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Silicon oxide-based (SiO x -based) materials show great promise as anodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries due to their high specific capacity. However, their practical application is hindered by the inevitable volumetric expansion during the lithiation/delithiation process. Constructing high-performance binders for SiO x -based anodes has been regarded as an efficient strategy to mitigate their volume expansion and preserve structural integrity. In this work, we propose a green water-solution PAA-LS binder composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and sodium lignosulfonate (LS) with fast self-healing properties. The designed binder can be restored due to the strong affinity between Fe 3+ -catechol coordination bonds, thereby effectively alleviating the volumetric strain of SiO x -based anodes. Notably, with an optimized LS content of 0.5%, the SiO x @PAA-LS electrode exhibits excellent performance, delivering a high capacity of 997.3 mAh g -1 after 450 cycles at 0.5 A g -1 . Furthermore, the SiO x ||NCM622 full cell also demonstrates superior cycling stability, maintaining a discharge capacity of 147.58 mAh g -1 after 100 cycles at 0.5 A g -1 , with an impressive capacity retention rate of 82.72%.

The poor interfacial stability and undesirable cycling performance caused by their dramatic volume change hinder the large-scale commercial application of SiO x materials for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. Herein, a simple two-step carbonization process is employed to prepare highly pyrrolic-nitrogen-doped carbon modified SiO x anode materials (SiO x @NC). The designed SiO x @NC materials exhibit high electron conductivity and favorable electrochemical kinetics . As expected, the SiO x @NC electrode delivers a high specific capacity of 1003.46 mA h g -1 after 200 cycles at 500 mA g -1 . The NCM622||SiO x @NC full cell also demonstrates excellent cycling stability and rate performance.

Background: The efficacy of Liangxue Guyuan Yishen Decoction (LGYD), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been scientifically proven in the treatment of radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII) and preservation of intestinal integrity and function following high-dose radiation exposure. However, further investigation is required to comprehensively elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of LGYD in order to provide potential pharmaceutical options for radiation protection., Purpose: This study aims to elucidate the potential mechanism through which LGYD exerts its therapeutic effects on RIII by modulating the gut microbiota (GM)., Methods: 16 s rRNA analysis was employed to assess the impact of varying doses of whole body irradiation (WBI) on GM in order to establish an appropriate model for this study. The effects of LGYD on GM and SCFA were evaluated using 16 s rRNA and Quantification of SCFA. UHPLC-QE-MS was utilized to identify the active components in LGYD as well as LGYD drug containing serum (LGYD-DS). Subsequently, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemical staining were conducted to validate the influence of LGYD and/or characteristic microbiota on RIII recovery in vivo. The effects of LGYD-DS, characteristic flora, and SCFA on intestinal stem cell (ISC) were assessed by measuring organoid surface area in intestinal organoid model., Results: The species composition and abundance of GM were significantly influenced by whole-body irradiation with a dose of 8.5 Gy, which was used as in vivo model. LGYD significantly improves the survival rate and promotes recovery from RIII. Additionally, LGYD exhibited a notable increase in the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila (AKK) and levels of SCFA, particularly isobutyric acid. LGYD-DS consisted of seven main components derived from herbs of LGYD. In vivo experiments indicated that both LGYD and AKK substantially enhanced the survival rate after radiation and facilitated the recovery process for intestinal structure and function. In the organoid model, treatment with LGYD-DS, AKK supernatant or isobutyric acid significantly increased organoid surface area., Conclusions: LGYD has the potential to enhance RIII by promoting the restoration of intestinal stem cell, which is closely associated with the upregulation of AKK abundance and production of SCFA, particularly isobutyric acid., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No conflict of interest exits in the submission of this manuscript, and manuscript is approved by all authors for publication. I would like to declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described was original research that has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. All the authors listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed. And all experiments met clinical and animal ethical requirements., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Components of normal tissue architecture serve as barriers to tumor progression. Inflammatory and wound-healing programs are requisite features of solid tumorigenesis, wherein alterations to immune and non-immune stromal elements enable loss of homeostasis during tumor evolution. The precise mechanisms by which normal stromal cell states limit tissue plasticity and tumorigenesis, and which are lost during tumor progression, remain largely unknown. Here we show that healthy pancreatic mesenchyme expresses the paracrine signaling molecule KITL, also known as stem cell factor, and identify loss of stromal KITL during tumorigenesis as tumor-promoting. Genetic inhibition of mesenchymal KITL in the contexts of homeostasis, injury, and cancer together indicate a role for KITL signaling in maintenance of pancreas tissue architecture, such that loss of the stromal KITL pool increased tumor growth and reduced survival of tumor-bearing mice. Together, these findings implicate loss of mesenchymal KITL as a mechanism for establishing a tumor-permissive microenvironment., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest disclosure statement: M.H. Sherman is a paid consultant for Autobahn Labs.

