Frequent oil spillages and the industrial discharge of organic solvents have not only caused severe environmental and ecological damage, but also create a risk of fire and explosion. Therefore, it is imperative, but also challenging, to find high-performance absorbent materials that are both effective and less flammable. Here we present a superior superhydrophobic sponge that exhibits excellent absorption performance through a combination of its superhydrophobicity, high porosity, and robust stability. More importantly, it inherits the intrinsic flame-retardant nature of the raw melamine sponge, and is thus expected to reduce the risk of fire and explosion when being used as an absorbent for flammable oils and organic compounds. Moreover, the fabrication of this sponge is easy to scale up, since it does not use a complicated process or sophisticated equipment. These characteristics make the sponge a much more competitive product than the commercial absorbent, nonwoven polypropylene fabric.

Loyalty programs offer rewards via mediums of different magnitudes (e.g., “$6 off when you accumulate 1,000 [100] points. Earn 10 [1] points/dollar”). The program medium presents two key pieces of information: reward distance (points required to redeem reward) and step size (points earned per dollar). In higher-magnitude (vs. lower-magnitude) programs, both reward distances (1,000 vs. 100) and step sizes (10 vs. 1 point[s]/dollar) are larger. How do these two pieces of information affect consumers' postenrollment inferences of progress, store loyalty, and recommendation likelihood? Do consumers always integrate both pieces? We identify a moderator, step-size ambiguity, and show that when ambiguity is high, only reward distance affects inferences. When ambiguity is lower, consumers integrate step size with reward distance, but in a biased manner. Implications arise in goal following and in physical and psychological distance estimation contexts (e.g., weight loss, savings) where distances and step sizes can vary (e.g., as a function of units: kilograms vs. pounds), but especially in loyalty rewards contexts.

A novel, fibrous-structured bifunctional (magnetic and mesoporous) Fe 3 O 4 /silica microsphere was successfully synthesized through a simple and economical self-assembled process in which hydrophobic 9 nm-Fe 3 O 4 nanocrystals were directly used without modifications. The obtained material is performed as a drug delivery carrier to investigate the in vitro and intracellular delivery properties of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N 2 adsorption/desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) were employed to characterize the composite. The results reveal that the novel composite exhibits typical mesoporous structure, narrow size distribution, good monodispersity, and superparamagnetic features. Notably, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images indicate that the DOX-loaded sample could deliver DOX into the nuclei of HeLa cells to kill cells. Also, MTT assay confirms that the DOX-loaded sample leads to pronounced and efficient cytotoxic effects to L929 fibroblast cells, even similar to that of free DOX at high concentrations, whereas the pure material is non-toxic. Therefore, the novel material is expected to have potential application for targeted cancer therapy.

B-cell activation plays a crucial part in the immune system and is initiated via interaction between the B cell receptor (BCR) and specific antigens. In recent years with the help of modern imaging techniques, it was found that the cortical actin cytoskeleton changes dramatically during B-cell activation. In this review, we discuss how actin-cytoskeleton reorganization regulates BCR signaling in different stages of B-cell activation, specifically when stimulated by antigens, and also how this reorganization is mediated by BCR signaling molecules. Abnormal BCR signaling is associated with the progression of lymphoma and immunological diseases including autoimmune disorders, and recent studies have proved that impaired actin cytoskeleton can devastate the normal activation of B cells. Therefore, to figure out the coordination between the actin cytoskeleton and BCR signaling may reveal an underlying mechanism of B-cell activation, which has potential for new treatments for B-cell associated diseases.