Modulating Electronic Metal-Support Interactions to Boost Visible-Light-Driven Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane: Nickel-Platinum Nanoparticles Supported on Phosphorus-Doped Titania.

Ammonia borane (AB) is a promising material for chemical H2 storage owing to its high H2 density (up to 19.6 wt %). However, the development of an efficient catalyst for driving H2 evolution through AB hydrolysis remains challenging. Therefore, a visible-light-driven strategy for generating H2 through AB hydrolysis was implemented in this study using Ni-Pt nanoparticles supported on phosphorus-doped TiO2 (Ni-Pt/P-TiO2 ) as photocatalysts. Through surface engineering, P-TiO2 was prepared by phytic-acid-assisted phosphorization and then employed as an ideal support for immobilizing Ni-Pt nanoparticles via a facile co-reduction strategy. Under visible-light irradiation at 283 K, Ni40 Pt60 /P-TiO2 exhibited improved recyclability and a high turnover frequency of 967.8 mol H 2 ${{_{{\rm H}{_{2}}}}}$ molPt -1 min-1 . Characterization experiments and density functional theory calculations indicated that the enhanced performance of Ni40 Pt60 /P-TiO2 originated from a combination of the Ni-Pt alloying effect, the Mott-Schottky junction at the metal-semiconductor interface, and strong metal-support interactions. These findings not only underscore the benefits of utilizing multipronged effects to construct highly active AB-hydrolyzing catalysts, but also pave a path toward designing high-performance catalysts by surface engineering to modulate the electronic metal-support interactions for other visible-light-induced reactions.

Modification of STIM2 by m6A RNA methylation inhibits metastasis of cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most frequent internal methylation of eukaryotic RNA (ribonucleic acid) transcripts and plays an important function in RNA processing. The current research aimed to investigate the role of m6A-STIM2 axis in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) progression. Methods: The expression of STIM2 (Stromal Interaction Molecule 2) in CCA was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). STIM2 was examined in vivo for its effects on the malignant phenotypes of CCA cells. The m6A modification of STIM2 was assessed through MeRIP (methylated RNA Immunoprecipitation)-PCR. Results: Based on the GEPIA (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis) 2 database findings, a low STIM2 mRNA (messenger RNA) level was related to a poor prognosis in individuals with CCA. Quantitative PCR and IHC assays indicated decreased protein satin in CCA tissues and were associated with extrahepatic metastasis. Vianude mice tail vein injection model indicated that increased STIM2 levels suppressed CCA cell metastasis in vivo, while KRT8 (keratin 8) was detected as the direct downstream target of STIM2-mediated CCA cell metastasis in vivo. Meanwhile, based on SRAMP database and MeRIP assays indicated that m6A alteration resulted in abnormal STIM2 expression in CCA via METTL14 and YTHDC2. Conclusions: Our findings revealed the epi-transcriptomic dysregulation in CCA and metastasis by proposing a complicated STIM2-KRT8 regulatory paradigm based on m6A alteration.

Durable and Scalable Candle Soot Icephobic Coating with Nucleation and Fracture Mechanism.

Ice formation and accretion affect residential and commercial activities. Icephobic coatings decrease the ice adhesion strength (τice) to less than 100 kPa. However, rare icephobic coatings remove the ice under the action of gravity or natural winds. The icephobicity of such coatings depends on materials with low interfacial toughness. We develop durable candle soot icephobic coating with RTV-1 as a low-modulus binding material. Heterogeneous nucleation on 20-40 nm candle soot particles and their fracture mechanism are discussed. The developed coating always shows durable Cassie-Baxter superhydrophobic state with low ice adhesion (18 kPa) and maintains the τice value of about 25 kPa after severe mechanical abrasion, 30 liquid nitrogen/water cycles, 100 frosting/defrosting cycles, 100 icing/deicing cycles, acid/base exposure, under UV light, and exposure to natural freezing rain in Hangzhou. In addition, the proposed technique is time-efficient, inexpensive, and suitable for large-scale applications.

