Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have great activity as a green energy conversion device. However, the weak activity of most anode electrocatalysts for the CC bond cleavage is an obstacle to the ...DEFCs development. Herein, a simple galvanic replacement reaction strategy to synthesize hollow and porous PtRhCu trimetallic nanoboxes (CNBs) with a tunable Pt/Rh atomic ratio is developed. For the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), PtRhCu CNBs show morphology and composition‐dependent electrocatalytic activity. The composition optimized Pt54Rh4Cu42 CNBs exhibit excellent specific and mass activity and stability for the EOR, which is attributed to its unique geometric structure and synergistic effects. The hollow porous structure can effectively enhance the atomic utilization and mass transfer. The introduction of Cu improves the antipoisoning capability for CO. The introduction of Rh elevates the self‐stability of PtRhCu CNBs. More importantly, further electrochemical results confirm that the introduction of Rh significantly promotes the cleavage of CC bonds, leading to the transformation of the main catalytic pathway for EOR from C2 to C1 pathway. The real concentration detection for C2 products (CH3COOH and CH3CHO) shows Pt54Rh4Cu42 CNBs have a nearly 11.5‐fold C1 pathway enhancement compared to Pt nanoparticles, showing an obvious selectivity enhancement for the C1 pathway.
Porous trimetallic PtRhCu cubic nanoboxes (CNBs) are prepared by a universal galvanic replacement reaction strategy. For the ethanol electrooxidation, the component optimized Pt54Rh4C42 CNBs exhibit favorable C1 pathway selectivity and excellent electrocatalytic activity and durability due to its geometric structure and synergistic effects.
Studies of gene rearrangements and the consequent oncogenic fusion proteins have laid the foundation for targeted cancer therapy. To identify oncogenic fusions associated with glioma progression, we ...catalogued fusion transcripts by RNA-seq of 272 gliomas. Fusion transcripts were more frequently found in high-grade gliomas, in the classical subtype of gliomas, and in gliomas treated with radiation/temozolomide. Sixty-seven in-frame fusion transcripts were identified, including three recurrent fusion transcripts: FGFR3-TACC3, RNF213-SLC26A11, and PTPRZ1-MET (ZM). Interestingly, the ZM fusion was found only in grade III astrocytomas (1/13; 7.7%) or secondary GBMs (sGBMs, 3/20; 15.0%). In an independent cohort of sGBMs, the ZM fusion was found in three of 20 (15%) specimens. Genomic analysis revealed that the fusion arose from translocation events involving introns 3 or 8 of PTPRZ and intron 1 of MET. ZM fusion transcripts were found in GBMs irrespective of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutation status. sGBMs harboring ZM fusion showed higher expression of genes required for PIK3CA signaling and lowered expression of genes that suppressed RB1 or TP53 function. Expression of the ZM fusion was mutually exclusive with EGFR overexpression in sGBMs. Exogenous expression of the ZM fusion in the U87MG glioblastoma line enhanced cell migration and invasion. Clinically, patients afflicted with ZM fusion harboring glioblastomas survived poorly relative to those afflicted with non-ZM-harboring sGBMs (P < 0.001). Our study profiles the shifting RNA landscape of gliomas during progression and reveled ZM as a novel, recurrent fusion transcript in sGBMs.
Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by Huntingtin (Htt) gene mutation resulting in the loss of striatal GABAergic neurons and motor functional deficits. We report here an in vivo cell conversion ...technology to reprogram striatal astrocytes into GABAergic neurons in both R6/2 and YAC128 HD mouse models through AAV-mediated ectopic expression of NeuroD1 and Dlx2 transcription factors. We found that the astrocyte-to-neuron (AtN) conversion rate reached 80% in the striatum and >50% of the converted neurons were DARPP32
medium spiny neurons. The striatal astrocyte-converted neurons showed action potentials and synaptic events, and projected their axons to the targeted globus pallidus and substantia nigra in a time-dependent manner. Behavioral analyses found that NeuroD1 and Dlx2-treated R6/2 mice showed a significant extension of life span and improvement of motor functions. This study demonstrates that in vivo AtN conversion may be a disease-modifying gene therapy to treat HD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Estrogen dysregulation causes hair disorder. Clinical observations have demonstrated that estrogen raises the telogen/anagen ratio and inhibits hair shaft elongation of female scalp hair follicles. ...In spite of these clinical insights, the properties of estrogen on hair follicles are poorly dissected. In the present study, we show that estrogen induced apoptosis of precortex cells and caused premature catagen by up-regulation of TGF β2. Immediately after the premature catagen, the expression of anagen chalone BMP4 increased. The up-regulation of BMP4 may further function to prevent anagen transition and maintain telogen. Interestingly, the hair follicle stem cell niche was not destructed during these drastic structural changes caused by estrogen. Additionally, dermal papilla cells, the estrogen target cells in hair follicles, kept their signature gene expressions as well as their hair inductive potential after estrogen treatment. Retention of the characteristics of both hair follicle stem cells and dermal papilla cells determined the reversibility of the hair cycle suppression. These results indicated that estrogen causes reversible hair cycle retardation by inducing premature catagen and maintaining telogen.
