Yth m6A RNA-Binding Protein 1 Regulates Osteogenesis of MC3T3-E1 Cells under Hypoxia via Translational Control of Thrombospondin-1.

Peri-implantitis is a major factor affecting implant prognosis, and the specific anatomy of the peri-implant area makes it more vulnerable to the local hypoxic environment caused by inflammation. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays a vital role in a multitude of biological processes, and its main "reader" Yth m6A RNA-binding protein 1 (YTHDF1) is suggested to affect osteogenic differentiation. However, the mechanism underlying the effect of YTHDF1 on osteogenic differentiation under hypoxic conditions remains unclear. To address this question, we examined the expression of YTHDF1 under hypoxia and observed that hypoxia suppressed osteogenic differentiation but promoted the expression of YTHDF1. Then we knocked down YTHDF1 and found decreased levels of osteogenic-related markers, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and alizarin red staining (ARS) under normoxia or hypoxia treatment. Bioinformatics analysis identified Thrombospondin-1 (THBS1) might be a downstream factor of YTHDF1. The results revealed that YTHDF1 enhanced the stability of THBS1 mRNA, and immunofluorescence assays found co-localization with YTHDF1 and THBS1 under hypoxia. Loss of function studies showed knocking down YTHDF1 or THBS1 exacerbated the osteogenic inhibition caused by hypoxia. All data imply that hypoxia suppresses osteogenic differentiation and promotes the expression of YTHDF1, which translationally regulates THBS1 in an m6A-dependent manner, potentially counteracting hypoxia-induced osteogenic inhibition through the YTHDF1/THBS1 pathway. The results of this study reveal for the first time the molecular mechanism of the regulation of osteogenic differentiation by YTHDF1 under hypoxia and suggest that YTHDF1, together with its downstream factor THBS1, may be critical targets to counteract osteogenic inhibition under hypoxic conditions, providing promising therapeutic strategy for the hypoxia-induced bone loss in peri-implantitis.

Boosted electrochemical properties from the surface engineering of ultrathin interlaced Ni(OH)2 nanosheets with Co(OH)2 quantum dot modification.

Nanoscale surface engineering of electroactive architectures is of paramount importance in high-performance supercapacitor applications based on surface-controlled charge storage mechanisms. Herein, we exploit Co(OH)2 quantum dots (CoQDs) as a surface modifier and report a simple and effective strategy for anchoring CoQDs on ultrathin interlaced Ni(OH)2 nanosheets. Impressively, the 2D/0D heterostructure of CoQD-interspersed Ni(OH)2 nanosheets (Ni(OH)2-CoQD) exhibits greatly enhanced capacitive behavior compared with pristine Ni(OH)2 nanosheets, exhibiting a higher capacitance (3244 F g-1vs. 2124 F g-1 at 5 mA cm-2), superior rate capability and better cycling stability. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the accumulation of additional electrons and reduced adsorption energy of OH- at the Ni(OH)2-CoQD interphase, which are the primary reasons for the enhanced electrochemical performance. An asymmetric full cell with Ni(OH)2-CoQD as the positive electrode has been fabricated, achieving a maximum energy density of 46 W h kg-1 at 141 W kg-1, and excellent cycling stability, where 84.1% of the initial capacitance is retained over 5000 cycles. This work brings a new opportunity to pseudoactive electrode material design by employing semiconductive quantum dots for surface modification.

Human Proislet Peptide Promotes Pancreatic Progenitor Cells to Ameliorate Diabetes Through FOXO1/Menin-Mediated Epigenetic Regulation.

We investigated how human proislet peptide (HIP) regulates differentiation of human fetus-derived pancreatic progenitor cells (HFPPCs) and explored the potential link between HIP signaling and the menin pathway, which is key to regulating pancreatic islet differentiation. The data show that HIP promoted expression of proislet transcription factors (TFs), including PDX-1, MAFA, and NKX6.1, as well as other maturation markers of ß-cells, such as insulin, GLUT2, KIR6.2, SUR1, and VDCC. Moreover, HIP increased insulin content and promoted the ability of HFPPCs to normalize blood glucose in diabetic mice. HIP inhibited the TF FOXO1 by increasing AKT-mediated phosphorylation. HIP-induced repression of FOXO1 suppressed menin expression, leading to reducing menin binding to the promoter of the three key proislet TFs, decreasing recruitment of H3K9 methyltransferase SUV39H1, and thus reducing repressive H3K9me3 at the promoter. These coordinated actions lead to increased expression of the proislet TFs, resulting in induction of HFPPC differentiation. Consistently, constitutive activation of FOXO1 blocks HIP-induced transcription of these TFs. Together, these studies unravel the crucial role of the HIP/AKT/FOXO/menin axis in epigenetically controlling expression of proislet TFs, regulating the differentiation of HFPPCs, and normalizing blood glucose in diabetic mice.

Highly Stable, New, Organic-Inorganic Perovskite (CH3 NH3 )2 PdBr4 : Synthesis, Structure, and Physical Properties.

