Recent research shows that gut microbes are involved in the development of obesity, a growing health problem in developed countries that is linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, studies showing links between microbes and metabolism have been limited to the analysis of bacteria and have ignored the potential contribution of fungi in metabolic health. This study provides evidence that ingestion of a high-fat diet is associated with changes to the fungal (and bacterial) microbiome in a mouse model. In addition, we find that interkingdom structural and functional relationships exist between fungi and bacteria within the gut and that these are perturbed by high-fat diet.

SUMMARY Receptor Interacting Protein 140 (RIP140), a nuclear receptor corepressor, is important for lipid and glucose metabolism. In adipocytes, RIP140 can be phosphorylated by protein kinase C epsilon (PKCε), followed by arginine methylation, and exported to the cytoplasm. This study demonstrates for the first time a cytoplasmic function for RIP140: to counteract insulin-stimulated glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) membrane partitioning and glucose uptake in adipocytes. Cytoplasmic RIP140 interacts with the Akt substrate AS160, thereby impeding AS160 phosphorylation by Akt; this in turn reduces GLUT4 trafficking. This signal transduction pathway can be recapitulated in the epididymal adipocytes of diet-induced obese mice: nuclear PKCε is activated, cytoplasmic RIP140 increases, and GLUT4 trafficking and glucose uptake are reduced. The data reveal a new, cytoplasmic, function for RIP140 as a negative regulator of GLUT4 trafficking and glucose uptake, and shed insight into the regulation of basal and insulin-stimulated glucose disposal by a nuclear-initiated counteracting mechanism.

performance, superior flexibility, vivid colors, unique transparency, potential lowcost production with solution processing, etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The recent years have witnessed a great leap in device performance and device stability, which are attributed to the delicate molecular structure design, advanced morphology manipulation technology, and device structure evolution. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Currently, the best-performed OPVs exhibit a certified efficiency of 19.3% for single junction device and 20.0% for tandem structure, as well as an extrapolated device stability with T 80 over 30 years. [20][21][22] While compared to their inorganic counterparts (e.g., for siliconbased PVs, the efficiency is over 26%), the OPVs are still inferior in efficiency. [23] Therefore, it would be urgent to further improve the device efficiency of OPV, which will require an in-depth understanding on the working principles of OPV, as well as the development of effective strategies to balance the charge generation, transport, and recombination. Among all the strategies, it is generally observed that adding a third component to construct the ternary blend is a very simple but effective method to further boost the device performance of OPVs. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] A bunch of benefits have been demonstrated with the multicomponentThe ternary blend is demonstrated as an effective strategy to promote the device performance of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) due to the dilution effect. While the compromise between the charge generation and recombination remains a challenge. Here, a mixed diluent strategy for further improving the device efficiency of OPV is proposed. Specifically, the high-performance OPV system with a polymer donor, i.e., PM6, and a nonfullerene acceptor (NFA), i.e., BTP-eC9, is diluted by the mixed diluents, which involve a high bandgap NFA of BTP-S17 and a low bandgap NFA of BTP-S16 (similar with that of the BTP-eC9). The BTP-S17 of better miscibility with BTP-eC9 can dramatically enhance the open-circuit voltage (V OC ), while the BTP-S16 maximizes the charge generation or the short-circuit current density (J SC ). The interplay of BTP-17 and BTP-S16 enables better compromise between charge generation and recombination, thus leading to a high device performance of 19.76% (certified 19.41%), which is the best among single-junction OPVs. Further analysis on carrier dynamics validates the efficacy of mixed diluents for balancing charge generation and recombination, which can be further attributed to the more diverse energetic landscapes and improved morphology. Therefore, this work provides an effective strategy for highperformance OPV for further commercialization.

All-trans retinoic acid (atRA), one of the active ingredients of vitamin A, exerts canonical activities to regulate gene expression mediated by nuclear RA receptors (RARs). AtRA could also elicit certain non-canonical activities including, mostly, rapid activation of extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2); but the mechanism was unclear. In this study, we have found that cellular retinoic acid binding protein I (CRABPI) mediates the non-canonical, RAR- and membrane signal-independent activation of ERK1/2 by atRA in various cellular backgrounds. In the context of embryonic stem cells (ESCs), atRA/CRABPI-dependent ERK1/2 activation rapidly affects ESC cell cycle, specifically to expand the G1 phase. This is mediated by ERK stimulation resulting in dephosphorylation of nuclear p27, which elevates nuclear p27 protein levels to block G1 progression to S phase. This is the first study to identify CRABPI as the mediator for non-canonical activation of ERK1/2 by atRA, and demonstrate a new functional role for CRABPI in modulating ESC cell cycle progression.

Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of polymer solar cells (PSCs) have exceeded 18% in the last few years. Stability has therefore become the next most important issue before commercialization. Herein, the degradation behaviors of the inverted PM6:IT‐4F (PBDB‐T‐2F:3,9‐bis(2‐methylene‐((3‐(1,1‐dicyanomethylene)‐6,7‐difluoro)‐indanone))‐5,5,11,11‐tetrakis(4‐hexylphenyl)‐dithieno[2,3‐d:2′,3′‐d′]‐s‐indaceno[1,2‐b:5,6‐b′]dithiophene) solar cells with different ZnO layers are systematically investigated. The PCE decay rates of the cells and the photobleaching process of the IT‐4F containing organic films on ZnO surface are directly correlated with the light‐absorption ability of the ZnO layer in the visible light range, indicating that photochemical decomposition of IT‐4F is initiated by the light absorption of ZnO layer. By analyzing the products of the aged ZnO/IT‐4F films with matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF‐MS), it is confirmed that photochemical reactions at the IT‐4F/ZnO interface include de‐electron‐withdrawing units and dealkylation on the side‐phenyl ring. Hydroxyl radicals generated by the photo‐oxidation of dangling hydroxide by ZnO are confirmed by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy measurements, which is attributed as the main reason causing the decomposition of IT‐4F. Surface treatment of ZnO with hydroxide and/or hydroxyl radical scavenger is found to be able to improve the stability of the PSCs, which further supports the proposed degradation mechanism.