Interfacial Interaction in NiFe LDH/NiS2/VS2 for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Water Splitting.

A bifunctional electrocatalyst with high efficiency and low costs for overall water splitting is critical to achieving a green hydrogen economy and coping with the energy crisis. However, developing robust electrocatalysts still faces huge challenges, owing to unsatisfactory electron transfer and inherent activity. Herein, NiFe LDH/NiS2/VS2 heterojunctions have been designed as freestanding bifunctional electrocatalysts to split water, exhibiting enhanced electron transfer and abundant catalytic sites. The optimum NiFe LDH/NiS2/VS2 electrocatalyst exhibits a small overpotential of 380 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for overall water splitting and superior electrocatalytic performance in both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER/OER). Specifically, the electrocatalyst requires overpotentials of 76 and 286 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for HER and OER, respectively, in alkaline electrolytes, which originate from the synergistic interaction among the facilitated electron transfer and increasingly exposed active sites due to the modulation of interfaces and construction of heterojunctions.

Robust Thiazole-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks for Water Sensing with High Selectivity and Sensitivity.

The rational design of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with hydrochromic properties is of significant value because of the facile and rapid detection of water in diverse fields. In this report, we present a thiazole-linked COF (TZ-COF-6) sensor with a large surface area, ultrahigh stability, and excellent crystallinity. The sensor was synthesized through a simple three-component reaction involving amine, aldehyde, and sulfur. The thiazole and methoxy groups confer strong basicity to TZ-COF-6 at the nitrogen sites, making them easily protonated reversibly by water. Therefore, TZ-COF-6 displayed color change visible to the naked eye from yellow to red when protonated, along with a red shift in absorption in the ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-vis DRS) when exposed to water. Importantly, the water-sensing process was not affected by polar organic solvents, demonstrating greater selectivity and sensitivity compared to other COF sensors. Therefore, TZ-COF-6 was used to detect trace amounts of water in organic solvents. In strong polar solvents, such as N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) and ethanol (EtOH), the limit of detection (LOD) for water was as low as 0.06% and 0.53%, respectively. Even after 8 months of storage and 15 cycles, TZ-COF-6 retained its original crystallinity and detection efficiency, displaying high stability and excellent cycle performance.

Comparative transcription profiling of mRNA and lncRNA in pulmonary arterial hypertension after C75 treatment.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate mRNA and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression profiles in monocrotaline (MCT)- mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Lung tissues (Control-Vehicle, MCT-Vehicle, and MCT-C75) were examined by high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Aberrantly expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs were analyzed by bioinformatics. Cell proliferation and cell cycle analysis were performed to detect the potential protective effects of C75, an inhibitor of fatty acid synthase. The signaling pathways associated with inflammatory responses were verified by real time-PCR. RESULTS: RNA sequencing data reveals 285 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 147 lncRNAs in the MCT-Vehicle group compared to the control. After five-week of C75 treatment, 514 DEGs and 84 lncRNAs are aberrant compared to the MCT-Vehicle group. Analysis of DEGs and lncRNA target genes reveals that they were enriched in pathways related to cell cycle, cell division, and vascular smooth muscle contraction that contributes to the PAH pathological process. Subsequently, the expression of eight DEGs and three lncRNAs is verified using RT-PCR. Differentially expressed lncRNAs (ENSMUSG00000110393.2, Gm38850, ENSMUSG00000100465.1, ENSMUSG00000110399.1) may associate in PAH pathogenesis as suggested by co-expression network analysis. C75 can protect against MCT-induced PAH through its anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: These DEGs and lncRNAs can be considered as novel candidate regulators of PAH pathogenesis. We propose that C75 treatment can partially reverse PAH pathogenesis through modulating cell cycle, cell proliferation, and anti-inflammatory.

Electron-Rich Pincer Ligand-Coupled Cobalt Porphyrin Polymer with Single-Atom Sites for Efficient (Photo)Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction at Ultralow Overpotential.

Porphyrin and phthalocyanine complexes bearing single-atom catalytic sites (M-N4 ) have been explored as promising electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2 RR), whose activity can be improved by regulating the ligands and/or the metal centers. Moreover, their photosensitive features also provide the possibility for highly efficient photoelectrocatalytic CO2 RR. Herein, a novel N'NN'-pincer-ligand (N3 )-coupled cobalt porphyrin (CoPor-N3 ) polymer is developed for realizing efficient (photo)electrocatalytic CO2 RR. The unraveled electronic structure and (photo)electrocatalytic features suggest that a synergistic effect between the electron-rich N3 ligands and the Co-N4 single-atom sites in the CoPor-N3 polymer results in the Co centers attaining more electrons, which is beneficial to facilitating the electron transfer to CO2 for the activation and reduction processes. As expected, the resultant CoPor-N3 polymer delivers a good long-term durability and high CO faradaic efficiency (96%) at an ultralow overpotential (0.39 V), which outperforms the CoPor alone and most porphyrin-/phthalocyanine-based electrocatalysts reported so far. Moreover, the photosensitivity of CoPor units can further reduce the overpotential to 0.34 V with a CO faradaic efficiency over 90% under light illumination. The present findings offer a new approach to constructing porphyrin-based photosensitive electrocatalysts with high-efficiency photoelectrocatalytic CO2 RR.

