Dendritic cells (DCs) are key regulators of innate and acquired immunity. The maturation of DCs is directed by signal transduction events downstream of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and other pattern recognition receptors. Here, we demonstrate that, in mouse DCs, TLR agonists stimulate a profound metabolic transition to aerobic glycolysis, similar to the Warburg metabolism displayed by cancer cells. This metabolic switch depends on the phosphatidyl inositol 3'-kinase/Akt pathway, is antagonized by the adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and is required for DC maturation. The metabolic switch induced by DC activation is antagonized by the antiinflammatory cytokine interleukin-10. Our data pinpoint TLR-mediated metabolic conversion as essential for DC maturation and function and reveal it as a potential target for intervention in the control of excessive inflammation and inappropriately regulated immune responses.

Consumption of fruits and vegetables has been associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Phytochemicals, especially phenolics, in fruits and vegetables are suggested to be the major bioactive compounds for the health benefits. However, the phenolic contents and their antioxidant activities in fruits and vegetables were underestimated in the literature, because bound phenolics were not included. This study was designed to investigate the profiles of total phenolics, including both soluble free and bound forms in common fruits, by applying solvent extraction, base digestion, and solid-phase extraction methods. Cranberry had the highest total phenolic content, followed by apple, red grape, strawberry, pineapple, banana, peach, lemon, orange, pear, and grapefruit. Total antioxidant activity was measured using the TOSC assay. Cranberry had the highest total antioxidant activity (177.0 +/- 4.3 micromol of vitamin C equiv/g of fruit), followed by apple, red grape, strawberry, peach, lemon, pear, banana, orange, grapefruit, and pineapple. Antiproliferation activities were also studied in vitro using HepG(2) human liver-cancer cells, and cranberry showed the highest inhibitory effect with an EC(50) of 14.5 +/- 0.5 mg/mL, followed by lemon, apple, strawberry, red grape, banana, grapefruit, and peach. A bioactivity index (BI) for dietary cancer prevention is proposed to provide a new alternative biomarker for future epidemiological studies in dietary cancer prevention and health promotion.

No abstract

Sodium-ion batteries have recently attracted significant attention as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries because sodium sources do not present the geopolitical issues that lithium sources might. Although recent reports on cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries have demonstrated performances comparable to their lithium-ion counterparts, the major scientific challenge for a competitive sodium-ion battery technology is to develop viable anode materials. Here we show that a hybrid material made out of a few phosphorene layers sandwiched between graphene layers shows a specific capacity of 2,440 mA h g(-1) (calculated using the mass of phosphorus only) at a current density of 0.05 A g(-1) and an 83% capacity retention after 100 cycles while operating between 0 and 1.5 V. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy and ex situ X-ray diffraction techniques, we explain the large capacity of our anode through a dual mechanism of intercalation of sodium ions along the x axis of the phosphorene layers followed by the formation of a Na3P alloy. The presence of graphene layers in the hybrid material works as a mechanical backbone and an electrical highway, ensuring that a suitable elastic buffer space accommodates the anisotropic expansion of phosphorene layers along the y and z axial directions for stable cycling operation.

