Binary molten salt in situ synthesis of sandwich-structure hybrids of hollowβ-Mo2C nanotubes and N-doped carbon nanosheets for hydrogen evolution reaction

Focused exploration of earth-abundant and cost-efficient non-noble metal electrocatalysts with superior hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)performance is very important for large-scale and efficient electrolysis of water.Herein,a sandwich composite structure(designed as MS-Mo2C@NCNS)ofβ-Mo2C hollow nanotubes(HNT)and N-doped carbon nanosheets(NCNS)is designed and prepared using a binary NaCl–KCl molten salt(MS)strategy for HER.The temperature-dominant Kirkendall formation mechanism is tentatively proposed for such a three-dimensional hierarchical framework.Due to its attractive structure and componential synergism,MS-Mo2C@NCNS exposes more effective active sites,confers robust structural stability,and shows significant electrocatalytic activity/stability in HER,with a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and an overpotential of only 98 mV in 1 M KOH.Density functional theory calculations point to the synergistic effect of Mo2C HNT and NCNS,leading to enhanced electronic transport and suitable adsorption free energies of H*(ΔGH*)on the surface of electroactive Mo2C.More significantly,the MS-assisted synthetic methodology here provides an enormous perspective for the commercial development of highly active non-noble metal electrocatalysts toward efficient hydrogen evolution.

Methylation across the central dogma in health and diseases: new therapeutic strategies

The proper transfer of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein is essential for cell-fate control,development,and health.Methylation of DNA,RNAs,histones,and non-histone proteins is a reversible post-synthesis modification that finetunes gene expression and function in diverse physiological processes.Aberrant methylation caused by genetic mutations or environmental stimuli promotes various diseases and accelerates aging,necessitating the development of therapies to correct the disease-driver methylation imbalance.In this Review,we summarize the operating system of methylation across the central dogma,which includes writers,erasers,readers,and reader-independent outputs.We then discuss how dysregulation of the system contributes to neurological disorders,cancer,and aging.Current small-molecule compounds that target the modifiers show modest success in certain cancers.The methylome-wide action and lack of specificity lead to undesirable biological effects and cytotoxicity,limiting their therapeutic application,especially for diseases with a monogenic cause or different directions of methylation changes.Emerging tools capable of site-specific methylation manipulation hold great promise to solve this dilemma.With the refinement of delivery vehicles,these new tools are well positioned to advance the basic research and clinical translation of the methylation field.

Modulation of Microstructure and Charge Transport in Polymer Monolayer Transistors by Solution Aging

A few monolayers of organic semiconductors adjacent to the dielectric layer are of vital importance in organic field-effect transistors due to their dominant role in charge transport.In this report,the 2-nm-thick polymer monolayers based on poly(3-hexylthiophene)with different molecular weights(M_(n))were fabricated using dip-coating technique.During the monolayer(solid state)formation from the solution,a disorder-to-order transition of polymer conformation is observed through UV-vis absorption measurement.Meanwhile,high Mn polymer monolayer generates higher crystalline fibrillar microstructure than the low Mn one due to the strongerπ–πintermolecular packing between polymers.More importantly,the solution aging procedure is utilized to further improve the morphology of polymer monolayers.It is obvious that after aging for 6 d,both fiber dimension and density as well as conjugation length are significantly increased under the same processing conditions in comparison to the fresh solution,and consequently the field-effect mobilities are remarkably enhanced by 2—4 times.Note that the maximum mobility of 0.027 cm2·V^(–1)·s^(–1)is among the highest reported values for poly(3-hexylthiophene)monolayer transistors.These results demonstrate a simple but powerful strategy for boosting the device performance of polymer monolayer transistors.

CCDC25:precise navigator for neutrophil extracellular traps on the prometastatic road

The dissemination of cancer cells called metastasis accounts for the majority of deaths of cancer patients.Neutrophil extracellular traps(NETs)released by neutrophils to fight pathogens have been shown to promote metastasis in mouse models.However,the mechanism behind how NETs boost metastasis remains elusive.In a recent study in Nature,1 Yang et al reported that NETs are abundant in the liver metastases of patients with breast and colon cancers,and that the risk of liver metastasis in patients with earlystage breast cancer can be predicted by monitoring the levels of serum NETs.Furthermore,Yang et al.1 elucidated that the DNA component of NETs(NET-DNA)acts as a chemotactic factor that is recognized by coiled-coil domain containing protein 25(CCDC25),a cytoplasmic membrane-localized extracellular DNA sensor of cancer cells,which in turn activates the integrin-linked kinase(ILK)–β-parvin–RAC1–CDC42 cascade to promote metastasis(Fig.1).The clinical importance of CCDC25 was confirmed by Yang et al.,1 and targeting CCDC25 inhibits NET-mediated metastasis in mouse models,suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy to halt the metastasis.