Swellable Array Strategy Based on Designed Flexible Double Hypercross-linked Polymers for Synergistic Adsorption of Toluene and Formaldehyde.

High-capacity adsorption and removal of complex volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from real-world environments is a tough challenge for researchers. Herein, a swellable array adsorption strategy was proposed to realize the synergistic adsorption of toluene and formaldehyde on the flexible double hypercross-linked polymers (FD-HCPs). FD-HCPs exhibited multiple adsorption sites awarded by a hydrophobic benzene ring/pyrrole ring and a hydrophilic hydroxyl structural unit. The array benzene ring, hydroxyl, and pyrrole N sites in FD-HCPs effectively captured toluene and formaldehyde molecules through π-π conjugation and electrostatic interaction and weakened their mutual competitive adsorption. Interestingly, the strong binding force of toluene molecules to the skeleton deformed the pore structure of FD-HCPs and generated new adsorption microenvironments for the other adsorbate. This behavior significantly improved the adsorption capacity of FD-HCPs for toluene and formaldehyde by 20% under multiple VOCs. Moreover, the pyrrole group in FD-HCPs greatly hindered H2O molecule diffusion in the pore, thus efficiently weakening the competitive adsorption of H2O toward VOCs. These fascinating properties enabled FD-HCPs to achieve synergistic adsorption for multicomponent VOC vapor under a highly humid environment and overcame single-species VOC adsorption properties on state-of-the-art porous adsorbents. This work provides the practical feasibility of synergistic adsorption to remove complex VOCs in real-world environments.

Fight back against the stress: The effects of parental job insecurity on career networking behaviors of emerging adults.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigates whether and how parental job insecurity motivates emerging adults' career networking behaviors. Using the framework of ecological system theory, we particularly focus on the sequential mediating role that overparenting behavior and emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty could play. METHODS: We recruit 741 fresh undergraduates (63.2% females) and their parents from the city of Jinan, Province Shandong in China. All of the participants are between the ages of 17 and 20 years. We apply a structural equation model using data obtained from multiple sources (i.e., fathers, mothers, and their children) at two time points to test our research model. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The results from the structural equation model support the spillover effect of paternal and maternal job insecurity on overparenting behavior. Overparenting is significantly related to emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty. In turn, emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty is positively associated with their career networking behavior. The results also support the indirect effect, which demonstrates that parental job insecurity indirectly leads to emerging adults' career networking behavior via overparenting behavior and emerging adults' intolerance of uncertainty. This study builds on and extends existing research on parental job insecurity and career networking behavior by systematically bringing together the streams of research on youth development and organizational behavior. Specific theoretical implications and limitations are discussed as well.

A mechanistic study on the cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, and antisense gene regulation of bottlebrush polymer-conjugated oligonucleotides.

We have developed a non-cationic transfection vector in the form of bottlebrush polymer-antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) conjugates. Termed pacDNA (polymer-assisted compaction of DNA), these agents show improved biopharmaceutical characteristics and antisense potency in vivo while suppressing non-antisense side effects. Nonetheless, there still is a lack of the mechanistic understanding of the cellular uptake, subcellular trafficking, and gene knockdown with pacDNA. Here, we show that the pacDNA enters human non-small cell lung cancer cells (NCI-H358) predominantly by scavenger receptor-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis and trafficks via the endolysosomal pathway within the cell. The pacDNA significantly reduces a target gene expression (KRAS) in the protein level but not in the mRNA level, despite that the transfection of certain free ASOs causes ribonuclease H1 (RNase H)-dependent degradation of KRAS mRNA. In addition, the antisense activity of pacDNA is independent of ASO chemical modification, suggesting that the pacDNA always functions as a steric blocker.

The paradoxical effects of social class on career adaptability: The role of intolerance of uncertainty.

Introduction: As a growth background factor, family social class has far-reaching effects on youth career development. However, we have limited understanding of the role and functional mechanisms of social class in career adaptability. Based on the social cognitive theory of social class, we examine the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty in the relationship between youths' subjective social class and career adaptability. We also explore the moderating influences of self-esteem. Methods: Data were collected from a sample consisting of 712 undergraduates (63.2% female) in China. Results: Results show that subjective social class positively impacts career adaptability via prospective anxiety, and negatively impacts career adaptability via inhibitory anxiety. The intensity of these indirect relationships is contingent on youths' self-esteem. Discussion: Our study illustrates the complex and paradoxical effects of social class on career adaptability and has important theoretical and practical implications. This study expands the theoretical perspective by bringing in the social cognitive theory of social class, provides novel insight into the complex interaction between individuals and the environment in youth career development, and should provide inspiration for the design of career intervention programs.

A Long-Circulating Vector for Aptamers Based upon Polyphosphodiester-Backboned Molecular Brushes.

