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Objectives:The aim of this study was to investigate the ameliorative effect of platycodin D (PD) on cognitive dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its potential molecular mechanisms of action in vivo and in vitro. Materials and methods:An animal model of cognitive impairment in T2DM was established using a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (100 mg/kg) after 8 weeks of feeding a high-fat diet to C57BL/6 mice. In vitro, immunofluorescence staining and Western blot were employed to analyze the effects of PD on glucose-induced neurotoxicity in mouse hippocampal neuronal cells (HT22). Results:PD (2.5 mg/kg) treatment for 4 weeks significantly suppressed the rise in fasting blood glucose in T2DM mice, improved insulin secretion deficiency, and reversed abnormalities in serum triglyceride, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein levels. Meanwhile, PD ameliorated choline dysfunction in T2DM mice and inhibited the production of oxidative stress and apoptosis-related proteins of the caspase family. Notably, PD dose-dependently prevents the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, promotes phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase and protein kinase B (Akt) in vitro, activates glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) expression at the Ser9 site, and inhibits Tau protein hyperphosphorylation. Conclusions:These findings clearly indicated that PD could alleviate the neurological damage caused by T2DM, and the phosphorylation of Akt at Ser473 may be the key to its effect.

CNTs feature ultrahigh electrical conductivity and multiwall structure, contributing to the favorable interaction with microwaves, and accordingly evoke drastic energy conversion to the form of heat upon microwave irradiation. Herein, CNTs were ball milling assembled at the surface of expandable thermoplastic polyurethane/black phosphorus (e-TPU/BP) beads, where BP was used as a flame retardant, and served as the “interfacial sensitizer”, resulting in exceptional selective heating to inducing bubble formation in a continuous conductive network of TBC composite foams under the microwave field setting. The sinter-molded TBC composite foam possesses a high sensitivity of 550 kPa–1over 0–0.4 MPa of compressive stress with an ultralow CNT content of 0.5 wt %, stability of over 1000 cycles, and durability of 5000 s. Moreover, BP also provided excellent flame retardant and antidripping properties at 2 wt % loading. Therefore, by utilizing the intense response of CNTs to microwaves, a universal approach was developed not only for foam molding but also for the functionalization of thermoplastic materials.

Catalytic mechanism-based, light-activated traps have recently been developed to identify the substrates of cysteine or serine hydrolases. These traps are hydrolase mutants whose catalytic cysteine or serine are replaced with genetically encoded 2,3-diaminopropionic acid (DAP). DAP-containing hydrolases specifically capture the transient thioester- or ester-linked acyl–enzyme intermediates resulting from the first step of the proteolytic reaction as their stable amide analogs. The trapped substrate fragments allow the downstream identification of hydrolase substrates by mass spectrometry and immunoblotting. In this protocol, we provide a detailed step-by-step guide for substrate capture and identification of the peptidase domain of the large tegument protein deneddylase (UL36USP) from human herpesvirus 1, both in mammalian cell lysate and live mammalian cells. Four procedures are included: Procedure 1, DAP-mediated substrate trapping in mammalian cell lysate (~8 d); Procedure 2, DAP-mediated substrate trapping in adherent mammalian cells (~6 d); Procedure 3, DAP-mediated substrate trapping in suspension mammalian cells (~5 d); and Procedure 4, substrate identification and validation (~12–13 d). Basic skills to perform protein expression in bacteria or mammalian cells, affinity enrichment and proteomic analysis are required to implement the protocol. This protocol will be a practical guide for identifying substrates of serine or cysteine hydrolases either in a complex mixture, where genetic manipulation is challenging, or in live cells such as bacteria, yeasts and mammalian cells.

