FeOCl/MOF-derived In2S3 photocatalysts with high H2O2 adsorption: Degradation mechanism, H2O2 activation process.

The FeOCl-based photo-Fenton heterojunction catalyst holds great promise for effective water pollution treatment. A novel heterojunction FeOCl/MOF-In2S3 (F/M-I) was fabricated by coating hollow MOF-In2S3 nanoflowers onto the surface of FeOCl. Under the optimal conditions, the maximum photo-Fenton degradation rate constants of FeOCl/MOF-In2S3 for oxytetracycline (OTC) within 20 min is 0.88192 L mg-1·min-1, which are 3.2 and 2.5 times that of pure FeOCl (0.27357 L mg-1·min-1) and MOF-In2S3 (0.35222 L mg-1·min-1). Density functional theory (DFT) results confirm that the electron-rich nature of MOF-In2S3 accelerates the cycle between Fe (III)/Fe (II)of FeOCl, promoting H2O2 adsorption by FeOCl/MOF-In2S3 and generating more hydroxyl radicals (·OH) for pollutant degradation. Based on the results of DFT, combined with the results of the reactive oxidation species scavenger (ROSs), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Mott-Schottky curves, the separation and transfer behavior of photoexcited charges in FeOCl/MOF-In2S3 heterojunction and the possible photocatalytic degradation mechanism were investigated. Finally, a Z-scheme heterostructure is proposed to elucidate the catalytic mechanism. This study provides a new perspective on designing and synthesizing semiconductor materials for water treatment by photo-Fenton catalysis.

Clinical implications of PD-L1 expression and pathway-related molecular subtypes in advanced Asian colorectal cancer patients.

The expression level of PD-L1 does not accurately predict the prognosis of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but it still reflects the tumor microenvironment to some extent. By stratifying PD-L1 status, gene subtypes in PD-L1 positivity-related pathological pathways were analyzed for their relationship to MSI or TMB to provide more individualized treatment options for CRCs. A total of 752 advanced CRCs were included, and their genomic variance was measured by a targeted next generation sequencing panel in this study. MSI and TMB were both measured by NGS, while PD-L1 expression level was measured using the PD-L1 colon 22C3 pharmDx kit. We found RTK/RAS pathway was positively related to high PD-L1 expression, with BRAF V600E and most KRAS mutations (G12 and G13) subtypes showing a significant correlation. Conversely, the Wnt and p53 pathways were negatively related to high PD-L1 expression, with APC C-terminal alterations and other non-inactivation mutations in TP53 making a primary contribution with significant statistical significance. Major subtypes showing a significantly higher proportion of TMB-H or MSI-H were irrespective of PD-L1 status. These findings demonstrate pathological pathways associated with high PD-L1 expression, suggesting that pathway-induced oncogenic constructive PD-L1 upregulation may be the reason for the corresponding patients' primary resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), rather than a lack of pre-existing immune responses.

Colloidal 2D Covalent Organic Framework-Tailored Nanofiltration Membranes for Precise Molecular Sieving.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with tunable pore sizes and ordered structures are ideal materials for engineering nanofiltration (NF) membranes. However, most of the COFs prepared by solvothermal synthesis are unprocessable powders and fail to form well-structured membranes, which seriously hinders the development of COF NF membranes. Herein, colloidal 2D-COFs with processable membrane formation ability were synthesized by oil-in-water emulsion interfacial polymerization technology. COF NF membranes with tailored thickness and surface charge were fabricated via a layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly strategy. The prepared COF NF membrane achieved precise sieving of dye molecules with high permeance (85 L·m-2·h-1·bar-1). In this work, the strategy of prepared COF NF membranes based on colloid 2D-COF LBL assembly is proposed for the first time, which provides a new idea for the on-demand design and preparation of COF membranes for precise molecular sieving.

Dynamic properties of photogenerated charge in BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO ternary composites and its application for organic pollutants degradation.

