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Background: The research about anti-edema effects of mannitol on acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats is rare. Objective: This study aimed to explore the effect of mannitol on spinal cord edema after SCI in rats. Methods: Seventy-eight adult female rats were assigned to three groups randomly: a sham control group (n = 18), a contusion and normal saline contrast group (n=30), and a contusion and mannitol treatment group (n=30). We used the open-field test to estimate the functional recovery of rats weekly. Spinal cord water content was measured to determine the spinal cord edema. The ultrastructure features of the injured dorsolateral spinal cord were determined on the 7th day after SCI by HE staining. Results: The mannitol group had greatly improved Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores when compared with the saline contrast group. The spinal cord water content was increased significantly after SCI, and there was no significant difference in the water content between the NaCl and mannitol groups 1 day after SCI. The water content at 3 and 7 days after SCI was significantly lower in the mannitol group than in the NaCl group (p < 0.05). Mannitol can reduce spinal cord edema by increasing the number of red blood cells in the injured spinal cord and decrease the ratio (dorsoventral diameter/ mediolateral diameter) of spinal cord 7 days post-SCI. Conclusion: Mannitol increases recovery of motor function in rats, reduces spinal cord edema and increases the number of red blood cells in the injured spinal cord, decreasing the ratio of spinal cord to reduce pressure.

With the depletion of fossil fuels and the increasing demand of energy for economic development, it is urgent to develop renewable energy technologies to sustain the economic growth. Electrospinning is a versatile and efficient fabrication method for one-dimensional (1D) nanostructured fibers of metals, metal oxides, hydrocarbons, composites, and so forth. The resulting nanofibers (NFs) with controllable diameters ranging from nanometer to micrometer scale possess unique properties such as a high surface-area-to-volume and aspect ratio, low density, and high pore volume. These properties make 1D nanomaterials more advantageous than conventional materials in energy harvesting, conversion, and storage devices. In this review, the key parameters for e-spinning are discussed and the properties of electrospun NFs and applications in solar cells, fuel cells, nanogenerators, hydrogen energy harvesting and storage, lithium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of electrospinning and an outlook on the possible future directions are also discussed.

There is an increasing interest in developing a low temperature interconnection process using nanoparticles. Some studies focus on bonding using Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs). However, few studies investigate a bonding process using Cu nanoparticles (Cu NPs) due to the easy oxidation in air. Here we achieve a robust bonding of Cu wires to Cu pads with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated Cu NPs at a low temperature of 170 °C. The PVP coating can effectively prevent the oxidation of Cu NPs when heated in air. The bonding is formed through the sintering of Cu NPs and direct metallic bonding between the sintered Cu particles and Cu pads. Electrical measurements of the Cu NPs demonstrate that Cu NPs have a low resistivity of 8.6 × 10−5 Ω cm after being sintered under pressure. This method has the potential to be used in the electrical packaging industry due to its economic cost, easy operation, and high conductivity.