Temporary Ischemia Time Before Snap Freezing Is Important for Maintaining High-Integrity RNA in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tissues.

Background: High-throughput transcript sequencing plays an important role in the study of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence and development. High-quality biospecimens, especially high-quality RNA, are the most basic prerequisites for obtaining good transcript sequencing data. Our purpose was to explore the treatment conditions of in vitro ischemic tissue samples that can be used to obtain high-integrity RNA before freezing the samples in liquid nitrogen. Materials and Methods: Postoperative tumor tissues (T) and adjacent normal tissues (AN) from 50 HCC patients were randomly selected from May 5, 2017, to June 15, 2017. Postoperative tissue specimens from each HCC patient were stratified by tissue type (T or AN), ischemia time (minutes), and ischemia temperature (°C) into 16 groups: T-4°C-15 minutes, T-4°C-30 minutes, T-4°C-60 minutes, T-4°C-120 minutes, T-24°C-15 minutes, T-24°C-30 minutes, T-24°C-60 minutes, T-24°C-120 minutes, AN-4°C-15 minutes, AN-4°C-30 minutes, AN-4°C-60 minutes, AN-4°C-120 minutes, AN-24°C-15 minutes, AN-24°C-30 minutes, AN-24°C-60 minutes, and AN-24°C-120 minutes. RNA integrity was detected by RNA integrity number (RIN) and 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. Results: At an ischemia temperature of 4°C and ischemia time of >30 minutes, the RIN of T began to decrease. RIN also gradually decreased in T at an ischemia temperature of 4°C and in both T and AN at an ischemia temperature of 24°C for ischemia times 15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. For an ischemia time ≤15 minutes and ischemia temperature 4°C or 24°C, the RINs of T and AN were significantly different. Furthermore, at ischemia temperature 4°C and ischemia time 30 and 60 minutes or ischemia temperature 24°C and ischemia time 30 minutes, the RIN of T was higher compared with AN. However, there was no significant difference in RIN between T and AN under other treatment conditions. Conclusions: Tissue quality is adversely affected by ischemia time and ischemia temperature. Therefore, temporary ischemia time (≤15 minutes) before snap freezing is key for maintaining high-integrity RNA in HCC tissues.

Silicone Oil Swelling Slippery Surfaces Based on Mussel-Inspired Magnetic Nanoparticles with Multiple Self-Healing Mechanisms.

In this work, a novel substrate building block, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles armed with dopamine molecules were developed via mussel-inspired metal-coordination bonds. Combined with glycidyl methacrylate, polydimethylsiloxane propyl ether methacrylate, and diethylenetriamine, the original silicone oil swelling slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) were first prepared by reversible coordinate bonds and strong covalent bonds cross-linking process. The matrix mechanical characteristics and surface physicochemical properties were systematically investigated. Results showed that the mechanical property of copolymer matrix and surface wettability of SLIPS can be remarkably recovered, which were due to the synergistic interactions of magnetic nanoparticles' intrinsic photothermal effect, reversible Fe-catechol coordination, and diffused lubricating liquid. After irradiating with sunlamp for 2 h and sequentially healing for 10 h under ambient conditions, the crack almost disappeared under optical microscopy with 78.25% healing efficiency (HEf) of toughness, and surface slippery was completely retrieved to water droplets. The efficient self-heal of copolymer matrix (66.5% HEf after eighth cutting-healing cycle) and recovering of slipperiness (SA < 5° and 5° < SA < 17° after fourth and eighth cutting-centrifuging-healing cycles, respectively) would extend longevity of SLIPS when subjected to multiple damages. Moreover, the prepared SLIPS displayed superb self-cleaning and liquid-repellent properties to a wide range of particulate contaminants and fluids.

pH-Induced Switchable Superwettability of Efficient Antibacterial Fabrics for Durable Selective Oil/Water Separation.

