Surface reactions constitute the foundation of various energy conversion/storage technologies, such as the lithium–sulfur (Li‐S) batteries. To expedite surface reactions for high‐rate battery ...applications demands in‐depth understanding of reaction kinetics and rational catalyst design. Now an in situ extrinsic‐metal etching strategy is used to activate an inert monometal nitride of hexagonal Ni3N through iron‐incorporated cubic Ni3FeN. In situ etched Ni3FeN regulates polysulfide‐involving surface reactions at high rates. Electron microscopy was used to unveil the mechanism of in situ catalyst transformation. The Li‐S batteries modified with Ni3FeN exhibited superb rate capability, remarkable cycling stability at a high sulfur loading of 4.8 mg cm−2, and lean‐electrolyte operability. This work opens up the exploration of multimetallic alloys and compounds as kinetic regulators for high‐rate Li‐S batteries and also elucidates catalytic surface reactions and the role of defect chemistry.
Inert hexagonal Ni3N can be activated by an extrinsic metal‐incorporating strategy with in situ etching that uses cubic Ni3FeN. Vacancy‐rich Ni3FeN catalysts kinetically regulate polysulfide‐involving reactions at high rates for use in advanced lithium–sulfur batteries.
Malayan pangolin SARS-CoV-2-related coronavirus (SARSr-CoV-2) is closely related to SARS-CoV-2. However, little is known about its pathogenicity in pangolins. Using CT scans we show that SARSr-CoV-2 ...positive Malayan pangolins are characterized by bilateral ground-glass opacities in lungs in a similar manner to COVID-19 patients. Histological examination and blood gas tests are indicative of dyspnea. SARSr-CoV-2 infected multiple organs in pangolins, with the lungs the major target, and histological expression data revealed that ACE2 and TMPRSS2 were co-expressed with viral RNA. Transcriptome analysis indicated that virus-positive pangolins were likely to have inadequate interferon responses, with relative greater cytokine and chemokine activity in the lung and spleen. Notably, both viral RNA and viral proteins were detected in three pangolin fetuses, providing initial evidence for vertical virus transmission. In sum, our study outlines the biological framework of SARSr-CoV-2 in pangolins, revealing striking similarities to COVID-19 in humans.
Trends toward later and less marriage and childbearing have been even more pronounced in East Asia than in the West. At the same time, many other features of East Asian families have changed very ...little. We review recent research on trends in a wide range of family behaviors in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. We also draw upon a range of theoretical frameworks to argue that trends in marriage and fertility reflect tension between rapid social and economic changes and limited change in family expectations and obligations. We discuss how this tension may be contributing to growing socioeconomic differences in patterns of family formation. This focus on East Asia extends research on the second demographic transition in the West by describing how rapid decline in marriage and fertility rates can occur in the absence of major changes in family attitudes or rising individualism.
The current outbreak of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) poses unprecedented challenges to global health
. The new coronavirus responsible for this outbreak-severe acute respiratory syndrome ...coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-shares high sequence identity to SARS-CoV and a bat coronavirus, RaTG13
. Although bats may be the reservoir host for a variety of coronaviruses
, it remains unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 has additional host species. Here we show that a coronavirus, which we name pangolin-CoV, isolated from a Malayan pangolin has 100%, 98.6%, 97.8% and 90.7% amino acid identity with SARS-CoV-2 in the E, M, N and S proteins, respectively. In particular, the receptor-binding domain of the S protein of pangolin-CoV is almost identical to that of SARS-CoV-2, with one difference in a noncritical amino acid. Our comparative genomic analysis suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may have originated in the recombination of a virus similar to pangolin-CoV with one similar to RaTG13. Pangolin-CoV was detected in 17 out of the 25 Malayan pangolins that we analysed. Infected pangolins showed clinical signs and histological changes, and circulating antibodies against pangolin-CoV reacted with the S protein of SARS-CoV-2. The isolation of a coronavirus from pangolins that is closely related to SARS-CoV-2 suggests that these animals have the potential to act as an intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2. This newly identified coronavirus from pangolins-the most-trafficked mammal in the illegal wildlife trade-could represent a future threat to public health if wildlife trade is not effectively controlled.
Arginine methylation is an important posttranslational modification catalyzed by protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs). However, the role of PRMTs in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression is not ...well understood. Here we report that non-POU domain-containing octamer-binding protein (NONO) is overexpressed in CRC tissue and is a potential marker for poor prognosis in CRC patients. NONO silencing resulted in decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cells, whereas overexpression had the opposite effect. In a xenograft model, tumors derived from NONO-deficient CRC cells were smaller than those derived from wild-type (WT) cells, and PRMT1 inhibition blocked CRC xenograft progression. A mass spectrometry analysis indicated that NONO is a substrate of PRMT1. R251 of NONO was asymmetrically dimethylated by PRMT1 in vitro and in vivo. Compared to NONO WT cells, NONO R251K mutant-expressing CRC cells showed reduced proliferation, migration, and invasion, and PRMT1 knockdown or pharmacological inhibition abrogated the malignant phenotype associated with NONO asymmetric dimethylation in both KRAS WT and mutant CRC cells. Compared to adjacent normal tissue, PRMT1 was highly expressed in the CRC zone in clinical specimens, which was correlated with poor overall survival in patients with locally advanced CRC. These results demonstrate that PRMT1-mediated methylation of NONO at R251 promotes CRC growth and metastasis, and suggest that PRMT1 inhibition may be an effective therapeutic strategy for CRC treatment regardless of KRAS mutation status.
