Pathogenesis of psoriasis via miR-149-5p/AKT1axis by long noncoding RNA BLACAT1.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic, complicated, and recurrent inflammatory skin disease, whose precise molecular mechanisms need to be further explored. The lncRNA bladder cancer-associated transcript 1 (BLACAT1) is aberrantly expressed in many cancers and associated with cellular hyperproliferation and may play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Thus, this study aimed at identifying the primary mechanism associated with BLACAT1 in psoriasis pathogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression of BLACAT1 in psoriasis tissues. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed using cell counting kit-8 and apoptosis assays, respectively. In vivo experiments and histopathological examinations were performed to investigate the effects of BLACAT1 on psoriasis. Dual-luciferase Reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were used to evaluate the relationship among BLACAT1 and miR-149-5p and AKT1. RESULTS: BLACAT1 was upregulated in psoriasis tissues. Overexpression exacerbated the clinical manifestation of psoriasis and increased the epidermal thickness in imiquimod-induced mice. BLACAT1 could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of keratinocytes. Further studies demonstrated that BLACAT1 positively regulated AKT1 expression, functioning as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by sponging miR-149-5p. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of lncRNA BLACAT1 and miR-149-5p regulates AKT1 expression and promotes psoriasis formation thus may provide a new direction for psoriasis treatment.

Inter-layer-calated Thin Li Metal Electrode with Improved Battery Capacity Retention and Dendrite Suppression.

An inter-layer-calated thin Li metal (ILC-Li) electrode using nondelaminated 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene stacks (15 µm) coated on a thin Li host (30 µm) was developed. The excellent electrical conductivity and expanded interlayer space of the MXene provide a fast e-/Li+ transport while the layer limits the Li growth along the perpendicular direction, thus largely mitigating the dendrite growth. The highly reversible Li deposition/extraction greatly reduces the dead lithium and electrolyte consumption by forming a thin solid-electrolyte-interphase (SEI) layer. A small overpotential of less than 135 mV in symmetric cells was achieved after >1050 cycles at 10 mA cm-2 and 10 mAh cm-2. In a full cell, the battery exhibited an improved capacity retention when compared with Li foil, particularly with lean electrolyte of 2.5 µL mAh-1, thus leading to a high energy density up to 366.6 Wh/kg. The current approach is manufacture scalable, which displays promising potentials in lithium ion batteries.

Designing Comb-Chain Crosslinker-Based Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Additive-Free All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries.

Developing solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) is a promising approach to realize practical dendrite-free lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Tuning the nanoscale polymer network chemsitry is of critical importance for SPE design. In this work, we took lessons from the rubber chemistry and developed a series of comb-chain crosslinker-based SPEs (ConSPEs) using a preformed polymer as the multifunctional crosslinker. The high-functionality crosslinker increased the connectivity of nanosized cross-linked domains, which led to a robust network with dramatically improved toughness and superior lithium dendrite resistance even at a current density of 2 mA cm-2. The uniform and flexile network also dramatically improved the anodic stability to over 5.3 V versus Li/Li+. Additive-free, all-solid-state LMBs with the ConSPE showed high discharge capacity and stable cycling up to 10 C rate, and could be stably cycled at 25 °C. Our results demonstrated that ConSPEs are promising for high-performance and dendrite-free LMBs.

A BF3 -Doped MXene Dual-Layer Interphase for a Reliable Lithium-Metal Anode.

A dual-layer interphase that consists of an in-situ-formed lithium carboxylate organic layer and a thin BF3 -doped monolayer Ti3 C2 MXene on Li metal is reported. The honeycomb-structured organic layer increases the wetting of electrolyte, leading to a thin solid electrolyte interface (SEI). While the BF3 -doped monolayer MXene provides abundant active sites for lithium homogeneous nucleation and growth, resulting in about 50% reduced thickness of inorganic-rich components among the SEI layer. A low overpotential of less than 30 mV over 1000 h cycling in symmetric cells is received. The functional BF3  groups, along with the excellent electronic conductivity and smooth surface of the MXene, greatly reduce the lithium plating/stripping energy barrier, enabling a dendrite-free lithium-metal anode. The battery with this dual-layer coated lithium metal as the anode displays greatly improved electrochemical performance. A high capacity-retention of 175.4 mAh g-1 at 1.0 C is achieved after 350 cycles. In a pouch cell with a capacity of 475 mAh, the battery still exhibits a high discharge capacity of 165.6 mAh g-1 with a capacity retention of 90.2% after 200 cycles. In contrast to the fast capacity decay of pure Li metal, the battery using NCA as the cathode also displays excellent capacity retention in both coin and pouch cells. The dual-layer modified surface provides an effective approach in stabilizing the Li-metal anode.

