Hg²⁺-Selective OFF−ON and Cu²⁺-Selective ON−OFF Type Fluoroionophore Based upon Cyclam

A new cyclam derivative having two different fluorophores of pyrene and NBD subunits was prepared, and its Hg2+- and Cu2+-selective signaling behaviors were investigated. The detection limits for the analysis of Hg2+ and Cu2+ ions were found to be 7.9 × 10-6 and 2.6 × 10-7 M in aqueous acetonitrile solution (H2O−CH3CN = 10:90, v/v), respectively. The compound also exhibited a selective Hg2+/Cu2+-induced OFF−ON−OFF type of signaling pattern that can be utilized for the construction of functional supramolecular switching systems

Dual Electrical Behavior of Multivalent Metal Cation-Based Oxide and Its Application to Thin-Film Transistors with High Mobility and Excellent Photobias Stability

The effect of multivalent metal cations, including vanadium­(V) and tin (Sn), on the electrical properties of vanadium-doped zinc tin oxide (VZTO) was investigated in the context of the fabrication of thin-film transistors (TFTs) using a single VZTO film and VZTO/ZTO bilayer as channel layers. The single VZTO TFT did not show any response to the gate voltage (insulator-like behavior). On the other hand, the VZTO/ZTO bilayer TFT exhibited a typical TFT transfer characteristic (semiconducting behavior). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that, in contrast to what is commonly true in many oxides, oxygen vacancies (VO) in VZTO did not provide a dominant contribution to the total carrier concentration, because the VO peak area in the single VZTO film was 5.4% and reduced to 4.5% in VZTO/ZTO bilayer. Instead, Sn 3d_5/2 and V 2p_3/2 spectra suggest that the significant reduction in Sn and V ions is strongly related to the insulator-like behavior of the VZTO film. In negative-bias illumination tests and illumination tests with various photon energies, the VZTO/ZTO bilayer TFT had much better stability than the ZTO TFT. This result is attributed to the reduction of donor-like states (V_O) that can be positively ionized by blue and green illumination

Lithography-Free, Large-Area Spatially Segmented Disordered Structure for Light Harvesting in Photovoltaic Modules

Optical losses in photovoltaic (PV) systems cause nonradiative recombination or incomplete absorption of incident light, hindering the attainment of high energy conversion efficiency. The surface of the PV cells is encapsulated to not only protect the cell but also control the transmission properties of the incident light to promote maximum conversion. Despite many advances in elaborately designed photonic structures for light harvesting, the complicated process and sophisticated patterning highly diminish the cost-effectiveness and further limit the mass production on a large scale. Here, we propose a robust/comprehensive strategy based on the hybrid disordered photonic structure, implementing multifaceted light harvesting with an affordable/scalable fabrication method. The spatially segmented structures include (i) nanostructures in the active area for antireflection and (ii) microstructures in the inactive edge area for redirecting the incident light into the active area. A lithography-free hybrid disordered structure fabricated by the thermal dewetting method is a facile approach to create a large-area photonic structure with hyperuniformity over the entire area. Based on the experimentally realized nano-/microstructures, we designed a computational model and performed an analytical calculation to confirm the light behavior and performance enhancement. Particularly, the suggested structure is manufactured by the elastomeric stamps method, which is affordable and profitable for mass production. The produced hybrid structure integrated with the multijunction solar cell presented an improved efficiency from 28.0 to 29.6% by 1.06 times

Immunogenic Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Endoplasmic Reticulum-Stressed Tumor Cells: Implications as the Therapeutic Cancer Vaccine

Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (TDEs) have potential for therapeutic cancer vaccine applications since they innately possess tumor-associated antigens, mediate antigen presentation, and can incorporate immune adjuvants for enhanced vaccine efficacy. However, the original TDEs also contain immune-suppressive proteins. To address this, we proposed a simple yet powerful preconditioning method to improve the overall immunogenicity of the TDEs. This approach involved inducing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on parental tumor cells via N-glycosylation inhibition with tunicamycin. The generated immunogenic TDEs (iTDEs) contained down-regulated immunosuppressive proteins and up-regulated immune adjuvants, effectively activating dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro. Furthermore, in vivo evidence from a tumor-bearing mouse model showed that iTDEs activated DCs, enabling cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to target tumors, and eventually established a systemic antitumor immune response. Additionally, iTDEs significantly delayed tumor recurrence in a postsurgery model compared with control groups. These findings highlight the immense potential of our strategy for utilizing TDEs to develop effective cancer vaccines

MoS₂ Nanoflake and ZnO Quantum Dot Blended Active Layers on AuPd Nanoparticles for UV Photodetectors

A hybrid UV photodetector incorporating a blended active layer of molybdenum disulfate (MoS2) nanoflakes and zinc oxide (ZnO) quantum dots (QDs) on the Au core–shelled AuPd hybrid NPs (HNPs), namely, the MoS2*ZnO/HNP configuration, is demonstrated for the first time. In the proposed configuration, the hot carriers generated by the strong localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Au-shelled AuPd HNPs can be effectively collected at the ZnO QD’s conduction band. The blended MoS2 nanoflakes also successfully absorb the high-energy photons, offering additional photocarriers. The optimized device demonstrates an increased photocurrent (Iph) of 1.49 × 10–3 A at 10 V under 54.9 mW/mm2, which offers improved performance parameters of a photoresponsivity (R) of 2,525 mA/W, a detectivity (D) of 7.251 × 1011 jones, and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 813% at 0.34 mW/mm2. The result is one of the best ZnO-based photodetectors demonstrated so far. The enhanced photocurrent is due to the greater photocarrier injections by the blended active layer of MoS2 nanoflakes and ZnO QDs on the Au-shelled AuPd HNPs. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation confirms the significantly increased maximum local e-field intensity and hotspots of the MoS2*ZnO/HNP blended active layer

The microRNA expression in blood injection model, saline injection model, and in vitro thrombin injury model.

