Search

Intrinsically stretchable electronics with skin-like mechanical properties have been identified as a promising platform for emerging applications ranging from continuous physiological monitoring to real-time analysis of health conditions, to closed-loop delivery of autonomous medical treatment1–7. However, current technologies could only reach electrical performance at amorphous-silicon level (that is, charge-carrier mobility of about 1 cm2V−1s−1), low integration scale (for example, 54 transistors per circuit) and limited functionalities8–11. Here we report high-density, intrinsically stretchable transistors and integrated circuits with high driving ability, high operation speed and large-scale integration. They were enabled by a combination of innovations in materials, fabrication process design, device engineering and circuit design. Our intrinsically stretchable transistors exhibit an average field-effect mobility of more than 20 cm2V−1s−1under 100% strain, a device density of 100,000 transistors per cm2, including interconnects and a high drive current of around 2 μA μm−1at a supply voltage of 5 V. Notably, these achieved parameters are on par with state-of-the-art flexible transistors based on metal-oxide, carbon nanotube and polycrystalline silicon materials on plastic substrates12–14. Furthermore, we realize a large-scale integrated circuit with more than 1,000 transistors and a stage-switching frequency greater than 1 MHz, for the first time, to our knowledge, in intrinsically stretchable electronics. Moreover, we demonstrate a high-throughput braille recognition system that surpasses human skin sensing ability, enabled by an active-matrix tactile sensor array with a record-high density of 2,500 units per cm2, and a light-emitting diode display with a high refreshing speed of 60 Hz and excellent mechanical robustness. The above advancements in device performance have substantially enhanced the abilities of skin-like electronics.

We analyzed factors shaping the choice of the lead indication (i.e., cancer type) in the first clinical development projects of new oncological drugs in the United States (US), and how the type of pharmaceutical company is related to this choice. We selected 576 new clinical development projects in the US since 2000 for analysis. These projects were characterized according to three potential perspectives detected by multiple correspondence analysis: the morbidity of the cancer type which corresponds to market size of each cancer type, the company’s previous experience with the cancer type, and the company’s attitude to development risks. Mega firms tend to choose cancer types with higher morbidity (and large-market), previously experienced cancer types, while diverse small firms choose both major and rare cancers and both high- and low-risk projects, indicating that different sizes of firms utilize different development entry patterns. Common tendencies concerning the choice of lead indication were found across all companies. Cancer types the company had developed and launched in the past were more likely to be chosen; cancer types with high five-year survival rates and those with high competition were less likely to be chosen. The study showed that pharmaceutical companies seem to enter clinical development from cancer types where they can demonstrate their strengths and advantages through experience, depending on each cancer type’s different market sizes and development difficulties. The results could provide clues for considering what support measures and incentives are appropriate to balance the efficiency of industrial development and the fulfillment of society’s unmet medical needs.

Reconfigurable antennas introduce unique and dynamic system capabilities for wireless communication and sensing, by enabling controllable radiation pattern, frequency response, and polarization of electromagnetic (EM) waves. The antenna’s physical dimensions are critical to enhancing control of radiative characteristics, making it necessary to distribute RF control devices across a large-area aperture. Previous reconfigurable antennas have been limited in scale and performance by the need to assemble discrete active components. Large-area electronics (LAE) is a technology that can enable monolithic reconfigurable antennas, with flexible and large form factors. However, conventionally the speed of LAE, specifically of thin-film transistors (TFTs), has been restricted to 10–100 MHz. In this work, a reconfigurable antenna based on LAE RF TFTs is achieved through a combination of: 1) materials and device enhancements pushing fundamental TFT performance metrics to the giga-Hertz regime and 2) an architecture that employs the TFTs as passive switches, rather than active amplifiers, to enable aggressive biasing for high-frequency operation, yet within the breakdown limits. A 9 $\times $ 9 cm2 reconfigurable antenna consisting of an 11 $\times $ 11 array of metal patches as sub-radiators controlled by 208 TFT-based RF switches is demonstrated. Far-field and $S$ -parameter measurements show reconfigured beam steering by 90° and resonant-frequency tuning by 200 MHz.

Taking flexible technology to a new level, intrinsically stretchable electronics enable new sensing capabilities by facilitating seamless integration of cyber-physical electronic systems with the human body. This is made possible by their superior mechanical characteristics that are capable of accommodating the dynamical movement and shape changes of soft biological tissues without asserting excessive constraints. While previous stretchable thin-film transistors (TFTs) could only operate at subkilohertz, our recent advancements in materials and fabrication processes have pushed stretchable TFT speed to the megahertz regime, rivaling that of the state-of-the-art flexible technologies. However, under deformation, significant change in device characteristics remains a major challenge that hinders circuit and system design for practical applications. In this study, we conduct a systematic analysis to identify the causes for the performance variations and present a novel circular channel design to mitigate strain impact on electrical performance. We show that this design significantly reduces the strain-induced current variation, from over $50{\%}$ to only a few percentages. This is due to the cancellation of the variations across different orientations within a 360° TFT channel.

