Revealing Pseudocapacitive Mechanisms of Metal Dichalcogenide SnS2/Graphene‐CNT Aerogels for High‐Energy Na Hybrid Capacitors

SnS₂ nanoplatelet electrodes can offer an exceptionally high pseudocapacitance in an organic Na⁺ ion electrolyte system, but their underlying mechanisms are still largely unexplored, hindering the practical applications of pseudocapacitive SnS₂ anodes in Na‐ion batteries (SIBs) and Na hybrid capacitors (SHCs). Herein, SnS₂ nanoplatelets are grown directly on SnO₂/C composites to synthesize SnS₂/graphene‐carbon nanotube aerogel (SnS₂/GCA) by pressurized sulfidation where the original morphology of carbon framework is preserved. The composite electrode possessing a large surface area delivers a remarkable specific capacity of 600.3 mA h g^?1 at 0.2 A g^?1 and 304.8 mA h g^?1 at an ultrahigh current density of 10 A g^?1 in SIBs. SHCs comprising a SnS₂/GCA composite anode and an activated carbon cathode present exceptional energy densities of 108.3 and 26.9 W h kg^?1 at power densities of 130 and 6053 W kg^?1, respectively. The in situ transmission electron microscopy and the density functional theory calculations reveal that the excellent pseudocapacitance originates from the combination of Na adsorption on the surface/Sn edge of SnS₂ nanoplatelets and ultrafast Na⁺ ion intercalation into the SnS₂ layers.     

Mapping Nonfullerene Acceptors with a Novel Wide Bandgap Polymer for High Performance Polymer Solar Cells

A new weak electron‐deficient building block, bis(2‐ethylhexyl) 2,5‐bis(5‐bromothiophen‐2‐yl) thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐3,6‐dicarboxylate ( TT‐Th ), is incorporated to construct a wide‐bandgap (1.88 eV) polymer PBDT‐TT for nonfullerene polymer solar cells (NF‐PSCs). PBDT‐TT possesses suitable energy levels and complementary absorption when blended with both ITIC analogues ( ITIC and IT‐M ) and a near‐infrared (NIR) acceptor ( 6TIC ). Moreover, PBDT‐TT exhibits good conjugated planarity and preferable face‐on orientation in the blended thin film, which are beneficial for charge transfer and carrier transport. The PSCs based on PBDT‐TT : IT‐M and PBDT‐TT : 6TIC blend films yield high power conversion efficiencies of 11.38% and 11.03%, respectively. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the PCE of 11.03% for PBDT‐TT : 6TIC‐ based device is one of the highest values reported for NIR NF‐PSCs. This work demonstrates that TT‐Th is a useful new electron‐accepting building block for making p‐type wide bandgap polymers for efficient NIR NF‐PSCs.     

MicroRNA‐760 Inhibits Doxorubicin Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma through Regulating Notch1/Hes1‐PTEN/Akt Signaling Pathway

Accumulating studies have suggested that microRNA‐760 (miR‐760) plays an important role in chemoresistance of various cancer cells. However, whether miR‐760 regulates the chemoresistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. In this study, we found that miR‐760 was decreased in HCC cell lines, and doxorubicin (Dox) treatment significantly decreased miR‐760 expression in HCC cells. Overexpression of miR‐760 sensitized HCC cells to Dox‐induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis, whereas miR‐760 inhibition showed the opposite effects. Notch1 was predicted as a target gene of miR‐760. miR‐760 negatively regulated Notch1 expression and Notch1/Hes1 signaling. Overexpression of miR‐760 increased PTEN expression and decreased the phosphorylation of Akt. Activation of Notch signaling significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of miR‐760 on Dox‐resistance and abrogated the effect of miR‐760 on the PTEN/Akt signaling pathway in HCC cells. Overall, our results demonstrate that miR‐760 inhibits Dox‐resistance in HCC cells through inhibiting Notch1 and promoting PTEN expression.     

