The vaginal microbiome plays an important role in maternal and neonatal health. Imbalances in this microbiota (dysbiosis) during pregnancy are associated with negative reproductive outcomes, such as pregnancy loss and preterm birth, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Consequently a comprehensive understanding of the baseline microbiome in healthy pregnancy is needed. We characterized the vaginal microbiomes of healthy pregnant women at 11–16 weeks of gestational age (n = 182) and compared them to those of non-pregnant women (n = 310). Profiles were created by pyrosequencing of the cpn60 universal target region. Microbiome profiles of pregnant women clustered into six Community State Types: I, II, III, IVC, IVD and V. Overall microbiome profiles could not be distinguished based on pregnancy status. However, the vaginal microbiomes of women with healthy ongoing pregnancies had lower richness and diversity, lower prevalence of Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma and higher bacterial load when compared to non-pregnant women. Lactobacillus abundance was also greater in the microbiomes of pregnant women with Lactobacillus-dominated CSTs in comparison with non-pregnant women. This study provides further information regarding characteristics of the vaginal microbiome of low-risk pregnant women, providing a baseline for forthcoming studies investigating the diagnostic potential of the microbiome for prediction of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Nitrogen-doped graphene-ultrathin MnO2 sheet composites (NGMCs) were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method at low temperature (120 °C). Ultrathin MnO2 sheets were well-dispersed and tightly anchored on graphene sheets, which were doped with nitrogen simultaneously. NGMCs electrode exhibited enhanced capacitive performances relative to those of undoped graphene-ultrathin MnO2 sheets composites (GMCs). As the current density increased from 0.2 to 2 A/g, the capacitance of NGMCs still retained ~74.9%, which was considerablely higher than that of GMCs (27%). Moreover, over 94.2% of the original capacitance was maintained after 2000 cycles, indicating a good cycle stability of NGMCs electrode materials.

Self-assembled α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrids have been successfully synthesized and have a unique mesocrystal porous structure, a large specific surface area, and high conductivity. Mesocrystal structures have recently attracted unparalleled attention owing to their promising application in energy storage as electrochemical capacitors. However, mesocrystal/graphene nanohybrids and their growth mechanism have not been clearly investigated. Here we show a facile fabrication of short rod-like α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrids by self-assembly of FeOOH nanorods as the primary building blocks on graphene under hydrothermal conditions, accompanied and promoted by concomitant phase transition from FeOOH to α-Fe2O3. A systematic study of the formation mechanism is also presented. The galvanostatic charge/discharge curve shows a superior specific capacitance of the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 mesocrystals/graphene nanohybrid (based on total mass of active materials), which is 306.9 F g(-1) at 3 A g(-1) in the aqueous electrolyte under voltage ranges of up to 1 V. The nanohybrid with unique sufficient porous structure and high electrical conductivity allows for effective ion and charge transport in the whole electrode. Even at a high discharge current density of 10 A g(-1), the enhanced ion and charge transport still yields a higher capacitance (98.2 F g(-1)), exhibiting enhanced rate capability. The α-Fe2O3 mesocrystal/graphene nanohybrid electrode also demonstrates excellent cyclic performance, which is superior to previously reported graphene-based hematite electrode, suggesting it is highly stable as an electrochemical capacitor.