Flexible self-supported laser-induced graphene (LIG) electrode devices were facilely fabricated through laser ablation technique by employing commercial polyimide film as the precursor material. Compared with the widely used traditional glassy carbon electrodes, the resulted LIG electrodes displayed abundant porous structure and surface defects. Notably, the one-step yielded LIG electrode devices were endowed with large electrochemically active surface area and accelerated electron transfer ability. Benefiting from its superior electrochemical property, these unmodified LIG electrodes exhibited remarkable enhanced electrochemical oxidation reactivity toward the food additive molecule Allura Red. Based on the augmented oxidation signal of Allura Red molecules on the LIG electrodes, a novel electrochemical sensor with high sensitivity for the detection of Allura Red was successfully developed. The sensor demonstrated a linear detection range spanning from 5 nM to 1 μM and exhibited a detection limit as low as 2.5 nM. Besides, the sensitivity was calculated to be 240.62 µA μM−1cm−2. More importantly, the sensor manifested outstanding stability, reproducibility, and practicality, further emphasizing its potential for real-world application.

Herein, facile room-temperature self-assembly and high-temperature pyrolysis strategy was successively conducted for in situ synthesizing novel TiO2/TiN@N-C heterostructure by using typical sandwich-like precursors (MXene/ZIF-8). Zero-dimensional (0D) TiO2, TiN and N-doped carbon nanoparticles were in situ formed and randomly anchored on the two-dimensional (2D) N-doped carbon substrate surface, making TiO2/TiN@N-C exhibit unique 0D/2D heterostructure. Relative to the extensively studied ZIF-8-derived N-doped carbon nanoparticles, TiO2/TiN@N-C heterostructure displayed greatly boosted electrochemical active specific surface. Benefiting from the enhanced electrochemical property of TiO2/TiN@N-C heterostructure, remarkable signal enhancement effect was achieved in terms of the oxidation of multiple hazardous substances, including clozapine, sunset yellow and benomyl. As a result, a novel electrochemical platform was constructed, the linear detection range were 10–1000 nM, 2.5–1250 nM, 10–1000 nM while the detection limits were evaluated to be 3.5 nM, 1.2 nM, 4.5 nM for clozapine, sunset yellow and benomyl, respectively. Besides, the practicability of the newly developed electrochemical method was verified by assessing the content of clozapine, sunset yellow and benomyl in real food samples.

Black phosphorus (BP) is incorporated in the electrochemical detection of uric acid (UA) to form few layers of BP nanosheets (BPNS)-modified glassy carbon electrodes (BPNS/GCE), investigated by means of ultrasound-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation. We find a significant increase in the peak current magnitude and positive potential shift in the electrochemical response of BPNS/GCE, which may be attributed to the larger specific surface area and good charge transfer ability of BPNS. Further, the electrochemical response of BPNS/GCE is evaluated under different conditions to achieve the optimal conditions. UA detection using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) shows linear response within the range of 1–1000 μM with a detection limit of 0.33 μM. This work reveals new applications of BP nanomaterials in the electrochemical sensing, thereby promoting further advancement in terms of practical applications of two-dimensional nanomaterials.

Aerosol nitrate (NO3–) constitutes a significant component of fine particles in China. Prioritizing the control of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a crucial step toward achieving clean air, yet its impact on NO3–pollution remains inadequately understood. Here, we examined the role of VOCs in NO3–formation by combining comprehensive field measurements conducted during the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai (from 10 October to 22 November 2018) and multiphase chemical modeling. Despite a decline in primary pollutants during the CIIE, NO3–levels increased compared to pre-CIIE and post-CIIE─NO3–concentrations decreased in the daytime (by −10 and −26%) while increasing in the nighttime (by 8 and 30%). Analysis of the observations and backward trajectory indicates that the diurnal variation in NO3–was mainly attributed to local chemistry rather than meteorological conditions. Decreasing VOCs lowered the daytime NO3–production by reducing the hydroxyl radical level, whereas the greater VOCs reduction at night than that in the daytime increased the nitrate radical level, thereby promoting the nocturnal NO3–production. These results reveal the double-edged role of VOCs in NO3–formation, underscoring the need for transferring large VOC-emitting enterprises from the daytime to the nighttime, which should be considered in formulating corresponding policies.

