SummaryAryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is well known for mediating the toxic effects of dioxin-containing pollutants, but has also been shown to be involved in the natural regulation of the immune response. In this study, we investigated the effect of AhR activation by its endogenous ligands 6-formylindolo

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In situ nitrogen‐doped hierarchical porous carbon was synthesized by using waste protein‐rich pig nails as precursors in a facile KOH activation method. The microstructure and electrochemical characteristics of the materials were investigated by tuning the amount of KOH. When the weight ratio of KOH to pig nails is 1 : 1, the obtained nitrogen‐doped hierarchical porous carbon (NHPC‐1) exhibits the largest specific surface area (2569 m2 g−1) with interconnected porous network structure, which are beneficial to ion/electron storage and transfer. In addition, abundant nitrogen of 2.8 at % in the NHPC‐1 also contributes to the high electrochemical activity of the supercapacitor during the charging/discharging process. As a result, the NHPC‐1 electrode in the supercapacitor exhibits a high specific capacitance of 231 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and superior retention of 98 % after 5000 cycles at 1 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte. Additionally, the assembled symmetric device based on NHPC‐1 exhibits a high energy density of 7 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 500 W kg−1. Our study suggests that waste pig nails can act as low‐cost and renewable carbon precursors for high performance supercapacitor.

Biomass-based carbon has attracted considerable attention as a host material of active sulfur in lithium–sulfur batteries, while chemical activators of H3PO4, KOH, or ZnCl2 are essential to construct the porous structure of the materials. Inspired by traditional Chinese steamed buns, herein a unique porous microcellular carbon composed of cross-linked nanopores has been synthesized by an eco-friendly biological fermentation using banana peel as a carbon precursor. The specially hierarchical carbon framework obtained under the aerobic respiration and anaerobic breathing of biological yeast during fermenting, and simultaneously the inherent doping of N (3.28 at. %), produce a promising carbon host material to stabilize the structure of electrodes and restrict the dissolution of polysulfides during charging and discharging. The amount of biological yeast has an important influence on the microstructure of the biomass carbons and the correlated electrochemical properties of carbon/sulfur electrodes. The optimal amount of biological yeast is 3.0 wt %, where the carbon/sulfur composite electrode possesses a sulfur loading of 74.34 wt % and achieves a large initial reversible capacity of 1174 mAh g–1 at 0.1 C and a high capacity hold of 58.35% after 100 cycles. Our study provides a novel eco-friendly strategy to fabricate the interconnected hierarchical porous carbon framework from living wastes for various energy storage and conversion applications, including lithium–ion battery, supercapacitor, etc.

A novel multidimensional N-doped porous carbon/MoS2/CNT (FSC/MoS2/CNT) nano-architecture hybrid is rationally designed and successfully fabricated by the facile pyrolysis and hydrothermal processes for advanced lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries.

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Background and Aims:The mechanism underlying HCC metastasis remains unclear, many oncogenes are known to regulate this process. However, the role of alternative splicing (AS) in pro-metastatic HCC is poorly understood. Approach and Results: By performing RNA sequencing on nine pairs of primary HCC tissues with extrahepatic metastasis (EHMH) and nine pairs of metastasis-free HCC (MFH) tissues, we depicted the AS landscape in HCC and found a higher frequency of AS events in EHMH compared with MFH. Moreover, 28 differentially expressed splicing regulators were identified in EHMH compared with MFH. Among these, DEAD-box RNA helicase 17 (DDX17) was significantly up-regulated in EHMH and was strongly associated with patient outcome. Functional studies indicated that DDX17 knockout inhibited the degradation of the extracellular matrix, and diminished the invasive ability of HCC cells. A significant reduction in lung metastasis induced by DDX17 deficiency was also demonstrated in a diethylnitrosamine-induced