Silkworm fibers have attracted widespread attention for their superb glossy texture and promising mechanical performance.

Because of the flexoelectric effect, dielectric materials usually polarize in response to a strain gradient. Soft materials are good candidates for developing large strain gradient because of their good deformability. However, they always suffer from lower flexoelectric coefficients compared to ceramics. In this work, a flexoelectric-like effect is introduced to enhance the effective flexoelectricity of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) bar. The flexoelectric-like effect is realized by depositing a layer of net charges on the middle plane of the bar to form an electret. Experiments show that the enhancement of the flexoelectricity depends on the density of inserted net charges. It is found that a charged layer with surface potential of -5723V results in 100 times increase of the material's flexoelectric coefficient. We also show that the enhancement is proportional to the thickness of electrets. This work provides a new way of enhancing flexoelectricity in soft materials and further prompt the application of soft materials in electromechanical transducers. Flexoelectricity is a widely observed property of dielectric materials (including crystals [1, 2], polymers [3], biomembranes [4], bones [5], liquid crystals [6], semiconductors [7], et al), which couples the strain gradient and the electric polarization. When a dielectric material is deformed non-uniformly, regardless of its initial crystalline symmetry, the strain

Poly(4-fluorostyrene) with strong charge storage capability is introduced as an electret in a field-effect transistor to improve device performance and memory stability.

We realized simultaneously optimized optical and electronic properties in semitransparent organic solar cells by tuning the film-depth-dependent crystallinity distribution.

Approximately 10% of infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common vascular tumors affecting children and are characterized by rapid growth, and can have destructive, disfiguring and even life-threatening consequences. Currently, propranolol is considered to be a safe and effective treatment option for problematic proliferating IHs. Recent studies have also revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) play important roles in the regulation of angiogenesis. In this study, XPTS‑1 cells were used as a hemangioma-derived endothelial cell line constructed in our laboratory. Through a series of experiments, we discovered that miR‑382 is a novel miRNA associated with IHs, which was overexpressed in XPTS‑1 cells and was conversely downregulated by treatment with propranolol. In addition, we found that miR‑382 contributes to the progression of IHs. Our results revealed that propranolol inhibited XPTS‑1 cell migration and proliferation, and promoted apoptosis, and these effects were reversed by the restoration of miR‑382 expression by transfection of the cells with an miR‑382 overexpression vector. Further experiments revealed that the above-mentioned effects were associated with the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)-mediated AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. The expression of PTEN was upregulated, while that of p-AKT, p-mTOR and p-p70S6K was downregulated by propranolol; these effects were partly reversed by the overexpression of miR‑382. On the whole, our study identified that the downregulation of miR‑382 by propranolol inhibits the progression of IHs via the PTEN-mediated AKT/mTOR pathway.

Emerging studies have proposed microRNAs (miRNAs) as novel therapeutic tools for cancer therapy. Nucleosome-binding protein 1 (NSBP1) has been suggested as an oncogene in various types of human cancers. The present study aimed to identify a novel miRNA that could directly target and negatively modulate NSBP1 expression. We found that NSBP1 was highly expressed in non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, and knockdown of NSBP1 by NSBP1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly suppressed NSCLC cell proliferation and invasion. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that miR‑326 had a putative binding site within the 3'‑untranslated region of NSBP1. Their substantial relationship was further verified by dual‑luciferase reporter assay, real‑time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. Overexpression of miR‑326 significantly inhibited NSCLC cell proliferation and invasion, which mimicked the effect of NSBP1 siRNA. Furthermore, suppression of NSBP1 by NSBP1 siRNA or miR‑326 overexpression remarkably repressed the expression of cyclin B1 and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), which are associated with cancer cell proliferation and invasion. Moreover, overexpression of NSBP1 obviously abolished the inhibitory effect of miR‑326 on cyclin B1 and MMP9 expression. In addition, an inverse correlation between miR‑326 and NSBP1 expression levels was found in NSCLC clinical specimens. Our study demonstrated a direct target relationship between NSBP1 and miR‑326 through which miR‑326 inhibited cell proliferation and invasion of NSCLC cells. Thus, miR‑326‑NSBP1 is a promising candidate target for developing novel anticancer therapeutics for NSCLC.

The emerging applications of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), such as photon memories and artificial synapses, require polymer dielectrics with superior charge trapping properties. Despite the introduction of high-k and fluorinated polymers in the performance optimization of OFETs, there is still a lack of widely recognized acknowledgment between molecular structures and charge trapping characteristics, as well as no general principles in designing polymeric dielectrics for electronic memory devices. Here, we propose a series of fluorinated polystyrene isomers through side-chain engineering, namely, ortho-(o-), meta-(m-), and para-fluorinated polystyrene (p-FPS). The gradually enlarged intramolecular charge separation of o-, m-, and p-FPS enhances molecular electrostatic potential, which promotes polarization and charge trapping performances, resulting in an enlarged dielectric constant, as well as more deep traps toward stable electret. Subsequently, largely improved photon memory and artificial synapse performances of p-FPS-based OFETs further suggest the dominating role of dielectric side-chain structures on memory and synapse performances, leading to a recommendation of low-k (ε r < 5) dielectric polymers with enhanced electrostatic potential for OFET-based memory devices and bionic nervous systems.

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly lethal hemorrhagic viral disease of domestic pigs caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV). A sensitive and reliable serological diagnostic assay is required, so laboratories can effectively and quickly detect ASFV infection. The p30 protein is abundantly expressed early in cells and has excellent antigenicity. Therefore, this study aimed to produce and characterize p30 monoclonal antibodies with an ultimate goal of developing a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for ASFV antibody detection. Three monoclonal antibodies against p30 protein that were expressed in E. coli were generated, and their characterizations were investigated. Furthermore, a blocking ELISA based on a monoclonal antibody was developed. To evaluate the performance of the assay, 186 sera samples (88 negative and 98 positive samples) were analyzed and a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied to determine the cutoff value. Based on the ROC analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.997 (95% confidence interval: 99.2 to 100%). Besides, a diagnostic sensitivity of 97.96% (95% confidence interval: 92.82 to 99.75%) and a specificity of 98.96% (95% confidence interval: 93.83 to 99.97%) were achieved when the cutoff value was set to 38.38%. Moreover, the coefficients of inter- and intra-batches were &lt;10%, indicating the good repeatability of the method. The maximum dilution of positive standard serum detected by this ELISA method was 1:512. The blocking ELISA was able to detect seroconversion in two out of five pigs at 10 Dpi and the p30 response increasing trend through the time course of the study (0–20 Dpi). In conclusion, the p30 mAb-based blocking ELISA developed in this study demonstrated a high repeatability with maximized diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. The assay could be a useful tool for field surveillance and epidemiological studies in swine herd.