High-performance electrochromic (EC) materials based on earth-abundant materials for EC window applications are crucial for energy conservation. We report a simple and feasible approach for fabricating an iron oxyhydroxide (FeOOH) hierarchical hollow sphere array via templating-assisted electrodeposition. We further examine the corresponding EC characteristics of this hierarchical hollow sphere array. A significant improvement in the switching kinetics and coloration efficiency of the hierarchical hollow sphere arrays is demonstrated, facilitating their promising applications as nanostructured EC materials in EC windows and other diverse electronic and optical nanodevices.
O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc)-modified proteins are known as post-transcriptional modification proteins with GlcNAc conjugated to serine and threonine residues of massive intracellular proteins. This modification is associated with various physiological functions such as serine and threonine phosphorylation and Notch signaling. Here, we demonstrated that O-GlcNAc-modified proteins leaked from dead cells and GlcNAc-bearing polymers mimicking the multivalent GlcNAc moiety of these proteins induced anti-fibrotic activities, such as the suppression of α-smooth muscle actin and collagen and the induction of matrix metalloprotease 1 in myofibroblasts. We have previously reported that O-GlcNAc-modified proteins and GlcNAc-bearing polymers could interact with cell surface vimentin and desmin. In the current study, it was demonstrated that a multivalent GlcNAc moiety structure of these molecules activated PI3K/Akt and p38MAPK pathway and elicited these anti-fibrotic activities in myofibroblasts by interacting with cell surface vimentin. Since the interaction of O-GlcNAc-modified proteins with desmin was observed in the fibrotic liver of carbon tetrachloride-treated mice via an in situ proximity ligation assay, it was assumed that the activated stellate cells could bind to the O-GlcNAc-modified proteins from the damaged hepatocytes. In addition, the administration of anti-O-GlcNAc-antibody to inhibit the interaction exacerbated liver fibrosis in the mice. Moreover, administration of the GlcNAc-bearing polymers into carbon tetrachloride-treated mice could ameliorate liver fibrosis. Thus, O-GlcNAc-modified proteins leaked from dead cells can interact with myofibroblasts and activated stellate cells and function as fibrosis suppressors. Moreover, we anticipate that GlcNAc-bearing polymers mimicked by O-GlcNAc-modified proteins will be applied as novel therapeutic tools for fibrosis.
Hydrogen production through water electrolysis using renewable energy is expected to be one approach to solving current energy problems. The present report describes the development of a hemispherical cavity cobalt (Co) electrocatalyst with uniform pores with sizes of several hundred nanometers on the surface via electrodeposition on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate in a carbonate electrolyte solution using a polystyrene particle template. Catalytic activity measurements indicated that the cavity Co catalyst generated a greater oxygen evolution current compared to the flat Co catalyst. To investigate the electronic state and local structure, operando Co K-edge XAFS measurements of the cavity Co catalyst were obtained under working conditions, which showed that Co species in the catalyst changed to one with a higher oxidation number while maintaining the local structure of CoOOH (CoO 6 ). These results clarified that the cavity Co catalyst efficiently promoted water splitting through the uniform nanoscale pores with high oxidation Co in the CoOOH structure.
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