Wnt/β-catenin signaling is implicated in many physiological processes, including development, tissue homeostasis, and tissue regeneration. In human cancers, Wnt/β-catenin signaling is highly ...activated, which has led to the development of various Wnt signaling inhibitors for cancer therapies. Nonetheless, the blockade of Wnt signaling causes side effects such as impairment of tissue homeostasis and regeneration. Recently, several studies have identified cancer-specific Wnt signaling regulators. In this review, we discuss the Wnt inhibitors currently being used in clinical trials and suggest how additional cancer-specific regulators could be utilized to treat Wnt signaling-associated cancer.
In the past two decades, mechanical energy harvesting technologies have been developed in various ways to support or power small‐scale electronics. Nevertheless, the strategy for enhancing current ...and charge performance of flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters using a simple and cost‐effective process is still a challenging issue. Herein, a 1D–3D (1‐3) fully piezoelectric nanocomposite is developed using perovskite BaTiO3 (BT) nanowire (NW)‐employed poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) for a high‐performance hybrid nanocomposite generator (hNCG) device. The harvested output of the flexible hNCG reaches up to ≈14 V and ≈4 µA, which is higher than the current levels of even previous piezoceramic film‐based flexible energy harvesters. Finite element analysis method simulations study that the outstanding performance of hNCG devices attributes to not only the piezoelectric synergy of well‐controlled BT NWs and within P(VDF‐TrFE) matrix, but also the effective stress transferability of piezopolymer. As a proof of concept, the flexible hNCG is directly attached to a hand to scavenge energy using a human motion in various biomechanical frequencies for self‐powered wearable patch device applications. This research can pave the way for a new approach to high‐performance wearable and biocompatible self‐sufficient electronics.
A hybrid 1‐3 nanocomposite employing perovskite BaTiO3 nanowires and poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐trifluoroethylene) is first developed to demonstrate a performance‐advanced, cost‐effective and simple‐processed flexible energy harvester. This new nanocomposite generator presents noteworthy output performance with higher charge flows even than piezoceramic thin‐film‐based flexible energy harvesters.
Summary
Pumilio RNA‐binding proteins are largely involved in mRNA degradation and translation repression. However, a few evolutionarily divergent Pumilios are also responsible for proper pre‐rRNA ...processing in human and yeast. Here, we describe an essential Arabidopsis nucleolar Pumilio, APUM24, that is expressed in tissues undergoing rapid proliferation and cell division. A T‐DNA insertion for APUM24 did not affect the male and female gametogenesis, but instead resulted in a negative female gametophytic effect on zygotic cell division immediately after fertilization. Additionally, the mutant embryos displayed defects in cell patterning from pro‐embryo through globular stages. The mutant embryos were marked by altered auxin maxima, which were substantiated by the mislocalization of PIN1 and PIN7 transporters in the defective embryos. Homozygous apum24 callus accumulates rRNA processing intermediates, including uridylated and adenylated 5.8S and 25S rRNA precursors. An RNA–protein interaction assay showed that the histidine‐tagged recombinant APUM24 binds RNAin vitro with no apparent specificity. Overall, our results demonstrated that APUM24 is required for rRNA processing and early embryogenesis in Arabidopsis.
Significance Statement
Pumilio RNA‐binding proteins possess multiple tandem repeat Puf domains, and participate in RNA degradation and/or translation repression. Twentyfive Pumilios are found in Arabidopsis, however their functions are largely unknown. Here, we show that nucleolar Pumilio APUM24 is implicated in the processing of 27SB and 5.8S precursor rRNAs. The apum24 mutant embryo is lethal before globular stage, emphasizing the essential role of APUM24 during developmental process in Arabidopsis.
We hypothesized that differences in the microbiome could be a cause of the substantial differences in the symptoms of and treatment options for adult and pediatric patients with chronic ...rhinosinusitis (CRS). First, we characterized the differences in the nasal microbiomes of pediatric and adult CRS patients. Swabs were obtained from 19 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (9 children and 10 adults). The bacterial 16S rRNA gene was pyrosequenced to compare the microbiota of the middle meatus. No significant differences were found in species richness and alpha-diversity indices between the two groups. However, in the comparison of diversity between groups using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering of microbiome taxonomic profiles, we observed a relatively clear separation between the adult and pediatric groups. Actinobacteria had a significantly higher relative abundance in the adult group than in the pediatric group at the phylum level. At the genus level, Corynebacterium showed significantly higher relative abundance in the adult group than in the pediatric group. This is a comparative study between the microbiomes of adult and pediatric CRS patients. We expect this study to be the first step in understanding the pathogenesis of CRS in adults and children using microbiome analysis.
