Molecular mechanism of RBM14-mediated promotion of proliferation, migration, and invasion in osteosarcoma.

Background: Osteosarcoma (OS) is an exceptionally aggressive bone neoplasm that predominantly impacts the paediatric and adolescent population, exhibiting unfavourable prognosis. The importance of RNA binding motif protein 14 (RBM14) in the aetiology of OS is not well understood, despite its established involvement in several other types of cancer. Methods: In this study, we conducted an analysis of the expression profiles of RBM14 in cancer tissues and cell lines. To achieve this, we will utilised data obtained from various databases including The Cancer Genome Atlas Program (TCGA) project, The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and cancer cell line encyclopedia (CCLE) data. Furthermore, this study also aims to examine the effects of RBM14 on the proliferation, migration, and invasive properties of OS cells using cell functional gain and loss studies. In this study, we carried out an in-depth investigation to explore possible molecular pathways that underlie the regulation of the malignant phenotype found in OS by RBM14. This investigation involved integrating data from RBM14 overexpression, RBM14 knockdown RNA-seq experiments, and an array comprising 6,096 perturbed genes obtained from the Genetic Perturbation Similarity Analysis Database (GPSAdb). This research offers an opportunity to build a robust conceptual framework for the potential advancement of novel therapeutic approaches that are especially aimed at attacking OS. Results: RBM14 plays an active role in OS by significantly contributing to the enhancement of cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion. At the molecular level, it is probable that RBM14 exerts control over the malignant characteristics of OS through its modulation of the Hippo signalling system. Conclusions: The above-mentioned findings underscore the significant importance of RBM14 as an intriguing target for therapy for the mitigation and management of OS. This particular protein holds an excellent opportunity for the development of novel and efficacious therapeutic approaches that possess the potential to yield favorable results for patients affected with OS.

Fracture Resistant CrSi2-Doped Silicon Nanoparticle Anodes for Fast-Charge Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been developed over the last three decades. Increased amount of silicon (Si) is added into graphite anode to increase the energy density of LIBs. However, the amount of Si is limited, due to its structural instability and poor electronic conductivity so a novel approach is needed to overcome these issues. In this work, the synthesized chromium silicide (CrSi2) doped Si nanoparticle anode material achieves an initial capacity of 1729.3 mAh g-1 at 0.2C and retains 1085 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles. The new anode also shows fast charge capability due to the enhanced electronic conductivity provided by CrSi2 dopant, delivering a capacity of 815.9 mAh g-1 at 1C after 1000 cycles with a capacity degradation rate of <0.05% per cycle. An in situ transmission electron microscopy is used to study the structural stability of the CrSi2-doped Si, indicating that the high control of CrSi2 dopant prevents the fracture of Si during lithiation and results in long cycle life. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that CrSi2 doping optimizes the crack propagation path and dissipates the fracture energy. In this work a comprehensive information is provided to study the function of metal ion doping in electrode materials.

Molecular Structure Engineering of Isomeric Additives for Long Lifetime Zn Anodes.

Modulating the solvation structure of hydrated zinc ions using organic additives stands as a pragmatic approach to suppress dendrite formation and corrosion on zinc metal anodes (ZMAs), thereby enhancing the rechargeability of aqueous Zn-ion batteries. However, fundamental screening principles for organic additives with diverse molecular structures remain elusive, especially for isomers with the same molecular formula. This study delves into the impact of three isomeric hexagonal alcohols (mannitol, sorbitol, and galactitol) as additives in adjusting Zn2+ solvation structural behaviors within ZnSO4 baseline electrolytes. Electrical measurements and molecular simulations reveal the specific molecular structure of mannitol, which features interweaving electron clouds between adjacent hydroxyl groups, achieving a high local electron cloud density. This phenomenon significantly enhances desolvation abilities, thus establishing a more stable anode/electrolyte interface chemistry. Even at 5 mA cm-2 for 2.5 mAh cm-2 capacity, Zn||Zn symmetric cells with mannitol-regulated electrolyte display an impressive 1170 h lifespan, far exceeding those with other isomer additives and is nearly tenfold longer than that with a pure ZnSO4 electrolyte (120 h). Rather than strictly adhering to focusing on chemical composition, this study with emphasis on optimizing molecular structure offers a promising untapped dimension to screen more efficient additives to enhance the reversibility of ZMAs.

d-Band Center Optimization of Ti3C2Tx MXene Nanosheets for Ultrahigh NO2 Gas Sensitivity at Room Temperature.

