Although prostate cancer (CaP) is the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumor and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in American men, the mechanisms explaining the development and progression of CaP remain largely unknown. Recent studies have shown that some aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in tumorigenesis. Although aberrant expression of certain miRNAs has been discovered in CaP, their function in this disease has not yet been defined. In this study, we found differential expression of miR-125b in androgen-dependent and independent CaP cells, as well as in benign and malignant prostate tissues. Furthermore, androgen signaling was able to up-regulate the expression of miR-125b. In addition, transfection of synthetic miR-125b stimulated androgen-independent growth of CaP cells and down-regulated the expression of Bak1. Our results suggest that miR-125b acts as an oncogene, contributing to the pathogenesis of CaP.microRNA ͉ miR-125b ͉ ISH ͉ LNCaP

Potassium has as rich an abundance as sodium in the earth, but the development of a K-ion battery is lagging behind because of the higher mass and larger ionic size of K than that of Li and Na, which makes it difficult to identify a high-voltage and high-capacity intercalation cathode host. Here we propose a cyanoperovskite KMnFe(CN) (0 ≤ x ≤ 2) as a potassium cathode: high-spin Mn/Mn and low-spin Fe/Fe couples have similar energies and exhibit two close plateaus centered at 3.6 V; two active K per formula unit enable a theoretical specific capacity of 156 mAh g; Mn and Fe are the two most-desired transition metals for electrodes because they are cheap and environmental friendly. As a powder prepared by an inexpensive precipitation method, the cathode delivers a specific capacity of 142 mAh g. The observed voltage, capacity, and its low cost make it competitive in large-scale electricity storage applications.

Garnet-structured LiLaZrO is a promising solid Li-ion electrolyte for all-solid-state Li-metal batteries and Li-redox-flow batteries owing to its high Li-ion conductivity at room temperature and good electrochemical stability with Li metal. However, there are still three major challenges unsolved: (1) the controversial electrochemical window of garnet, (2) the impractically large resistance at a garnet/electrode interface and the fast lithium-dendrite growth along the grain boundaries of the garnet pellet, and (3) the fast degradation during storage. We have found that these challenges are closely related to a thick LiCO layer and the Li-Al-O glass phase on the surface of garnet materials. Here we introduce a simple method to remove LiCO and the protons in the garnet framework by reacting garnet with carbon at 700 °C; moreover, the amount of the Li-Al-O glass phase with a low Li-ion conductivity in the grain boundary on the garnet surface was also reduced. The surface of the carbon-treated garnet pellets is free of LiCO and is wet by a metallic lithium anode, an organic electrolyte, and a solid composite cathode. The carbon post-treatment has reduced significantly the interfacial resistances to 28, 92 (at 65 °C), and 45 Ω cm at Li/garnet, garnet/LiFePO, and garnet/organic-liquid interfaces, respectively. A symmetric Li/garnet/Li, an all-solid-state Li/garnet/LiFePO, and a hybrid Li-S cell show small overpotentials, high Coulombic efficiencies, and stable cycling performance.

Li La Zr O -based Li-rich garnets react with water and carbon dioxide in air to form a Li-ion insulating Li CO layer on the surface of the garnet particles, which results in a large interfacial resistance for Li-ion transfer. Here, we introduce LiF to garnet Li La Zr Ta O (LLZT) to increase the stability of the garnet electrolyte against moist air; the garnet LLZT-2 wt % LiF (LLZT-2LiF) has less Li CO on the surface and shows a small interfacial resistance with Li metal, a solid polymer electrolyte, and organic-liquid electrolytes. An all-solid-state Li/polymer/LLZT-2LiF/LiFePO battery has a high Coulombic efficiency and long cycle life; a Li-S cell with the LLZT-2LiF electrolyte as a separator, which blocks the polysulfide transport towards the Li-metal, also has high Coulombic efficiency and kept 93 % of its capacity after 100 cycles.

NASICON (Na super ionic conductor) structures of NaMV(PO) (M = Mn, Fe, Ni) were prepared, characterized by aberration-corrected STEM and synchrotron radiation, and demonstrated to be durable cathode materials for rechargeable sodium-ion batteries. In NaMnV(PO), two redox couples of Mn/Mn and V/V are accessed with two voltage plateaus located at 3.6 and 3.3 V and a capacity of 101 mAh g at 1 C. Furthermore, the NaMnV(PO) cathode delivers a high initial efficiency of 97%, long durability over 1000 cycles, and good rate performance to 10 C. The robust framework structure and stable electrochemical performance makes it a reliable cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries.