ORP8 inhibits renal cell carcinoma progression by accelerating Stathmin1 degradation and microtubule polymerization.

ORP8 has been reported to suppress tumor progression in various malignancies. However, the functions and underlying mechanisms of ORP8 are still unknown in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Here, decreased expression of ORP8 was detected in RCC tissues and cell lines. Functional assays verified that ORP8 suppressed RCC cell growth, migration, invasion, and metastasis. Mechanistically, ORP8 attenuated Stathmin1 expression by accelerating ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation and led to an increase in microtubule polymerization. Lastly, ORP8 knockdown partly rescued microtubule polymerization, as well as aggressive cell phenotypes induced by paclitaxel. Our findings elucidated that ORP8 suppressed the malignant progression of RCC by increasing Stathmin1 degradation and microtubule polymerization, thus suggesting that ORP8 might be a novel target for the treatment of RCC.

Double-Network Polymer Electrolytes with Ionic Liquids for Lithium Metal Batteries.

Solid-state polymer electrolytes have become promising candidates for high-energy-density lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, they suffer from low ionic conductivities at room temperature. In this work, two types of composite polymer electrolytes based on a double-network polymer, an ionic liquid (IL) of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (Pyr14TFSI) or 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl) imide (EmimTFSI), and bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide lithium salt (LiTFSI) were prepared by a facile one-pot method. The two types of CPEs possess good mechanical properties, excellent thermal stability, and high ionic conductivities greater than 10-4 S cm-1 at 20 °C with 26 wt% IL. The performance diversity of the CPEs was also carefully investigated through a series of electrochemical measurements. Although the CPEs containing EmimTFSI show higher ionic conductivities than those of CPEs with Pyr14TFSI, the latter ones have wider electrochemical stability windows and better resistance to the growth of lithium dendrites. Moreover, CPE with 34 wt% Pyr14TFSI leads to Li/LiFePO4 batteries with favorable rate capability and cycling stability and a columbic efficiency of 98.8% at 20 °C, which suggests that CPEs are promising for practical application in solid-state LMBs.

Polymerized Ionic Liquid-Containing Interpenetrating Network Solid Polymer Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

The practical application of lithium metal batteries (LMBs) with high energy density is hindered by uneven lithium deposition during battery cycling. To mitigate this process, in this work, an interpenetrating polymer network solid polymer electrolyte (IPN SPE) is prepared by introducing a polymerized ionic liquid (PIL), poly(diallyldimethylammonium) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide to a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-poly(ethylene glycol)-based network SPE. Compared with the virgin SPE, the newly developed IPN SPE exhibited improved ionic conductivity, excellent lithium dendrite resistance, and superior battery performance, which was attributed to the homogeneous, immobilized ion network provided by the PIL-containing IPN. Furthermore, the effects of ionic conductivity and homogenized ion distribution were quantitatively delineated by galvanostatic cycling and polarization measurements at current densities that were below and above the estimated Sand's critical current density based on the Chazalviel model. Full battery tests also showed excellent discharge capacity, cycle life, and Coulombic efficiency. Our results suggest that the PIL-containing IPN SPEs provide a promising system for stabilizing lithium electrodeposition and fabricating high-performance LMBs.

2D MXene-containing polymer electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.

Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) are promising materials for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs) due to their enhanced ionic conductivities and stability to the lithium anode. MXenes are a new two-dimensional, 2D, family of early transition metal carbides and nitrides, which have a high aspect ratio and a hydrophilic surface. Herein, using a green, facile aqueous solution blending method, we uniformly dispersed small amounts of Ti3C2T x into a poly(ethylene oxide)/LiTFSI complex (PEO20-LiTFSI) to fabricate MXene-based CPEs (MCPEs). The addition of the 2D flakes to PEO simultaneously retards PEO crystallization and enhances its segmental motion. Compared to the 0D and 1D nanofillers, MXenes show higher efficiency in ionic conductivity enhancement and improvement in the performance of LMBs. The CPE with 3.6 wt% MXene shows the highest ionic conductivity at room temperature (2.2 × 10-5 S m-1 at 28 °C). An LMB using MCPE with only 1.5 wt% MXene shows rate capability and stability comparable with that of the state-of-the-art CPELMBs. We attribute the excellent performance to the 2D geometry of the filler, the good dispersion of the flakes in the polymer matrix, and the functional group-rich surface.