Cluster-based functional materials have made remarkable progress owing to their wonderful structures and distinctive physicochemical performances, one of on-going advancements of which is basically ...driven by synthetic chemistry of exploring and constructing novel nanosized gigantic polyoxometalate (POM) aggregates. In this article, an unprecedented nanoscale hexameric arsenotungstate aggregate Na
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B-
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) has been synthesized by the combined synthetic strategy of simultaneously using the arsenotungstate precursor and simple tungstate material in a highly acidic aqueous solution. The {Er
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}
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polyanion in
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consists of an intriguing dumbbell-shaped pentadeca-nuclear W-Er heterometal {Er
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cluster connecting six trilacunary B-α-AsW
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moieties, which has never been seen previously. Furthermore, through electropolymerization of
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and pyrrole on the conductive substrate, a thickness-controllable and robust
1
-PPY (PPY = polypyrrole) hybrid film was successfully prepared, which represents the first POM-PPY film assembled from high-nuclear lanthanide (Ln) encapsulated POM and PPY hitherto. The
1
-PPY film-based electrochemical biosensor exhibits a favorable recognition performance for ochratoxin A in multiple media. This work not only provides a feasible combined synthetic strategy of the POM precursor and simple tungstate material for constructing complicated multi-Ln-inserted POM aggregates, but also offers a promising electrochemical platform constructed from POM-based conductive films for identifying trace biomolecules in complex environments.
Obesity leads to multiple health problems, including diabetes, fatty liver, and even cancer. Here, we report that urolithin A (UA), a gut-microflora-derived metabolite of pomegranate ellagitannins ...(ETs), prevents diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunctions in mice without causing adverse effects. UA treatment increases energy expenditure (EE) by enhancing thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and inducing browning of white adipose tissue (WAT). Mechanistically, UA-mediated increased thermogenesis is caused by an elevation of triiodothyronine (T3) levels in BAT and inguinal fat depots. This is also confirmed in UA-treated white and brown adipocytes. Consistent with this mechanism, UA loses its beneficial effects on activation of BAT, browning of white fat, body weight control, and glucose homeostasis when thyroid hormone (TH) production is blocked by its inhibitor, propylthiouracil (PTU). Conversely, administration of exogenous tetraiodothyronine (T4) to PTU-treated mice restores UA-induced activation of BAT and browning of white fat and its preventive role on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced weight gain. Together, these results suggest that UA is a potent antiobesity agent with potential for human clinical applications.
Background/Aims: Erinacine, which is extracted from the medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus, is known to play anticancer roles in human cancers. The following study aims to investigate the role of ...erinacine in the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway and highlights the applicability of erinacine in HCC treatments. Methods: HCC and paracancerous tissues were obtained from 85 HCC patients who’ve undergone surgical resection. Immunohistochemistry was adopted to detect positive expression of PI3K, Akt, and GSK-3β. Treatment of HepG-2 with LY294002 (an inhibitor of the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway) and different concentration of erinacine was performed to determine the involvement of LY294002 in erinacine action. The expressions of PI3K, Akt, GSK-3β, CyclinD1, Vimentin, β-catenin, Bcl-2, E-cadherin, Bax, and caspase-9 were determined by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. Cell viability, colony formation rate, migration, invasion, cycle, and apoptosis were detected by MTT, colony formation, wound healing assay, Transwell assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. The size and weight of xenograft tumors were observed in nude mice. Mitochondrial membrane potential in HepG-2 was determined using laser scanning confocal microscopy following JC-1 staining. Mitochondrial Ca2+ indicator Rhod-2, AM was used to detect the changes of mitochondrial Ca2+, while western blot analysis was employed to detect the presence levels of cytochrome C (cyt-C). Results: The results revealed that PI3K, Akt, and GSK-3β were up-regulated in HCC tissues. Erinacine or LY294002 led to a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, increase in intracellular mitochondrial Ca2+, and the release of cyt-C in mitochondria. In addition, Erinacine was found to decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential, expression of PI3K, Akt, GSK-3β, CyclinD1, Vimentin, β-catenin, and Bcl-2, cell proliferation, colony formation ability, migration, invasion, and xenograft tumor size, while E-cadherin, Bax, and caspase-9 expression, and cell apoptosis were elevated in a dose-dependent manner. Erinacine also stimulated the effects of LY294002 on the HCC. Following the addition of 500 μM Erinacine and MPTP opening inhibitor CsA, we found that the mitochondrial membrane potential level increased, while mitochondrial Ca2+ and Cyt-C decreased from the mitochondria. Conclusion: The results from the study demonstrated that erinacine induced MPTP opening, facilitates the release of cyt-C, and inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while it promotes apoptosis by inactivating the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway, preventing the progression of HCC.
Treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) seeks to prevent senescence and death of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Previous studies have shown that sirt6 exerts potent anti-senescent and ...anti-apoptotic effects in models of age-related degenerative disease. However, it is not known whether sirt6 protects against IDD. Here, we explored whether sirt6 influenced IDD. The sirt6 level was reduced in senescent human NP cells. Sirt6 overexpression protected against apoptosis and both replicative and stress-induced premature senescence. Sirt6 also activated NP cell autophagy both in vivo and in vitro. 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine (CQ)-mediated inhibition of autophagy partially reversed the anti-senescent and anti-apoptotic effects of sirt6, which regulated the expression of degeneration-associated proteins. In vivo, sirt6 overexpression attenuated IDD. Together, the data showed that sirt6 attenuated cell senescence, and reduced apoptosis, by triggering autophagy that ultimately ameliorated IDD. Thus, sirt6 may be a novel therapeutic target for IDD treatment.
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