Photocatalytic degradation of perfluoroalkyl substances in water by using a duo-functional tri-metallic-oxide hybrid catalyst.

The recalcitrant nature of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) urges scientists to discover solutions to permanently remove PFAS contaminations from water with less energy in contrast to incineration. Herein, a duo-functional tri-metallic-oxide (f-TMO) hybrid photocatalyst was developed via a facile process, which displayed both high adsorption capacity and high defluorination rate of a series of PFASs including PFOA, PFOS, PFHpA, PFHxA and PFBA due to the generated holes/electrons (h+/e-) and multi-radicals such as O2•- and SO4•-. Particularly the Langmuir adsorption capacities up to 827.84 and 714.46 mg g-1 along with the adsorption efficiency of 99.8% and 99.4% for PFOS and PFOA were respectively achieved. A defluorination ratio of as high as 74.8% with PFOA and a ratio up to 67.6% with PFOS were respectively received. Over 98% PFOA molecules were degraded within as fast as 15 min under initial concentrations ranging from 1 ppb to 1000 ppb, which demonstrates an excellent degradation kinetics. As for the sulfonic acid of PFOS, an as high as 95.5% degradation efficiency was obtained within 300 min. The degradation rates were 4.5 mg L-1 h-1 for PFOA and 0.54 mg L-1 h-1 for PFOS, respectively. In parallel, the f-TMO photocatalyst still exhibited a >96.2% degradation efficiency after eight regeneration cycles. The high physical adsorption capacity and high defluorination rate make this f-TMO catalyst promising applications in removing various PFASs from a broad range of residential and industrial water systems.

A Flexible Anti-Biofilm Hygiene Coating for Water Devices.

Biofilm is a microbiome complex comprising different bacterial colonies that typically adhere to device surfaces in water, which causes serious medical issues such as indwelling infections and outbreaks. Here, we developed a non-nanoparticle, flexible anti-biofilm hygiene coating consisting of lithocholic acid (LCA), zinc pyrithione (Zn), and cinnamaldehyde (Cn) (named as LCA-Zn-Cn) that largely prevents the bacteria adhesion to various water device surfaces such as stainless steel and glass through a synergistic mechanism. The existing chelated groups on LCA and Cn attract plenty of bacteria via hydrophobic interaction. Both the bactericidal reaction by grafting biocidal groups from both LCA and Cn and the bacteriostatic reaction by inhibiting cell division via zinc ions (Zn) lead to a largely improved bacteria/biofilm prevention. The antibacterial performance was assessed by using the JIS Z 2801/ISO 22196 method. The designed LCA-Zn-Cn coating displayed log10 reduction of 4.23 (99.9% reduction) of E. coli and log10 reduction of 3.51 (99.8% reduction) of E. faecalis on stainless steel, which are much higher than the control samples, demonstrating a promising colonization inhibition. In parallel, the polysulfone encapsulated beads also showed >99% reduction efficiency in batch and >97-98% reduction efficiency in continuous column tests using the Lake Michigan water. Due to the strong cross-linked configuration, the coating still showed >90.9% bacterial reduction after 3000 abrasion cycles and over 99.9% bacteria reduction after a high flow velocity of 1.99 m/s test, which confirmed the enhanced mechanical durability. By applying either spray or dip-coating, the designed polymer composite can be coated on a variety of irregular water devices with mass production using an auto-controlled robot arm.