Carbon-based Materials have been extensively researched for their prospect in the fields of environment and energy, especially for graphene oxide (GO). In this work, a novel sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-assisted synthesis of BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO ternary composite has been synthesized successfully by a handy hydrothermal method. Photoluminescence, Photocurrent, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, surface photovoltage and transient photovoltage measurements illustrate that construction of p-n BiOBr/Bi2WO6 heterojunction leads to the obviously enhancement of charge separation efficiency, and the photogenerated electrons trapped by GO can effectively inhibit the recombination process of photogenerated charge, resulting in the improvement of charge separation efficiency and the longer lifetime of photogenerated carriers for BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO. The characterization of structure and morphology indicate that role of GO can also improve the visible light absorption range, and the SDS-assisted synthesis can reduce the size of particle in the composite and enhances the specific surface area of the composite by regulating the particle size and agglomeration. Under optimal conditions, BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO (SDS) has the outstanding photocatalytic degradation performance and the degradation rate constants for oxytetracycline, tetracycline hydrochloride, methylene blue and rhodamine are 0.056, 0.057, 0.103 and 0.414 min-1, respectively. Notably, the degradation rate constants obtained by BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO (SDS) are more ten times higher than that of pure BiOBr and Bi2WO6. The possible mechanism of photocatalytic degradation was suggested for BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO based on the dynamic properties of photogenerated charge and reactive oxidation species results. Surprisingly, the recyclability of the BiOBr/Bi2WO6/GO (SDS) composite obtained from the cyclic experiments has laid a foundation for the study of efficient and stable photocatalysts.

Investigation of charge dynamics in dinuclear cobalt phthalocyanine ammonium sulfonate (PDS) modified Ti-Fe2O3 photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

The kinetic competition between water oxidation/electron extraction processes and recombination behaviors is a key consideration in the development of efficient photoanodes for solar-driven water splitting. Investigating the photogenerated charge behaviors could guide the construction of high-efficiency photoanodes. In this study, the charge carrier kinetics involved in photoelectrochemical water oxidation of PDS/Ti-Fe2O3 were analyzed using surface photovoltage (SPV), transient photovoltage (TPV), short-pulse transient photocurrent (TPC) and photoelectrochemical impedance spectra (PEIS). The TPC results indicate the interfacial electric field introduced by the PDS loading increases the electron extraction and suppresses the bulk recombination, enhancing the spatial separation of photogenerated charges, which is consistent with the SPV and TPV results. Besides, the surface recombination of the back electron (BER) is also attenuated, which enhances the long-lived holes at the surface of PDS/Ti-Fe2O3 photoanode. Similarly, as obtained by PEIS fitting, the loading of PDS accelerates holes transfer at the photoanode/electrolyte interface, and increases the utilization of long-lived holes. In other word, the recombination behaviors of photogenerated charges are restrained both in the bulk and surface of the photoanode after the deposition of PDS, leading to enhanced PEC performance. These findings highlight the importance of understanding charge carrier dynamics in the design of high-efficient photoanodes.

Non-preheating fabricated semitransparent quasi-2D perovskite solar cells.

Although the hot-casting (HC) method can obtain efficient quasi-2D perovskite solar cells, this method cannot effectively control the uniformity of the thin film, and the high preheating substrate temperature will also form low n perovskite phases (n = 2) at the interface, which is not conducive to the transport of carriers. Semitransparent solar cells have great application prospects in building-integrated photovoltaic and tandem devices. Herein, a non-preheating (NP) film-casting method is proposed to realize a highly uniform and phase controllable quasi-2D perovskite film (BA2MA3Pb4I13, BA+:C4H11NH3+, MA+:CH3NH3+). As a result, the NP-processed film gets the highest light utilization efficiency (LUE = 4.01%) for semitransparent quasi-2D perovskite solar cells (ST-Quasi-2D-PSCs) with power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.60%, average visible transmittance (AVT) of 41.73%, good bifaciality factor, high LUE in low light intensity and good stability.