Abstract
One‐step separation of C
2
H
4
from ternary C
2
mixtures by physisorbents remains a challenge to combine excellent separation performance with high stability, low cost, and easy scalability ...for industrial applications. Herein, we report a strategy of constructing negative electrostatic pore environments in a stable, low‐cost, and easily scaled‐up aluminum MOF (MOF‐303) for efficient one‐step C
2
H
2
/C
2
H
6
/C
2
H
4
separation. This material exhibits not only record high C
2
H
2
and C
2
H
6
uptakes, but also top‐tier C
2
H
2
/C
2
H
4
and C
2
H
6
/C
2
H
4
selectivities at ambient conditions. Theoretical calculations combined with in situ infrared spectroscopy indicate that multiple N/O sites on pore channels can build a negative electro‐environment to provide stronger interactions with C
2
H
2
and C
2
H
6
over C
2
H
4
. Breakthrough experiments confirm its exceptional separation performance for ternary mixtures, affording one of the highest C
2
H
4
productivity of 1.35 mmol g
−1
. This material is highly stable and can be easily synthesized at kilogram‐scale from cheap raw materials using a water‐based green synthesis. The benchmark combination of excellent separation properties with high stability and low cost in scalable MOF‐303 has unlocked its great potential in this challenging industrial separation.
Summary
Plants control water‐use efficiency (WUE) by regulating water loss and CO2 diffusion through stomata. Variation in stomatal control has been reported among lineages of vascular plants, thus ...giving rise to the possibility that different lineages may show distinct WUE dynamics in response to water stress.
Here, we compared the response of gas exchange to decreasing leaf water potential among four ferns and nine seed plant species exposed to a gradually intensifying water deficit. The data collected were combined with those from 339 phylogenetically diverse species obtained from previous studies.
In well‐watered angiosperms, the maximum stomatal conductance was high and greater than that required for maximum WUE, but drought stress caused a rapid reduction in stomatal conductance and an increase in WUE in response to elevated concentrations of abscisic acid. However, in ferns, stomata did not open beyond the optimum point corresponding to maximum WUE and actually exhibited a steady WUE in response to dehydration. Thus, seed plants showed improved photosynthetic WUE under water stress.
The ability of seed plants to increase WUE could provide them with an advantage over ferns under drought conditions, thereby presumably increasing their fitness under selection pressure by drought.
The crosstalk between vascular pericytes and endothelial cells (ECs) is critical for microvascular stabilization and remodeling; however, the crosstalk is often disrupted by diabetes, leading to ...severe and even lethal vascular damage. Circular RNAs are a class of endogenous RNAs that regulate several important physiological and pathological processes. Here we show that diabetes-related stress up-regulates cPWWP2A expression in pericytes but not in ECs. In vitro studies show that cPWWP2A directly regulates pericyte biology but indirectly regulates EC biology via exosomes carrying cPWWP2A. cPWWP2A acts as an endogenous miR-579 sponge to sequester and inhibit miR-579 activity, leading to increased expression of angiopoietin 1, occludin, and SIRT1. In vivo studies show that cPWWP2A overexpression or miR-579 inhibition alleviates diabetes mellitus-induced retinal vascular dysfunction. By contrast, inhibition of cPWWP2A-mediated signaling by silencing cPWWP2A or over-expressing miR-579 aggravates retinal vascular dysfunction. Collectively, this study unveils a mechanism by which pericytes and ECs communicate. Intervention of cPWWP2A or miR-579 expression may offer opportunities for treating diabetic microvascular complications.