The central dogma of modern biology underscores the pivotal roles proteins play in diverse biological processes, the study of which necessitates advanced methods to produce proteins with precision and versatility. Chemical protein synthesis, a powerful approach utilizing chemical reactions for the de novoconstruction of structurally accurate proteins, has emerged as a transformative tool for studying proteins and generating protein derivatives/mimics inaccessible by natural biological machinery, including post-translationally modified proteins, proteins comprised of unnatural amino acids, as well as mirror-image proteins. This review summarizes recent strides in synthetic method developments for chemical protein synthesis, including innovative techniques in solid-phase peptide synthesis, the challenges presented by difficult sequences in either synthesis or folding and the exploration of novel ligation reactions using both chemical and enzymatic methods. Furthermore, the review also delves into newly developed protocols for site-selective protein modifications and the generation of stapled or macrocyclized peptides/mini-proteins, highlighting the power of chemical methods to make structurally diverse proteins. Recent applications of synthetic proteins in investigating post-translational modifications (phosphorylation, lipidation, glycosylation, ubiquitination, etc.), mirror-image biological processes and drug development are further discussed. Together, these topics provide a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of chemical protein synthesis.

Chinese milk vetch (MV) as green manure is utilized to improve rice yield and soil fertility in China. However, the long-term effects of MV on the distribution and speciation of phosphorus (P) in soil aggregates are poorly understood. We conducted a 12-year field experiment in a double-rice cropping system, with four treatments: (1) no chemical fertilizer and no MV (CK); (2) 100% of chemical fertilizer (F1); (3) 70% of chemical fertilizer (F2); and (4) 70% of chemical fertilizer and MV (F2M). We analyzed the contents and forms of P in soil aggregates, and explored the mechanisms underlying the relationships among MV, chemical fertilizer, and P forms in paddy soil. The application of MV increased the proportion of > 2 mm soil aggregates and improved the stability of soil aggregates. Compared with F2, MV applied improved the P content and storage in > 2 mm aggregates and increased the available P (AP) in all soil aggregates. Application of MV significantly increased NaHCO3-P (NaHCO3-Pi and NaHCO3-Po) and decreased residue-P (Res-P), and there was a negative correlation between Res-P and MV in all aggregates. Furthermore, MV influenced the P forms by affecting the amount of soil organic matter, total nitrogen and total P in soil aggregates. Although chemical fertilizer input more strongly affected P forms than did MV, the application of MV decreased Res-P. Therefore, co-incorporation of MV and chemical fertilizer improved the distribution of aggregates and increased the availability and supply of P in the double-rice-MV cropping system.

Plasma miRNAs can characterize several diseases, including acute ischemic stroke (AIS), which is noninvasive and currently affordable in most laboratories worldwide. We aimed to demonstrate plasma miR‐140‐3p, miR‐130a‐3p, and miR‐320b as diagnostic biomarkers in AIS.GSE110993 and GSE86291 datasets were analyzed to obtain plasma differentially expressed miRNAs between AIS and healthy control subjects (HCs). We further applied RT‐qPCR for the validation in 85 AIS patients and 85 HCs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were conducted to evaluate their diagnostic utility in AIS. Correlation was analyzed between DEmiRNAs and clinical and laboratory parameters, as well as inflammatory markers. The plasma levels of miR‐140‐3p, miR‐130a‐3p, and miR‐320b were found to be consistently altered in both GSE110993 and GSE86291 datasets. In comparison to HCs, AIS patients at admission exhibited lower levels of miR‐140‐3p and miR‐320b and higher level of miR‐130a‐3p in their plasma. The ROC analysis revealed that plasma miR‐140‐3p, miR‐130a‐3p, and miR‐320b had area under the curve values of 0.790, 0.831, and 0.907, respectively. When combined, these miRNAs showed superior discriminatory power with a sensitivity of 91.76% and specificity of 95.29%. Plasma miR‐140‐3p and miR‐320b negatively correlated glucose levels and inflammatory markers (IL‐6, MMP‐2, MMP‐9, and VEGF) in AIS patients. Conversely, plasma miR‐130a‐3p levels were positively associated with glucose levels and these markers. Plasma miR‐140‐3p, miR‐130a‐3p, and miR‐320b levels varied significantly among AIS patients with different NIHSS scores. Plasma miR‐140‐3p, miR‐130a‐3p, and miR‐320b had high diagnostic value in AIS patients, which were correlated with inflammation and severity in stroke.

