Uniform implantation of CNTs on total activated carbon surfaces: a smart engineering protocol for commercial supercapacitor applications.

The main obstacles to building better supercapacitors are still trade-offs between energy and power parameters. To promote commercial supercapacitor behaviors, proper optimization toward electrode configurations/architectures may be a feasible and effective way. We herein propose a smart and reliable electrode engineering protocol, by in situ implantation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on total activated carbon (AC) surfaces via a mild chemical vapor deposition process at ∼550 °C, using nickel nitrate hydroxide (NNH) thin films and waste ethanol solvents as the catalyst and carbon sources, respectively.

MeCP2 Promotes Gastric Cancer Progression Through Regulating FOXF1/Wnt5a/β-Catenin and MYOD1/Caspase-3 Signaling Pathways.

Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) has recently been characterized as an oncogene frequently amplified in several types of cancer. However, its precise role in gastric cancer (GC) and the molecular mechanism of MeCP2 regulation are still largely unknown. Here we report that MeCP2 is highly expressed in primary GC tissues and the expression level is correlated with the clinicopathologic features of GC.

Functional role and therapeutic targeting of p21-activated kinase 4 in multiple myeloma.

Dysregulated oncogenic serine/threonine kinases play a pathological role in diverse forms of malignancies, including multiple myeloma (MM), and thus represent potential therapeutic targets. Here, we evaluated the biological and functional role of p21-activated kinase 4 (PAK4) and its potential as a new target in MM for clinical applications. PAK4 promoted MM cell growth and survival via activation of MM survival signaling pathways, including the MEK-extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway.

Nano-Photoelectrochemical Cell Arrays with Spatially Isolated Oxidation and Reduction Channels.

Photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy is explored for many diverse applications but suffers from poor efficiencies due to limited solar absorption, inadequate charge carrier separation, redox half-reactions occurring in close proximity, and/or long ion diffusion lengths. We have taken a drastically different approach to the design of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) to spatially isolate reaction sites at the nanoscale to different materials and flow channels, suppressing carrier recombination and back-reaction of intermediates while shortening ion diffusion paths and, importantly, avoiding mixed product generation. We developed massively parallel nano-PECs composed of an array of open-ended carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with photoanodic reactions occurring on the outer walls, uniformly coated with titanium dioxide (TiO), and photocathodic reactions occurring on the inner walls, decorated with platinum (Pt).

Structural features and thermal property of propionylated starches with different amylose/amylopectin ratio.

This work concerned the effects of amylose/amylopectin ratio on the structure and thermal stability of propionylated starches with high degree of substitution (DS). Four starches with different amylose content were used to obtain propionylated starches. Acylation partly disrupted granule morphology of native starches, and the imperfection and porous structures of starch granule were intensified along with the increased amylose content.

Single-cell sequencing maps gene expression to mutational phylogenies in PDGF- and EGF-driven gliomas.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of primary brain tumor. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors are frequently amplified and/or possess gain-of-function mutations in GBM However, clinical trials of tyrosine-kinase inhibitors have shown disappointing efficacy, in part due to intra-tumor heterogeneity. To assess the effect of clonal heterogeneity on gene expression, we derived an approach to map single-cell expression profiles to sequentially acquired mutations identified from exome sequencing.

Propagating Humanized BLT Mice for the Study of Human Immunology and Immunotherapy.

The humanized bone marrow-liver-thymus (BLT) mouse model harbors a nearly complete human immune system, therefore providing a powerful tool to study human immunology and immunotherapy. However, its application is greatly limited by the restricted supply of human CD34 hematopoietic stem cells and fetal thymus tissues that are needed to generate these mice. The restriction is especially significant for the study of human immune systems with special genetic traits, such as certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes or monogene deficiencies.

Effect of film multi-scale structure on the water vapor permeability in hydroxypropyl starch (HPS)/Na-MMT nanocomposites.

To improve the water vapor resistance of starch-based films, Na-MMT (Na-montmorillonite) as nanofillers were fabricated into hydroxypropyl starch and the multi-scale structural changes (including intermolecular interaction, short-range conformation, long-range ordered structure and the aggregated structure of the film) were revealed. The elongation of the water vapor molecule pathway by tortuous path is generally recognized as the main reason for the improvement of water resistance. However this study observed the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) was at the 3% Na-MMT/hydroxypropyl starch (HPS) ratio instead of 5% even nanofillers were partially exfoliated at both ratio.

Lack of Gender-Related Differences in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia.

Objective: Gender differences, including younger age of onset and greater premorbid deficits in men, have been reported in adult-onset schizophrenia. This study comprehensively evaluated gender differences in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), a rare variant of the disorder.

Method: Demographic, premorbid, clinical, familial, and cognitive characteristics, presence of chromosomal abnormalities, and brain magnetic resonance imaging cortical volumes were evaluated in 133 patients with COS.

Thymine DNA Glycosylase Gene Knockdown Can Affect the Differentiation of Pig Preadipocytes.

Aims: To study the effect of thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) gene knockdown on the differentiation of pig preadipocytes.

Methods: Preadipocytes were obtained from subcutaneous adipose tissue from the neck of 1- to 7-day-old pigs. The TDG gene was knocked down using siRNA, and cell differentiation was induced.

Phase diagram of quantum critical system via local convertibility of ground state.

