Endogenous Symbiotic Li3 N/Cellulose Skin to Extend the Cycle Life of Lithium Anode.

Nitrocellulose (NC) is proposed to stabilize the electrolytes for Li metal batteries. The nitro group of NC preferentially reacts with Li metal, and along with the cellulose skeleton is tightly wrapped on the surface, so that the polymer-inorganic double layer is formed on the Li surface. XPS profile analysis and corroborative cryo-environmental TEM reveal that the flexible outer layer of the bilayer is a C-O organic layer, while the dense inner layer is mainly composed of crystalline lithium oxide, lithium oxynitride, and lithium nitride. The Li deposition process was observed via in situ optical microscopy, which indicated that the NC-derived bilayer facilitates the uniform deposition of Li ions and inhibits the growth of dendrites. After the introduction of NC into the electrolyte, the cycle life of the Li battery is twice than that of the Li battery without NC at 1.0 and 3.0 mA cm-2 .

[Retracted] MicroRNA­503 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells via targeting insulin­like growth factor 1 receptor.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editors' attention by a concerned reader that the Transwell cell migration assay data shown in Fig. 4B and E were strikingly similar to data appearing in different form in other articles by different authors. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article had already been published elsewhere, or were already under consideration for publication, prior to its submission to Molecular Medicine Reports, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive any reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in Molecular Medicine Report 16: 1707­1714, 2017; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2017.6816].

Fluorinated Graphite (FG)-Modified Li-S Batteries with Superhigh Primary Specific Capacity and Improved Cycle Stability.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have received extensive attention because of their high theoretical energy density and low cost. However, the low sulfur utilization and the shuttle effect of polysulfide cause low initial capacity and serious capacity decay. Herein, fluorinated graphite (FG) is introduced to the cathode to alleviate these issues. The results indicated that the FG could provide additional capacity during the first discharge process and increase the porosity and polarity of the cathode via in situ formation of lithium fluoride (LiF) nanocrystals, which can enhance the infiltration of electrolyte and polysulfide adsorption. As a result, the as-prepared cathode containing FG shows a high initial specific capacity of 1602 mA h g-1 and the reversible specific capacity is 650 mA h g-1 at 0.5C after 300 cycles. Moreover, its specific capacity remains at 860 mA h g-1 at 5C, which is 367% higher than that of the sample without FG. This paper provides a new strategy to improve the energy density and the cycle stability of Li-S batteries.

Ultrafast and Stable Li-(De)intercalation in a Large Single Crystal H-Nb2 O5 Anode via Optimizing the Homogeneity of Electron and Ion Transport.

Exploring anode materials with fast, safe, and stable Li-(de)intercalation is of great significance for developing next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Monoclinic H-type niobium pentoxide possesses outstanding intrinsic fast Li-(de)intercalation kinetics, high specific capacity, and safety; however, its practical rate capability and cycling stability are still limited, ascribed to the asynchronism of phase change throughout the crystals. Herein this problem is addressed by homogenizing the electron and Li-ion conductivity surrounding the crystals. An amorphous N-doped carbon layer is introduced on the micrometer single-crystal H-Nb2 O5 particle to optimize the homogeneity of electron and Li-ion transport. As a result, the as-prepared H-Nb2 O5 exhibits high reversible capacity (>250 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1 ), unprecedented high-rate performance (≈120 mAh g-1 at 16.0 A g-1 ) and excellent cycling stability (≈170 mAh g-1 at 2.0 A g-1 after 1000 cycles), which is by far the highest performance among the H-Nb2 O5 materials. The inherent principle is further confirmed via operando transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. A novel insight into the further development of electrode materials forlithium-ion batteries is thus provided.

3D-metal-embroidered electrodes: dreaming for next generation flexible and personalizable energy storage devices.

Flexible and Personalizable battery is a promising candidate for energy storage, but suffers from the weldablity and large-scale producibility of the electrode. To address the issues, we design a nickel foam catalyzed electroless deposition (NFED) derived 3D-metal-pattern embroidered electrodes. This is the first attempt to utilize this type of electrode in battery field. It is found that the current collector can be embroidered on any selected areas of any complex-shape electrodes, with high controllability and economical feasibility. As a result, the electronic conductivity of the flexible electrodes can be improved by nearly one order of magnitude, which can be easily and firmly weldded to the metal tab using the industry generic ultrasonic heating process. The embroidered electrodes could substantially promote the electrochemical performance under bending deformation, with both Li-S and Li-LiFePO4 batteries as the models. This innovation is also suitable to embroider all the VIII group elements on any electrodes with personalized shapes, which is widely attractive for the development of next generation flexible and personalizable energy storage devices.

MicroRNA-503 inhibits the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells via targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor.

MicroRNAs (miRs), a class of non-coding RNAs that are 18­25 nucleotides in length, serve as key regulators in the development and progression of human cancers. Previously, miR­503 has been implicated in breast cancer. However, the underlying mechanism of miR­503 in regulating the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells remains largely unknown. In the present study, reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated that the expression of miR­503 was significantly reduced in breast cancer tissues compared with their matched adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, miR­503 expression levels were markedly reduced in T2­T4 stage breast cancer, compared with T1 stage. Insulin­like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF­1R) was further identified as a novel target of miR­503. Overexpression of miR­503 significantly suppressed the protein expression levels of IGF­1R. Furthermore, it inhibited the proliferation and invasion of human breast cancer MCF­7 cells, as assessed by MTT and Transwell assays, respectively. However, restoration of IGF­1R expression markedly ameliorated the suppressive effects of miR­503 overexpression on MCF­7 cell proliferation and invasion, indicating that miR­503 inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion at least partially via directly targeting IGF­1R. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein expression levels of IGF­1R were demonstrated to be significantly increased in breast cancer tissues compared with their matched adjacent normal tissues. In addition, IGF­1R mRNA expression levels were reversely correlated with miR­503 expression levels in breast tumors, suggesting that the upregulation of IGF­1R may be due to downregulation of miR­503 in breast cancer. In conclusion, the present study expanded the understanding of the regulatory mechanism of miR­503 in breast cancer, and implicates the miR­503/IGF­1R axis as a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.

NF-κB inhibition alleviates carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis via suppression of activated hepatic stellate cells.

An effective treatment for hepatic fibrosis is not available clinically. Nuclear factor (NF)-κB plays a central role in inflammation and fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of an NF-κB inhibitor, BAY-11-7082 (BAY), on mouse liver fibrosis. The effects of BAY on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation were measured in the lipopolysaccharide-activated rat HSC-T6 cell line. In addition, the therapeutic effect of BAY was studied in vivo using a model of hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in mice. BAY effectively decreased the cell viability of activated HSC-T6 cells and suppressed HSC-T6 activation by downregulating the expression of collagen I and α-smooth muscle actin. BAY significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and serine/threonine kinase-protein kinase B (Akt) in activated HSC-T6 cells. In addition, administration of BAY attenuated mouse liver fibrosis induced by CCl4, as shown by histology and the expression of profibrogenic markers. BAY also significantly decreased the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase in this model of hepatic fibrosis. Therefore, the results of the present study demonstrate that BAY attenuates liver fibrosis by blocking PI3K and Akt phosphorylation in activated HSCs. Thus, BAY demonstrates therapeutic potential as a treatment for hepatic fibrosis.

Mesoporous graphitic carbon nanodisks fabricated via catalytic carbonization of coordination polymers.

Mesoporous graphitic carbon nanodisks with hierarchical porous structure, facilely fabricated by catalytic carbonization of iron-based coordination polymer nanodisks, exhibit high capacitance even at high scan rates as electrode materials for electrochemical double layer capacitors.