Cancer-associated fibroblast-derived exosome miR-181b-3p promotes the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer by regulating SNX2 expression.

Tumor microenvironment (TME) (e.g., stromal cells) has been closely related to the pathological process of colorectal cancer (CRC). In TME, tumor-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the main stromal cells. The studies have showed that CAFs promoted tumor growth and metastasis in CRC and led to poor prognosis. Mounting evidence indicates that CAFs-mediated exosomes regulate the pathological process of neighboring tumor cells through the transmission of miRNAs. In our study, we aimed to explore the function of CAFs-derived exosome miR-181b-3p in CRC. First, the expression of miR-181b-3p in CRC was found to be up-regulated and its expression was dramatically up-regulated in CRC cells after co-incubation of CAFs-mediated exosomes with CRC cells. Then, it was found that the CAFs-derived exosomes were markedly enhanced the proliferation and migration of the CRC cells, and substantially reduced apoptosis. To elucidate the influence of CAFs-derived exosome miR-181b-3p on CRC, we overexpressed and knocked down the miR-181b-3p expression in CAFs, respectively. It was found that miR-181b-3p significantly increased the proliferation and migration of CRC cells. Furthermore, we conducted in vivo experiments. Finally, we demonstrated that CAF-derived exosome miR-181b-3p regulated sorting nexin 2 (SNX2) expression in CRC cells by bioinformatics prediction combined with luciferase reporter assay. Further cellular and animal experiments jointly elucidated that miR-181b-3p promoted the pathological process of CRC by SNX2 expression. In brief, our results demonstrated that CAFs-derived exosome miR-181b-3p promoted the pathogenesis of CRC by regulating SNX2 expression, which provides a novel idea for CRC treatment.

Rational Design of Ferroelectric 2D Perovskite for Improving the Efficiency of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells Over 23 .

Despite the great progress of flexible perovskite solar cells (f-PSCs), it still faces several challenges during the homogeneous fabrication of high-quality perovskite thin films, and overcoming the insufficient exciton dissociation. To the ends, we rationally design the ferroelectric two-dimensional (2D) perovskite based on pyridine heterocyclic ring as the organic interlayer. We uncover that incorporation of the ferroelectric 2D material into 3D perovskite induces an increased built-in electric field (BEF), which enhances the exciton dissociation efficiency in the device. Moreover, the 2D seeds could assist the 3D crystallization by forming more homogeneous and highly-oriented perovskite crystals. As a result, an impressive power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 23 % has been achieved by the f-PSCs with outstanding ambient stability. Moreover, the piezo/ferroelectric 2D perovskite intrigues a decreased hole transport barriers at the ITO/perovskite interface under tensile stress, which opens new possibilities for developing highly-efficient f-PSCs.

Assessment of PD-L1 mRNA expression in gastrointestinal tumors and the response to immunotherapy.

Background: Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been proposed as a predictive biomarker to predict response to immunotherapy. Given the limitations of IHC test in PD-L1 detection, this study aimed to investigate the technical feasibility of using quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) to replace IHC in PD-L1 detection in gastrointestinal tumors. Materials and methods: The Cancer Genome Atlas database was used to evaluate the relationship between PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue and the patient prognosis. In addition, 52 patients with gastrointestinal cancer were enrolled and divided into the stomach (STAD), colon (COAD), and rectum (READ) adenocarcinoma cohorts. IHC test was used to determine the PD-L1 level of the tissue specimens, and the qRT-PCR test was used to analyze the mRNA expression in both blood and tissue specimens. Moreover, the correlation between blood PD-L1 mRNA expression and immunotherapy efficacy was investigated in additional 15 patients with gastric cancer that further enrolled. Results: The expression level of PD-L1 in tumor tissue is related to the tumor stage of COAD (p-value = 0.001) and primary therapy outcomes in patients with READ (p-value = 0.003) but not significantly correlated to the overall survival (OS) time of patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Moreover, the concordance of PD-L1 mRNA expression level of tissue and paired blood samples is low, despite a weak linear relationship that was found in the STAD cohort (r = 0.43, p-value = 0.049). We further demonstrated that qRT-PCR results in both tissue and blood specimens were numerically but not statistically significant consistent with IHC results (corresponding to a p-value of 0.84 and 0.55, respectively). Remarkably, high PD-L1 expression in blood of patients with STAD shows a better response to immunotherapy (p-value = 0.04), which could be well identified at the relative expression cutoff of 1.5 (sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 75.0%, and AUC of 0.82). Conclusions: Our study established a novel strategy for rapidly distinguishing patients with gastrointestinal cancer with the response to immunotherapy and has potential clinical benefits.

