Hong Liu

Bio: Hong Liu is an academic researcher from Shandong University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Materials science. The author has an hindex of 100, co-authored 1905 publications receiving 57561 citations. Previous affiliations of Hong Liu include Shanghai University & Guangzhou University.

Highly-efficient overall water splitting in 2D Janus group-III chalcogenide multilayers: the roles of intrinsic electric filed and vacancy defects

Abstract: Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials have been widely adopted as photocatalysts for water splitting, but the energy conversion efficiency remains low. On the basis of first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the 2D Janus group-III chalcogenide multilayers: InGaXY, M2XY and InGaX2 (M = In/Ga; X, Y = S/Se/Te), are promising photocatalysts for highly-efficient overall water splitting. The intrinsic electric field enhances the spatial separations of photogenerated carriers and alters the band alignment, which is more pronounced compared with the Janus monolayers. High solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency with the upper limit of 38.5% was predicted in the Janus multilayers. More excitingly, the Ga vacancy of InGaSSe bilayer effectively lowers the overpotentials of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to the levels provided solely by the photogenerated carriers. Our theoretical results suggest that the 2D Janus group-III chalcogenide multilayers could be utilized as highly efficient photocatalysts for overall water splitting without the needs of sacrificial reagents.

FTY720 induces apoptosis of M2 subtype acute myeloid leukemia cells by targeting sphingolipid metabolism and increasing endogenous ceramide levels.

Abstract: The M2 subtype Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML-M2) with t(8;21) represents an unmet challenge because of poor clinical outcomes in a sizable portion of patients. In this study,we report that FTY720 (Fingolimod), a sphingosine analogue and an FDA approved drug for treating of multiple sclerosis, shows antitumorigenic activity against the Kasumi-1 cell line, xenograft mouse models and leukemic blasts isolated from AML-M2 patients with t(8;21) translocation. Primary investigation indicated that FTY720 caused cell apoptosis through caspases and protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activation. Transcriptomic profiling further revealed that FTY720 treatment could upregulate AML1 target genes and interfere with genes involved in ceramide synthesis. Treatment with FTY720 led to the elimination of AML1-ETO oncoprotein and caused cell cycle arrest. More importantly, FTY720 treatment resulted in rapid and significant increase of pro-apoptotic ceramide levels, determined by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry based lipidomic approaches. Structural simulation model had also indicated that the direct binding of ceramide to inhibitor 2 of PP2A (I2PP2A) could reactivate PP2A and cause cell death. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that accumulation of ceramide plays a central role in FTY720 induced cell death of AML-M2 with t(8;21). Targeting sphingolipid metabolism by using FTY720 may provide novel insight for the drug development of treatment for AML-M2 leukemia.

Prolonged fluorescence lifetime of carbon quantum dots by combining with hydroxyapatite nanorods for bio-applications

Abstract: Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are a new type of fluorescent nanoparticle for cell imaging and tracking However, they would easily diffuse and quench, followed by the loss of their fluorescence ability By connecting their functional groups with other nanoparticles, the CQDs will be protected from destruction and exhibit long-time fluorescence Here, carbon quantum dot-hydroxyapatite (CQD-HAp) hybrid nanorods were prepared by the self-assembly of CQDs on the surface of HAp nanorods through a facile one-pot process The morphology and size of the CQD-HAp hybrid nanorods can be well controlled by using oleic acid, which meanwhile is the source of CQDs The hydrophilic CQD-HAp hybrid nanorods have prolonged fluorescence life due to the connection between CQDs and HAp nanorods, and exhibit a higher fluorescence quantum yield than pure CQDs In addition, when hybrid nanorods load doxorubicin (Dox) to form Dox-CQD-HAp hybrid nanorods, they can more efficiently kill human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells, rather than human prostatic cancer (PC-3) cells Long time fluorescence for cell imaging and high efficiency in killing cancer cells as a drug-delivery medium make CQD-HAp hybrid nanorods have great potential applications in the bio-field

Photoresponsive nanostructure assisted green synthesis of organics and polymers

Abstract: Solar light is believed to be the most sustainable and clean energy source. In line with the concept of green chemistry, the use of solar energy has been a formidable impetus toward the development of novel photo-based synthetic technologies to drive various chemical reactions. Photosynthesis is a promising route to achieve a wide array of chemical transformations with distinctive energy and environmental merits which are usually inaccessible with conventional thermal processes. Photoinduced organic synthesis, as one important branch of photosynthesis, has attracted increasingly attentions to meet the growing-up environmental and energy concerns. Highly photoresponsive nanoparticles (NPs), such as semiconductors, can generate photoexcited charge carriers, i.e. electron-hole pairs, upon photon absorption, which can favor a vast number of reactions, demonstrating unique advantages including the easily recycling and reuse, the use of mild reaction conditions and the generation of high-purity products devoid of contaminants. This review article highlights recent representative advances in heterogenous photocatalytic organic synthesis, mainly including CO2 reduction, organic transform and free radical polymerization; in particular, for the first time, the achievements on photoresponsive NP initiated free radical polymerizations are summarized here. We conclude this review by proposing several interesting research directions and future challenges with the hope that it can serve as a good reference for researchers in nanomaterials and catalysis.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

The chemistry of two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide nanosheets

Abstract: Ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheets of layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are fundamentally and technologically intriguing. In contrast to the graphene sheet, they are chemically versatile. Mono- or few-layered TMDs - obtained either through exfoliation of bulk materials or bottom-up syntheses - are direct-gap semiconductors whose bandgap energy, as well as carrier type (n- or p-type), varies between compounds depending on their composition, structure and dimensionality. In this Review, we describe how the tunable electronic structure of TMDs makes them attractive for a variety of applications. They have been investigated as chemically active electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and hydrosulfurization, as well as electrically active materials in opto-electronics. Their morphologies and properties are also useful for energy storage applications such as electrodes for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors.