Developing Fibrous Biomaterials to Modulate Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition.

Despite their critical roles in tissue repair and pathological processes such as fibrosis, tumor invasion, and metastasis, the origins of mesenchymal cells remain poorly understood. Among the likely routes, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) emerge as important source of these cells. EMTs manifest themselves as a phenotypic transition in terminally differentiated epithelial cells into mesenchymal cells which are closely related to embryogenesis and organ development as well as in chronically inflamed tissues and neoplasia.

Plasma-Induced Catalytic Conversion of Nitrogen and Hydrogen to Ammonia over Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks ZIF-8 and ZIF-67.

Microporous crystals have emerged as highly appealing catalytic materials for the plasma catalytic synthesis of ammonia. Herein, we demonstrate that zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) can be employed as efficient catalysts for the cold plasma ammonia synthesis using an atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge reactor. We studied two prototypical ZIFs denoted as ZIF-8 and ZIF-67, with a uniform window pore aperture of 3.