Recent Advances in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells: Designing and Fabrication.

Inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been extensively studied by reason of their negligible hysteresis effect, easy fabrication, flexible PSCs and good stability. The certified photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) achieved 23.5% owing to the formed lead-sulfur (Pb-S) bonds through the surface sulfidation process of perovskite film, which gradually approaches the performance of traditional upright structure PSCs and indicates their industrial application potential. However, the fabricated devices are severely affected by moisture, high temperature and ultraviolet light due to the application of organic materials. Depending on nitrogen, cost of protection may increase, especially for the industrial production in the future. In addition, the inverted PSCs are found with a series of issues compared with the traditional upright PSCs, such as nonradiative recombination of carriers, inferior stability and costly charge transport materials. Thus, the development of inverted PSCs is systematically reviewed in this paper. The design and fabrication of charge transport materials and perovskite materials, enhancement strategies (e.g., interface modification and doping) and the development of all-inorganic inverted devices are discussed to present the indicator for development of efficient and stable inverted PSCs.

Selection, Preparation and Application of Quantum Dots in Perovskite Solar Cells.

As the third generation of new thin-film solar cells, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted much attention for their excellent photovoltaic performance. Today, PSCs have reported the highest photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.5%, which is an encouraging value, very close to the highest PCE of the most widely used silicon-based solar cells. However, scholars have found that PSCs have problems of being easily decomposed under ultraviolet (UV) light, poor stability, energy level mismatch and severe hysteresis, which greatly limit their industrialization. As unique materials, quantum dots (QDs) have many excellent properties and have been widely used in PSCs to address the issues mentioned above. In this article, we describe the application of various QDs as additives in different layers of PSCs, as luminescent down-shifting materials, and directly as electron transport layers (ETL), light-absorbing layers and hole transport layers (HTL). The addition of QDs optimizes the energy level arrangement within the device, expands the range of light utilization, passivates defects on the surface of the perovskite film and promotes electron and hole transport, resulting in significant improvements in both PCE and stability. We summarize in detail the role of QDs in PSCs, analyze the perspective and associated issues of QDs in PSCs, and finally offer our insights into the future direction of development.

Application of Quantum Dot Interface Modification Layer in Perovskite Solar Cells: Progress and Perspectives.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are currently attracting a great deal of attention for their excellent photovoltaic properties, with a maximum photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.5%, comparable to that of silicon-based solar cells. However, PSCs suffer from energy level mismatch, a large number of defects in perovskite films, and easy decomposition under ultraviolet (UV) light, which greatly limit the industrial application of PSCs. Currently, quantum dot (QD) materials are widely used in PSCs due to their properties, such as quantum size effect and multi-exciton effect. In this review, we detail the application of QDs as an interfacial layer to PSCs to optimize the energy level alignment between two adjacent layers, facilitate charge and hole transport, and also effectively assist in the crystallization of perovskite films and passivate defects on the film surface.

One-Step Formation of Low Work-Function, Transparent and Conductive MgFx Oy Electron Extraction for Silicon Solar Cells.