MicroRNA‐24‐3p (miR‐24‐3p) has been implicated as a key promoter of chemotherapy resistance in numerous cancers. Meanwhile, cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can secret exosomes to transfer ...miRNAs, which mediate tumour development. However, little is known regarding the molecular mechanism of CAF‐derived exosomal miR‐24‐3p in colon cancer (CC). Hence, this study intended to characterize the functional relevance of CAF‐derived exosomal miR‐24‐3p in CC cell resistance to methotrexate (MTX). We identified differentially expressed HEPH, CDX2 and miR‐24‐3p in CC through bioinformatics analyses, and validated their expression in CC tissues and cells. The relationship among HEPH, CDX2 and miR‐24‐3p was verified using ChIP and dual‐luciferase reporter gene assays. Exosomes were isolated from miR‐24‐3p inhibitor–treated CAFs (CAFs‐exo/miR‐24‐3p inhibitor), which were used in combination with gain‐of‐function and loss‐of‐function experiments and MTX treatment. CCK‐8, flow cytometry and colony formation assays were conducted to determine cell viability, apoptosis and colony formation, respectively. Based on the findings, CC tissues and cells presented with high expression of miR‐24‐3p and low expression of HEPH and CDX2. CDX2 was a target gene of miR‐24‐3p and could up‐regulate HEPH. Under MTX treatment, overexpressed CDX2 or HEPH and down‐regulated miR‐24‐3p reduced cell viability and colony formation and elevated cell apoptosis. Furthermore, miR‐24‐3p was transferred into CC cells via CAF‐derived exosomes. CAF‐derived exosomal miR‐24‐3p inhibitor diminished cell viability and colony formation and increased cell apoptosis in vitro and inhibited tumour growth in vivo under MTX treatment. Altogether, CAF‐derived exosomal miR‐24‐3p accelerated resistance of CC cells to MTX by down‐regulating CDX2/HEPH axis.
Strategies that enable simultaneous morphology‐tuning and electroreduction performance boosting are much desired for the exploration of covalent organic frameworks in efficient CO2 electroreduction. ...Herein, a kind of functionalizing exfoliation agent has been selected to simultaneously modify and exfoliate bulk COFs into functional nanosheets and investigate their CO2 electroreduction performance. The obtained nanosheets (Cu−Tph−COF−Dct) with large‐scale (≈1.0 μm) and ultrathin (≈3.8 nm) morphology enable a superior FECH4 (≈80 %) (almost doubly enhanced than bare COF) with large current‐density (−220.0 mA cm−2) at −0.9 V. The boosted performance can be ascribed to the immobilized functionalizing exfoliation agent (Dct groups) with integrated amino and triazine groups that strengthen CO2 absorption/activation, stabilize intermediates and enrich the CO concentration around the Cu active sites as revealed by DFT calculations. The point‐to‐point functionalization strategy for modularly assembling Dct‐functionalized COF catalyst for CO2 electroreduction will open up the attractive possibility of developing COFs as efficient CO2RR electrocatalysts.
A kind of functionalizing exfoliation agent has been selected to simultaneously modify and exfoliate bulk COFs into functional nanosheets and the obtained materials can be applied in highly selective CO2 electroreduction into CH4.
Developing porous materials for C3H6/C3H8 separation faces the challenge of merging excellent separation performance with high stability and easy scalability of synthesis. Herein, we report a robust ...Hofmann clathrate material (ZJU‐75a), featuring high‐density strong binding sites to achieve all the above requirements. ZJU‐75a adsorbs large amount of C3H6 with a record high storage density of 0.818 g mL−1, and concurrently shows high C3H6/C3H8 selectivity (54.2) at 296 K and 1 bar. Single‐crystal structure analysis unveil that the high‐density binding sites in ZJU‐75a not only provide much stronger interactions with C3H6 but also enable the dense packing of C3H6. Breakthrough experiments on gas mixtures afford both high separation factor of 14.7 and large C3H6 uptake (2.79 mmol g−1). This material is highly stable and can be easily produced at kilogram‐scale using a green synthesis method, making it as a benchmark material to address major challenges for industrial C3H6/C3H8 separation.
A novel strategy that incorporates high‐density strong binding sites into ultra‐microporous Hofmann clathrate material for dense packing of C3H6 molecules is reported. The use of this new porous material not only overcomes the trade‐off between uptake capacity and selectivity but also combines excellent separation performance with high stability, economic feasibility and easy scalability of synthesis.
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