MXene exhibits numerous advantageous properties such as high electronic conductivity, high surface area, and ease of surface modification via tailoring of functional groups. However, the mechanism by which MXene functionalization enhances gas sensing performance has not yet been well understood, let alone the development of a rational sensor design optimization strategy. This work presents a functionalization methodology for MXene based on d-band center modulation, which can be implemented by introducing Fe onto the surface of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets, for significantly improved gas sensing response and selectivity. The strategy is demonstrated in the design of gas sensors. The optimized gas sensor shows a response of 50% toward 10 ppm of NO2 at room temperature, which is over 6-fold improvement from its pristine counterpart, an unprecedented performance level among all reported MXene gas sensors. XPS characterizations, valence band analyses, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations all indicate that the underlying enhancement mechanism can be attributed to the tuning of the d-band center energy toward the Fermi level. This work provides a new design strategy based on the optimization of the d-band center energy and adds a much needed systematic and quantitative method to the design of two-dimensional materials based semiconducting gas sensors.

Atomic Plasma Grafting: Precise Control of Functional Groups on Ti3C2Tx MXene for Room Temperature Gas Sensors.

Gas sensing properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials are derived from charge transfer between the analyte and surface functional groups. However, for sensing films consisting of 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets, the precise control of surface functional groups for achieving optimal gas sensing performance and the associate mechanism are still far from well understood. Herein, we present a functional group engineering strategy based on plasma exposure for optimizing the gas sensing performance of Ti3C2Tx MXene. For performance assessment and sensing mechanism elucidation, we synthesize few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXene through liquid exfoliation and then graft functional groups via in situ plasma treatment. Functionalized Ti3C2Tx MXene with large amounts of -O functional groups shows NO2 sensing properties that are unprecedented among MXene-based gas sensors. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that -O functional groups are associated with increased NO2 adsorption energy, thereby enhancing charge transport. The -O functionalized Ti3C2Tx sensor shows a record-breaking response of 13.8% toward 10 ppm NO2, good selectivity, and long-term stability at room temperature. The proposed technique is also capable of improving selectivity, a well-known challenge in chemoresistive gas sensing. This work paves the way to the possibility of using plasma grafting for precise functionalization of MXene surfaces toward practical realization of electronic devices.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomal LINC00847 inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of Ewing sarcoma.

Background: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is one of the most lethal primary bone tumors with a poor survival rate. Current evidence suggests that extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) loaded with abundant biological functional lncRNAs confer therapeutic benefits against the development of various tumors. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the role of exosomal lncRNAs from BMSCs in the pathogenesis of ES. Methods: Bioinformatic analysis and quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) experiments were used to detect the expression level of LINC00847 in ES tissues and cells. Cell biology experiments examined the effect of in vitro proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities and the biological function of BMSCs-derived LINC00847. Finally, we constructed a LINC00847-associated competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network by in silico methods. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was conducted to reveal the potential molecular mechanism of LINC00847. Results: We found that LINC00847 was markedly downregulated in ES. Overexpression of LINC00847 inhibited ES cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, BMSCs-derived EVs inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ES cells by delivering LINC00847. We constructed a LINC00847 related-ceRNA network contains five miRNAs (miR-18a-5p, miR-18b-5p, miR-181a-5p, miR-181c-5p, and miR-485-3p) and four mRNAs (GFPT1, HIF1A, NEDD9, and NOTCH2). Conclusions: Overall, this study found that BMSCs-EVs-derived exosomal LINC00847 inhibited ES cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The ceRNA regulatory mechanism of LINC00847 may participate in the pathogenesis of the malignant phenotype of ES. Relevance for Patients: These findings suggest that BMSCs-derived exosomal lncRNAs may be used for the personalized treatment of tumors, providing a novel theoretical framework for treating ES.

Synergetic Chemistry and Interface Engineering of Hydrogel Electrolyte to Strengthen Durability of Solid-State Zn-Air Batteries.