Modulating the electronic structure of VS2via Ru decoration for an efficient pH-universal electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction.

High-efficiency water electrolysis over a broad pH range is desirable but challenging. Herein, Ru-decorated VS2 on carbon cloth (Ru-VS2/CC) has been in situ synthesized, which features the regulated electronic structure of VS2 by introducing Ru. It is remarkable that the optimal Ru-VS2/CC displays excellent electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity with overpotentials of 89 and 87 mV at -10 mA cm-2 in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1.0 M KOH, respectively. Theoretical calculations and electrocatalytic measurements have demonstrated that introducing Ru induces an enhanced charge density around the Fermi level, facilitating charge transfer and speeding up the electrocatalytic HER kinetics. The Gibbs free energy of the hydrogen intermediate (ΔGH*) of Ru-VS2/CC (0.23 eV) is much closer to zero than that of pure VS2 (0.51 eV) and Ru (-0.37 eV), demonstrating an easier hydrogen adsorption and desorption process for Ru-VS2/CC. The more favorable ΔGH*, differential charge density and the d-band center endow Ru-VS2 with enhanced intrinsic electrocatalytic activity. This study presents a feasible strategy for enhancing electrocatalytic HER activity by the regulation of the electronic structure and the rational integration of dual active components.

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line (SHETi004-A) from a Chinese Han child with left bundle branch block.

Desmin (DES) is an important intermediate filament protein associated with the extrasarcomeric cytoskeleton and cellular function that was first reported to be associated with cardiac conduction disease and cardiomyopathy in 1998. We generated an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line from the left bundle branch block (LBBB) patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells using Sendai virus-mediated reprogramming. The iPSCs exhibited stable amplification, expressed pluripotent markers, and spontaneously differentiated into three layers in vitro. Additionally, it showed a normal diploid karyotype and maintained the pathogenic mutation in DES. Hence, the iPSC line provided a platform for exploring LBBB mechanisms associated with DES mutations.

TGF-ß1/Smad3 signaling promotes collagen synthesis in pulmonary artery smooth muscle by down-regulating miR-29b.

Deposition of fibronectin and collagen in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the proliferation, migration, and hypertrophy of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) result in pulmonary arterial (PA) hypertrophy and muscularization, leading to increased pulmonary vascular resistance in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). MicroRNA29 (miR-29) is reported to be associated with diseases such as liver fibrosis, renal fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and cardiac fibrosis in which collagen synthesis plays an important role. Due to the possible link between PAH and collagen, in this study, we examined the role and therapeutic potential of miR-29b in vitro and in a rat model of pulmonary hypertension induced by monocrotaline (MCT). Results revealed that miR-29b treatment PAH rats showed a lower level of collagen synthesis. Furthermore, in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), TGFß1/Smad3 signaling negatively regulated the expression of miR-29b, and miR-29b suppressed collagen synthesis by directly targeting collagen I and blocking PI3K/AKT signaling. In addition, TGF-ß1/Smad3 signaling promoted collagen synthesis in PASMCs by down-regulating miR-29b. Interestingly, Smad3 decreased the expression of miR-29b by interacting with its promotor. In conclusion, our results revealed that miR-29b plays an important role in collagen synthesis and may be a therapeutic target for PAH when regulated by the TGF-ß1/Smad3 pathway.

Enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen evolution of α-Co(OH)2 nanosheets on carbon nanotube/polyimide films.

The future of energy supply depends on innovative breakthroughs in the development of highly efficient, sustainable and low-cost systems for renewable energy conversion and storage. Water splitting is a promising and appealing solution. In this work, we report Co(OH)2 on the carbon nanotube/polyimide film (PI/CNT-Co(OH)2) as an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The PI/CNT film allows intimate growth of Co(OH)2 nanosheets on its surface. The nanosheet structure of Co(OH)2 and the underlying PI/CNT film facilitate the good OER performance of the PI/CNT-Co(OH)2 film. Co(OH)2 nanosheets on the PI/CNT film afford an earlier onset of oxygen evolution, a low overpotential of 317 mV and a small Tafel slope of 49 mV per decade in alkaline media. This work applies the PI/CNT film in water splitting to enhance the OER electrocatalytic activity of Co(OH)2, which opens up a promising avenue for the exploration of highly active electrocatalysts that can replace noble-metal based catalysts for the OER.