Phages are prevalent in diverse environments and play major ecological roles attributed to their tremendous diversity and abundance. Among these viruses, transposable phages (TBPs) are exceptional in terms of their unique lifestyle, especially their replicative transposition. Although several TBPs have been isolated and the life cycle of the representative phage Mu has been extensively studied, the diversity distribution and ecological functions of TBPs on the global scale remain unknown. Here, by mining TBPs from enormous microbial genomes and viromes, we established a TBP genome dataset (TBPGD), that expands the number of accessible TBP genomes 384-fold. TBPs are prevalent in diverse biomes and show great genetic diversity. Based on taxonomic evaluations, we propose the categorization of TBPs into four viral groups, including 11 candidate subfamilies. TBPs infect multiple bacterial phyla, and seem to infect a wider range of hosts than non-TBPs. Diverse auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) are identified in the TBP genomes, and genes related to glycoside hydrolases and pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis are highly enriched. Finally, the influences of TBPs on their hosts are experimentally examined by using the marine bacterium Shewanella psychrophilaWP2 and its infecting transposable phage SP2. Collectively, our findings greatly expand the genetic diversity of TBPs, and comprehensively reveal their potential influences in various ecosystems.

Corn stover is the abundant biowaste that can be utilized to produce biofuels and high value-added biological products. However, the complex structures of lignocellulose, on the other hand, are highly resistant to subsequent transformations. To promote enzymatic saccharification of corn stover, green and safe phosphotungstic acid was used to pretreat corn stover. Using a single-factor experiment and response surface approach, the influence of different pretreatment variables such as temperature, phosphotungstic acid concentration, pretreatment time, and solid-to-liquid ratio on the pretreatment effect was investigated. The best conditions were 126 ℃, 1.33%, 45 min, and 1:14, respectively, and the cellulose conversion rate was the greatest at 70.61% combined phosphotungstic acid and cellulase, raised by 171.99% when compared to the raw corn stover. Phosphotungstic acid was demonstrated to degrade both hemicellulose and lignin, yielding 25.89 mmol/L xylose. Phosphotungstic acid pretreatment samples were found to be more porous, with cellulase adsorption capacity increased from 161.56 to 245.70 mg/g biomass. CrI/cellulose was found to decrease from 1.09 to 0.77, indicating significant chemical alterations in corn stover functional linkages. These findings suggest that phosphotungstic acid enhances saccharification by altering the structure and chemistry of corn stover. The combination of phosphotungstic acid and cellulase will give an efficient approach for increasing the saccharification of cellulose.

ZnZrOxsolid solution catalyst is an excellent catalyst in methanol synthesis from CO2hydrogenation. It is still highly aspiration to make any further improvement in catalytic performance. In this work, ZnZrOxsolid solution catalyst is prepared with different methods, resulting in different surface property. The ZnZrOxsolid solution catalyst prepared by reflux ammonia (ZnZrOx-RA) exhibits higher methanol selectivity of 95.2% and CO2conversion of 3.3% than that of the catalyst obtained viaco-precipitation (ZnZrOx-CP) at 280 °C, 5 MPa. Subsequent kinetics analysis shows that ZnZrOx-RA, in comparison to ZnZrOx-CP, shows a decreased activation energy for methanol synthesis, an increased reaction order in H2, and a similar reaction order in CO2. Structural characterizations indicate that these two catalysts are in solid solution state, while ZnZrOx-RA possesses more Zn-OH species on the surface. The surface Zn-OH species enhance the activation and adsorption of CO2and H2, and improve the generation and stability of HCOO* species, which promote CO2hydrogenation to methanol.