The development of high-performance dopant-free silicon solar cells is severely bottlenecked by opaque electron selective contact. In this paper, high transmittance (80.5% on glass) and low work function (2.92 eV) lithium fluoride (LiFx )/MgFx Oy electron contact stack by tailoring the composition of MgFx Oy hybrid film is reported. This hybrid structure exhibits a high conductivity (2978.4 S cm-1 ) and a low contact resistivity (2.0 mΩ cm2 ). The element profile of LiFx /MgFx Oy contact is measured and the reaction kinetics is analyzed. As a proof-of-concept, this electron selective contact is applied for dopant-free silicon solar cells. An impressive efficiency of 21.3% is achieved on dopant-free monofacial solar cell with molybdenum oxide (MoOx )/zinc-doped indium oxide (IZO) hole contact. An efficiency bifaciality of 71% is obtained for dopant-free bifacial solar cell with full-area LiFx /MgFx Oy /ITO (tin-doped indium oxide) transparent electron contact. It is the highest efficiency bifaciality so far for dopant-free bifacial solar cells to the best knowledge. Both cell configurations with LiFx /MgFx Oy contacts show excellent environment stability. The cell efficiency maintains more than 95% of its initial value after keeping in air for 1500 h. This work provides a new idea to achieve transparent electron contact, showing a great potential for high-efficiency and low-cost optoelectronic devices.

The Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts-Related Gene COMP Is a Novel Predictor for Prognosis and Immunotherapy Efficacy and Is Correlated with M2 Macrophage Infiltration in Colon Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colon cancer is characterized by a sophisticated tumor microenvironment (TME). Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which make up the majority of the stromal cells in TME, participate in tumor development and immune regulation. Further investigations of CAFs would facilitate an in-depth understanding of its role in colon cancer TME. METHODS: In this study, we estimated CAF abundance based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases using the Microenvironment Cell Populations-counter (MCP-counter) algorithm. CAF-related genes were identified by differential gene expression analysis combined with weighted gene coexpression network analysis. For further selection, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox regression was used, and the prognostic value of the selected gene was confirmed in numerous external cohorts. The function enrichment, immunological characteristics, tumor mutation signature, immunotherapy response, and drug sensitivity of the selected gene were subsequently explored. The bioinformatics analysis results were validated using immunohistochemistry on clinical samples from our institution. RESULTS: According to our findings, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) was uncovered as a candidate CAFs-driven biomarker in colon cancer and plays an important role in predicting prognosis in colon cancer. COMP upregulation was associated with enhanced stromal and immune activation, and immune cell infiltration, especially M2 macrophages. Genes that mutated differently between the high- and low-COMP expression subgroups may be correlated with TME change. Following verification, COMP reliably predicted the immunotherapy response and drug response. In addition, our experimental validation demonstrated that COMP overexpression is associated with colon cancer carcinogenesis and is strongly associated with CAFs and M2 macrophage infiltration. CONCLUSION: Our study uncovered that COMP was a key CAFs-driven gene associated with M2 macrophage infiltration and acted as a convincing predictor for prognosis and immunotherapy response in colon cancer patients.

An integrated benefit-risk assessment of cobalt-containing alloys used in medical devices: Implications for regulatory requirements in the European Union.

In 2017, the European Union (EU) Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) recommended the classification of metallic cobalt (Co) as Category 1B with respect to its carcinogenic and reproductive hazard potential and Category 2 for mutagenicity but did not evaluate the relevance of these classifications for patients exposed to Co-containing alloys (CoCA) used in medical devices. CoCA are inherently different materials from Co metal from a toxicological perspective and thus require a separate assessment. CoCA are biocompatible materials with a unique combination of properties including strength, durability, and a long history of safe use that make them uniquely suited for use in a wide-range of medical devices. Assessments were performed on relevant preclinical and clinical carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity data for Co and CoCA to meet the requirements under the EU Medical Device Regulation triggered by the ECHA re-classification (adopted in October 2019 under the 14th Adaptation to Technical Progress to CLP) and to address their relevance to patient safety. The objective of this review is to present an integrated overview of these assessments, a benefit-risk assessment and an examination of potential alternative materials. The data support the conclusion that the exposure to CoCA in medical devices via clinically relevant routes does not represent a hazard for carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicity. Additionally, the risk for the adverse effects that are known to occur with elevated Co concentrations (e.g., cardiomyopathy) are very low for CoCA implant devices (infrequent reports often reflecting a unique catastrophic failure event out of millions of patients) and negligible for CoCA non-implant devices (not measurable/no case reports). In conclusion, the favorable benefit-risk profile also in relation to possible alternatives presented herein strongly support continued use of CoCA in medical devices.

