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Organic flame-retardant-loaded battery separator offers a new opportunity for battery safety. However, its poor thermal stability still poses serious safety issues. Inspired by Tai Chi, an “internal-cultivating and external-practicing” core–shell nanofibrous membrane was prepared by coaxial electrospinning, wherein the shell layer was a mixture of polyvinylidene fluoride, silicon dioxide (SiO2), and graphene oxide (GO) and the core layer contained triphenyl phosphate (TPP). SiO2and GO enhanced the thermal stability and electrochemical performance. The encapsulated TPP prevented heat transfer and the degradation of electrochemical performance caused by its direct dissolution. This separator exhibited outstanding thermal stability and flame retardancy: it did not burn and remained relatively intact (91.2%) in an open flame for 15 s. The battery assembled with a composite separator showed excellent performance: the initial capacity reached 164 mA h/g and maintained 95% after 100 charge–discharge cycles. This novel strategy endows high-performance lithium batteries with relatively higher safety.

Hydrogenated metal borides have attracted much attention due to their potential high-temperature superconductivity. Here, we propose a new strategy for hydrogen intercalation tuning the stability and superconductivity of the boron honeycomb sublattice, and predict an unprecedented layered compound Na2B2H, which hosts excellent superconductivity. Strikingly, the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of Na2B2H reaches 42 K at ambient pressure. The Tcvalue can be further increase to 63 K under 5% biaxial tensile strain. The excellent superconductivity originates from the strong electron-phonon coupling between the σ-bonding bands near the Fermi level and the B-B stretching optical E′modes. The interstitial electron localization and crystal orbitals of the H-intercalated Na ion layer well match the boron honeycomb lattice and act as a chemical template to stabilize the B layer. Furthermore, the introduction of hydrogen tuned the Fermi level, and the coupling vibration of Na and H ions effectively enhanced the dynamic stability of the structure. Na2B2H represents a new family of layered high-temperature superconductors, and the strategy of stabilizing the honeycomb boron sublattice via chemical template hosts great potential for application to more layered compounds.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit prostaglandin (PG) formation by targeting cyclooxygenase (COX) 1 and 2. Long-term use of NSAIDs that selectively inhibit COX2 increases the risk for thrombotic events, cardiac failure, and hypertension. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, COX1- and COX2-deficient rats were created via Cas9/RNA-mediated gene targeting. DNA genotyping and Western blot analysis confirmed successful generation of COX1−/−and COX2−/−rats. Adult COX1−/−rats grew normally, while more than 70% of COX2−/−rats after wean died within 2 months. Echocardiography showed markedly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and fractional shortening in adult COX2−/−rats compared to those in wildtype (WT) controls. Histological analysis revealed accumulation of inflammatory cells and severe interstitial and perivascular fibrosis in COX2−/−cardiac tissues. Moreover, cardiac ATP and acetyl-CoA production was dramatically decreased in COX2−/−rats. Consistently, the expression of genes related to mitochondrial oxidation, such as those that encode for subunits of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and acyl CoA dehydrogenases, were downregulated, while glycolytic hexokinase 1 (HK1) was upregulated in COX2−/−heart tissues. These observations indicate that COX2-deficient rats developed spontaneously heart failure, likely as a result of dysregulated cardiac energy metabolism.

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Manure application rather than biochar amendment increased acidic soil respiration.Biochar application promoted soil C sequestration in the tea plantation.Manure application stimulated CO2emissions by altering ecological clusters’ abundance.Gemmatimonadetesmight be the dominant hosts for C-cycling genes.