Proteolytic processing in a non-lysosomal compartment is required for transcytosis of protein-polylysine conjugates in cultured Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

The transcytosis of horseradish peroxidase, as well as its poly(L-lys) and poly(D-lys) thioether conjugates, was investigated in Strain I Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell monolayers grown on 0.4 microns pore size polycarbonate membranes in Costar Transwells. The 3 types of HRP had almost identical rates of transport during the first 2 hr of incubation. However, a significant increase of basal-to-apical transport was detected beginning at 3 hr only in Transwells containing the poly(L-lys) conjugate. This increase was inhibited by colchicine (2 microM) and by the Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor (0.1 mg/ml), but not by NH4Cl (10 mM) or chloroquine (0.1 mM). The increase was abolished either by prior trypsinization of the conjugate or by incubation at 4 degrees C. Ultrafiltration studies indicated that the transcytosed poly(L-lys) conjugate was smaller in size than the original conjugate. These results indicate that the conjugate was processed during transcytosis in a non-lysosomal proteolytic compartment, where its poly(L-lys) moiety was selectively degraded, allowing active peroxidase to be released into the apical medium.     

Knockdown of dual specificity phosphatase 4 enhances the chemosensitivity of MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells to doxorubicin

BackgroundBreast cancer is the major cause of cancer-related deaths in females world-wide. Doxorubicin-based therapy has limited efficacy in breast cancer due to drug resistance, which has been shown to be associated with the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the molecular mechanisms linking the EMT and drug resistance in breast cancer cells remain unclear. Dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), a member of the dual specificity phosphatase family, is associated with cellular proliferation and differentiation; however, its role in breast cancer progression is controversial.MethodsWe used cell viability assays, Western blotting and immunofluorescent staining, combined with siRNA interference, to evaluate chemoresistance and the EMT in MCF-7 and adriamycin-resistant MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells, and investigate the underlying mechanisms.ResultsKnockdown of DUSP4 significantly increased the chemosensitivity of MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells to doxorubicin, and MCF-7/ADR cells which expressed high levels of DUSP4 had a mesenchymal phenotype. Furthermore, knockdown of DUSP4 reversed the EMT in MCF-7/ADR cells, as demonstrated by upregulation of epithelial biomarkers and downregulation of mesenchymal biomarkers, and also increased the chemosensitivity of MCF-7/ADR cells to doxorubicin.ConclusionsDUSP4 might represent a potential drug target for inhibiting drug resistance and regulating the process of the EMT during the treatment of breast cancer.     

Erythrocyte immune system: beyond the gas transporter

Accumulating research has revealed that erythrocytes play unique roles in the innate immune system. Once thought of as immunologically inert cells, erythrocytes are functional cells that exert diverse immunological effects. Although mature mammal erythrocytes lack internal organelles, they express various receptors, which provide an extraordinary ability for erythrocytes to clear or sequester circulating molecules that affect immune functions. In this review, we elucidate some crucial immunological molecules associated with erythrocytes, such as CR1, CD47, TLR9, and cytokines. CR1 acts as a bridge in clearing off immune complexes and an entrance gate for some pathogens. CD47, once bound to SIRPα, generates an inhibitory signal in macrophage phagocytosis. Reciprocally, erythrocyte CD47 undergoes a conformational change during oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence, subsequently activating phagocytic signals through binding to TSP-1. TLR9 recognizes unmethylated CpG-DNA present in viruses and bacteria. Erythrocyte TLR9 also binds to and eliminates mitochondrial DNA. Erythrocytes can recruit chemokines and modulate plasma chemokine levels through the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC). Moreover, erythrocytes may exert immune functions by releasing danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), i.e., heme, IL-33, ATP, and Hsp70. Heme bound with toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) has the potential to trigger an inflammatory response. Similarly, IL-33, ATP, and Hsp70 from damaged erythrocytes may be involved in the innate immune response via diverse signaling mechanisms. This review provides novel insight into the immunological functions of erythrocytes, which play an irreplaceable role in innate immune responses. We argue that erythrocyte-involved immune function is a widespread area warranting intensive investigation.     

