ABSTRACT
Background: Human chromosome 12 contains I kappa B kinase interacting protein (IKBIP) is also commonly known as IKIP. The involvement of IKBIP in the growth of tumors has only been discussed in a small number of publications. Purpose: To explore the role that IKBIP plays in the development of a wide variety of neoplasms, as well as the tumor immunological microenvironment. Methods: UALCAN, HPA, Genotype Tissue Expression, Cancer Genome Maps, and other datasets were used to analyze IKBIP expression. We thoroughly investigated the predictive importance of IKBIP in pan-cancer, clinical traits, and genetic anomalies. We studied whether there is a link between IKBIP and immune-related genes, microsatellite instability (MSI), and the incidence of tumor mutational burden (TMB). The link between immune cell infiltration and IKBIP expression was examined using data on immune cell infiltration from ImmuCellAI, TIMER2, and earlier studies. Finally, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to determine the signaling pathways associated with IKBIP. Results: IKBIP is highly expressed in most cancers and is negatively associated with the prognosis of several major cancer types. Furthermore, IKBIP expression was linked to TMB in 13 cancers and MSI in seven cancers. Additionally, IKBIP is associated with numerous immunological and cancer-promoting pathways. Simultaneously, various cancer types have unique tumor-infiltrating immune cell profiles. Conclusion: IKBIP has the potential to act as a pan-cancer oncogene and is crucial for both carcinogenesis and cancer immunity. Elevated IKBIP expression implies an immunosuppressive environment and may be used as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.
ABSTRACT
As a kind of excellent multifunctional metal oxide semiconductor, KxNa1-xNbO3 (KNN) has been widely applied in a variety of fields such as photocatalysis and energy harvesting due to its excellent piezoelectric, dielectric and photovoltaic properties in recent decades. In this report, octahedron-shaped K0.4Na0.6NbO3 (KNN-6) microstructures assembled by cubic nanoparticles with {010} exposed facets were synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal reaction. Due to the accumulation of electrons on the exposed facets, which was conducive to the separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, the microstructures could achieve a highly efficient photocatalytic performance for wastewater degradation. In addition, owing to the piezoelectric effect of KNN crystals, the degradation efficiency could be further enhanced by introducing ultrasonic vibration. Using methylene blue (MB) as the organic dye to evaluate their wastewater degradation efficiency, the KNN microstructures achieved their best catalytic performance when the atomic ratio of KOH to NaOH in the reactant was set at 4 : 6 (KNN-6). Under the synergistic effect of light irradiation and ultrasonic vibration, MB could almost be completely (99%) degraded within 40 minutes by KNN-6 microstructures, which was several times more efficient than that of pure NaNbO3 or KNbO3 in previous reports. This work demonstrated that the K0.4Na0.6NbO3 (KNN-6) microstructure could be a prominent candidate for wastewater purification. The formation mechanism of KNN crystals and the role of the piezoelectric effect in the photocatalytic process were also discussed.
ABSTRACT
Water pollution has always been a serious problem across the world; therefore, facile pollutant degradation via light irradiation has been an attractive issue in the field of environmental protection. In this study, a type of Zn-based metal-organic framework (ZIF-8)-wrapped BiVO4 nanorod (BiVO4@ZIF-8) with high efficiency for photocatalytic wastewater treatment was synthesized through a two-step hydrothermal method. The heterojunction structure of BiVO4@ZIF-8 was confirmed by morphology characterization. Due to the introduction of mesoporous ZIF-8, the specific surface area reached up to 304.5 m2/g, which was hundreds of times larger than that of pure BiVO4 nanorods. Furthermore, the band gap of BiVO4@ZIF-8 was narrowed down to 2.35 eV, which enabled its more efficient utilization of visible light. After irradiation under visible light for about 40 min, about 80% of rhodamine B (RhB) was degraded, which was much faster than using pure BiVO4 or other BiVO4-based photocatalysts. The synergistic photocatalysis mechanism of BiVO4@ZIF-8 is also discussed. This study might offer new pathways for effective degradation of wastewater through facile design of novel photocatalysts.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, lead-free piezoelectric nanogenerators have attracted much attention because of their great potential for harvesting energy from the environment. Here, we report the first synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) single-crystal ZnSnO3 hexagon nanoplates and the fabrication of ZnSnO3 nanoplate-based nanogenerators. The orthorhombic perovskite-structured ZnSnO3 nanoplates with (111) facets of the exposed plate surface are successfully synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal reaction. Piezoelectric nanogenerators are then fabricated using the as-synthesized single-crystal ZnSnO3 nanoplates and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). A d33 value as high as 49 pC/N for the ZnSnO3@PDMS composite was obtained without any electrical poling process, which demonstrates that the single-crystal ZnSnO3 nanoplates have a single-domain structure. To the best of our knowledge, this d33 value is also the highest among lead-free piezoelectric composites. A bending strain can induce the piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) to generate a large, stable, and sustainable output open circuit voltage of 20 V and a short circuit current of 0.6 µA, which are higher than many other PENGs. The output signals are sufficient to light a single light-emitting diode (LED), which shows the great potential of the material for scavenging mechanical energy from moving entities, such as road vehicles, railway vehicles, and humans.
