Single-Step Direct Hydrothermal Growth of NiMoO4 Nanostructured Thin Film on Stainless Steel for Supercapacitor Electrodes.

We report a facile and direct growth of NiMoO4 nanostructures on a nonreactive stainless steel substrate using a single-step hydrothermal method and investigated hydrothermal growth duration effects on morphology and electrochemical characteristics. The highest specific capacitances of 341, 619, and 281 F/g were observed for NiMoO4 with 9, 18, and 27 h growth, respectively, at 1 A/g. Thus, grown samples preserved almost 59% of maximum specific capacitance at a high current density of 10 A/g. All samples exhibited a respectable cycling stability over 3000 charge-discharge operations. NiMoO4 grown for 18 h exhibited 7200 W/kg peak power density at 14 Wh/kg energy density. Thus, the proposed single-step hydrothermal growth is a promising route to obtain NiMoO4 nanostructures and other metal oxide electrodes for supercapacitor applications.

Effects of Osteogenic-Conditioned Medium from Human Periosteum-Derived Cells on Osteoclast Differentiation.

Stem/progenitor cell-based regenerative medicine using the osteoblast differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is regarded as a promising approach for the therapeutic treatment of various bone defects. The effects of the osteogenic differentiation of stem/progenitor cells on osteoclast differentiation may have important implications for use in therapy. However, there is little data regarding the expression of osteoclastogenic proteins during osteoblastic differentiation of human periosteum-derived cells (hPDCs) and whether factors expressed during this process can modulate osteoclastogenesis. In the present study, we measured expression of RANKL in hPDCs undergoing osteoblastic differentiation and found that expression of RANKL mRNA was markedly increased in these cells in a time-dependent manner. RANKL protein expression was also significantly enhanced in osteogenic-conditioned media from hPDCs undergoing osteoblastic differentiation. We then isolated and cultured CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from umbilical cord blood (UCB) mononuclear cells (MNCs) and found that these cells were well differentiated into several hematopoietic lineages. Finally, we co-cultured human trabecular bone osteoblasts (hOBs) with CD34+ HSCs and used the conditioned medium, collected from hPDCs during osteoblastic differentiation, to investigate whether factors produced during osteoblast maturation can affect osteoclast differentiation. Specifically, we measured the effect of this osteogenic-conditioned media on expression of osteoclastogenic markers and osteoclast cell number. We found that osteoclastic marker gene expression was highest in co-cultures incubated with the conditioned medium collected from hPDCs with the greatest level of osteogenic maturation. Although further study will be needed to clarify the precise mechanisms that underlie osteogenic-conditioned medium-regulated osteoclastogenesis, our results suggest that the osteogenic maturation of hPDCs could promote osteoclastic potential.

Facile Route to NiO Nanostructured Electrode Grown by Oblique Angle Deposition Technique for Supercapacitors.

We report an efficient method for growing NiO nanostructures by oblique angle deposition (OAD) technique in an e-beam evaporator for supercapacitor applications. This facile physical vapor deposition technique combined with OAD presents a unique, direct, and economical route for obtaining high width-to-height ratio nanorods for supercapacitor electrodes. The NiO nanostructure essentially consists of nanorods with varying dimensions. The sample deposited at OAD 75° showed highest supercapacitance value of 344 F/g. NiO nanorod electrodes exhibits excellent electrochemical stability with no degradation in capacitance after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The nanostructured film adhered well to the substrate and had 131% capacity retention. Peak energy density and power density of the NiO nanorods were 8.78 Wh/kg and 2.5 kW/kg, respectively. This technique has potential to be expanded for growing nanostructured films of other interesting metal/metal oxide candidates for supercapacitor applications.

Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Cyanidins in Black Raspberry as Candidates for Suppression of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation in Murine Macrophages.

The extracts produced by multisolvent extraction and subfractionation with preparative liquid chromatography of black raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miquel) cultivated in Gochang, South Korea, were tested for their anti-inflammatory effects. The metabolomic profiling and analysis by orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OLPS-DA) suggested that cyanidin, cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G), and cyanidin-3-rutinoside (C3R) were key components for the anti-inflammatory responses in the most active fraction BF3-1, where they were present at 0.44, 1.26, and 0.56 µg/mg of BF3-1, respectively. Both BF3-1 and mixture of these cyanidins at the same ratio reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced protein level of iNOS expression and suppressed mRNA and protein expressions of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1ß through inhibiting the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and STAT3 in murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells. Overall, the results suggested that co-administration of cyanidin, C3G, and C3R is more effective than that of cyanidin alone and that the coexistence of these anthocyanin components in black raspberry plays a vital role in regulating LPS-induced inflammation even at submicromolar concentrations, making it possible to explain the health beneficial activity of its extracts.

ß-Thujaplicin modulates estrogen receptor signaling and inhibits proliferation of human breast cancer cells.

ß-Thujaplicin, one of the major constituents in Chamaecyparis obtusa, has been demonstrated to exert different health beneficial efficacy, but the role of ß-thujaplicin in regulating mammary tumorigenesis has not been investigated. In this study, we found that ß-thujaplicin significantly suppressed the proliferation through arresting the cell cycle transition from G1 to S phase as well as inhibited the expression of cell cycle-related proteins, cyclin D1, and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) in MCF-7 and T47D luminal subtype breast cancer cells. In addition, estrogen receptor α (ER-α) was down-regulated by ß-thujaplicin via enhanced proteolysis by ubiquitination, which led to cell growth inhibition. These results suggest that ß-thujaplicin may be considered as a potent agent regulating the hormone sensitive mammary tumorigenesis.

Daidzein suppresses tumor necrosis factor-α induced migration and invasion by inhibiting hedgehog/Gli1 signaling in human breast cancer cells.

In breast cancer, the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induces cell invasion, although the molecular basis of it has not been clearly elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of daidzein in regulating TNF-α induced cell invasion and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Daidzein inhibited TNF-α induced cellular migration and invasion in estrogen receptor (ER) negative MCF10DCIS.com human breast cancer cells. TNF-α activated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling by enhancing Gli1 nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity, which resulted in increased invasiveness; these effects were blocked by daidzein and the Hh signaling inhibitors, cyclopamine and vismodegib. Moreover, these compounds suppressed TNF-α induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 mRNA expression and activity. Taken together, mammary tumor cell invasiveness was stimulated by TNF-α induced activation of Hh signaling; these effects were abrogated by daidzein, which suppressed Gli1 activation, thereby inhibiting migration and invasion.

Comparison of recessed gate-head structures on normally-off AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor performance.

In this work, different gate-head structures have been compared in the context of AlGaN/GaN-based high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs). Field-plate (FP) technology self-aligned to the gate electrode leads to various gate-head structures, most likely gamma (γF)-gate, camel (see symbol)-gate, and mushroom-shaped (T)-gate. In-depth comparison of recessed gate-head structures demonstrated that key performance metrics such as transconductance, output current, and breakdown voltage are better with the T-gate head structure. The recessed T-gate with its one arm toward the source side not only reduces the source-access resistance (R(g) +R(gs)), but also minimizes the source-side dispersion and current leakage, resulting in high transconductance (G(m)) and output current (I(DS)). At the same time, the other arm toward the drain-side reduces the drain-side dispersion and tends to distribute electric field peaks uniformly, resulting in high breakdown voltage (V(BR)). DC and RF analysis showed that the recessed T-gate FP-HEMT is a suitable candidate not only for high-frequency operation, but also for high-power applications.