N6-methyladenosine-modified long non-coding RNA AGAP2-AS1 promotes psoriasis pathogenesis via miR-424-5p/AKT3 axis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic, complicated, and recurrent inflammatory skin disease. However, the precise molecular mechanisms remain largely elusive and the present treatment is unsatisfactory. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to unravel the functions of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) AGAP2-AS1 and its biological mechanism in psoriasis pathogenesis, hinting for the new therapeutic targets in psoriasis. METHODS: The expression of AGAP2-AS1 in the skin tissue of psoriasis patients and healthy controls were detected by qRT-PCR and RNAscope®. Cell Counting Kit­8 (CCK8) and clone formation assays were utilized to assess proliferation. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP) was performed to detect the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) was used to detect the interaction of AGAP2-AS1 with YTH domain family 2(YTHDF2). The relationships among AGAP2-AS1, miR-424-5p and AKT3 were examined by dual-luciferase reporter assay and RIP assay. RESULTS: We found that AGAP2-AS1 level was upregulated in the skin tissue of psoriasis patients than that of healthy controls and AGAP2-AS1 could promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of keratinocytes. Methyltransferase like 3(METTL3)-mediated m6A modification suppressed the expression of AGAP2-AS1 via YTHDF2-dependent AGAP2-AS1 stability. Thus, downregulation of METTL3 resulted in the upregulation of AGAP2-AS1 in psoriasis. AGAP2-AS1 functioned as a competitive endogenous RNA by sponging miR-424-5p to upregulate AKT3, activate AKT/mTOR pathway, as well as promote cell proliferation in keratinocytes. CONCLUSION: AGAP2-AS1 is upregulated in the skin tissue of psoriasis patients and m6A methylation was involved in its upregulation. AGAP2-AS1 promotes keratinocyte proliferation through miR-424-5p/AKT/mTOR axis and may be a promising target for psoriasis therapy.

[Clinical observation on children-sized fibreoptic bronchoscope usage in whole-lung lavage].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of children-sized fibreoptic bronchoscope in improving the safety of whole-lung lavage (WLL). METHOD: Patients from May 2006 to May 2010 using children-sized fibreoptic bronchoscope to assistant the location were assigned to fibreoptic bronchoscope group. Patients from May 1998 to Nov 2004 using traditional stethoscope to help intubation were assigned to control group. The adverse reactions and complications were compared. RESULT: There were liquid leakage 1 case (0.96%), hypoxia 3 cases (2.88%) and liquid retained over 1000 ml 15 cases (14.42%) in fibreoptic bronchoscope group. In contrast, liquid leakage 24 cases (6.38%), hypoxia 42 cases (11.17%) and liquid retained over 1000 ml 135 cases (35.90%) happened in control group. The differences between the two groups were significant (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Using children-sized fibreoptic bronchoscope in WLL can promote the situation of double-lumen tube, help separation the two lungs, decrease complications and improving safety.

Pre-Solid Electrolyte Interphase-Covered Li Metal Anode with Improved Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Reliability in High-Energy-Density Batteries.

Mossy/dendritic lithium growth and infinite volume change lead to form an unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the Li surface, thus resulting in poor cyclability in Li metal-based batteries. Design of a reliable SEI layer on Li metal is one of the promising strategies to reach high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. In this article, we report a novel design of artificial pre-SEI-covered Li metal by using a facile drop-coating process which advances a highly reliable SEI formation with uniform Li plating/stripping, enabling a greatly increased cycling performance with high Coulombic efficiency in full-cell batteries. The electron-isolated organic polymer matrix provides elastic deformation that decreases the fracture failure, thus avoiding the crack during cycling. The formed metal-organic-salt LiCN through the precursor reaction with Li metal suffices a robust connection. In parallel, the homogeneous distribution of inorganic compounds ensures an enhanced ionic conductivity, which leads to a thinner, stable SEI layer by reducing electrolyte consumption and forming less dead lithium. As a result, the full-cell battery versus LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 displayed a high capacity of 167.8 mA h g-1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C in an electrolyte of 5.0 µL (mA h)-1, while the battery with Li foil dropped to only 48.5 mA h g-1 after 65 cycles. The estimated energy density of the coin cell battery was about 404.8 W h kg-1 in the lean electrolyte of 1.25 µL (mA h)-1. A high capacity retention over 84.0 and 81.0% and a Coulombic inefficiency less than 0.71 and 0.68% after 150 cycles with the 150 and 300 mA h pouch cell batteries paired with LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 (NMC532) were, respectively, achieved, which are much better than those of the batteries with Li foil. It is believed that the reinforced artificial pre-SEI covered on Li metal opens a new pathway to create a highly reliable, safe Li metal electrode for high energy-density batteries.

A Fast Charge/Discharge and Wide-Temperature Battery with a Germanium Oxide Layer on a Ti3C2 MXene Matrix as Anode.