Carcinogenic hazard assessment of cobalt-containing alloys in medical devices: Review of in vivo studies.

Cobalt (Co) alloys have been used for over seven decades in a wide range of medical devices, including, but not limited to, hip and knee implants, surgical tools, and vascular stents, due to their favorable biocompatibility, durability, and mechanical properties. A recent regulatory hazard classification review by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) resulted in the classification of metallic Co as a Class 1B Carcinogen (presumed to have carcinogenic potential for humans), primarily based on inhalation rodent carcinogenicity studies with pure metallic Co. The ECHA review did not specifically consider the carcinogenicity hazard potential of forms or routes of Co that are relevant for medical devices. The purpose of this review is to present a comprehensive assessment of the available in vivo preclinical data on the carcinogenic hazard potential of exposure to Co-containing alloys (CoCA) in medical devices by relevant routes. In vivo data were reviewed from 33 preclinical studies that examined the impact of Co exposure on local and systemic tumor incidence in rats, mice, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Across these studies, there was no significant increase of local or systemic tumors in studies relevant for medical devices. Taken together, the relevant in vivo data led to the conclusion that CoCA in medical devices are not a carcinogenic hazard in available in vivo models. While specific patient and implant factors cannot be fully replicated using in vivo models, the available in vivo preclinical data support that CoCA in medical devices are unlikely a carcinogenic hazard to patients.

Effect of Acidic Polymers on the Morphology of Laser-Induced Nucleation of Cesium Chloride.

An approach to controlling morphology and size is presented through the combination of laser-induced nucleation and polymer additives. Here, we apply the technique of non-photochemical laser-induced nucleation to irradiate a supersaturated solution (S = 1.15) of cesium chloride (CsCl). The solution immediately responds to laser exposure, and spherical crystallites are produced along the laser pathway. The crystals gradually grow into snowflake-like crystals with different sizes. In this report, two types of acidic polymers including polyepoxysuccinic acid (PESA) and polyaspartic acid (PASA) were individually added in supersaturated CsCl solution to shape its crystalline morphology; we found that a particular property of this control from PESA is uniformity in modification of crystal sizes. Additionally, we observed that both PESA and PASA were able to decrease crystal growth velocity and the quantity of crystals after laser irradiation. With the effect of more than 0.2 wt % PESA in solution, spherical crystallites were initially induced by laser; after that, crystal growth velocities and sizes became slower and smaller with increase in mass fraction of PESA, which led to identical crystal sizes. With the effect of more than 5 wt % PESA, the resulting crystalline morphology obtained by laser was flower-like crystals, whilst cuboid-shaped crystals could be obtained by spontaneous nucleation. Classical nucleation theory, crystal growth rate, and additives as large-size impurities were discussed to analyze the underlying mechanism of the change in morphology.

Highly efficient In2S3/WO3 photocatalysts: Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism for enhanced photocatalytic water pollutant degradation under visible light irradiation.

