The transport of molecules and ions through biological nanopores is governed by interaction networks among restricted ions, transported molecules, and residue moieties at pore inner walls. However, ...identification of such weak ion fluctuations from only few tens of ions inside nanopore is hard to achieve owing to electrochemical measurement limitations. Here, we developed an advanced frequency method to achieve qualitative and spectral analysis of ion interaction networks inside a nanopore. The peak frequency fm reveals the dissociation rate between nanopore and ions; the peak amplitude am depicts the amount of combined ions with the nanopore after interaction equilibrium. A mathematical model for single‐molecule frequency fingerprint achieved the prediction of interaction characteristics of mutant nanopores. This single‐molecule frequency fingerprint is important for classification, characterization, and prediction of synergetic interaction networks inside nanoconfinement.
An advanced frequency spectral method was developed for the qualitative and spectral analysis of the ion interaction networks inside a nanopore. This method decodes the frequency fingerprint from the highly noisy ionic current trace, which achieves classification, characterization, and prediction of the ion interaction networks inside a nanopore.
The high energy density metallic Li anode is a desired electrode candidate for commercial application in future. However, uncontrolled growth of Li dendrites can easily lead to thermal runaway and ...infinite volume changes. Herein, we propose the addition of lithiophilic ZnO filled into the microsized cubic carbon framework through in situ pyrolyzation of the multiwalled carbon nanotubes-implanted Zn-MOF (denoted as ZnO@C-MWCNTs) as the three-dimensional (3D) host for stable metallic Li anodes. The proposed 3D host with a high specific surface area can effectively accommodate the tremendous volume change of the metallic Li anodes. Meanwhile, this 3D host can prohibit the emergence of Li dendrites by adjusting the local current density. Lithiophilic ZnO, as the homogeneous nucleation site loaded in the 3D structure, can induce homogeneous Li deposition to form a stable Li metal composite electrode with a long cycling life. The 3D ZnO@C-MWCNTs host can hold a high Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 98.5% at 1.0 mA cm−2 and 1.0 mAh cm−2 for more than 240 cycles. Long lifespans of symmetric cells for 320 h at 2.0 mA cm−2 and 1.0 mAh cm−2 with a lower polarization (∼28.0 mV) can be achieved.
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•A novel Li-metal anode of ZnO@C-MWCNTs was simply prepared by a solvothermal method.•Lithiophilic ZnO was confined in the MWCNT-implanted carbon micro-cubes.•Excellent electrochemical performance as Li-metal anodes were demonstrated.•The improved performance was attributed to unique structure of the 3D carbon frame.
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•Cholinium amino acids-based DESs were designed to fractionate hemicellulose.•Integration of water into DESs enhanced hemicellulose removal.•Effect of water in DESs on structural ...features of hemicellulose were revealed.•DES aqueous mixtures showed reusability in hemicellulose extraction.
Novel and green cholinium amino acids-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and their aqueous mixtures were synthesized and employed in deconstructing poplar for hemicellulose fractionation. The effects of water content in DESs on hemicellulose dissociation and structural features were comprehensively investigated, along with the reusability of DESs for treatment. The integration of water into DESs could facilitate hemicellulose fractionation, and the cholinium lysine: urea with 5 wt% water (CL: U-5) demonstrated the best performance with a hemicellulose yield of 59.2%. Further structure analysis revealed that hemicelluloses with various branching degrees and molecular weights were obtained with varying water content of DESs. Furthermore, the CL: U-5 had recyclability and reusability with a 40.5% hemicellulose yield obtained after reused three times. The novel and eco-friendly cholinium amino acids-based DESs treatment provides an effective and sustainable strategy for hemicellulose fractionation from woody biomass.
Previous research on employee‐turnover intention has focused mostly on a single level of analysis. This multilevel study of 1,149 employees and 144 managers from a 21‐store Taiwanese retail home ...improvement chain demonstrated that individual and store‐level factors were significantly associated with employee‐turnover intention. Job characteristics explain within‐store variance. In addition to age and tenure similarity among employees, transformational leadership and compensation explain between‐store variance. Theoretical and practical implications of the research are also discussed.