Locomotion of Gymnarchus Niloticus： Experiment and Kinematics

In addition to forward undulatory swimming, Gymnarchus niloticus can swim via undulations of the dorsal fin while the body axis remains straight; furthermore, it swims forward and backward in a similar way, which indicates that the undulation of the dorsal fin can simultaneously provide bidirectional propulsive and maneuvering forces with the help of the tail fin. A high-resolution Charge-Coupled Device （CCD） imaging camera system is used to record kinematics of steady swimming as well as maneuvering in G. niloticus. Based on experimental data, this paper discusses the kinematics （cruising speed, wave speed, cycle frequency, amplitude, lateral displacement） of forward as well as backward swimming and maneuvering. During forward swimming, the propulsive force is generated mainly by undulations of the dorsal fin while the body axis remains straight. The kinematic parameters （wave speed, wavelength, cycle frequency, amplitude） have statistically significant correlations with cruising speed. In addition, the yaw at the head is minimal during steady swimming. From experimental data, the maximal lateral displacement of head is not more than 1% of the body length, while the maximal lateral displacement of the whole body is not more than 5% of the body length. Another important feature is that G. niloticus swims backwards using an undulatory mechanism that resembles the forward undulatory swimming mechanism. In backward swimming, the increase of lateral displacement of the head is comparatively significant; the amplitude profiles of the propulsive wave along the dorsal fin are significantly different from those in forward swimming. When G. niloticus does fast maneuvering, its body is first bent into either a C shape or an S shape, then it is rapidly unwound in a travelling wave fashion. It rarely maneuvers without the help of the tail fin and body bending.     

Molecular cloning and functional analysis of ESGP, an embryonic stem cell and germ cell specific protein

Several putative Oct-4 downstream genes from mouse embryonic stem （ES） cells have been identified using the suppression-subtractive hybridization method. In this study, one of the novel genes encoding an ES cell and germ cell specific protein （ESGP） was cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends. ESGP contains 801 bp encoding an 84 amino acid small protein and has no significant homology to any known genes. There is a signal peptide at the N-terminal of ESGP protein as predicted by SeqWeb （GCG） （SeqWeb version 2 ttp：//gcg.biosino.org：8080/）. The result of immunofluorescence assay suggested that ESGP might encode a secretory protein. The expression pattern of ESGP is consistent with the expression of Oct-4 during embryonic development. ESGP protein was detected in fertilized oocyte, from 3.5 day postcoital （dpc） blastocyst to 17.5 dpc embryo, and was only detected in testis and ovary tissues in adult. In vitro, ESGP was only expressed in pluripotent cell lines, such as embryonic stem cells, embryonic carcinoma cells and embryonic germ cells, but not in their differentiated progenies. Despite its specific expression, forced expression of ESGP is not indispensable for the effect of Oct-4 on ES cell self-renewal, and does not affect the differentiation to three germ layers.     

LGT蛋白质组阳性肿瘤患者免疫功能的观察报告——LGT系列论文之八

目的：了解LGT（lost goodwill target）蛋白质组阳性表达患者CD3^＋、CD4^＋、CD8^＋、CD4^＋/CD8^＋、T细胞和NK细胞的变化规律.方法：对30例LGT蛋白质组阳性表达的肿瘤患者分别采用美国BD公司生产的流式细胞检测仪及提供的相应单克隆抗体检测患者空腹血清CD3^＋、CD4^＋、CD8^＋、CD4^＋/CD8^＋、T细胞和NK细胞并用美国赛费吉（Ciphergen）公司制造的蛋白质指纹仪及该公司提供的弱阳离子交换芯片（WCX2）按其操作方法（SELDI检测技术）配对检测肿瘤患者空腹血清中的蛋白质指纹,对有病情加重的患者均检查两次以上.以指纹图上质荷比（M/Z）为11100＋H～11900＋H之间出现一峰簇样（cluster）的指纹标志为LGT阳性诊断标准,并按蛋白质指纹LGT检测阳性次数分成二组.对二组内CD3^＋、CD4^＋、CD8^＋、CD4^＋/CD8^＋、T细胞和NK细胞与正常参考值之间进行统计学显著性检验.结果：CD3^＋T细胞值在LGT蛋白质组持续阳性表达组是增高的,在另一组是无变化,二者之间有显著性差异,而CD8^＋T细胞在二组内同时增高,CD4^＋T细胞和NK细胞二组同时低下,无显著性差别.结论：本研究提示肿瘤晚期可能存在有酪氨酸蛋白激酶修饰的细胞内信号传导,使之病情加重,而肿瘤早期则不明显.这是一种新的看法,应加强这个方面的研究.