The ability to detect light over a broad spectral range is central for practical optoelectronic applications, and has been successfully demonstrated with photodetectors of two-dimensional layered crystals such as graphene and MoS 2 . However, polarization sensitivity within such a photodetector remains elusive. Here we demonstrate a linear-dichroic broadband photodetector with layered black phosphorus transistors, using the strong intrinsic linear dichroism arising from the in-plane optical anisotropy with respect to the atom-buckled direction, which is polarization sensitive over a broad bandwidth from about 400 nm to 3750 nm. Especially, a perpendicular built-in electric field induced by gating in the transistor geometry can spatially separate the photo-generated electrons and holes in the channel, effectively reducing their recombination rate, and thus enhancing the performance for linear dichroism photodetection. This provides practical functionality using anisotropic layered black phosphorus, thereby enabling novel optical and optoelectronic device applications. Corresponding author: hyhwang@stanford.edu, yicui@stanford.edu. 2Confined electronic systems in layered two-dimensional (2D) crystals are host to many emerging electronic, spintronic and photonic phenomena, 1, 2, 3 including quantum Hall and Dirac electrons in graphene 4, 5, 6 and topological surface states in topological insulators 7, 8 . Experimentally identifying new functionalities of two-dimensional materials is a challenging and rewarding frontier, enabled by recent advances in materials and device fabrication. One example is the valley polarization control using circularly polarized light in the non-centrosymmetric MoS 2 monolayer and resulting potential valleytronics applications. 9, 10,11 Other examples include recent demonstrations of novel electronic and optoelectronic applications of the well-known layered material black phosphorus (BP), such as high-mobility field effect transistors and linear-polarization dependent optical absorption. 12,13,14 Therefore, further discovering new properties and functionalities utilizing known layered materials is of practical importance and great current interest. 14,15,16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 As a potential functionality for layered 2D materials, linear dichroism (LD) is an electromagnetic spectroscopy probing different absorption of light polarized parallel or perpendicular to an orientation axis. It directly depends on the conformation and orientation of material/device structures, where they are either intrinsically oriented in an anisotropic crystal structure 27, 28 or extrinsically oriented in anisotropic device patterns 29, 30 . Compared to the hexagonal in-plane lattice in other 2D materials such as graphene and MoS 2 , which are insensitive to the linear polarization of incident light, the layered BP crystal with a rectangular in-plane lattice has a highly-anisotropic structure along the x and y directions (defined in Fig. 1a), where every two rows of P atoms alternatel...

Metallic lithium is a promising anode candidate for future high-energy-density lithium batteries. It is a light-weight material, and has the highest theoretical capacity (3,860 mAh g(-1)) and the lowest electrochemical potential of all candidates. There are, however, at least three major hurdles before lithium metal anodes can become a viable technology: uneven and dendritic lithium deposition, unstable solid electrolyte interphase and almost infinite relative dimension change during cycling. Previous research has tackled the first two issues, but the last is still mostly unsolved. Here we report a composite lithium metal anode that exhibits low dimension variation (∼20%) during cycling and good mechanical flexibility. The anode is composed of 7 wt% 'lithiophilic' layered reduced graphene oxide with nanoscale gaps that can host metallic lithium. The anode retains up to ∼3,390 mAh g(-1) of capacity, exhibits low overpotential (∼80 mV at 3 mA cm(-2)) and a flat voltage profile in a carbonate electrolyte. A full-cell battery with a LiCoO2 cathode shows good rate capability and flat voltage profiles.

Arrhythmias, a common cause of sudden cardiac death, can occur in structurally normal hearts, although the mechanism is not known. In cardiac muscle, the ryanodine receptor (RyR2) on the sarcoplasmic reticulum releases the calcium required for muscle contraction. The FK506 binding protein (FKBP12.6) stabilizes RyR2, preventing aberrant activation of the channel during the resting phase of the cardiac cycle. We show that during exercise, RyR2 phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) partially dissociates FKBP12.6 from the channel, increasing intracellular Ca(2+) release and cardiac contractility. FKBP12.6(-/-) mice consistently exhibited exercise-induced cardiac ventricular arrhythmias that cause sudden cardiac death. Mutations in RyR2 linked to exercise-induced arrhythmias (in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia [CPVT]) reduced the affinity of FKBP12.6 for RyR2 and increased single-channel activity under conditions that simulate exercise. These data suggest that "leaky" RyR2 channels can trigger fatal cardiac arrhythmias, providing a possible explanation for CPVT.

Data from the OPTIMIZE-HF registry reveal a high prevalence of HF with PSF, and these patients have a similar post-discharge mortality risk and equally high rates of rehospitalization as patients with HF and LVSD. Despite the burden to patients and health care systems, data are lacking on effective management strategies for patients with HF and PSF. (Organized Program To Initiate Lifesaving Treatment In Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure [OPTIMIZE-HF]); http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00344513?order=1; NCT00344513).