Graphical Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of different tillage and organic fertilization practices on rice root growth, grain yield, and soil quality under rice–wheat rotation. Methods: A three-year field experiment (2017–2020) was carried out under different practices of tillage (i.e., rotary tillage, RT; subsoil tillage, ST) with organic fertilization (i.e., rice/wheat straw, organic manure, straw plus manure). The control plots were rotary tilled and applied with chemical fertilizers only. There were three replications for each treatment. Results: All the organic fertilization treatments led to variable increase (3.3%–12.7%) in the grain yield of rice compared with chemical fertilization only. ST caused an average yield increase of 3.1%–4.3% compared with RT under the same fertilization treatment. When ST plots received organic fertilization, the root length density of rice significantly increased from the booting stage compared with that in RT plots. The largest increase in root length density occurred in the subsoil (15–30 cm), which contributed to shoot N uptake. ST with organic fertilization also reduced subsoil compaction, without affecting topsoil compaction (0–15 cm). In the topsoil, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium contents were higher under RT than under ST, whereas the opposite trend was observed in the subsoil. Partial least squares path modeling revealed that tillage mainly reduced soil compaction and organic fertilization principally increased soil nutrients, thereby promoting root growth of rice. The influence of soil nutrients and compaction on root length density of rice grew stronger in the subsoil relative to the topsoil. Conclusions: The co-application of crop straw and organic manure enhanced soil nutrient storage capacity, and combined ST alleviated subsoil compaction, promoted downward root growth, and facilitated plant nutrient uptake, which contributed to the improvement of grain yield in rice.

Phages are prevalent in diverse environments and play major ecological roles attributed to their tremendous diversity and abundance. Among these viruses, transposable phages (TBPs) are exceptional in terms of their unique lifestyle, especially their replicative transposition. Although several TBPs have been isolated and the life cycle of the representative phage Mu has been extensively studied, the diversity distribution and ecological functions of TBPs on the global scale remain unknown. Here, by mining TBPs from enormous microbial genomes and viromes, we established a TBP genome dataset (TBPGD), that expands the number of accessible TBP genomes 384-fold. TBPs are prevalent in diverse biomes and show great genetic diversity. Based on taxonomic evaluations, we propose the categorization of TBPs into four viral groups, including 11 candidate subfamilies. TBPs infect multiple bacterial phyla, and seem to infect a wider range of hosts than non-TBPs. Diverse auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) are identified in the TBP genomes, and genes related to glycoside hydrolases and pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis are highly enriched. Finally, the influences of TBPs on their hosts are experimentally examined by using the marine bacterium Shewanella psychrophilaWP2 and its infecting transposable phage SP2. Collectively, our findings greatly expand the genetic diversity of TBPs, and comprehensively reveal their potential influences in various ecosystems.

CO2hydrogenation to methanol has attracted much attention. The mechanism, the factors affecting selectivity, and the rate-determining step of the reaction have not been clearly concluded. Here, the reaction mechanism on the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3, the Pd/ZnO, and the ZnZrOxcatalysts was studied by in situ infrared spectroscopy and HCOOH temperature-programmed surface reaction (HCOOH-TPSR) experiment. It is shown that the HCOO* mechanism is a feasible mechanism, and the more stable HCOO* on the catalysts is, the higher the selectivity of methanol accompanied with the less CO produced via the decomposition of HCOO*. H2–D2isotope exchange reaction is inhibited in the presence of CO2, which indicates that H2activation and H* migration are inhibited by CO2adsorbed on the catalysts. As for CO2hydrogenation to methanol, the reaction orders of H2and CO2are close to 0.5 and 0, respectively, indicating that activated H* on the catalysts is insufficient. Comparing CO2hydrogenation to methanol reaction and H2–D2isotope exchange reaction, their H2reaction orders are both 0.5 and the two reaction rates show a linear relationship when the temperature changes. It is considered that the rate-determining step of CO2hydrogenation to methanol is the migration of H* on the catalysts.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has long been considered a sustainable comonomer for polymer synthesis due to its abundance, easy availability, and low toxicity. Polymer synthesis from CO2is highly attractive and has received continuous interest from synthetic chemists. In this regard, alternating copolymerization of CO2and epoxides is one of the most well-established methods to synthesize aliphatic polycarbonates. Moreover, binucleophiles including diols, diamines, amino alcohols, and diynes have been reported to copolymerize with CO2to give polycarbonates, polyureas, polyurethanes, and polyesters, respectively. Nevertheless, little success has been made for incorporating CO2into the most widely used polyolefin materials.

Idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) is defined as the presence of portal hypertension in the absence of a common cause. IPH can have several etiologies, one of which is a genetic disorder. Some genetic mutations, such as KCNN3 and DGUOK, were shown to be related to IPH pathogenesis. This is the first case report of a 22-year-old man who was diagnosed with IPH with a novel heterozygous mutation in the histidine-rich glycoprotein gene (c.545G > C, p.R182T). Using bioinformatics analysis and the protein quantification method, we showed that this novel mutation has a pathogenetic role in IPH. Our study broadens the mutation spectrum of the histidine-rich glycoprotein gene and provides new ideas for IPH etiology.

The conversion of CO2to methanol with high activity and high selectivity remains challenging owing to the kinetic and thermodynamic limitations associated with the low chemical reactivity exhibited by CO2. Herein, we report a novel Cd/TiO2catalyst exhibiting a methanol selectivity of 81%, a CO2conversion of 15.8%, and a CH4selectivity below 0.7%. A combination of experimental and computational studies revealed that the unique electronic properties exhibited by the Cd clusters supported by the TiO2matrix were responsible for the high selectivity of CO2hydrogenation to methanol viathe HCOO* pathway at the interfacial catalytic sites.

Hydrolase enzymes, including proteases, are encoded by 2–3% of the genes in the human genome and 14% of these enzymes are active drug targets1. However, the activities and substrate specificities of many proteases—especially those embedded in membranes—and other hydrolases remain unknown. Here we report a strategy for creating mechanism-based, light-activated protease and hydrolase substrate traps in complex mixtures and live mammalian cells. The traps capture substrates of hydrolases, which normally use a serine or cysteine nucleophile. Replacing the catalytic nucleophile with genetically encoded 2,3-diaminopropionic acid allows the first step reaction to form an acyl-enzyme intermediate in which a substrate fragment is covalently linked to the enzyme through a stable amide bond2; this enables stringent purification and identification of substrates. We identify new substrates for proteases, including an intramembrane mammalian rhomboid protease RHBDL4 (refs. 3,4). We demonstrate that RHBDL4 can shed luminal fragments of endoplasmic reticulum-resident type I transmembrane proteins to the extracellular space, as well as promoting non-canonical secretion of endogenous soluble endoplasmic reticulum-resident chaperones. We also discover that the putative serine hydrolase retinoblastoma binding protein 9 (ref. 5) is an aminopeptidase with a preference for removing aromatic amino acids in human cells. Our results exemplify a powerful paradigm for identifying the substrates and activities of hydrolase enzymes.

Genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 screening technology is a powerful tool to systematically identify genes essential for cancer cell survival. Herein, TKOv3, a genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 knock-out library, was screened in the gastric cancer (GC) cells, and relevant validation experiments were performed. We obtained 854 essential genes for the AGS cell line, and 184 were novel essential genes. After knocking down essential genes: SPC25, DHX37, ABCE1, SNRPB, TOP3A, RUVBL1, CIT, TACC3 and MTBP, cell viability and proliferation were significantly decreased. Then, we analysed the detected essential genes at different time points and proved more characteristic genes might appear with the extension of selection. After progressive selection using a series of open datasets, 41 essential genes were identified as potential drug targets. Among them, methyltransferase 1 (METTL1) was over expressed in GC tissues. High METTL1 expression was associated with poor prognosis among 3 of 6 GC cohorts. Furthermore, GC cells growth was significantly inhibited after the down-regulation of METTL1 in vitro and in vivo. Function analysis revealed that METTL1 might play a role in the cell cycle through AKT/STAT3 pathways. In conclusion, compared with existing genome-scale screenings, we obtained 184 novel essential genes. Among them, METTL1 was validated as a potential therapeutic target of GC.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been used as a sustainable comonomer in the synthesis of different functional polymers including polycarbonates, polyurea, and polyurethane. Until today, despite the great interest, little success has been made for incorporating CO2into the most widely used polyethylene materials. Herein, we report the incorporation of CO2to polyethylenes through the copolymerization of ethylene with a CO2/butadiene-derived lactone, 3-ethylidene-6-vinyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-one (EVP). Two-types of main-chain-functionalized polyethylenes can be synthesized through different copolymerization strategies. Palladium-catalyzed coordination/insertion copolymerization furnished polyethylenes bearing unsaturated lactones, while radical copolymerization afforded polyethylenes bearing bicyclic lactones. Modification of the polyethylene chains was successfully accomplished through Michael addition or aminolysis. This highly versatile copolymerization protocol provides access to a diverse range of polyethylene materials made from ethylene, CO2, and 1,3-butadiene.

