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Polyanionic structures, (MO4)n−, can be beneficial to the transport of lithium ions by virtue of the open three-dimensional frame structure. However, an unstable interface suppresses the life of the (MO4)n−-based anode. In this study, MnWO4@C nanorods with dense nanocavities have been synthesized through a hydrothermal route, followed by a chemical deposition method. As a result, the MnWO4@C anode exhibits better cycle and rate performance than MnWO4 as a Li-ion battery; the capacity is maintained at 718 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 after 400 cycles because the transport of lithium ions and the contribution of pseudo-capacitance are increased. Generally, benefiting from the carbon shell and electrolyte additive (e.g., FEC), the cycle performance of the MnWO4@C electrode is also effectively improved for lithium storage.

Searching for an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory dressing that can stably adhere to wet tissues remains a momentous clinical challenge, especially in the context of treatment failure due to multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Using a hard template method in combination with an in situ chelating strategy, three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graded porous carbon anchored 1.5–2.5 nm CeO2 quantum dots (CeO2-QDs) were tailor-designed in this study. Using the size effect, CeO2-QDs have a higher percentage of Ce3+ and oxygen vacancies that could amplify their antibacterial effects. Polyethyleneimine/polyacrylic acid (PEA) powder could self-gel and be adhesive due to its strong physical interactions, which make it an ideal carrier for CeO2-QDs. PEA@50 (mg/mL) CeO2-QDs hydrogel and PEA@75 (mg/mL) CeO2-QDs hydrogel with moderate doses of CeO2-QDs show a superior antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains. Furthermore, PEA@50CeO2-QDs hydrogels possess excellent anti-inflammatory capacity through their antioxidant activity, which could promote macrophage M2 phenotype polarization. More importantly, cytotoxicity assays on L929 fibroblasts show that PEA@CeO2-QDs hydrogels have no significant toxicity, and a significant proliferative effect could be observed. Overall, PEA@50CeO2-QDs hydrogels have the potential to become a multifunctional wet tissue dressing with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties to promote the healing of infected wounds.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the changes in gray matter in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with normal hearing (Group 1) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with hearing loss (Group 2) after radiotherapy using voxel-based morphological analysis and to analyze the relationship with the radiation doses of the temporal lobe. Methods: 21 patients in Group 1, 14 patients in Group 2, and 21 healthy volunteers were selected. All participants underwent an otologic examination and three-dimensional magnetization preparatory rapid acquisition gradient echo sequence scan. The correlation between the variation of whole brain gray matter volume and the doses of the temporal lobe was analyzed by Data Processing & Analysis for Brain Imaging software. Results: Compared with the normal control group, the brain areas with reduced gray matter volume in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy were mainly in the left posterior cerebellar lobe (T = −8.797), left insular lobe (T = −7.96), and the right insular lobe (T = −6.632). Compared to Group 1, the brain areas of Group 2 patients with reduced gray matter volume were mainly in the left superior temporal gyrus (T = −2.366), left olfactory bulb (T = −2.52), left Rolandic operculum (T = −2.431), and right olfactory bulb (T = −3.100). Compared with Group 1, the brain areas of Group 2 patients with increased gray matter volume were mainly in the left calcarine sulcus (T = 3.425) and right calcarine sulcus (T = 3.169). There were no correlations between the changes of brain gray matter volume and the radiation doses of the temporal lobe in both Group 1 and Group 2. Conclusions: The radiotherapy may cause the changes of brain areas associated with cognitive function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a long-term follow-up. At the same time, nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with the radiation-induced hearing loss had abnormal gray matter volumes in the auditory center and other sensory centers. Our findings might provide new understanding into the pathogenesis of radiation-induced brain damage in normal-appearing brain tissue. Yet this exploratory study should be taken with caution.

Searching for an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory dressing that can stably adhere to wet tissues remains a momentous clinical challenge, especially in the context of treatment failure due to multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Using a hard template method in combination with an in situ chelating strategy, three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graded porous carbon anchored 1.5-2.5 nm CeO2 quantum dots (CeO2-QDs) were tailor-designed in this study. Using the size effect, CeO2-QDs have a higher percentage of Ce3+ and oxygen vacancies that could amplify their antibacterial effects. Polyethyleneimine/polyacrylic acid (PEA) powder could self-gel and be adhesive due to its strong physical interactions, which make it an ideal carrier for CeO2- QDs. PEA@50 (mg/mL) CeO2-QDs hydrogel and PEA@75 (mg/mL) CeO2-QDs hydrogel with moderate doses of CeO2-QDs show a superior antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains. Furthermore, PEA@50CeO2-QDs hydrogels possess excellent antiinflammatory capacity through their antioxidant activity, which could promote macrophage M2 phenotype polarization. More importantly, cytotoxicity assays on L929 fibroblasts show that PEA@CeO2-QDs hydrogels have no significant toxicity, and a significant proliferative effect could be observed. Overall, PEA@50CeO2-QDs hydrogels have the potential to become a multifunctional wet tissue dressing with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties to promote the healing of infected wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Lithium metal batteries have recently emerged as alternative energy storage systems beyond lithium-ion batteries. However, before this kind of batteries can become a viable technology, the critical issues of the Li anodes, like dendrites growth and low Coulombic efficiency (CE), need to be conquered. Herein, lithiophilic Cu-metal-organic framework thin layer (Cu-MOF TL) is in situ grown on the surface of Cu foil by a facile immersion strategy to construct a multifunctional current collector. Profiting from the high electrical conductivity and unique porous structure, the Cu-MOF TL with high affinity to electrolyte can provide uniform nucleation sites and promote homogeneous Li+ flux, as a result, radically restrain the Li dendrite growth, leading to stable Li plating/striping behaviors. The modified current collector enables Li plating/stripping with a prominent CE (∼97.1%) and a stable lifetime (∼2500 h). Importantly, the synthesis method can be easily large-scale production in a series of organic solvents.

Bone conduction (BC) hearing devices have been used to improve hearing in patients with unilateral conductive hearing loss; however, the clinical results of improvement in the sound localization ability are still controversial. Transcranial transmission in BC may be an important factor affecting sound localization abilities. Transcranial or interaural attenuation, derived from energy attenuation during the BC process, is determined by the different transfer functions of multiple pathways and affected by the whole-head vibration modes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the frequency dependence of BC vibration modes of the whole head, the contribution of middle and inner ear pathways to BC hearing, and the relationship between transcranial attenuation results by dynamics measurement and hearing thresholds. Experimental studies of vibration modes and transcranial attenuation characteristics in BC are performed using scanning laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) measurements on human cadaver heads. Differences in vibration modes between the excitation and contralateral sides are observed. Additionally, a multiscale human whole-head FE model, including the skull, bony outer ear, ossicular chains, and bony inner ear structures, is proposed to study the mechanism of BC in the human hearing system. After verifying the rationality of the FE model using mechanical impedance and frequency response data, the transcranial attenuation on the temporal bone surfaces and the middle ear structure is calculated in the FE model. Moreover, the vibration characteristics of bilateral ossicular chains and the cochlear bony wall are observed in the whole-head FM model to study their contributions to BC hearing. By analyzing the experimental and numerical results of the vibration modes and the frequency response of the whole head incorporating the ossicular chain and cochlear bony wall, the intrinsic relationship between the results of transcranial attenuation by 1D LDV, 3D LDV, and hearing threshold measurements is further investigated.