Aptamers face challenges for use outside the ideal conditions in which they are developed. These difficulties are most palpable in vivo due to nuclease activities, rapid clearance, and off-target binding. Herein, we demonstrate that a polyphosphodiester-backboned molecular brush can suppress enzymatic digestion, reduce non-specific cell uptake, enable long blood circulation, and rescue the bioactivity of a conjugated aptamer in vivo. The backbone along with the aptamer is assembled via solid-phase synthesis, followed by installation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) side chains using a two-step process with near-quantitative efficiency. The synthesis allows for precise control over polymer size and architecture. Consisting entirely of building blocks that are generally recognized as safe for therapeutics, this novel molecular brush is expected to provide a highly translatable route for aptamer-based therapeutics.

AuNPs@MIL-101 (Cr) as a SERS-Active Substrate for Sensitive Detection of VOCs.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an important and powerful analytical technique in chemical and biochemical analyses. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can effectively capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with high adsorption capacity and fast kinetics, and the local surface plasmon resonance characteristics of gold nanoparticles can quickly and effectively distinguish different VOCs by SERS. Combining both, we designed a novel SERS substrate based on embedding gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) within MIL-101(Cr) for the recognition of various VOCs in the gaseous phase. Occupying of AuNPs inside MIL-101(Cr) increased the micropore-specific surface area of AuNPs@MIL-101(Cr), which enabled AuNPs@MIL-101(Cr) to absorb more toluene molecules and consequently realized its high detection sensitivity. The detection limits for toluene, 4-ethylbenzaldehyde, and formaldehyde were down to 6, 5, and 75, ppm respectively. Moreover, this substrate could be used for detecting different VOCs simultaneously. Finally, we discussed the enhancement of AuNPs outside and inside MIL-101(Cr) on the Raman signal.

Accurate prediction for adsorption rate of peptides with high ACE-inhibitory activity from sericin hydrolysate on thiophene hypercross-linked polymer using CoMSIA in 3D-QSAR model.

Efficient screening of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory (ACE-I) peptides from agricultural or edible sources attract increasing attention. However, their purification process from the complex natural system is still semi-empirical or even uncontrollable, which has seriously reduced their screening efficiency. Herein, inspired by the prediction of ACE-I activity, 3D-QSAR was proposed to predict the adsorption performance of peptides from sericin hydrolysate (SH) having high ACE-I activity on porous hypercross-linked polymers according to their molecular structures. Thiophene hypercross-linked polymer (T-HCP) possessing better screening capacity for ACE-I peptides was chosen as our research object in this work. The sequence and relative adsorption rate of 101 peptides in SH were analyzed by LC-MS and was used as a database to construct the relationship of peptide's chemical structure and adsorption performance on T-HCP by Comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) from 3D-QSAR. Optimum CoMSIA revealed that enhanced interaction of hydrophobicity and H-bond between T-HCP and the peptide was conducive to increase the adsorption performance of di- to hexa- peptides. Based on these relationships, the adsorption capability of 24 designed peptides with distinguished hydrophobic and H-bond fields was predicted on T-HCP by using optimum CoMSIA and the results of half of these were verified, which showed high consistency with their predicted adsorption rate. Interestingly, these peptides having higher adsorption capacities on T-HCP also possessed higher ACE-I activity. This can be attributed to the high concentration of aromatic surface with π-π interaction and weak-polar CSC group with H-bond interaction on T-HCP material, which is ideal for the selective adsorption of peptides with higher ACE-I activity from SH. This study provides important theoretical guidance for the industrial screening of bio-functional peptides from complex protein mixtures.

Nitrogen-Doped Hollow Copolymer Tube via Template-Free Asynchronous Polymerization with Highly Selective Separation of Hydrophilic Dipeptide for Enhancing Inhibitory Activity of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme.

A N-doped hollow copolymer tube (NHCT) was fabricated via template-free one-pot asynchronous polymerization strategy. Discrepancies of monomer polymerization speed and their hydrophilic-hydrophobic interaction resulted in the assembly of a hollow tube having inner diameter and double wall thickness of ∼230 and 40 nm, respectively. The formation and growth mechanism of NHCT analyzed via advanced characterization revealed that the unique growth processes tuned a demarcating surface layer between inner (hydrophilic) and outer (hydrophobic) layers. The screening and recognition ability of NHCT were determined for two specific dipeptides (WW and RR) possessing great discrepancies in hydrophilicity and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory (ACE-I) activity. NHCT realized high adsorption capacity (1.57 mmol/g) and selectivity (∼1274) for hydrophilic dipeptide RR (low ACE-I activity) from the mixture of RR/WW. As a result, ACE-I activity for residual solution were enhanced about 4.1 times as compared to original solution from natural silkworm pupae protein hydrolysate. Awarding to these results and its facile and discerning ability, NHCT can be envisioned to be of great value for the separation of small functional peptides from a natural edible source.