A flexible single‐crystalline PMN‐PT piezoelectric energy
harvester is demonstrated to achieve a self‐powered artificial cardiac pacemaker. The energy‐harvesting device generates a short‐circuit ...current of 0.223 mA and an open‐circuit voltage of 8.2 V, which are enough not only to meet the standard for charging commercial batteries but also for stimulating the heart without an external power source.
This paper presents a kernelized version of the extended recursive least squares (EX-KRLS) algorithm which implements for the first time a general linear state model in reproducing kernel Hilbert ...spaces (RKHS), or equivalently a general nonlinear state model in the input space. The center piece of this development is a reformulation of the well known extended recursive least squares (EX-RLS) algorithm in RKHS which only requires inner product operations between input vectors, thus enabling the application of the kernel property (commonly known as the kernel trick). The first part of the paper presents a set of theorems that shows the generality of the approach. The EX-KRLS is preferable to 1) a standard kernel recursive least squares (KRLS) in applications that require tracking the state-vector of general linear state-space models in the kernel space, or 2) an EX-RLS when the application requires a nonlinear observation and state models. The second part of the paper compares the EX-KRLS in nonlinear Rayleigh multipath channel tracking and in Lorenz system modeling problem. We show that the proposed algorithm is able to outperform the standard KRLS and EX-RLS in both simulations.
To overcome the lithium storage barriers of current lithium‐ion batteries, it is imperative that conventional low capacity graphite anodes be replaced with other higher capacity anode materials. ...Silicon is a promising alternative anode material due to its huge energy densities; however, its lithium‐concentration‐dependent volumetric changes can induce severely adverse effects that lead to drastic degradations in capacity during cycling. The dealloying of Si–metal alloys is recently suggested as a scalable approach to fabricate high‐performance porous Si anode materials. Herein, a microstructure controlled porous Si is developed by the dealloying in conjunction with wet alkaline chemical etching. The resulting 3D networked structure enables enhancement in lithium storage properties when the Si‐based material is applied not only as a single active material but also in a graphite‐blended electrode.
A microstructure‐controlled 3D porous Si material is fabricated by dual chemical etching of a designed Si‐alloy in which Si and the metal‐alloy are entangled. Benefiting from the enlarged pore volume and reduced Si domain size, the resulting 3D porous Si anode shows improvement in lithium‐storage properties in terms of cyclability and energy density.
The lead‐free nanocomposite generator device for high‐output energy harvesting using piezoelectric alkaline niobate‐based particles (KNLN) and copper (Cu) nanorods filler is reported. To produce the ...piezoelectric nanocomposite (p‐NC), lead‐free KNLN particles synthesized using a solid‐state method and the Cu nanorods are distributed in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The lead‐free flexible nanocomposite generator (NCG) made by a simple spin‐casting method successfully converts mechanical energy to electricity up to 12 V and 1.2 μA. These are higher than previously reported outputs from other lead‐free and composite‐based nanogenerators. The harvested energy is utilized to directly turn on white light emitting diodes (LEDs) without external circuits and to operate a complex circuital liquid crystal display (LCD). A large‐area NCG device (30 cm × 30 cm) is also fabricated using the bar‐coating method to obtain maximum output up to 140 V and 8 μA (≈0.5 mW). This NCG technology has substantial advantages as a simple, cost‐effective, scalable, and high‐throughput approach for practical flexible electronics, bio‐eco‐compatible self‐powered systems, and body sensor networks (BSN).
The lead‐free and high‐performance nanocomposite generator based on novel alkaline niobate particles and well‐dispersible copper nanorods. A biocompatible as well as high‐output nanocomposite generator is achieved by using the specific composition of alkaline niobate and the low aggregatability of copper nanorods. The flexible nanocomposite generator in this work shows remarkable stability and reliability for energy harvesting from mechanical deformations.
A
bstract
We consider a simple extension of the standard model with a singlet fermionic dark matter. Its thermal relic density can be easily accommodated by a real singlet scalar messenger that mixes ...with the standard model Higgs boson. The model can change significantly the Higgs signals at the LHC via sizable invisible decays of two Higgs-like scalar bosons. After imposing the constraints from the electroweak precision tests, colliders and dark matter search experiments, one concludes that two or one or none of the two Higgs bosons, depending on the mass relations among two scalar bosons and the dark matter fermion and their couplings. In particular, if a standard model Higgs-like scalar boson is discovered around 120-125 GeV region at the LHC, it would be almost impossible to find the second Higgs-like boson since it is mostly a singlet scalar, whether it is heavier or lighter. This model can be further tested by direct dark matter search experiments.
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