Photocatalytic conversion of solar energy into hydrogen and high value-added fine chemicals has attracted increasing attention. Herein, we demonstrate an efficient photocatalytic system for simultaneous hydrogen evolution and benzaldehyde production by dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol over Ni-decorated Zn0.5Cd0.5S solid solution under visible light. The photocatalytic system shows an excellent hydrogen production rate of 666.3 µmol h−1with high stability. The optimal apparent quantum yield of 52.5% is obtained at 420 nm. This noble-metal-free photocatalytic system displays much higher activity than pure Zn0.5Cd0.5S and Pt-loaded Zn0.5Cd0.5S solid solution. Further studies reveal that the metallic Ni nanocrystals play an important role in accelerating the separation of photogenerated charge carriers and the subsequent cleavage of α-C–H bond during dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol.

Polyolefins are recognized as fundamental plastic materials that are manufactured in the largest quantities among all synthetic polymers. The chemical inertness of the saturated hydrocarbon chains is crucial for storing and using polyolefin plastics, but poses significant environmental challenges related to plastic pollution. Here, we report a versatile approach to creating polyethylene materials with tunable degradability by incorporating in-chain mechanophores. Through palladium-catalyzed coordination/insertion copolymerization of ethylene with cyclobutene-fused comonomers, several cyclobutane-fused mechanophores were successfully incorporated with varied insertion ratios (0.35–26 mol %). The resulting polyethylene materials with in-chain mechanophores exhibit both high thermal stability and remarkable acid resistance. Upon mechanochemical activation by ultrasonication or ball-milling, degradable functional units (imide and ester groups) are introduced into the main polymer chain. The synergy of mechanochemical activation and acid hydrolysis facilitates the efficient degradation of high molecular weight polyethylene materials into telechelic oligomers.

•Explicit topology optimization is applied to design phase-transforming metamaterials with prescribed constitutive curves.•Exploring Pareto frontiers between error and cost, a mathematical formulation is proposed for the inverse design problem with non-unique solutions.•The optimized phase-transforming metamaterials are validated by additive manufacturing and compression tests.•The formulation can be applied to the design of mechanical metamaterials with prescribed nonlinear effective properties.

Selective oxidative deamination has long been considered to be an important but challenging transformation, although it is a common critical process in the metabolism of bioactive amino compounds. Most of the synthetic methods developed so far rely on the use of stoichiometric amounts of strong and toxic oxidants. Here we present a green and efficient method for oxidative deamination, using water as the oxidant, catalyzed by a ruthenium pincer complex. This unprecedented reaction protocol liberates hydrogen gas and avoids the use of sacrificial oxidants. A wide variety of primary amines are selectively transformed to carboxylates or ketones in good to high yields. It is noteworthy that mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations indicate that in addition to serving as the oxidant, water also plays an important role in assisting the hydrogen liberation steps involved in amine dehydrogenation.

