into LiCoO2 concentrate and graphite concentrate by flotation process efficiently. The enrichment ratios of Co, Mn, Cu and Al are 1.35, 1.29, 1.25 and 1.19, their recovery rates are 97.66%, 93.66%, 90.14% and 86.29%, respectively. This process proposed for the recovery of valuable materials is simple and of high efficient for the spent lithium-ion batteries recycling industry.
•Both anode and cathode active electrode materials were recovered by flotation.•Good flotation results based on a suitable thermal treatment.•To regain the original wettability of the electrode materials is the key step.•A novel process was proposed to recover spent LiBs, which is simple and efficient.
Incorporating mixed ion is a frequently used strategy to stabilize black-phase formamidinum lead iodide perovskite for high-efficiency solar cells. However, these devices commonly suffer from ...photoinduced phase segregation and humidity instability. Herein, we find that the underlying reason is that the mixed halide perovskites generally fail to grow into homogenous and high-crystalline film, due to the multiple pathways of crystal nucleation originating from various intermediate phases in the film-forming process. Therefore, we design a multifunctional fluorinated additive, which restrains the complicated intermediate phases and promotes orientated crystallization of α-phase of perovskite. Furthermore, the additives in-situ polymerize during the perovskite film formation and form a hydrogen-bonded network to stabilize α-phase. Remarkably, the polymerized additives endow a strongly hydrophobic effect to the bare perovskite film against liquid water for 5 min. The unencapsulated devices achieve 24.10% efficiency and maintain >95% of the initial efficiency for 1000 h under continuous sunlight soaking and for 2000 h at air ambient of ~50% humid, respectively.
Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in biology describes a process by which proteins form membraneless condensates within a cellular compartment when conditions are met, including the concentration ...and posttranslational modifications of the protein components, the condition of the aqueous solution (pH, ionic strength, pressure, and temperature), and the existence of assisting factors (such as RNAs or other proteins). In these supramolecular liquid droplet-like inclusion bodies, molecules are held together through weak intermolecular and/or intramolecular interactions. With the aid of LLPS, cells can assemble functional sub-units within a given cellular compartment by enriching or excluding specific factors, modulating cellular function, and rapidly responding to environmental or physiological cues. Hence, LLPS is emerging as an important means to regulate biology and physiology. Yet, excessive inclusion body formation by, for instance, higher-than-normal concentrations or mutant forms of the protein components could result in the conversion from dynamic liquid condensates into more rigid gel- or solid-like aggregates, leading to the disruption of the organelle's function followed by the development of human disorders like neurodegenerative diseases. In summary, well-controlled formation and de-formation of LLPS is critical for normal biology and physiology from single cells to individual organisms, whereas abnormal LLPS is involved in the pathophysiology of human diseases. In turn, targeting these aggregates or their formation represents a promising approach in treating diseases driven by abnormal LLPS including those neurodegenerative diseases that lack effective therapies.
As vital biomarkers for diagnosis of diseases, the anomalously expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) are closely linked to the occurrence and development of many diseases. Quantitative analysis of miRNAs has ...remarkable significance to clinical diagnosis and therapy of different cancers. In this study, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated (Cas) 13a (CRISPR/Cas13a) system was first exploited to directly and specifically recognize the miRNA at the guidance of CRISPR RNA (crRNA), which can activate the nonspecific trans-ribonuclease activity of Cas13a. Then, combining the CRISPR-Cas13a system with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-triggered template-free DNA extension to form the fluorescent copper nanoparticles (CuNCs), a simple but sensitive method (named as Cas13a-TFCN) was developed for highly specific detection of miRNA. Based on the CRISPR/Cas13a system coupled with TdT-triggered simple but efficient signal amplification strategy, the developed Cas13a-TFCN method showed high sensitivity for miRNA detection with the low detection limit of 0.7 fM. Furthermore, the proposed Cas13a-TFCN approach was successfully applied for accurate quantification of miRNA in complex biological samples, indicating its practical application ability. Moreover, featuring high sensitivity and simplicity without complicated probe design and fluorophore labeling, the proposed Cas13a-TFCN has a promising applications prospect in clinical diagnosis.
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•Novel Cas13a-TFCN method is proposed for miRNA detection with high simplicity.•CRISPR/Cas13a system can specifically recognize target miRNA by programming crRNA.•We first combine CRISPR/Cas13a system with TdT-initated signal amplification for miRNA detection.•TdT-initated DNA extension is applied to form poly(T)-hosted strongly emitting CuNCs.•Cas13a-TFCN method holds great application respective for clinical diagnosis.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are promising candidates for the next generation of photovoltaic technologies due to their constantly improved efficiencies, which gain much attention from both the ...scientific and industrial communities. Although the performance of PSCs is dramatically enhanced, most certified or reported high‐efficiency PSCs are still limited to a relatively small active area. The degradation of efficiency and stability accompanied by upscaling must be solved, being a bottleneck toward industrialization. This review focuses on the research progress, challenges, and strategies on large‐area PSCs, especially each functional material in various device architectures, including perovskites, hole transport materials, electron transport materials, and electrodes. Finally, the main issues related to each functional layer of PSCs from laboratory to industry are presented and an outlook on the research direction of large‐area PSCs is given.
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have undergone rapid development, but the performance degradation accompanied by device upscaling urgently needs a solution. This review covers the research progress on each functional material of large‐area PSCs. A conclusion on the main challenges and an outlook on the research direction of large‐area PSCs are provided.
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