Problem: Currently, there is a variety of evidence linking the gut microbiota to changes in sex hormones. In contrast, the causal relationship between SHBG, a carrier of sex hormones, and the gut microbiota is unclear., Method of Study: Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to detect the causal effect between SHBG and the gut microbiome. Summary statistics of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for the gut microbiome and SHBG were obtained from public datasets. Inverse-variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, weighted mode, MR-Egger and simple mode methods were used to operate the MR analysis. F-statistics and sensitivity analyses performed to evaluate bias and reliability., Results: When we set gut microbiome as exposure and SHBG as outcome, we identified nine causal relationships. In males, Coprobacter (PIVW = 2.01 × 10 -6 ), Ruminococcus2 (PIVW = 3.40 × 10 -5 ), Barnesiella (PIVW = 2.79 × 10 -2 ), Actinobacteria (PIVW = 3.25 × 10 -2 ) and Eubacterium fissicatena groups (PIVW = 3.64 × 10 -2 ) were associated with lower SHBG levels; Alphaproteobacteria (PIVW = 1.61 × 10 -2 ) is associated with higher SHBG levels. In females, Lachnoclostridium (PIVW = 9.75 × 10 -3 ) and Defluviitaleaceae UCG011 (PIVW = 3.67 × 10 -2 ) were associated with higher SHBG levels; Victivallaceae (PIVW = 2.23 × 10 -2 ) was associated with lower SHBG levels. According to the results of reverse MR analysis, three significant causal effect of SHBG was found on gut microbiota. In males, Dorea (PIVW = 4.17 × 10 -2 ) and Clostridiales (PIVW = 4.36 × 10 -2 ) were associated with higher SHBG levels. In females, Lachnoclostridium (PIVW = 7.44 × 10 -4 ) was associated with higherr SHBG levels. No signifcant heterogeneity of instrumental variables or horizontal pleiotropy was found in bidirectional two-sample MR analysis., Conclusions: This study may provide new insights into the causal relationship between the gut microbiome and sex hormone-binding protein levels, as well as new treatment and prevention strategies for diseases such as abnormal changes in sex hormones., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

On the basis of the previous research, the Traditional Chinese Medicine theory was used to improve the drug composition for gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS). The purpose of this study was to study the therapeutic mechanism of Liangxue-Guyuan-Yishen decoction (LGYD) on GI-ARS and to provide a new scheme for the treatment of radiation injury. Here, we investigated the effects of LGYD on intestinal stem cells (ISCs) in a GI-ARS rat model. Rat health and survival and the protective efficacy of LGYD on the intestines were analyzed. The active principles in LGYD were detected using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). ISC proliferation, intestinal epithelial tight junction (TJ) protein expression and regulatory pathways were explored using immunohistochemistry, western blotting (WB) and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), respectively. Involvement of the WNT and MEK/ERK pathways in intestinal recovery was screened using network pharmacology analysis and validated by WB and RT-qPCR. LGYD administration significantly improved health and survival in GI-ARS rats. Pathological analysis showed that LGYD ameliorated radiation-induced intestinal injury and significantly promoted LGR5+ stem cell regeneration in the intestinal crypts, upregulated TJ protein, and accelerated crypt reconstruction in the irradiated rats. LC-MS revealed ≥13 constituents that might contribute to LGYD's protective effects. Collectively, LGYD can promote crypt cell proliferation and ISCs after radiation damage, the above effect may be related to WNT and MEK/ERK pathway., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Japanese Radiation Research Society and Japanese Society for Radiation Oncology.)

Graphene has found important applications in various areas and hundred tons of graphene materials are annually produced. It is crucial to investigate both the negative and positive environmental effects of graphene materials to ensure the safe applications and develop environmental applications. In this study, we reported the stimulating effects of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) to nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum. RGO stimulated the cell growth of A. chroococcum at 0.010-0.500 mg/mL according to the growth curves and the colony-forming unit (CFU) increases. RGO wrapped over the A. chroococcum cells without inducing ultrastructural changes. RGO decreased the leakage of cell membrane, but slight oxidative stress was observed in A. chroococcum. RGO promoted the nitrogen fixation activity of A. chroococcum at 0.5 mg/mL according to both isotope dilution method and acetylene reduction activity measurements. Consequently, the increases of soil nitrogen contents were evidenced, in particular about 30% increase of organic nitrogen occurred at 0.5 mg/mL of RGO. In addition, RGO might possibly benefit the plant growth through enhancing the indoleacetic acid production of A. chroococcum. These results highlighted the positive environmental effects of graphene materials to nitrogen-fixing bacteria in nitrogen cycle., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A one-pot cyanation of 2,4-arylquinazoline with NIS and malononitrile has been developed. The one-pot reaction includes two steps. The Rh-catalyzed selective C-H activation/iodization of 2,4-diarylquinazoline with NIS, and then Cu-catalyzed cyanation of the corresponding iodinated intermediate with malononitrile to selectively give 2-(2-cyanoaryl)-4-arylquinazolines or 2-(2,6-dicyanoaryl)-4-arylquinazolines in good to excellent yields., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)