A Z-scheme system In2S3/WO3 heterojunction was fabricated via a mild hydrothermal method and further applied for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline (TCH) and Rhodamine B (Rh B) under visible light irradiation. The morphological structure, chemical composition and optical properties were studied by XRD, SEM, HRTEM and UV-visible absorption spectra. The results revealed that In2S3/WO3 hierarchical structures were successfully constructed, and the prepared In2S3/WO3 photocatalysts exhibited enhanced visible-light absorption compared to pure WO3 nanorods, which are essential to improve the photocatalytic performance. The degradation rate of TCH using the In2S3(40 wt%)/WO3 heterostructure (WI40) photocatalyst was about 212 times and 22 times as high as that for pure WO3 and pure In2S3, respectively. The degradation rate of Rh B with the WI40 photocatalyst was about 56 times the efficiency of pure WO3 and 7.6 times that of pure In2S3. The results of the surface photovoltage (SPV), transient photovoltage (TPV) and reactive oxidation species (ROS) scavenger experiments indicated that the Z-scheme system of In2S3/WO3 is favorable for photoexcited charge transfer at the contact interface of In2S3 and WO3, which benefits the charge separation efficiency and depresses the recombination of photoexcited charge, resulting in favorable photocatalytic pollutant degradation efficiency under visible light irradiation.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Gonads for the Identification of Sex-Related Genes in Giant Freshwater Prawns (MacrobrachiumRosenbergii) Using RNA Sequencing.

: The giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachiumrosenbergii) exhibits sex dimorphism between the male and female individuals. To date, the molecular mechanism governing gonadal development was unclear, and limited data were available on the gonad transcriptome of M.rosenbergii. Here, we conducted comprehensive gonadal transcriptomic analysis of female (ZW), super female (WW), and male (ZZ) M.rosenbergii for gene discovery. A total of 70.33 gigabases (Gb) of sequences were generated. There were 115,338 unigenes assembled with a mean size of 1,196 base pair (bp) and N50 of 2,195 bp. Alignment against the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) non-redundant nucleotide/protein sequence database (NR and NT), the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, SwissProt database, Protein family (Pfam), Gene ontology (GO), and the eukaryotic orthologous group (KOG) database, 36,282 unigenes were annotated at least in one database. Comparative transcriptome analysis observed that 10,641, 16,903, and 3,393 genes were significantly differentially expressed in ZW vs. ZZ, WW vs. ZZ, and WW vs. ZW samples, respectively. Enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) resulted in 268, 153, and 42 significantly enriched GO terms, respectively, and a total of 56 significantly enriched KEGG pathways. Additionally, 23 putative sex-related genes, including Gtsf1, IR, HSP21, MRPINK, Mrr, and other potentially promising candidate genes were identified. Moreover, 56,241 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified. Our findings provide a valuable archive for further functional analyses of sex-related genes and future discoveries of underlying molecular mechanisms of gonadal development and sex determination.

Isolation, characterization, and SREBP1 functional analysis of mammary epithelial cell in buffalo.

Compared to cow milk, buffalo milk contains more protein, fat, and vitamin. Buffalo milk is an ideal food in human life. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1), an important transcription factor, regulates the expression and activity of enzyme and protein involved in milk fat synthesis to influence on the synthesis and secretion of triglyceride in mammary epithelial cells. In the present study, we successfully isolated buffalo mammary epithelial cell by using enzymatic digestion, and then described the growth characteristics and expression characteristics of mammary epithelial cells. Moreover, we cloned the SREBP1 gene from total RNA isolated from milk fat globule and analyzed the function of the SREBP1 gene. After infected with shRNA-SREBP1 lentiviral particle and treated with fatty acid, the expression trend of ACACA, FABP3, FAS, SCD, ERK1, ERK2, PPARy, and Insigl genes was consistent with the expression trend of SREBP1 gene. These results suggested that SREBP1 gene is a central transcription factor in regulating milk fat synthesis and SREBP1 gene may act on ERK1/ERK2 signaling pathway to regulate the expression of PPARy gene. The current study will provide a theoretical basis for further reveal the molecular mechanism of milk fat synthesis in buffalo mammary epithelial cells. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study aim to separate and analysis characterization of mammary epithelial cell in buffalo. Compared to cow milk, buffalo milk contains more protein, fat, and vitamin. Buffalo milk is an ideal food in human life. This study will provide a theoretical basis for further research on the molecular mechanism of milk fat synthesis in buffalo mammary epithelial cells.