Lead halide perovskites have attracted striking attention recently, due to their appealing properties. However, toxicity and stability are two main factors restricting their application. In this work, a less toxic and highly stable Pd-based hybrid perovskite was experimentally synthesized, after exploring different experimental conditions. This new hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (CH3 NH3 )2 PdBr4 was found to be an orthorhombic crystal (Cmce, Z=4) with lattice parameters a=8.00, b=7.99, c=18.89 Å. The Cmce symmetry and lattice parameters were confirmed using Pawley refinement and the atoms positions were confirmed based on DFT calculation. This perovskite compound was determined to be a p-type semiconductor, with a resistivity of 102.9 kΩ cm, a carrier concentration of 3.4 ×1012 cm-3 , and a mobility of 23.4 cm2 (V s)-1 . Interestingly, XRD and UV/Vis measurements indicated that the phase of this new perovskite was maintained with an optical gap of 1.91 eV after leaving in air with a high humidity of 60 % for 4 days, and unchanged for months in N2 atmosphere; much more stable than most existing organic-inorganic perovskites. The synthesis and various characterizations of this work further the understanding of this (CH3 NH3 )2 PdBr4 organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite material.

Light enhanced energy storage ability through a hybrid plasmonic Ag nanowire decorated hydroxide "skin structure".

By decorating nickel copper hydroxide (NCH) with Ag nanowires (Ag NWs), a 1.7 fold enhancement in areal capacitance (5.4 F cm-2) and a 1.8 fold increment in gravimetric capacitance (3182 F g-1) under light illumination were achieved. The improved supercapacitor performances of the composites under visible-light illumination were demonstrated and a reasonable explanation for this newly-discovered phenomenon was proposed. The plasmonic effect of Ag NWs was demonstrated by hot-electron generation. The decorated Ag NWs served as a stimulus for redox reactions. This research provides a tantalizing opportunity for enhancing the supercapacitor performance by exploiting surface plasmon metals. The finding from this study will be informative for the future design of supercapacitor electrodes.

Spontaneous intercalation of long-chain alkyl ammonium into edge-selectively oxidized graphite to efficiently produce high-quality graphene.

Mass production of high-quality graphene nanosheets (GNs) is essential for practical applications. We report that oxidation of graphite by low concentration KMnO4 at relatively high temperature (60 °C) leads to edge-selectively oxidized graphite (EOG) which preserves the high crystalline graphitic structure on its basal planes while the edges are functionalized by oxygen-containing groups. Long-chain tetradecyl-ammonium salt (C14N⁺) could be spontaneously intercalated into EOG to form intercalated EOG-C14N⁺ compounds. Gentle and short-time sonication of EOG-C14N⁺ in toluene can full exfoliate EOG into edge-oxidized graphene nanosheets (EOGNs) with concentration of 0.67 mg/ml, monolayer population up to 90% and lateral size from 1 µm to >100 µm. The EOG and EOGN films show excellent electrical conductance, which is far superior to their graphene oxide (GO) counterparts. Our method provides an efficient way to produce high-quality GNs, and the resultant EOG also can be directly used for production of multifunctional materials and devices.

Highly enhanced gas sensing in single-walled carbon nanotube-based thin-film transistor sensors by ultraviolet light irradiation.

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) random networks are easily fabricated on a wafer scale, which provides an attractive path to large-scale SWCNT-based thin-film transistor (TFT) manufacturing. However, the mixture of semiconducting SWCNTs and metallic SWCNTs (m-SWCNTs) in the networks significantly limits the TFT performance due to the m-SWCNTs dominating the charge transport. In this paper, we have achieved a uniform and high-density SWCNT network throughout a complete 3-in. Si/SiO2 wafer using a solution-based assembly method. We further utilized UV radiation to etch m-SWCNTs from the networks, and a remarkable increase in the channel current on/off ratio (Ion/Ioff) from 11 to 5.6 × 103 was observed. Furthermore, we used the SWCNT-TFTs as gas sensors to detect methyl methylphosphonate, a stimulant of benchmark threats. It was found that the SWCNT-TFT sensors treated with UV radiation show a much higher sensitivity and faster response to the analytes than those without treatment with UV radiation.

Functionalized self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous silica nanoparticles with high surface coverage.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) containing vinyl-, propyl-, isobutyl- and phenyl functionalized monolayers were reported. These functionalized MSNs were prepared via molecular self-assembly of organosilanes on the mesoporous supports. The relative surface coverage of the organic monolayers can reach up to 100% (about 5.06 silanes/nm.

Hole doping and surface functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotube chemiresistive sensors for ultrasensitive and highly selective organophosphor vapor detection.

We developed a chemiresistive sensor based on doped and functionalized semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) networks for ultrasensitive and rapid detection of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) (simulant of nerve agent sarin) vapor. The semiconducting SWNT network was deposited between interdigitated electrodes and modified by solid organic acid tetrafluorohydroquinone (TFQ). The TFQ molecules could not only selectively bind DMMP onto the sidewalls of SWNTs via the strong hydrogen bonding interaction, but also tailor the electronic properties of SWNTs via heavy hole doping. This synergetic effect significantly improved the sensitivity of the devices, and enabled the sensors to easily detect DMMP at 20 parts-per-trillion (ppt) concentration with a response time of less than 2 min, without the need for pre-concentration of the analytes. This sensitivity is about five orders of magnitude higher than that of the unmodified SWNT chemiresistor, and also significantly higher than that of the functionalized SWNT chemiresistors previously reported. Moreover, the SWNT-TFQ sensors could be recovered when DMMP is replaced with referencing gas. The SWNT-TFQ sensors also show excellent selectivity toward DMMP over some interfering organic vapors. The response mechanism, i.e. charge transfer and dedoping was investigated.