To understand the potential cytotoxicity of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), we study their interactions with a model phospholipid bilayer membrane using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Four typical PFAS molecules are investigated, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS). All of these PFAS molecules are found to spontaneously penetrate the lipid bilayer within a short simulation time (a few nanoseconds). During the penetration process, further free-energy analysis reveals that a PFAS molecule encounters an energy barrier at the bilayer/water interface. To overcome this free-energy barrier, the PFAS molecule flips itself at the interface. We further investigate the influence of embedded PFAS molecules on the membrane properties. All of the embedded PFAS molecules are found to produce a cholesterol-like condensing effect on the lipid bilayer, which includes increases of the order parameters of lipid tails and the thickness of the lipid bilayer and a decrease of area per lipid. Moreover, the PFAS molecules are found to form hydrogen bonds with oxygen atoms at three different positions of a lipid molecule. Our work reveals the penetration pathway of PFAS molecules entering into a lipid bilayer. In addition, the cholesterol-like condensing effect induced by embedded PFAS molecules on model membranes is systematically investigated and discussed. Our simulations can help understand the physical mechanisms of PFAS cytotoxicity.

Inorganic solid-state electrolyte (SSE) has offered a promising option for the safe rechargeable Li metal batteries. However, the solid–solid interfacial incompatibility greatly hampers the practical use. The interface becomes even worse during repeated Li plating/stripping, especially under high current density and long cycling operation. To promise an intimate contact and uniform Li deposition during cycling, we herein demonstrate a stress self-adapted Li/Garnet interface by integrating Li foil with a hyperelastic substrate. Consecutive and conformal physical contact was ensured at Li/Garnet interface during Li plating/stripping, therefore dissipating the localized stress, suppressing Li dendrite formation, and preventing Garnet cracks. Record long cycling life over 5000 cycles was achieved with the ultrasmall hysteresis of 55 mV at high current density of 0.2 mA cm–2. Our strategy provides a new way to stabilize Li/Garnet interface from the perspective of anode mechanical regulation and paves the way for the next generation solid-state Li metal batteries.

Oxidation by water with H2liberation is highly desirable, as it can serve as an environmentally friendly way for the oxidation of organic compounds. Herein, we report the oxidation of alkenes with water as the oxidant by using a catalyst combination of a dearomatized acridine-based PNP-Ru complex and indium(III) triflate. Compared to traditional Wacker-type oxidation, this transformation avoids the use of added chemical oxidants and liberates hydrogen gas as the only byproduct.

•Material law is learned from experimentally measured displacement fields.•Artificial neural network is used to describe material laws.•Method can be used at finite strains.

Customizable patterning and deformation of soft matter represents a powerful tool to achieve programmable 3D configurations of soft materials. However, customizing the multidimensional self-wrinkling hydrogels for specific configuration on demand remains a challenge. This work introduces a facile, effective approach to construct self-wrinkling hydrogels with customizable geometric dimension and well-aligned wrinkle structure. By prestretching chemically cross-linked chitosan elastic hydrogel in water for a short period of time (1 min), the chitosan chains and bundles were further physically cross-linked to form aggregates, quickly creating a closely packed nanofiber layer as a shell on the hydrogel surface. The significant modulus gradient between the relatively stiff shell and the inner elastic networks of the chemically cross-linked hydrogel drives the formation of the wrinkling surface topography. This has allowed construction of 1D fiber, 2D plane, 3D tubular, and 3D scaffold self-wrinkling hydrogels with well-organized microgroove-like structure and controllable size. Moreover, the self-wrinkling hydrogel can act as an excellent matrix for fabricating multifunctional devices with customizable geometry by integrating different functional components, highlighting the possibility for constructing soft material structures to create novel biomedical and engineering devices from natural polymers.

An eco-friendly protocol for the synthesis of various 2-sulfonyl quinolines/pyridines through sulfonylation of heteroaromatic N-oxides with sodium sulfinates in water under metal- and oxidant-free conditions has been developed. The high reaction efficiency, operational simplicity, short reaction time, air- and moisture-insensitive conditions and remarkable functional group compatibility make the developed protocol very attractive for the preparation of 2-sulfonyl N-heteroaromatic compounds.

Local emissions located on the PI moiety and anthracene moiety play a key role in alleviating efficiency roll-off at high Brightness in non-doped and doped devices.