A rapid charge/discharge secondary battery is critical in portable electronic devices and electric vehicles. Germanium, due to the metallic property and facile alloying reaction with lithium, displays great potential in fast charge/discharge batteries in contrast to other intercalation batteries. In order to accommodate the over 300% volume change, a 2D hybrid composite electrode consisting of a homogeneous, amorphous GeOx(x=1.57) layer bonded on Ti3C2 MXenes was successfully developed via an industry available method. The expanded interlayer space inside the MXene matrix accommodates the restricted isotropic expansion from the stress-released, ultrathin GeOx layer. Owing to the improved e-/Li+ conductivity from both metallic reduced Ge and MXene, the battery showed an excellent charge/discharge performance as fast as 3 min (20.0 C). A high-capacity retention of ∼1048.1 mAh/g along with a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.8% at 0.5 C after 500 cycles was achieved. Under 1.0 C, the capacity was still up to 929.6 mAh/g with a CE of 99.6% (<0.02% capacity decay per cycle) after ultralong (1000) cycling. An almost doubled capacity of 671.6 mAh/g compared to graphite (372 mAh/g at 0.1 C) under 5.0 C and a capacity of 300.5 mAh/g under 10.0 C after 1000 cycles were respectively received. Under cold conditions, due to the low interface energy barrier, an efficient alloying reaction happens which prevents the Li plating on the electrode surface. High capacities of 631.6, 333.9, and 841.7 mAh/g under -20, -40, and 60 °C after 100 cycles demonstrate a wide temperature tolerance of the battery. In addition, a full-cell battery paired with LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) displayed a high capacity of 536.8 mAh/g after 200 cycles. A high capacity retention of a full pouch cell after 50 cycles was also obtained. The superhigh rate capability along with long cycling, wide temperature range, scalable production, and relatively low cost of this hybrid composite display promising potential in specific energy storage applications.

Robust Hybrid Hydrophilic Coating on a High-Density Polyethylene Surface with Enhanced Mechanical Property.

Acoustic aeration on a sonochemical surface could have a major impact on sensitivity because of the serious reflection/scattering of sound waves. Recently, we found that the trapped air in the crevices can be reduced by covering the surface with a hydrophilic coating, thus preventing the bubble formation upon ultrasound agitation. Here, we developed an epoxy-based hybrid polymer coating that shows greatly enhanced mechanical adhesion on a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) surface. The strong bonding of C-O-C and the benzene ring as the backbone ensures excellent mechanical strength, and the hydrophilic polar groups of -OH/-NH2 on dopamine display bubble suppression. The existing -OH groups in the cross-linked matrix, which is constructed by adding the monomer PEGMA and cross-linker PEGDA, form a strong chemical bond with the HDPE surface via dehydration, which largely enhanced the adhesion force. The coated HDPE surface maintained a low contact angle of less than 45°, which is the critical angle for avoiding bubbles, after a long period period of abrasion cycling of 160 times under 9.8 kPa pressure. The coated HDPE surface displayed excellent bubble removal performance under ultrasound agitation from room temperature to 60 °C. The strengthened mechanical adhesion of the epoxy-based hydrophilic coating displays extensive applications on a variety of surfaces for acoustic bubble removal.

Improved antibacterial performance using hydrogel-immobilized lysozyme as a catalyst in water.

Silver nanoparticle-based catalysts are used extensively to kill bacteria in drinking water treatment. However secondary contamination and their high cost require scientists to seek alternatives with non-toxicity, high activity and low cost. In this article, we develop a new hydrogel-immobilized lysozyme (h-lysozyme) that shows excellent antibacterial performance, including high activity duration of up to 55 days, inhibition efficiency as high as 99.4%, good recycling capability of up to 11 cycles, a wide temperature window and extremely low concentration. The immobilized lysozyme displayed greatly improved bacterial inhibition with both Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive B. subtilis, which enables broad antibacterial applications in various water systems. In parallel, the non-toxic structure and high stability of the h-lysozyme without additional contamination make it a promising alternative to nanoparticle catalysts fur use in drinking water purification.

Acoustic Bubble Suppression by Constructing a Hydrophilic Coating on HDPE Surface.

Ultrasonic bubbles on the solid surface of various sonochemical devices largely affect signal resolution due to the serious reflection/scattering of sound waves. The Laplace pressure of the cavitation bubble can be tuned by constructing an ultrathin hydrophilic layer, which leads to the solvation or pinching off of the bubbles from the surface. In this article, we successfully coated a polydopamine polymer layer on the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) surface. The formed hydrophilic layer with a contact angle of less than 45° almost completely eliminates the bubbles in both water and 32.5 vol % diesel exhaust fluid solutions upon sonication, which results in the operation of the piezoelectric sensor over 500 h, while the sensor with pure HDPE only ran for less than 2 h. Further, the coated sensors showed high stability under the temperatures of 60-80 °C. An improved mechanical property was confirmed via abrasion test, enabling long-term stability in harsh environments, including acidic urine and ultrasonic agitation. The acoustic bubble suppression via the hydrophilic polymer coating on HDPE surface displays broad applications, particularly with acoustic sensors, sonobuoys, and nondestructive surface detection in sonochemistry.