The superhydrophobic antibacterial fabrics with intelligent switchable wettability were fabricated by the cross-link reaction among pH-responsive antibacterial copolymer tethered hydroxyl groups, methylol-contained poly(ureaformaldehyde) nanoparticles (PUF NPs), and hexamethylene diisocyanate. It was found that the surface concentration of N+ were heavily influenced by acid solutions, resulting in the rapid wettability conversion from superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity to superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity in a remarkably short time. The above responsiveness feature of coated cotton fabric contributes a prominent selective oil/water separation property, and the separation efficiency invariably remained at greater than 95% even after 20 reuse cycles, which exhibited brilliant durability. More importantly, the coated cotton fabric possessed excellent self-cleaning performance after contamination by oil and held high bactericidal rate (more than 80%) regardless of pH treatment, and thus could abate the surface biological pollution caused by bacteria proliferation. The attractive properties of the prepared smart superwetting materials shows great promise for potential application in oil/water separation from an environmental-protection perspective.

Silicone Oil-Infused Slippery Surfaces Based on Sol-Gel Process-Induced Nanocomposite Coatings: A Facile Approach to Highly Stable Bioinspired Surface for Biofouling Resistance.

Slippery liquid-infused surfaces (SLIPS) have aroused widespread attention due to their excellent liquid-repellency properties associated with broad applications in various fields. However, the complicated preparation processes and the vulnerable surface lubricant layers severely restrict the practical applications of SLIPS. In this work, robust transparent slippery hybrid coatings (SHCs) were easily fabricated by the infusion of sol-gel-derived nanocomposite coatings in silicone oils of varying viscosity. The prepared silicone oil-infused surfaces exhibited outstanding long-term slippery stability even under extreme operating conditions such as high shear rate, elevated evaporation, and flowing aqueous immersion. Static bacteria culture tests confirmed that the SHCs could significantly inhibit biofilm formation. In addition, bovine serum albumin adhesion experiments were conducted after lubricant loss tests, showing significantly less protein absorption and a long service life of the SLIPS. The unique ultralow bacterial attachment and remarkably long-term protein-resistant performance render the as-prepared SLIPS as a promising candidate for biomedical applications even under harsh environmental conditions.

Ultralow Oil-Fouling Heterogeneous Poly(ether sulfone) Ultrafiltration Membrane via Blending with Novel Amphiphilic Fluorinated Gradient Copolymers.

A novel amphiphilic fluorinated gradient copolymer was prepared by semibatch reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) method using poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) and 3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,8-tridecafluorooctyl acrylate (TFOA) as monomers. The resultant amphiphilic copolymers were then incorporated into the poly(ether sulfone) (PES) to fabricate PES blend membranes via the non-solvent-induced phase separation method (NIPS). During the phase inversion process, both hydrophilic (PEGMA) and low surface energy (TFOA) segments significantly enriched on the membrane surface by surface segregation to form an amphiphilic surface, which was demonstrated by surface wetting properties and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. According to the filtration experiments of oil-in-water emulsion, the heterogeneous membranes exhibited superior oil-fouling resistant properties, that is, low flux decay (as low as 15.4%) and high flux recovery (almost 100%), compared to the pure PES membrane. The synergistic effect of fouling-resistant and fouling-release mechanisms was found to be responsible for the excellent antifouling capacities. The findings of this study offer a facile and robust strategy for fabricating ultralow oil-fouling membranes that might be used for effective oil/water separation.

Fabrication of CeO2 nanotube supported Pt catalyst encapsulated with silica for high and stable performance.

This communication describes the fabrication of Pt/CeO2 nanotube@SiO2 core-shell catalysts applied to highly efficient water-gas shift reaction, where the initial CO conversion is 30.2% at 250 °C. Pt/CeO2 nanotube@SiO2 core-shell catalysts show outstanding thermal stability, even after accelerated aging under reaction conditions at 450 °C for 6 h, and the morphology is also unchanged after thermal treatment at 800 °C.