For the challenging pursuit of high energy efficiency and mechanical tolerance in flexible solid-state Zn-air batteries (FSZABs), a hydrogel electrolyte (HE) consisting of dual-network crosslinked polyacrylic acid-Fe3+ -chitosan (PAA-Fe3+ -CS) polymer host infiltrated with a mixed aqueous electrolyte of NH4 Cl and ZnCl2 is developed. The absorbed near-neutral electrolyte renders the HE high ionic conductivity but low corrosiveness to both electrocatalysts and Zn metal anode (ZMA), ensuring more stable Zn-OH-O2 chemistry compared to that in strong alkaline electrolyte and thus endowing the assembled FSZABs with a landmark cycle life up to 120 h (5 mA cm-2 ). More intriguingly, the CS molecular beams introduced into the PAA hydrogel backbone will precipitate and fold subjecting to the Hofmeister effect when saturated with the near-neutral electrolyte, which can effectively enhance the interfacial adhesion strength of the HE on both air cathode and ZMA, achieving reliable and robust bonding between them. Thus, the FSZABs simultaneously exhibited a superior tolerance to repeated mechanical deformation during operation, allowing more than 360 continuous bending-recovery cycles without any decline in voltage efficiency. The ingenious chemistry and interface synergetic engineering on the crucial HEs provides a rational methodology to realize boosted electrochemical and mechanical durability of FSZABs forward for future practical implementation.

Characteristics of chitosan fiber and their effects towards improvement of antibacterial activity.

We selected eight kinds of chitosan fibers to characterize and analyze their composition, surface morphology, and mechanical properties. Crucially, we investigated their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans and the dependence on the molecular weight (Mw) and the degree of deacetylation (DD). On that basis, the relationship between antibacterial activity and Mw and DD can be established. Finally, the antibacterial mechanism of chitosan fiber was obtained. The results show that the inhibition rate of samples I, K, L, and M against Staphylococcus aureus first increased and then decreased with the increase of Mw, and their bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli decreased with the increase of Mw when the DD was similar. This study provides an effective strategy for characterizing the chitosan fiber and the resultant relationship between antibacterial property and structural parameters that may benefit the enhancement of antibacterial activity and application in antibacterial textiles.

Ion Sieve: Tailoring Zn2+ Desolvation Kinetics and Flux toward Dendrite-Free Metallic Zinc Anodes.

Tip-induced dendrites on metallic zinc anodes (MZAs) fundamentally deteriorate the rechargeability of aqueous Zn metal batteries (ZMBs). Herein, an intriguing ion sieve (IS) consisting of 3D intertwined bacterial cellulose, deposited on the surface of MZAs (Zn@IS) through an in situ self-assembly route, is first presented to be effective in inhibiting dendrite-growth on MZAs. Experimental analyses together with theoretical calculations suggested that the IS coating can facilitate the desolvation of [Zn(H2O)6]2+ clusters via a strong interplay with Zn ions, weaken hydrogen evolution reaction of MZAs, and homogenize the ion flux with the abundant nanopores serving as ion tunnels, synergistically enabling dendrite-free Zn deposition on the Zn@IS anodes. Consequently, a lifespan up to 3000 h at a cutoff capacity of 0.25 mA h cm-2 was observed in a Zn@IS∥Zn@IS symmetric cell. In terms of application, pairing with a carbon-nanotube@MnO2 cathode as an example, the full ZMBs acquired enhanced rechargeability with much higher capacity retention over 73.3% after 3000 cycles compared to the counterpart with pristine MZA (21%).

Interlayer Structure Engineering of MXene-Based Capacitor-Type Electrode for Hybrid Micro-Supercapacitor toward Battery-Level Energy Density.

Micro-supercapacitors are notorious for their low energy densities compared to micro-batteries. While MXenes have been identified as promising capacitor-type electrode materials for alternative zinc-ion hybrid micro-supercapacitors (ZHMSCs) with higher energy density, their tightly spaced layered structure renders multivalent zinc-ions with large radii intercalation inefficient. Herein, through insertion of 1D core-shell conductive BC@PPy nanofibers between MXene nanosheets, an interlayer structure engineering technique for MXene/BC@PPy capacitor-type electrodes towards ZHMSCs is presented. Owing to simultaneously achieving two objectives: (i) widening the interlayer space and (ii) providing conductive connections between the loose MXene layers, enabled by the conductive BC@PPy nanospacer, the approach effectively enhances both ion and electron transport within the layered MXene structure, significantly increasing the areal capacitance of the MXene/BC@PPy film electrode to 388 mF cm-2 , which is a 10-fold improvement from the pure MXene film electrode. Pairing with CNTs/MnO2 battery-type electrodes, the obtained ZHMSCs exhibit an areal energy density up to 145.4 µWh cm-2 with an outstanding 95.8% capacity retention after 25000 cycles, which is the highest among recently reported MXene-based MSCs and approaches the level of micro-batteries. The interlayer structure engineering demonstrated in the MXene-based capacitor-type electrode provides a rational means to achieve battery-levelenergy density in the ZHMSCs.

