A carbon nanoparticle-peptide fluorescent sensor custom-made for simple and sensitive detection of trypsin

Herein,we report a novel sensor to detect trypsin using a purpose-designed fluorescein-labelled peptide with negatively charged carbon nanoparticles(CNPs)modified by acid oxidation.The fluorescence of the fluorescein-labelled peptide was quenched by CNPs.The sensor reacted with trypsin to cleave the peptide,resulting in the release of the dye moiety and a substantial increase in fluorescence intensity,which was dose-and time-dependent,and trypsin could be quantified accordingly.Correspondingly,the biosensor has led to the development of a convenient and efficient fluorescent method to measure trypsin activity,with a detection limit of 0.7 mg/mL.The method allows rapid determination of trypsin activity in the normal and acute pancreatitis range,suitable for point-of-care testing.Furthermore,the applicability of the method has been demonstrated by detecting trypsin in spiked urine samples.

IL13Rα1 prevents a castration resistant phenotype of prostate cancer by targeting hexokinase 2 for ubiquitin-mediated degradation

Objective:Androgen deprivation therapy(ADT)is still the principal treatment option for prostate cancer(PCa).In addition to reactivation of androgen receptor signaling,the resistance of PCa to apoptosis during ADT also contributes to castration resistant PCa(CRPC).A previous study reported that gene transfer of IL-13Rα2 into PCa cells sensitized the cells to the IL-13R-targeted cytotoxin IL13Rα1,leading to apoptosis.Compared with IL-13Rα2,IL13Rα1 is more constitutively expressed in PCa cells,but its function in PCa remains to be established.Methods:We determined the role and expression of IL13Rα1 in PCa cancer cells using western blotting,flow cytometry,and cell proliferation assays.Co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry were used to identify the proteins that interacted with IL13Rα1,to elucidate its function.Results:In this study,we showed that IL13Rα1 was selectively suppressed in androgen-deprived PCa cells and that its suppression tended to be associated with poor prognoses of PCa patients.IL13Rα1 overexpression promoted apoptosis and inhibited tumor growth under androgen-deprived or castrated conditions(P<0.01).Mechanistically,IL13Rα1 recruited and facilitated ubiquitin protein ligase E3C-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of hexokinase 2(HK2),resulting in glycolytic inhibition and eventually leading to PCa cell apoptosis.Furthermore,our data revealed that mutated ataxia-telangiectasia kinase phosphorylated and facilitated the selective ubiquitin proteasome-mediated degradation of HK2.Notably,IL13Rα1-overexpressing PCa cells were more susceptible to apoptosis and exhibited reduced tumor growth after exposure to the HK2 inhibitor,2-deoxy-D-glucose(P<0.01).Conclusions:Our data identified a tumor suppressor role for IL13Rα1 in preventing the resistance of PCa cells to apoptosis during androgen deprivation by inhibiting glycolysis.IL13Rα1-mediated signaling involving HK2 may therefore provide a novel treatment target and strategy for CRPC.

Multi-dimensional hybrid flexible films promote uniform lithium deposition and mitigate volume change as lithium metal anodes

Lithium metal is the ultimate anode material for next-generation high-energy batteries.Yet,the practical application of lithium metal anodes is limited by the formation of Li dendrites and large volume changes.Herein,an effective multi-dimensional hybrid flexible film(MD-HFF)composed of iodine ion(0 dimension),CNTs(1 dimension)and graphene(2 dimensions)is designed for regulating Li deposition and mitigating volume changes.The multi-dimensional components serve separate roles:(1)iodine ion enhances the conductivity of the electrode and provides lithiophilic sites,(2)CNTs strengthen interlaminar conductance and mechanical strength,acting as a spring in the layered structure to alleviate volume changes during Li plating and stripping and(3)graphene provides mechanical flexibility and electrical conductivity.The resulting MD-HFF material supports stable Li plating/stripping and high Coulombic efficiency(99%)over 230 cycles at 1 mA cm^(-2) with a deposition capacity of 1 mAh cm^(-2).Theoretical calculations indicate that LiI contributes to the lateral growth of Li on the MD-HFF surface,thereby inhibiting the formation of Li dendrites.When paired with a typical NCM811 cathode,the assembled MD-HFF‖NCM811 cell exhibit improved capability and stable cycling performance.This research serves to guide material design in achieving Li anode materials that do not suffer from dendrite formation and volume changes.

