The electrocatalytic conversion of CO2 to value‐added hydrocarbons is receiving significant attention as a promising way to close the broken carbon‐cycle. While most metal catalysts produce C1 ...species, such as carbon monoxide and formate, the production of various hydrocarbons and alcohols comprising more than two carbons has been achieved using copper (Cu)‐based catalysts only. Methods for producing specific C2 reduction outcomes with high selectivity, however, are not available thus far. Herein, the morphological effect of a Cu mesopore electrode on the selective production of C2 products, ethylene or ethane, is presented. Cu mesopore electrodes with precisely controlled pore widths and depths were prepared by using a thermal deposition process on anodized aluminum oxide. With this simple synthesis method, we demonstrated that C2 chemical selectivity can be tuned by systematically altering the morphology. Supported by computational simulations, we proved that nanomorphology can change the local pH and, additionally, retention time of key intermediates by confining the chemicals inside the pores.
I pity the pore intermediate: Nanomorphology‐directed C2‐product selectivity was demonstrated on a Cu mesopore electrode. A local flow field is generated on the electrode surface and confines reaction intermediates inside the pore. The prolonged retention time of the intermediates affects the kinetics of protonation and C−C bond formation, determining the final C2 product.
3D Nanoprinting of Perovskites Chen, Mojun; Yang, Jihyuk; Wang, Zhenyu ...
Advanced materials (Weinheim),
November 1, 2019, Letnik:
31, Številka:
44
Journal Article
Recenzirano
As competing with the established silicon technology, organic–inorganic metal halide perovskites are continually gaining ground in optoelectronics due to their excellent material properties and ...low‐cost production. The ability to have control over their shape, as well as composition and crystallinity, is indispensable for practical materialization. Many sophisticated nanofabrication methods have been devised to shape perovskites; however, they are still limited to in‐plane, low‐aspect‐ratio, and simple forms. This is in stark contrast with the demands of modern optoelectronics with freeform circuitry and high integration density. Here, a nanoprecision 3D printing is developed for organic–inorganic metal halide perovskites. The method is based on guiding evaporation‐induced perovskite crystallization in mid‐air using a femtoliter ink meniscus formed on a nanopipette, resulting in freestanding 3D perovskite nanostructures with a preferred crystal orientation. Stretching the ink meniscus with a pulling process enables on‐demand control of the nanostructure's diameter and hollowness, leading to an unprecedented tubular‐solid transition. With varying the pulling direction, a layer‐by‐layer stacking of perovskite nanostructures is successfully demonstrated with programmed shapes and positions, a primary step for additive manufacturing. It is expected that the method has the potential to create freeform perovskite nanostructures for customized optoelectronics.
3D nanoprinting of organic–inorganic metal halide perovskites is realized with guiding crystallization using a femtoliter ink meniscus in mid‐air.
Infection of various pathogenic bacteria causes severe illness to human beings. Despite the research advances, current identification tools still exhibit limitations in detecting Gram-negative ...bacteria with high accuracy. In this study, we isolated single-stranded DNA aptamers against multiple Gram-negative bacterial species using Toggle-cell-SELEX (systemic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment) and constructed an aptamer-based detection tool towards bacterial secretory cargo released from outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. Three Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli DH5α, E. coli K12, and Serratia marcescens, were sequentially incubated with the pool of random DNA sequences at each SELEX loop. Two aptamers selected, GN6 and GN12, were 4.2-times and 3.6-times higher binding to 10
cells of Gram-negative bacteria than to Gram-positive bacteria tested, respectively. Using GN6 aptamer, we constructed an Enzyme-linked aptamer assay (ELAA) to detect bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) of Gram-negative bacteria, which contain several outer membrane proteins with potent immunostimulatory effects. The GN6-ELAA showed high sensitivity to detect as low as 25 ng/mL bacterial OMVs. Aptamers developed in this study show a great potential to facilitate medical diagnosis and early detection of bacterial terrorism, based on the ability to detect bacterial OMVs of multiple Gram-negative bacteria.
In patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving potent antiplatelet therapy, the bleeding risk remains high during the maintenance phase. We sought data on a uniform unguided de-escalation ...strategy of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) from ticagrelor to clopidogrel after acute myocardial infarction.