Chitosan Natural Polymer Material for Improving Antibacterial Properties of Textiles.

In recent years, the textile industry has been seeking to develop innovative products. It is a good choice to organically combine materials with superior functional characteristics and commercial textiles to form products with excellent performance. In particular, textiles made of biological functional materials are often beneficial to human health, which is an interesting research direction. As a biopolymer material, chitosan has the advantages of strong availability, low cost, excellent safety, outstanding performance, etc., particularly the antibacterial property, and has broad application prospects in the textile field. This review provides an overview of the latest literature and summarizes recent innovations and state-of-the-art technologies that can add value to textiles. To this end, preparation of chitosan fiber, synthesis of chitosan nanofiber, antibacterial activity of chitosan fiber, antibacterial activity of chitosan nanofiber, etc., will be discussed. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of chitosan-based materials used in textiles are evaluated. Importantly, this review can not only help researchers understand the development status of antibacterial textiles, but also help researchers discover and solve problems in this field through comparative reading.

A data-driven approach to predicting the attachment density of biofouling organisms.

The attachment efficiency of biofouling organisms on solid surfaces depends on a variety of factors, including fouler species, nutrition abundance, flow rate, surface morphology and the stiffness of the solid to which attachment is to be made. So far, extensive research has been carried out to investigate the effects of these factors on the attachment of various fouling species. However, the results obtained are species-dependent and scattered. There is no universal rule that can be applied to predict the attachment efficiency of different species. To solve this problem, the authors carried out meta-analysis of the effects of ten selected factors on attachment efficiency, resulting in a universal correlation between the attachment density and the selected factors, which was validated by attachment tests of tubeworms on PDMS surfaces. The results provide a practical approach to predicting the attachment efficiency of fouling organisms and should be of great value in the design of anti-biofouling materials.

Combat biofouling with microscopic ridge-like surface morphology: a bioinspired study.

Biofouling refers to the unfavourable attachment and accumulation of marine sessile organisms (e.g. barnacles, mussels and tubeworms) on the solid surfaces immerged in ocean. The enormous economic loss caused by biofouling in combination with the severe environmental impacts induced by the current antifouling approaches entails the development of novel antifouling strategies with least environmental impact. Inspired by the superior antifouling performance of the leaves of mangrove tree Sonneratia apetala, here we propose to combat biofouling by using a surface with microscopic ridge-like morphology. Settlement tests with tubeworm larvae on polymeric replicas of S. apetala leaves confirm that the microscopic ridge-like surface morphology can effectively prevent biofouling. A contact mechanics-based model is then established to quantify the dependence of tubeworm settlement on the structural features of the microscopic ridge-like morphology, giving rise to theoretical guidelines to optimize the morphology for better antifouling performance. Under the direction of the obtained guidelines, a synthetic surface with microscopic ridge-like morphology is developed, exhibiting antifouling performance comparable to that of the S. apetala replica. Our results not only reveal the underlying mechanism accounting for the superior antifouling property of the S. apetala leaves, but also provide applicable guidance for the development of synthetic antifouling surfaces.

c-axis preferential orientation of hydroxyapatite accounts for the high wear resistance of the teeth of black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus).

Biological armors such as mollusk shells have long been recognized and studied for their values in inspiring novel designs of engineering materials with higher toughness and strength. However, no material is invincible and biological armors also have their rivals. In this paper, our attention is focused on the teeth of black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) which is a predator of shelled mollusks like snails and mussels. Nanoscratching test on the enameloid, the outermost layer of the teeth, indicates that the natural occlusal surface (OS) has much higher wear resistance compared to the other sections. Subsequent X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the hydroxyapatite (HAp) crystallites in the vicinity of OS possess c-axis preferential orientation. The superior wear resistance of black carp teeth is attributed to the c-axis preferential orientation of HAp near the OS since the (001) surface of HAp crystal, which is perpendicular to the c-axis, exhibits much better wear resistance compared to the other surfaces as demonstrated by the molecular dynamics simulation. Our results not only shed light on the origin of the good wear resistance exhibited by the black carp teeth but are of great value to the design of engineering materials with better abrasion resistance.