Mutations of the polycystic kidney and hepatic disease 1 (PKHD1) gene have been shown to cause autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), but the cellular functions of the gene product (PKHD1) remain uncharacterized. To illuminate its properties, the spatial and temporal expression patterns of PKHD1 were determined in mouse, rat, and human tissues by using polyclonal Abs and mAbs recognizing various specific regions of the gene product. During embryogenesis, PKHD1 is widely expressed in epithelial derivatives, including neural tubules, gut, pulmonary bronchi, and hepatic cells. In the kidneys of the pck rats, the rat model of which is genetically homologous to human ARPKD, the level of PKHD1 was significantly reduced but not completely absent. In cultured renal cells, the PKHD1 gene product colocalized with polycystin-2, the gene product of autosomal dominant polycystic disease type 2, at the basal bodies of primary cilia. Immunoreactive PKHD1 localized predominantly at the apical domain of polarized epithelial cells, suggesting it may be involved in the tubulogenesis and͞or maintenance of duct-lumen architecture. Reduced PKHD1 levels in pck rat kidneys and its colocalization with polycystins may underlie the pathogenic basis for cystogenesis in polycystic kidney diseases.

Highlights d Single-cell transcriptomes of 55,611 cells from developing cardiac OFT in mice d Molecular signatures of six cell lineages and their subpopulations d Myocardial-to-VSMC trans-differentiation occurs during OFT development d Convergent development of VSMCs from myocardial and mesenchymal cells

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The Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, carries the naturally-occurring recessive mutant gene 'c' that results in a failure of homozygous (c/c) embryos to form hearts that beat because of an absence of organized myofibrils. Our previous studies have shown that a noncoding RNA, Myofibril-Inducing RNA (MIR), is capable of promoting myofibrillogenesis and heart beating in the mutant (c/c) axolotls. The present study demonstrates that the MIR gene is essential for tropomyosin (TM) expression in axolotl hearts during development. Gene expression studies show that mRNA expression of various tropomyosin isoforms in untreated mutant hearts and in normal hearts knocked down with double-stranded MIR (dsMIR) are similar to untreated normal. However, at the protein level, selected tropomyosin isoforms are significantly reduced in mutant and dsMIR treated normal hearts. These results suggest that MIR is involved in controlling the translation or post-translation of various TM isoforms and subsequently of regulating cardiac contractility.

Graphene nanoplatelets are promising candidates for enhancing the electrical conductivity of composites. However, because of their poor dispersion, graphene nanoplatelets must be added in large amounts to achieve the desired electrical properties, but such large amounts limit the industrial application of graphene nanoplatelets. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes also possess high electrical conductivity accompanied by poor dispersion. Therefore, a synergistic effect was generated between graphene nanoplatelets and multi-walled carbon nanotubes and used for the first time to prepare antistatic materials with high-density polyethylene via 1-step melt blending. The synergistic effect makes it possible to significantly improve the electrical properties by adding a small amount of untreated graphene nanoplatelets and multi-walled carbon nanotubes and increases the possibility of using graphene nanoplatelets in industrial applications. When only 1 wt% graphene nanoplatelets and 0.5 wt% multi-walled carbon nanotubes were added, the surface and volume resistivity values of the composites were much lower than those of the composites that were only added 3 wt% graphene nanoplatelets. Additionally, as a result of the synergistic effect of graphene nanoplatelets and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, the composites met the requirements for antistatic materials.

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Advanced applications of surfaces with smart wettability offer great perspectives to design novel materials. pH-responsive smart sponges with double transformation are fabricated via in situ decoration of Ag nanoparticles through an oxidation–reduction reaction and followed by modification with a mixed thiol–ethanol solution containing HS­(CH2)11CH3, HS­(CH2)10COOH, and HS­(CH2)11OH. The wettability of sponges with optimal thiol proportions can switch reversibly between superhydrophilicity–superhydrophobicity–superhydrophilicity under different pH conditions. In addition, the as-prepared sponges have excellent absorption capacity and high oil–water separation efficiency (99.1%). This report provides a simple approach to prepare smart sponges with switchable wettability which can be further applied to many practical applications, such as marine purification and an oil–water on–off switch.

Superhydrophobic PDMS–PU sponges fabricated through dipping–coating and HCl corrosion method exhibit excellent oil–water separation property.