In this open-label, assessor-masked, multicentre, non-inferiority, randomised trial (TALOS-AMI), patients at 32 institutes in South Korea with acute myocardial infarction receiving aspirin and ticagrelor without major ischaemic or bleeding events during the first month after index percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to a de-escalation (clopidogrel plus aspirin) or active control (ticagrelor plus aspirin) group. Unguided de-escalation without a loading dose of clopidogrel was adopted when switching from ticagrelor to clopidogrel. The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or bleeding type 2, 3, or 5 according to Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria from 1 to 12 months. A non-inferiority test was done to assess the safety and efficacy of de-escalation DAPT compared with standard treatment. The hazard ratio (HR) for de-escalation versus active control group in a stratified Cox proportional hazards model was assessed for non-inferiority by means of an HR margin of 1·34, which equates to an absolute difference of 3·0% in the intention-to-treat population and, if significant, a superiority test was done subsequently. To ensure statistical robustness, additional analyses were also done in the per-protocol population. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02018055.
From Feb 26, 2014, to Dec 31, 2018, from 2901 patients screened, 2697 patients were randomly assigned: 1349 patients to de-escalation and 1348 to active control groups. At 12 months, the primary endpoints occurred in 59 (4·6%) in the de-escalation group and 104 (8·2%) patients in the active control group (pnon-inferiority<0·001; HR 0·55 95% CI 0·40–0·76, psuperiority=0·0001). There was no significant difference in composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke between de-escalation (2·1%) and the active control group (3·1%; HR 0·69; 95% CI 0·42–1·14, p=0·15). Composite of BARC 2, 3, or 5 bleeding occurred less frequently in the de-escalation group (3·0% vs 5·6%, HR 0·52; 95% CI 0·35–0·77, p=0·0012).
In stabilised patients with acute myocardial infarction after index PCI, a uniform unguided de-escalation strategy significantly reduced the risk of net clinical events up to 12 months, mainly by reducing the bleeding events.
ChongKunDang Pharm, Medtronic, Abbott, and Boston Scientific.
Status epilepticus (SE), a medical emergency that is typically terminated through antiepileptic drug treatment, leads to hippocampus dysfunction typified by neurodegeneration, inflammation, altered ...neurogenesis, as well as cognitive and memory deficits. Here, we examined the effects of intranasal (IN) administration of extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on SE-induced adverse changes. The EVs used in this study are referred to as A1-exosomes because of their robust antiinflammatory properties. We subjected young mice to pilocarpine-induced SE for 2 h and then administered A1-exosomes or vehicle IN twice over 24 h. The A1-exosomes reached the hippocampus within 6 h of administration, and animals receiving them exhibited diminished loss of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons and greatly reduced inflammation in the hippocampus. Moreover, the neuroprotective and antiinflammatory effects of A1-exosomes were coupled with long-term preservation of normal hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive and memory function, in contrast to waned and abnormal neurogenesis, persistent inflammation, and functional deficits in animals receiving vehicle. These results provide evidence that IN administration of A1-exosomes is efficient for minimizing the adverse effects of SE in the hippocampus and preventing SE-induced cognitive and memory impairments.
Oncogenic Ras mutants, frequently detected in human cancers, are high-priority anticancer drug targets. However, direct inhibition of oncogenic Ras mutants with small molecules has been extremely ...challenging. Here we report the development of a human IgG1 format antibody, RT11, which internalizes into the cytosol of living cells and selectively binds to the activated GTP-bound form of various oncogenic Ras mutants to block the interactions with effector proteins, thereby suppressing downstream signalling and exerting anti-proliferative effects in a variety of tumour cells harbouring oncogenic Ras mutants. When systemically administered, an RT11 variant with an additional tumour-associated integrin binding moiety for tumour tissue targeting significantly inhibits the in vivo growth of oncogenic Ras-mutated tumour xenografts in mice, but not wild-type Ras-harbouring tumours. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of developing therapeutic antibodies for direct targeting of cytosolic proteins that are inaccessible using current antibody technology.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have great promise as biologics to treat neurological and neurodegenerative conditions due to their robust ...antiinflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Besides, intranasal (IN) administration of EVs has caught much attention because the procedure is noninvasive, amenable for repetitive dispensation, and leads to a quick penetration of EVs into multiple regions of the forebrain. Nonetheless, it is unknown whether brain injury-induced signals are essential for the entry of IN-administered EVs into different brain regions. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the distribution of IN-administered hMSC-derived EVs into neurons and microglia in the intact and status epilepticus (SE) injured rat forebrain. Ten billion EVs labeled with PKH26 were dispensed unilaterally into the left nostril of naïve rats, and rats that experienced two hours of kainate-induced SE. Six hours later, PKH26 + EVs were quantified from multiple forebrain regions using serial brain sections processed for different neural cell markers and confocal microscopy. Remarkably, EVs were seen bilaterally in virtually all regions of intact and SE-injured forebrain. The percentage of neurons incorporating EVs were comparable for most forebrain regions. However, in animals that underwent SE, a higher percentage of neurons incorporated EVs in the hippocampal CA1 subfield and the entorhinal cortex, the regions that typically display neurodegeneration after SE. In contrast, the incorporation of EVs by microglia was highly comparable in every region of the forebrain measured. Thus, unilateral IN administration of EVs is efficient for delivering EVs bilaterally into neurons and microglia in multiple regions in the intact or injured forebrain. Furthermore, incorporation of EVs by neurons is higher in areas of brain injury, implying that injury-related signals likely play a role in targeting of EVs into neurons, which may be beneficial for EV therapy in various neurodegenerative conditions including traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease.