Ironing Controllable Lithium into Lithiotropic Carbon Fiber Fabric: A Novel Li-Metal Anode with Improved Cyclability and Dendrite Suppression.

Lithium metal as an anode in lithium-ion batteries is attracting more attention because of the high gravimetric/volumetric energy density and low electrochemical potential. However, the irreversible Li plating/striping can reduce the cycling capability and very possibly introduce dendrite growth, thus leading to a series of issues such as infinite volume change, low Coulombic efficiency, and uncontrollable solid electrolyte interphase. Here, we report a novel, single-side Li-infused carbon fiber fabric (LiCFF) with a controllable, minimized Li loading, which shows a highly reversible plating/stripping with an extremely low overpotential of less than 30 mV (Li foil: >1.0 V over 50 cycles) upon >3000 cycles (6000 and 2000 h) at 1 and 3 mA/cm2 in symmetric cells, respectively. With a high areal capacity up to 10 mA h/cm2 and a high current density of 10 mA/cm2, the cell still shows a minimum overpotential of 150-175 mV after 250 cycles (500 h). Full-cell batteries using the LiCFF as "all-in-one" anodes without the additional slurry-making process and nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide (NMC) as cathodes exhibit an improved capacity retention when compared with Li foil: 32% at 0.5 C and 119% at 1.0 C capacity improved after 100 cycles. In parallel, the mossy/dendritic Li on the LiCFF was largely suppressed, which was confirmed using in situ observations of Li plating/striping in a capillary cell. The excellent electronic conductivity of the carbon fabric leads to small contact/transfer resistances of 3.4/3.8 Ω (Li foil: 4.1/44.4 Ω), enabling a drastically lowered energy barrier for Li nucleation/growth. Thus, a uniform current distribution results in forming a homogeneous Li layer instead of forming dendrites. The current LiCFF as the anode with controllable Li (n/p ratio), improved cycling stability, mitigated dendrite formation, and flexibility displays promising applications in versatile Li-metal batteries such as Li-NMC, Li-S, and Li-O2.

Largely Improved Battery Performance Using a Microsized Silicon Skeleton Caged by Polypyrrole as Anode.

Various architectures with nanostructured silicon have demonstrated promising battery performance while posing a challenge in industrial production. The current ratio of silicon in graphite as anode is less than 5 wt %, which greatly limits the battery energy density. In this article, we report a scalable synthesis of a large silicon cage composite (micrometers) that is composed of a silicon skeleton and an ultrathin (<5 nm) mesoporous polypyrrole (PPy) skin via a facile wet-chemical method. The industry available, microsized AlSi alloy was used as precursor. The hollow skeleton configuration provides sufficient space to accommodate the drastic volume expansion/shrinkage upon charging/discharging, while the conductive polymer serves as a protective layer and fast channel for Li+/e- transport. The battery with the microsilicon (µ-Si) cage as anode displays an excellent capacity retention upon long cycling at high charge/discharge rates and high material loadings. At 0.2 C, a specific capacity of ∼1660 mAh/g with a Coulombic efficiency (CE) of ∼99.8% and 99.4% was achieved after 500 cycles at 3 mg/cm2 loading and 400 cycles at 4.4 mg/cm2 loading, respectively. At 1.0 C, a capacity as high as 1149 mAh/g was retained after 500 cycles with such high silicon loading. The areal capacity of as high as 6.4 mAh/cm2 with 4.4 mg/cm2 loading was obtained, which ensures a high battery energy density in powering large devices such as electric vehicles.

Dynamic charge acceptance and hydrogen evolution of a new MXene additive in advanced lead-acid batteries via a rapid screening three-electrode method.

A methodology to screen additives in lead-acid batteries is critical. We developed a three-electrode system that can rapidly check the dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) and hydrogen evolution of electrodes. The electrode with 2% MXene and 0.2% carbon black shows a better DCA, which indicates its great potential in the start-stop technology.