Although it is generally believed that nicotine accounts for the beneficial effect of smoking on ulcerative colitis, the underlying mechanisms remain not well understood. Our previous finding that ...nicotine inhibits inflammatory responses through inducing miR-124 prompted us to ask whether the miRNA is involved in the protective action of nicotine against UC. Our present study found that miR-124 expression is upregulated in colon tissues from UC patients and DSS colitis mice. Nicotine treatment further augmented miR-124 expression in lymphocytes isolated from human ulcerative colonic mucosa and ulcerative colon tissues from DSS mice, both in infiltrated lymphocytes and epithelial cells. Moreover, knockdown of miR-124 significantly diminished the beneficial effect of nicotine on murine colitis and IL-6-treated Caco-2 colon epithelial cells. Further analysis indicated that nicotine inhibited STAT3 activation in vivo and in IL-6 treated Caco-2 cells and Jurkat human T lymphocytes, in which miR-124 knockdown led to increased activation of STAT3. Blocking STAT3 activity alone is beneficial for DSS colitis and also abolished nicotine’s protective effect in this model. These data indicate that nicotine exerts its protective action in UC through inducing miR-124 and inhibiting STAT3, and suggest that the miR-124/STAT3 system is a potential target for the therapeutic intervention of UC.
Key message
Nicotine upregulates miR-124 expression in ulcerative colon tissues and cells.
MiR-124 is required for the protective role of nicotine in DSS colitis mice and epithelial cells.
The protective effect of nicotine in murine DSS colitis depends on blocking STAT3 activation.
MiR-124 mediates the inhibitory role of nicotine on STAT3/p-STAT3.
Targeting miR-124 and STAT3 represents a novel approach for treating ulcerative colitis.
Flashbulb memory (FBM) is viewed as a special type of autobiographical memory due to its richness of individuals’ self-related details when hearing the news and the long duration. It also helps shape ...people’s impression of public events to some extent. Given that personal involvement is one of the important antecedent variables of FBM, this study proposed to investigate it from spatiotemporal involvement (spatiotemporal distance) and empathic involvement (empathy level) to explore the impact of personal involvement on the formation of FBM during the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, digital media dependency was considered in the influence of involvement on the FBM since it is a crucial information source for individuals and a path to spread information about their lives and work during the pandemic. In this study, a total of 546 valid questionnaires (from May 1, 2022, to May 7, 2022) and 349 valid questionnaires (from May 10, 2022, to May 17, 2022) were collected through a two-stage online survey in Shanghai, China towards the epidemic wave at the end of March 2022. The mediating mode of digital media dependency was also examined on personal involvement in FBM performance, which consists of FBM specificity, confidence, and consistency. Results showed that empathic involvement had a significant negative influence on FBM specificity, namely the higher the empathy level was, the worse the FBM specificity would be, in which digital media dependency played a suppressing effect. Individuals’ spatiotemporal involvement was proved to have a significant positive influence on FBM specificity and consistency. It was one of the first to investigate the FBM formation process around “small peak” events in the context of the ongoing pandemic. Innovatively, empathy was adopted as the index of memory arousal for empathic involvement, and digital media dependency was considered an important mediator variable in the memory study. The research results have practical significance for promoting the process of epidemic recovery integrated with digital media and can provide a social reference for the shaping process of disaster memory from the perspective of digital information and emotional transmission.
The density peak clustering algorithm is a density based clustering algorithm. The shortcomings of the density peak clustering algorithm are sensitive to parameters and poor clustering results on ...complex manifold data sets. A novel density peak clustering algorithm is proposed in this paper, which is based on the natural reverse nearest neighbor structure. First of all, reverse nearest neighbor is introduced to calculate the local density of data objects. Then, the initial cluster centers are selected by combining the representative points and the density. Furthermore, the density adaptive distance is used to calculate the distance between the initial cluster centers, the decision graph is constructed on the initial cluster centers by using the local density calculated based on reverse nearest neighbor and the density adaptive distance, and the final cluster centers are selected according to the decision graph. Finally, the remaining data objects are assigned to the same cluster as their nearest initial clust
Intensive evidence has highlighted the effect of aberrant alternative splicing (AS) events on cancer progression when triggered by dysregulation of the SR protein family. Nonetheless, the underlying ...mechanism in breast cancer (BRCA) remains elusive. Here we sought to explore the molecular function of SRSF1 and identify the key AS events regulated by SRSF1 in BRCA.