A conceptual shift toward next‐generation wearable electronics is driving research into self‐powered electronics technologies that can be independently operated without plugging into the grid for ...external power feeding. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are emerging as a key component of self‐powered electronics, but a power type mismatch between supply and demand limits their direct implementation into wearable self‐powered electronics. Here, a TENG with switchable power mode capability is reported where the charge flow direction is modulated over the course of slow and random mechanical stimuli, with exceptional rectification capabilities as high as ≈133, stable outputs over the cycles, and design flexibility in different platforms. Importantly, the remarkable switchable power generation with fabric counter materials illuminates a new path for the smooth integration of flexible TENGs into wearable self‐powered electronics.
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with a convertible rectification feature, in which the direction of the charge flow generated by TENGs is systematically controlled by electrostatic breakdown over the course of slow and random mechanical stimuli, is reported, paving the path for the development of all‐in‐one nanogenerators and the incorporation of nanogenerators into wearable self‐powered electronics in the near future.
Thermometry, the process of measuring temperature, is one of the most fundamental tasks not only for understanding the thermodynamics of basic physical, chemical, and biological processes but also ...for thermal management of microelectronics. However, it is a challenge to acquire microscale temperature fields in both space and time. Here, a 3D printed micro‐thermoelectric device that enables direct 4D (3D Space + Time) thermometry at the microscale is reported. The device is composed of freestanding thermocouple probe networks, fabricated by bi‐metal 3D printing with an outstanding spatial resolution of a few µm. It shows that the developed 4D thermometry can explore dynamics of Joule heating or evaporative cooling on microscale subjects of interest such as a microelectrode or a water meniscus. The utilization of 3D printing further opens up the possibility to freely realize a wide range of on‐chip, freestanding microsensors or microelectronic devices without the design restrictions by manufacturing processes.
A 3D printed micro‐thermoelectric device is developed for direct 4D (3D Space + Time) thermometry at the microscale. The paradigm of a 3D‐printed thermocouple micro‐network provides new advantages to access microscopic thermodynamics without dimensional limit. In this study, microscale 4D temperature fields generated by Joule‐heating or evaporative cooling are directly observed.
Accumulating evidence shows that extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced by mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) exert their therapeutic effects in several disease models. We previously demonstrated ...that MSCs suppress autoimmunity in models of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU). Therefore, here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of MSC-derived EVs using our established mouse models for autoimmune diseases affecting the pancreas and the eye: T1D and EAU. The data demonstrate that MSC-derived EVs effectively prevent the onset of disease in both T1D and EAU. In addition, the mixed lymphocyte reaction assay with MSC-derived EVs indicated that EVs inhibit activation of antigen-presenting cells and suppress development of T helper 1 (Th1) and Th17 cells. These results raise the possibility that MSC-derived EVs may be an alternative to cell therapy for autoimmune disease prevention.
•MSC-derived EVs prevent the onset of T1D and EAU•MSC-derived EVs suppress Th1 and Th17 cell development•MSC-derived EVs suppress activation of antigen-presenting cells and T cells
In this article, Ryang Hwa Lee and colleagues show that mesenchymal stem/stromal cell-derived extracellular vesicles prevent the onset of autoimmune disease in two murine models, type 1 diabetes and experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis, by mainly suppressing Th1 and Th17 cell development.