S-phase kinase-associated protein-2 (Skp2) is overexpressed in human cancers and associated with poor prognosis. Skp2 acts as an oncogenic protein by enhancing cancer cell growth and tumor metastasis. The present study has demonstrated that small hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated downregulation of Skp2 markedly inhibits the viability, proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of human gastric cancer MGC803 cells, which express a high level of Skp2. In contrast, Skp2 shRNA had only a slight effect on the above properties of BGC823 cells, which express a low level of Skp2. In accord, knockdown of Skp2 suppressed the ability of MGC803 cells to form tumors and to metastasize to the lungs of mice, and the growth of established tumors, by inhibiting cell proliferation and enhancing cell apoptosis. In contrast, overexpression of Skp2 promoted tumorigenesis of BGC823 cells in mice. Skp2 depletion induced cell cycle arrest in the G(1)/S phase by upregulating p27, p21, and p57 and downregulating cyclin E and cyclin-dependent kinase 2. Skp2 depletion also increased caspase-3 activity, impeded the ability of cells to form filopoidia and locomote, upregulated RECK (reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with kazal motifs), and downregulated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 activity and expression. The results suggest that downregulating Skp2 warrants investigation as a promising strategy to treat gastric cancers that express high levels of Skp2.

Sustainable synthesis of polythiophenes (e.g., P3HT) is highly desired for the development of low-cost organic solar cells. Regulating the regioregularity of P3HT is a promising way to boost its performance. Yet, few eco-friendly methods can prepare P3HT with tunable regioregularity. Herein, we put forward a facile strategy to finely modulate the regioregularity of P3HT from 90% to 98% by tuning the molar ratio of two ligands in direct arylation polycondensation. Moreover, the ligand effect on regioregularity is well elucidated with DFT calculations, and the regioregularity effect of P3HT in non-fullerene solar cells is clarified for the first time. Our calorimetric, microscopic, and scattering results show that regioregularity strongly impacts the polymer crystallinity and phase separation, and device performance of the blend films. The P3HT batch with a regioregularity of 95% yields an unprecedented power conversion efficiency of 10.82%. Importantly, this realization firmly provides optimism for cheap materials such as polythiophenes, which are made via eco-friendly polycondensation for the application of solar cells and beyond.

Indonesian brown coal is analyzed using 13C cross-polarization/magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to obtain the information and parameters of the coal structural unit. A macromolecular structural model of Indonesian brown coal was constructed on the basis of the structural parameters and elemental analysis results. The 13C chemical shift of this model was calculated using the ACD/13C NMR predictor. The results indicate that the aromaticity of Indonesian brown coal is 0.3412, and the structures of aromatic carbon are mainly types of naphthalene and benzene. The ratio of bridge carbon/surrounding carbon is 0.0696. Oxygen in the structural model mainly exists in the form of phenolic hydroxyl oxygen, carboxyl oxygen, and ether oxygen, of which phenolic hydroxyl oxygen and carboxyl oxygen are the most prominent. Nitrogen atom exists in the form of pyridine and pyrrole. The peak of XRD spectra at 20–30° is broad with a strong γ width. The calculated chemical shift spectrogram of the model is highly consistent with that of the experimental results. The structural formula calculated for Indonesian brown coal is C190H170O50N2. This information will be the basis of making use of Indonesian brown coal.

Two conjugated polymers (CPs) Fu-F and Fu-Cl that are soluble in a green solvent anisole were successfully synthesized via direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) using a furan-flanked diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivative (FDPP-Br)...

Direct coal liquefaction in the heating stage of Shenhua Shendong bituminous coal was carried out in a 0.01 t/d continuous tubular facility with iron catalyst and hydrogenated anthracene and wash oil as solvent at a residence time (t) of 3.5− 6.5 min and a reaction temperature (T) of 340−450 °C. The results show that when t = 3.5 min and T = 340 °C, a cracking reaction of coal occurs, while the oil yield was almost zero. As the residence time and temperature each increase, coal conversion and product yield exhibit different change patterns. Especially when t = 6.5 min and T = 450 °C: under these conditions, the coal conversion and oil yield reached 83.67 and 52.27 wt %, respectively. To investigate the liquefaction kinetics, a 8-lump reaction kinetic model which follow first-order irreversible reactions (r = k i dC/dt) was developed to estimate the rate constants. The results indicated that the model is perfectly valid for the heating stage, and the yield of oil and gas were mainly from coal other than preasphaltene (PAA).

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n‐Type conjugated polymers (CPs) are crucial in the applications of organic electronics. Direct coupling of electron‐deficient C−H monomer via selective C−H activation, namely C−H/C−H oxidative direct arylation polycondensation (Oxi‐DArP), is an ideal approach toward such CPs. Herein, Oxi‐DArP is firstly adopted to synthesize a high‐performance n‐type CP using a newly developed monomer, i.e., 3,6‐di(thiazol‐5‐yl)‐diketopyrrolopyrrole (Tz‐5‐DPP). Tz‐5‐DPP based homopolymer PTz‐5‐DPP with a molecular weight of 22 kDa has been synthesized via Oxi‐DArP. After n‐doping, PTz‐5‐DPP films exhibited electric conductivity values up to 8 S cm−1 and power factors (PFs) up to 106 μW m−1 K−2. Notably, this PF value is the highest for n‐type polymer thermoelectric materials to date. The Oxi‐DArP synthesis and the excellent n‐type performance of the polymer make this work an important step toward the straightforward and sustainable preparation of high‐performance n‐type polymer semiconductors.

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