<p>The level of let7c increased after blood injection on the same coordinate as collagenase (p = 0.0159) (A), but not after normal saline injection (p = 0.0937) (B). The in vitro thrombin injury model showed that let7c increased 24 hours after the 500 U thrombin injury (C). The let7c antagomir (AM) increased cell survival from the thrombin injury (6.38±1.09% vs. 21.89±2.01%, p = 0.037) (D). *P<0.05, n = 5–6 per group.</p

Systematic Secretome Analyses of Rice Leaf and Seed Callus Suspension-Cultured Cells: Workflow Development and Establishment of High-Density Two-Dimensional Gel Reference Maps

Secreted proteins control a multitude of biological and physiological processes in multicellular organisms such as plants. Identification of secreted proteins in reference plants like Arabidopsis and rice under normal growth conditions and adverse environmental conditions will help better understand the secretory pathways. Here, we have performed a systematic in planta and in vitro analyses of proteins secreted by rice leaves (in planta) and seed callus suspension-cultured cells (SCCs; in vitro), respectively, using a combination of biochemical and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DGE) coupled with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analyses. Secreted proteins prepared from either leaves or SCCs medium were essentially free from contamination of intracellular proteins as judged by biochemical and Western blot analyses. 2-DGE analyses of secreted proteins collectively identified 222 protein spots with only 6 protein spots common to both in planta and in vitro derived data sets. Data were used to establish high-resolution and high-density 2-D gel reference maps for both in planta and in vitro secreted proteins. Identified proteins belonged to 11 (in planta) and 6 (in vitro) functional classes. Proteins involved in carbon metabolism (33%) and cell wall metabolism having plant defense mechanism (18%) were highly represented in the in planta secreted proteins accounting for 51% of total identified proteins, whereas proteins of cell wall metabolism having plant defense mechanism (64%) were predominant in the in vitro secreted proteins. Interestingly, secreted proteins possessing signal peptides were significantly lower in an in planta (27%) prepared secreted protein population than in vitro (76%) as predicted by SignalP prediction tool, implying the notion that plant might possess yet unidentified secretory pathway(s) in addition to the classical endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi pathway. Taken together, this systematic study provides evidence for (i) significant difference in protein population secreted in planta and in vitro suggesting both approaches are complementary, (ii) identification of many novel and previously known secreted proteins, and (iii) the presence of large number of functionally diverse proteins secreted in planta and in vitro

Surface Roughness-Independent Homogeneous Lithium Plating in Synergetic Conditioned Electrolyte

Up until now, dendritic Li growth during repeated plating/stripping reactions has been a significant hurdle for the commercialization of Li metal anode. This phenomenon is strongly related to the dead Li evolution, unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, and low Coulombic efficiency. However, existing reports on carbonate-based electrolytes, even with the addition of various additives, show no complete suppression of dendritic Li growth. Herein, we introduce a remarkably unique homogeneous Li growth induced by a combination of various solvents and a LiPF6 salt. This behavior was found to be independent of the surface roughness of the electrode and was confirmed by the operando visualization based on synchrotron X-ray and visible light sources. Moreover, its practical possibilities were validated by the uniform Li deposition on a three-dimensional Cu current collector and the electrochemical performance on various Li metal battery systems

Surface Roughness-Independent Homogeneous Lithium Plating in Synergetic Conditioned Electrolyte

Up until now, dendritic Li growth during repeated plating/stripping reactions has been a significant hurdle for the commercialization of Li metal anode. This phenomenon is strongly related to the dead Li evolution, unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer, and low Coulombic efficiency. However, existing reports on carbonate-based electrolytes, even with the addition of various additives, show no complete suppression of dendritic Li growth. Herein, we introduce a remarkably unique homogeneous Li growth induced by a combination of various solvents and a LiPF6 salt. This behavior was found to be independent of the surface roughness of the electrode and was confirmed by the operando visualization based on synchrotron X-ray and visible light sources. Moreover, its practical possibilities were validated by the uniform Li deposition on a three-dimensional Cu current collector and the electrochemical performance on various Li metal battery systems

Inhibition of Let7c MicroRNA Is Neuroprotective in a Rat Intracerebral Hemorrhage Model

<div><p>Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating neurological disease with a grave prognosis. We evaluated microRNA (miRNA) expression after ICH and evaluated Let7c as a therapeutic target. We harvested hemorrhagic brain 24 hours after collagenase induced ICH in the rat. Microarray analysis was performed to compare the miRNAs expression pattern between hemorrhagic hemisphere and contralateral hemisphere. An in vitro thrombin toxicity model and blood injection ICH model were also used to evaluate miRNA expression. We selected miRNA for the therapeutic target study after reviewing target gene databases and their expression. The antagonistic sequence of the selected miRNA (antagomir) was used to evaluate its therapeutic potential in the in vitro thrombin toxicity and in vivo ICH models. Among 1,088 miRNAs analyzed, let7c was induced in the thrombin and ICH models. Let7c antagomir treatment increased cell survival in the in vitro thrombin injury model and improved neurological function at 4 weeks after ICH. Let7c antagomir decreased perihematoma edema, apoptotic cell death and inflammation around hematoma. Let7c antagomir also induced insulin like growth factor receptor 1 (IGF1R) protein and phosphorylated serine threonine kinase after ICH. This study shows a distinct miRNA expression pattern after ICH. The let7c antagomir reduced cell death and edema and enhanced neurological recovery at least in part by activating the IGF1R pro-survival pathway. This suggests blocking let7c might be a potential therapeutic target in ICH.</p></div