We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the expression and clinical correlation of SRSF1 in BRCA based on the TCGA dataset, Metabric database and clinical tissue samples. Functional analysis of SRSF1 in BRCA was conducted in vitro and in vivo. SRSF1-mediated AS events and their binding motifs were identified by RNA-seq, RNA immunoprecipitation-PCR (RIP-PCR) and in vivo crosslinking followed by immunoprecipitation (CLIP), which was further validated by the minigene reporter assay. PTPMT1 exon 3 (E3) AS was identified to partially mediate the oncogenic role of SRSF1 by the P-AKT/C-MYC axis. Finally, the expression and clinical significance of these AS events were validated in clinical samples and using the TCGA database.
SRSF1 expression was consistently upregulated in BRCA samples, positively associated with tumor grade and the Ki-67 index, and correlated with poor prognosis in a hormone receptor-positive (HR+) cohort, which facilitated proliferation, cell migration and inhibited apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. We identified SRSF1-mediated AS events and discovered the SRSF1 binding motif in the regulation of splice switching of PTPMT1. Furthermore, PTPMT1 splice switching was regulated by SRSF1 by binding directly to its motif in E3 which partially mediated the oncogenic role of SRSF1 by the AKT/C-MYC axis. Additionally, PTPMT1 splice switching was validated in tissue samples of BRCA patients and using the TCGA database. The high-risk group, identified by AS of PTPMT1 and expression of SRSF1, possessed poorer prognosis in the stage I/II TCGA BRCA cohort.
SRSF1 exerts oncogenic roles in BRCA partially by regulating the AS of PTPMT1, which could be a therapeutic target candidate in BRCA and a prognostic factor in HR+ BRCA patient.
Epidemiological investigations have shown that smoking ameliorates ulcerative colitis (UC) but exacerbates Crohn's disease (CD), diseases that feature a Th2-mediated and Th1-mediated response, ...respectively. Cigarette extracts, especially nicotine, affect the Th1/Th2 balance. We previously reported that nicotine protects against mouse DSS colitis (similar to UC) by enhancing microRNA-124 (miR-124) expression. Intriguingly, elevation of miR-124 in CD is reported to aggravate the disease. Here we investigate the dual regulation of miR-124 in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), which may explain the similar bidirectional regulation of tobacco. We found that overexpressed miR-124 protected against mouse DSS-induced colitis with a Th1 polarization in peripheral blood lymphocytes and colon tissues, which was also found in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Conversely, miR-124 knockdown worsened DSS murine colitis with a Th2 polarization. Moreover, knockdown of miR-124 could eliminate the polarization toward Th1 after nicotine treatment, suggesting that miR-124 mediates the effect of nicotine on the Th1/Th2 balance. In addition, interference of IL-6R, which is a downstream target of miR-124, could remarkably weaken the Th1 polarization induced by miR-124. Taken together, these results suggest that nicotine shifts the balance of Th1/Th2 toward Th1 via a miR-124-mediated IL-6R pathway, which might explain its dual role in IBDs.
Molybdenum disulfide is considered one of the most promising anodes for lithium-ion batteries due to its high specific capacity; however, it suffers from an unstable solid electrolyte interphase. ...Understanding its structural evolution and reaction mechanism upon charging/discharging is crucial for further improvements in battery performance. Herein, the interfacial processes of solid electrolyte interphase film formation and lithiation/delithiation on ultra-flat monolayer molybdenum disulfide are monitored by in situ atomic force microscopy. The live formation of ultra-thin and dense films can be induced by the use of fluoroethylene carbonate as an additive to effectively protect the anode electrodes. The evolution of the fluoroethylene carbonate-derived solid electrolyte interphase film upon cycling is quantitatively analysed. Furthermore, the formation of wrinkle-structure networks upon lithiation process is distinguished in detailed steps, and accordingly, structure-reactivity correlations are proposed. These quantitative results provide an in-depth understanding of the interfacial mechanism in molybdenum disulfide-based lithium-ion batteries.
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