βII-spectrin (SPTBN1) is an adapter protein for Smad3/Smad4 complex formation during TGF-β signal transduction. Forty percent of SPTBN1+/− mice spontaneously develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and most cases of human HCC have significant reductions in SPTBN1 expression. In this study, we investigated the possible mechanisms by which loss of SPTBN1 may contribute to tumorigenesis. Livers of SPTBN1+/− mice, compared to wild type mouse livers, display a significant increase in EpCAM+ cells and overall EpCAM expression. Inhibition of SPTBN1 in human HCC cell lines increased the expression of stem cell markers EpCAM, Claudin7 and Oct4, as well as decreased E-cadherin expression and increased expression of vimentin and c-Myc, suggesting reversion of these cells to a less differentiated state. HCC cells with decreased SPTBN1 also demonstrate increased sphere formation, xenograft tumor development and invasion. Here, we investigate possible mechanisms by which SPTBN1 may influence the stem cell traits and aggressive behavior of HCC cell lines. We found that HCC cells with decreased SPTBN1 express much less of the Wnt inhibitor Kallistatin and exhibit decreased β-catenin phosphorylation and increased β-catenin nuclear localization, indicating Wnt signaling activation. Restoration of Kallistatin expression in these cells reversed the observed Wnt activation. Analysis of publicly available expression array datasets indicates that SPTBN1 expression in human HCC tissues is positively correlated with E-cadherin and Kallistatin levels, and decreased SPTBN1 and Kallistatin gene expression is associated with decreased relapse-free survival. Our data suggest that loss of SPTBN1 activates Wnt signaling, which promotes acquisition of stem cell-like features, and ultimately contributes to malignant tumor progression.

Hydrogenated TiO2 (H-TiO2) are considered one of the most promising materials for supercapacitors given its low-cost, high conductivity, and enhanced electrochemical activity. However, the electrochemical performances of H-TiO2 due to lacking suitable structures is unsatisfactory, and thus how to design energetic H-TiO2-based electrode architectures still remains a great challenge. Herein, covalently coupled ultrafine H-TiO2 nanocrystals/nitrogen-doped graphene (H-TiO2/NG) hybrid materials were developed through a simple hydrothermal route followed by hydrogenation. Within this architecture, the strong interaction between H-TiO2 nanocrystals and NG sheets via covalent chemical bonding affords high structural stability inhibiting the aggregation of H-TiO2 nanocrystals. Meanwhile, the NG matrices function as an electrical highway and a mechanical backbone so that most of well-dispersed ultrafine H-TiO2 nanocrystals are electrochemically active but stable. As a result, the optimized H-TiO2/NG (H-TiO2/NG-B) exhibited high reversible specific capacity of 385.2 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1), enhanced rate performance of 320.1 F g(-1) at a high current density of 10 A g(-1), and excellent cycling stability with 98.8% capacity retention.

Porous α-Fe2O3/graphene composites (S-PIGCs) have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method combined with a slow annealing route. The S-PIGCs as a supercapacitors electrode material exhibit an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 343.7 F g(-1) at a current density of 3 A g(-1), good rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. The enhanced electrochemical performances are attributed to the combined contribution from the optimally architecture of the porous α-Fe2O3, as a result of a slow annealing, and the extraordinary electrical conductivity of the graphene sheets.

The heterojunction of g-C 3 N 4 /BiOI was uniformly immobilized on electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers via a facile in situ synthesis at room temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectra showed that both the C and N 1s peaks of PAN/g-C 3 N 4 /BiOI nanofibers shifted to higher binding energies as compared to those of PAN/g-C 3 N 4 nanofibers suggesting electron transfer from g-C 3 N 4 to BiOI during the formation of heterojunctions. The enhanced photocurrent densities and significant decrease in photoluminescence intensity confirmed the effective charge separation at the heterojunction interfaces in PAN/g-C 3 N 4 /BiOI nanofibers. The efficient separation of the electron−hole pairs and their strong absorption in the visible region results in superior photocatalytic activities in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes and toxic Cr(VI) ions under visible-light irradiation versus PAN/g-C 3 N 4 and PAN/BiOI nanofibers. Moreover, the filmlike PAN/g-C 3 N 4 /BiOI nanofibers have ultralong one-dimensional nanostructures and flexible self-supporting structures that can be used as useful floating photocatalysts. They can float easily on liquid and are directly reused without separation during the photocatalytic reaction. These results demonstrate that flexible PAN/g-C 3 N 4 /BiOI nanofibers with high photocatalytic activity and excellent reusability have potential in wastewater treatment.

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