Scientific Reports
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Cross-linked chitosan aerogel modified with Pd(II)/phthalocyanine: Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic application Abstract Palladium(II) phthalocyanine (PdPc) tetrasulfonate was chemically bonded to an amine moiety of chitosan aerogel. The reaction was promoted by the transformation of sulfonic acid groups of PdPc to sulfonyl chloride, which is highly active for amination. The porous composite showed good catalytic activity in the oxidation reaction of some alkylarenes, aliphatic and benzylic alcohols, and cyclohexanol. High conversions and excellent selectivities were obtained for the solvent-free reactions under aerobic conditions at 80 °C during 24 h. While many oxidation reactions have been reported catalysed with palladium phthalocyanine, this is the first reported oxidation of alkylarenes via this catalyst. The organometallic compound is applicable as a heterogeneous catalyst having high chemical stability with recyclability up to six times.
Scientific Reports - Tập 9 Số 1
Blue-light induced biosynthesis of ROS contributes to the signaling mechanism of Arabidopsis cryptochrome Abstract Cryptochromes are evolutionarily conserved blue light receptors with many roles throughout plant growth and development. They undergo conformational changes in response to light enabling interaction with multiple downstream signaling partners. Recently, it has been shown that cryptochromes also synthesize reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to light, suggesting the possibility of an alternate signaling mechanism. Here we show by fluorescence imaging and microscopy that H2 02 and ROS accumulate in the plant nucleus after cryptochrome activation. They induce ROS-regulated transcripts including for genes implicated in pathogen defense, biotic and abiotic stress. Mutant cryptochrome alleles that are non-functional in photomorphogenesis retain the capacity to induce ROS-responsive phenotypes. We conclude that nuclear biosynthesis of ROS by cryptochromes represents a new signaling paradigm that complements currently known mechanisms. This may lead to novel applications using blue light induced oxidative bursts to prime crop plants against the deleterious effects of environmental stresses and toxins.
Scientific Reports - Tập 7 Số 1
Porous honeycomb structures formed from interconnected MnO2 sheets on CNT-coated substrates for flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors Abstract The use of lightweight and easily-fabricated MnO2 /carbon nanotube (CNT)-based flexible networks as binder-free electrodes and a polyvinyl alcohol/H2 SO4 electrolyte for the formation of stretchable solid-state supercapacitors was examined. The active electrodes were fabricated from 3D honeycomb porous MnO2 assembled from cross-walled and interconnected sheet-architectural MnO2 on CNT-based plastic substrates (denoted as honeycomb MnO2 /CNT textiles).These substrates were fabricated through a simple two-step procedure involving the coating of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) onto commercial textiles by a dipping-drying process and subsequent electrodeposition of the interconnected MnO2 sheets onto the MWCNT-coated textile. With such unique MnO2 architectures integrated onto CNT flexible films, good performance was achieved with a specific capacitance of 324 F/g at 0.5 A/g. A maximum energy density of 7.2 Wh/kg and a power density as high as 3.3 kW/kg were exhibited by the honeycomb MnO2 /CNT network device, which is comparable to the performance of other carbon-based and metal oxide/carbon-based solid-state supercapacitor devices. Specifically, the long-term cycling stability of this material is excellent, with almost no loss of its initial capacitance and good Coulombic efficiency of 82% after 5000 cycles. These impressive results identify these materials as a promising candidate for use in environmentally friendly, low-cost and high-performance flexible energy-storage devices.
Scientific Reports - Tập 6 Số 1
Inhibition of CO poisoning on Pt catalyst coupled with the reduction of toxic hexavalent chromium in a dual-functional fuel cell
Scientific Reports - Tập 4 Số 1
The ER stress regulator Bip mediates cadmium-induced autophagy and neuronal senescence Abstract Autophagy is protective in cadmium (Cd)-induced oxidative damage. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been shown to induce autophagy in a process requiring the unfolded protein response signalling pathways. Cd treatment significantly increased senescence in neuronal cells, which was aggravated by 3-MA or silencing of Atg5 and abolished by rapamycin. Cd increased expression of ER stress regulators Bip, chop, eIf2α, and ATF4, and activated autophagy as evidenced by upregulated LC3. Moreover, the ER stress inhibitor mithramycin inhibited the expression of ER stress protein chaperone Bip and blocked autophagic flux. Downregulating Bip significantly blocked the conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II, decreased LC3 puncta formation, and prevented the increase of senescence in PC12 cells. Interestingly, knocking down Bip regulated the expression of p-AMPK, p-AKT and p-s6k induced by Cd. BAPTA, a Bip inhibitor, decreased the expression of p-AMPK and LC3-II, but enhanced neuronal senescence. In addition, we found that siRNA for Bip enhanced GATA4 expression after 6 h Cd exposure in PC12 cells, while rapamycin treatment decreased GATA4 levels induced by 24 h Cd exposure. These results indicate that autophagy degraded GATA4 in a Bip-dependent way. Our findings suggest that autophagy regulated by Bip expression after ER stress suppressed Cd-induced neuronal senescence.
Scientific Reports - Tập 6 Số 1
Drug vaping applied to cannabis: Is “Cannavaping” a therapeutic alternative to marijuana? Abstract Therapeutic cannabis administration is increasingly used in Western countries due to its positive role in several pathologies. Dronabinol or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) pills, ethanolic cannabis tinctures, oromucosal sprays or table vaporizing devices are available but other cannabinoids forms can be used. Inspired by the illegal practice of dabbing of butane hashish oil (BHO), cannabinoids from cannabis were extracted with butane gas and the resulting concentrate (BHO) was atomized with specific vaporizing devices. The efficiency of “cannavaping,” defined as the “vaping” of liquid refills for e-cigarettes enriched with cannabinoids, including BHO, was studied as an alternative route of administration for therapeutic cannabinoids. The results showed that illegal cannavaping would be subjected to marginal development due to the poor solubility of BHO in commercial liquid refills (especially those with high glycerin content). This prevents the manufacture of liquid refills with high BHO concentrations adopted by most recreational users of cannabis to feel the psychoactive effects more rapidly and extensively. Conversely, “therapeutic cannavaping” could be an efficient route for cannabinoids administration because less concentrated cannabinoids-enriched liquid refills are required. However, the electronic device marketed for therapeutic cannavaping should be carefully designed to minimize potential overheating and contaminant generation.
Scientific Reports - Tập 6 Số 1
Characterization and Modeling of Nonfilamentary Ta/TaOx/TiO2/Ti Analog Synaptic Device Abstract A two-terminal analog synaptic device that precisely emulates biological synaptic features is expected to be a critical component for future hardware-based neuromorphic computing. Typical synaptic devices based on filamentary resistive switching face severe limitations on the implementation of concurrent inhibitory and excitatory synapses with low conductance and state fluctuation. For overcoming these limitations, we propose a Ta/TaOx /TiO2 /Ti device with superior analog synaptic features. A physical simulation based on the homogeneous (nonfilamentary) barrier modulation induced by oxygen ion migration accurately reproduces various DC and AC evolutions of synaptic states, including the spike-timing-dependent plasticity and paired-pulse facilitation. Furthermore, a physics-based compact model for facilitating circuit-level design is proposed on the basis of the general definition of memristor devices. This comprehensive experimental and theoretical study of the promising electronic synapse can facilitate realizing large-scale neuromorphic systems.
Scientific Reports - Tập 5 Số 1
Emulating short-term synaptic dynamics with memristive devices Abstract Neuromorphic architectures offer great promise for achieving computation capacities beyond conventional Von Neumann machines. The essential elements for achieving this vision are highly scalable synaptic mimics that do not undermine biological fidelity. Here we demonstrate that single solid-state TiO2 memristors can exhibit non-associative plasticity phenomena observed in biological synapses, supported by their metastable memory state transition properties. We show that, contrary to conventional uses of solid-state memory, the existence of rate-limiting volatility is a key feature for capturing short-term synaptic dynamics. We also show how the temporal dynamics of our prototypes can be exploited to implement spatio-temporal computation, demonstrating the memristors full potential for building biophysically realistic neural processing systems.
Scientific Reports - Tập 6 Số 1
Depletion of tRNA-halves enables effective small RNA sequencing of low-input murine serum samples Abstract The ongoing ascent of sequencing technologies has enabled researchers to gain unprecedented insights into the RNA content of biological samples. MiRNAs, a class of small non-coding RNAs, play a pivotal role in regulating gene expression. The discovery that miRNAs are stably present in circulation has spiked interest in their potential use as minimally-invasive biomarkers. However, sequencing of blood-derived samples (serum, plasma) is challenging due to the often low RNA concentration, poor RNA quality and the presence of highly abundant RNAs that dominate sequencing libraries. In murine serum for example, the high abundance of tRNA-derived small RNAs called 5′ tRNA halves hampers the detection of other small RNAs, like miRNAs. We therefore evaluated two complementary approaches for targeted depletion of 5′ tRNA halves in murine serum samples. Using a protocol based on biotinylated DNA probes and streptavidin coated magnetic beads we were able to selectively deplete 95% of the targeted 5′ tRNA half molecules. This allowed an unbiased enrichment of the miRNA fraction resulting in a 6-fold increase of mapped miRNA reads and 60% more unique miRNAs detected. Moreover, when comparing miRNA levels in tumor-carrying versus tumor-free mice, we observed a three-fold increase in differentially expressed miRNAs.
Scientific Reports - Tập 6 Số 1
Reversible interconversion and maintenance of mammary epithelial cell characteristics by the ligand-regulated EGFR system Abstract Epithelial cell plasticity is controlled by extracellular cues, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully understood. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and amphiregulin (AREG) are high- and low-affinity ligands for EGF receptor (EGFR), respectively. EGFR signaling is known to promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by the activation of ERK and the induction of an EMT transcription factor, ZEB1. Here, we demonstrate that ligand-switching between EGF and AREG at equivalent molarity reversibly interconverts epithelial and mesenchymal-like states of EGFR signal-dependent mammary epithelial cells. The EGF- and AREG-cultured cells also differ in their epithelial characteristics, including the expression of cell surface markers, the mode of migration and the ability for acinus-formation. The ligand-switching between EGF and AREG temporally alters strength of the shared EGFR-ERK signaling. This alteration inverts relative expression levels of ZEB1 and its antagonizing microRNAs, miR-205 and miR-200c , those are critical determinants of the epithelial phenotype. Further, AREG-induced EGFR accumulation on the plasma membrane compensates for the weak association between AREG and EGFR. The EGFR dynamics enables AREG to support proliferation as efficiently as EGF at equivalent molarity and to maintain epithelial characteristics. Our findings reveal a role of EGFR ligands-generated signal strength in the regulation of mammary epithelial cell plasticity.
Scientific Reports - Tập 6 Số 1
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