Velcro-mimicking surface based on polymer loop brushes.

We herein report the fabrication of a Velcro-mimicking surface based on polymer brushes. Using poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) as the model polymer, polymer loop brushes (PLBs) and singly tethered polymer brushes (STPBs) with nearly identical tethering point density and brush heights were synthesized using a polymer single crystal (PSC)-assisted grafting-to method. Atomic force microscopy-based single molecular force spectroscopy (AFM-SMFS) and macroscale lap-shear experiments both demonstrated that the PLBs led to strong adhesion that is up to ∼10 times greater than the STPBs, which is attributed to the enriched chain entanglement between the probing polymer and the brushes. We envisage that our results will pave the way towards a new materials design for strong adhesives and nanocomposites.

Correlated Perovskites as a New Platform for Super-Broadband-Tunable Photonics.

The electron-doping-induced phase transition of a prototypical perovskite SmNiO3 induces a large and non-volatile optical refractive-index change and has great potential for active-photonic-device applications. Strong optical modulation from the visible to the mid-infrared is demonstrated using thin-film SmNiO3 . Modulation of a narrow band of light is demonstrated using plasmonic metasurfaces integrated with SmNiO3 .

Hybrid electrolytes with controlled network structures for lithium metal batteries.

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) with tunable network structures are prepared by a facile one-pot reaction of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and poly(ethylene glycol). These SPEs, with high conductivity and high modulus, exhibit superior resistance to lithium dendrite growth even at high current densities. Measurements of lithium metal batteries with a LiFePO4 cathode show excellent cycling stability and rate capability.

Development and clinical evaluation of a new gold-immunochromatographic assay for the detection of antibodies against field strains of pseudorabies virus.

An immunochromatographic strip (ICS) was developed for the detection of swine antibodies against glycoprotein E (gE) in Pseudorabies Virus (PRV). In this test, Staphylococcal Protein A (SPA) labeled with colloidal gold was dispensed on a conjugate pad as the detector. Purified PRV-gE and pig-IgG were blotted on a nitrocellulose membrane for the test (T) and control lines (C), respectively. If the tested serum contains IgG antibodies against PRV-gE, the IgG will interact with the colloidal gold-SPA to form a complex (gold-SPA-swine IgG). The complex will react with the immobilized PRV-gE on the T line and the Pig-IgG in the C line of the ICS to form two visible red bands. If there is no IgG antibody against PRV-gE in the sample serum, only the C line will be visible. The ICS was capable of specifically detecting PRV-gE antibody within 5 min, and its stability and reproducibility were quite good after storage at 4°C and use within 4 months. Using an IDEXX Pseudorabies Virus gE Antibody Test Kit (IDEXX PRV gE Ab test) as a reference, the relative specificity and sensitivity of the ICS were determined to be 81.6% and 90.7%, respectively. Furthermore, there was a good agreement between the results obtained by the commercial product and the ICS (kappa=0.7289).

Improvement of the interferometric method for measuring electro-optic coefficients of poled polymer thin films.

The interferometric method for measuring the linear electro-optic coefficients of polymer films has been improved. This improved method is based on using the antipiezoelectric effect of a quartz crystal to compensate for the change in the optical path length that is due to the electro-optic effect of a polymer film. The electro-optic coefficients of six kinds of new poled polymer film have been determined at a wavelength of 633 nm by this new method. This technique offers a simple, rapid, and highly sensitive method for measuring the electro-optic coefficients of polymer films.