We investigate the relationship between two kinds of ground-state local convertibility and quantum phase transitions in XY model. The local operations and classical communications (LOCC) convertibility is examined by the majorization relations and the entanglement-assisted local operations and classical communications (ELOCC) via Rényi entropy interception. In the phase diagram of XY model, LOCC convertibility and ELOCC convertibility of ground-states are presented and compared.

Asiatic acid uncouples respiration in isolated mouse liver mitochondria and induces HepG2 cells death.

Asiatic acid, one of the triterpenoid components isolated from Centella asiatica, has received increasing attention due to a wide variety of biological activities. To date, little is known about its mechanisms of action. Here we examined the cytotoxic effect of asiatic acid on HepG2 cells and elucidated some of the underlying mechanisms.

SCell: integrated analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data.

Unlabelled: Analysis of the composition of heterogeneous tissue has been greatly enabled by recent developments in single-cell transcriptomics. We present SCell, an integrated software tool for quality filtering, normalization, feature selection, iterative dimensionality reduction, clustering and the estimation of gene-expression gradients from large ensembles of single-cell RNA-seq datasets. SCell is open source, and implemented with an intuitive graphical interface.

Identification of novel serum peptide biomarkers for high-altitude adaptation: a comparative approach.

We aimed to identify serum biomarkers for screening individuals who could adapt to high-altitude hypoxia at sea level. HHA (high-altitude hypoxia acclimated; n = 48) and HHI (high-altitude hypoxia illness; n = 48) groups were distinguished at high altitude, routine blood tests were performed for both groups at high altitude and at sea level. Serum biomarkers were identified by comparing serum peptidome profiling between HHI and HHA groups collected at sea level.

Single-cell analysis of long non-coding RNAs in the developing human neocortex.

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) comprise a diverse class of transcripts that can regulate molecular and cellular processes in brain development and disease. LncRNAs exhibit cell type- and tissue-specific expression, but little is known about the expression and function of lncRNAs in the developing human brain. Furthermore, it has been unclear whether lncRNAs are highly expressed in subsets of cells within tissues, despite appearing lowly expressed in bulk populations.

Extensive ab initio study of the electronic states of BSe radical including spin-orbit coupling.

The internally contracted multi-reference configuration interaction method (MRCI) with Davidson modification and the Douglas-Kroll scalar relativistic correction has been used to calculate the BSe molecule at the level of aug-cc-pV5Z basis set. The calculated electronic states, including 9 doublet and 6 quartet Λ-S states, are correlated to the dissociation limit of B((2)P(u))+Se((3)P(g)) and B((2)P(u))+Se((1)D(g)). The Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) interaction is taken into account via the state interaction approach with the full Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian operator, which causes the entire 15 Λ-S states to split into 32Ω states.

Steering Bell-diagonal states.

We investigate the steerability of two-qubit Bell-diagonal states under projective measurements by the steering party. In the simplest nontrivial scenario of two projective measurements, we solve this problem completely by virtue of the connection between the steering problem and the joint-measurement problem. A necessary and sufficient criterion is derived together with a simple geometrical interpretation.

Tailoring electromagnetically induced transparency with different coupling mechanisms.

Tailoring electromagnetically induced transparency with two different coupling mechanisms has been numerically demonstrated. The results show that EIT based on simultaneous electric resonance and magnetic resonance has relatively larger coupling distance compared with that based on electric resonance near field coupling to magnetic resonance. The relatively large coupling distance is due to the relatively small susceptibility change.

Identification of novel serum peptides biomarkers for female breast cancer patients in Western China.

This study aimed to identify novel serum peptides biomarkers for female breast cancer (BC) patients. We analyzed the serum proteomic profiling of 247 serum samples from 96 BC patients, 48 additional paired pre- and postoperative BC patients, 39 fibroadenoma patients as benign disease controls, and 64 healthy controls, using magnetic-bead-based separation followed by MALDI-TOF MS. ClinProTools software identified 78 m/z peaks that differed among all analyzed groups, ten peaks were significantly different (P < 0.

ZT-25, a new vacuolar H(+)-ATPase inhibitor, induces apoptosis and protective autophagy through ROS generation in HepG2 cells.

The vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) has recently been proposed as a key target for new strategies in cancer treatment. Our previous work has proved that diphyllin glycoside is a novel inhibitor of V-ATPase. Here the cytotoxic effects of ZT-25, the most potent diphyllin glycoside derivatives, were studied and some of the underlying mechanisms were elucidated.

Fast and intense green emission of Tb(3+) in borosilicate glass modified by Cu(.).

We present photoluminescence properties of Tb(3+) doped borosilicate glasses modified by Cu(+). Around 5-time enhanced emission at 541 nm due to the superposed emission of Tb(3+) and Cu(+) is observed under the deep UV excitation. Excitation spectra demonstrate a greatly increased absorption of Tb(3+) ions in the deep UV region towards the Cu(+) excitation band, while the shortened Cu(+) emission lifetime of glasses in association with presence of Tb(3+) ions implies an energy transfer process from Cu(+) to Tb(3+) ions.

Naturally occurring genetic mutations in the 5'-upstream regulatory region of bovine FSHB generate a novel cis-regulatory element that affects its expression.

We previously reported that numerous naturally occurring genetic mutations in the 5'-upstream regulatory region (5'-URR) of the bovine follicle-stimulating hormone beta-subunit gene (FSHB) were associated with reduced serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, poor-quality semen and low fertility in bulls. In addition, two different FSHB mRNA transcripts resulting from the linked mutations of genomic DNA were discovered in mutation-bearing bull pituitaries. Here, using electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we identified c.