Construction of PMIA@PAN/PVDF-HFP/TiO_(2) coaxial fibrous separator with enhanced mechanical strength and electrolyte affinity for lithium-ion batteries

Poly(m-phthaloyl-m-phenylenediamine)(PMIA)is promising as the separator in lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)for its excellent thermostability,insulation and self-extinguishing properties.However,its low mechanical strength and poor electrolyte affinity limit its application in LIBs.In this work,a new PMIA@polyacrylonitrile-polyvinylidene fluoride hexafluoropropylene-titanium dioxide(PMIA@PAN/PVDFHFP/TiO_(2))composite fibrous separator with a coaxial core-shell structure was developed by combining coaxial electrospinning,hot pressing,and heat treatment techniques.This separator not only inherits the exceptional thermostability of PMIA,showing no evident thermal shrinkage at 220 ℃,but also reveals improved mechanical strength(29.7 MPa)due to the formation of firm connections between fibers with the melted PVDF-HFP.Meanwhile,the massive polar groups in PVDF-HFP play a vital role in improving the electrolyte affinity,which renders the separator a high ionic conductivity of 1.36×10^(-3)s/cm.Therefore,the LIBs with PMIA@PAN/PVDF-HFP/TiO_(2)separators exhibited excellent cycling and rate performance at 25℃,and a high capacity retention rate(76.2%)at 80℃for 200 cycles at 1 C.Besides,the lithium metal symmetric battery assembled by the separator showed a small overpotential,indicating that the separator had a role in inhibiting lithium dendrites.In short,the PMIA@PAN/PVDF-HFP/TiO_(2) separator possesses a wide application prospect in the domain of LIBs.

Defensins as a promising class of tick antimicrobial peptides: a scoping review

Background: Ticks are hematophagous parasites that transmit an extensive range of pathogens to their vertebrate hosts.Ticks can destroy invading microorganisms or alleviate infection via their rudimentary but orchestrated innate immune system.Antimicrobial peptides(AMPs)are important components of tick innate immunity.Among these humoral effector molecules,defensins are well-studied and widely identified in various species of Ixodidae(hard ticks)and Argasidae(soft ticks).This review was aimed at presenting the characterization of tick defensins from structure-based taxonomic status to antimicrobial function.Main text: All published papers written in English from 2001 to May 2022 were searched through PubMed and Web of Science databases with the combination of relevant terms on tick defensins.Reports on identification and characterization of tick defensins were included.Of the 329 entries retrieved,57 articles were finally eligible for our scoping review.Tick defensins mainly belong to the antibacterial ancient invertebrate-type defensins of the cis-defensins superfamily.They are generally small,cationic,and amphipathic,with six cysteine residues forming three intra-molecular disulfide bonds.Tick defensins primarily target membranes of a variety of pathogens,including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria,fungi,viruses,and protozoa.Since tick defensins have a high degree of variability,we summarize their common biological properties and enumerate representative peptides.Along with the various and potent antimicrobial activities,the role of tick defensins in determining vector competence is discussed.Conclusions: Due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities,tick defensins are considered novel candidates or targets for controlling infectious diseases.

ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION HfO_(2)FILM USED AS BUFFER LAYER OF THE Pt/(Bi_(0.95)Nd_(0.05))(Fe_(0.95)Mn_(0.05))O_(3)/HfO_(2)/Si CAPACITORS FOR FeFET APPLICATION

Neodymium and manganese doped BiFeO_(3)-(Bi_(0.95)Nd_(0.05))(Fe_(0.95)Mn_(0.05))O_(3)(BNFMO)ferro-electric film and HfO_(2)layer with different thickness were fabricated using metal-organic decomposition and atomic layer deposition(ALD)method,respectively.Metal ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor(MFIS)capacitors with 200 nm thick BNFMO and 5 nm thick HfO_(2)layer on silicon substrate have been prepared and characterized.It is found that there is no distinct interdifusion and reaction occurring at the interface between BNFMO/HfO_(2)and HfO_(2)/Si.The capacitance-voltage(C-V)and leakage current properties of Pt/HfO_(2)/Si capacitors with different HfO_(2)thickness were studied.The MFIS structure showed clockwise C-V hysteresis loops due to the ferroelectric polarization of BNFMO.The maximum memory window is 5 V.The.leakage current of the Pt/BNFMO/HfO_(2)/Si capacitor was about 2.1×10^(-6)A/cm^(2)at an applied voltage of 4V.

CONSTRUCTION OF GPT-VANISHING STRUCTURES USING SHAPE DERIVATIVE

The Generalized Polarization Tensors （GPT） is a series of tensors which contain infor- mations on the shape of a domain and its material parameters. The aim of this paper is to provide a method of constructing GPT-vanishing structures using shape derivative for two-dimensional conductivity or anti-plane elasticity problem. We assume a multi-coating geometry as a candidate of GPT-vanishing structure. We define a cost functional to min- imize GPT and compute the shape derivative of this functional deriving an asymptotic expansion of the perturbations of the GPTs due to a small deformation of interfaces of the structure. We present some numerical examples of GPT-vanishing structures for several different shaped inclusions.

Flexible Organic Single Crystal with Elastic Bending and Plastic Twisting Capabilities

INTRODUCTION Organic single crystals have found wide-spread applications in smart materials,[1]optical waveguide devices,[2]photonic applications,[3]lasers,[4]OLED materials,and so on.