Optical characteristics and molecular compositions of brown carbon (BrC) were investigated during winter 2019 at a rural site of China with a focus on nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) and imidazoles (IMs). The abundance of gaseous nitrophenols relative to CO during the campaign maximized at noontime, being similar to O3, while the particulate NACs during the haze periods strongly correlated with toluene and NO2, suggesting that NACs in the region are largely formed from the gas-phase photooxidation. Strong correlations of particulate IMs in the dry haze periods with the mass ratio of EC/PM2.5and the concentration of levoglucosan were observed, indicating that IMs during the dry events are largely derived from biomass burning emissions. However, an increase in IMs with the increasing aerosol liquid water content and pH was observed in the humid haze events, along with much lower abundances of levoglucosan and K+relative to PM2.5, suggesting that IMs were mostly formed from aqueous reactions in the humid haze periods. These IMs exponentially increased with an increasing NH3owing to an aqueous reaction of carbonyls with free ammonia. Our findings for the first time revealed an enhancing effect of ammonia on BrC formation in China, especially in humid haze periods.

• The lightweight TiCF/PR ablator was developed with a two-step construction strategy. • The TiO 2 introduced as an opacifier shows excellent antioxidant ablation and IR radiation shielding properties. • The as-prepared aerogel composite possesses low thermal conductivity and excellent thermal stability. • The addition of nano-TiO 2 improves the reverse radiation heat dissipation of the material and endows the composite a better ablative resistance. High-performance thermal protection materials (TPMs) for spacecraft are becoming current research hotspots. Lightweight polymer-based ablators are considered to be the most promising candidates for TPMs due to their excellent designability and versatility. In this study, a unique nano-TiO 2 coated needled carbon fiber felt/phenolic resin aerogel composite (TiCF/PR) is reported. Wherein the anatase nano-TiO 2 was in-situ coated on the surface of carbon fibers uniformly through the sol-gel and calcination method, then, the phenolic resin aerogel was in-situ synthesized in the nano-TiO 2 coated needled carbon fiber felt (TiCF) preform through vacuum impregnation and solvothermal method. The as-prepared aerogel composite possesses a low density (0.30–0.32 g/cm3), low thermal conductivity (0.034 and 0.312 W/(m K) in the z and xy directions), and excellent thermal stability with 13.86% residual weight at 1300 °C in air. It is worthwhile to note that the TiCF/PR composite exhibits excellent antioxidant ablation and infrared (IR) radiation shielding properties in a high-temperature heating environment. With an oxygen-acetylene blaze heating of 1.5 MW/m2 for 150 s, the linear ablation rates decreased by 13.4%, and the backside temperature reduced from 322.3 to 179.1 °C compared to that of the sample without nano-TiO 2 coating. The experimental and theoretical analysis showed that the present TiCF/PR nanocomposite has competitive and potential application prospects in the field of future TPMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of COVID-19 control measures on aerosol chemistry, the chemical compositions, mixing states, and formation mechanisms of carbonaceous particles in the urban atmosphere of Liaocheng in the North China Plain (NCP) were compared before and during the pandemic using a single particle aerosol mass spectrometry (SPAMS). The results showed that the concentrations of five air pollutants including PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO decreased by 41.2%–71.5% during the pandemic compared to those before the pandemic, whereas O3increased by 1.3 times during the pandemic because of the depressed titration of O3and more favorable meteorological conditions. The count and percentage contribution of carbonaceous particles in the total detected particles were lower during the pandemic than those before the pandemic. The carbonaceous particles were dominated by elemental and organic carbon (ECOC, 35.9%), followed by elemental carbon-aged (EC-aged, 19.6%) and organic carbon-fresh (OC-fresh, 13.5%) before the pandemic, while EC-aged (25.3%), ECOC (17.9%), and secondary ions-rich (SEC, 17.8%) became the predominant species during the pandemic. The carbonaceous particle sizes during the pandemic showed a broader distribution than that before the pandemic, due to the condensation and coagulation of carbonaceous particles in the aging processes. The relative aerosol acidity (Rra) was smaller before the pandemic than that during the pandemic, indicating the more acidic particle aerosol during the pandemic closely related to the secondary species and relative humidity (RH). More than 95.0% and 86.0% of carbonaceous particles in the whole period were internally mixed with nitrate and sulfate, implying that most of the carbonaceous particles were associated with secondary oxidation during their formation processes. The diurnal variations of oxalate particles and correlation analyses suggested that oxalate particles before the pandemic were derived from aqueous oxidation driven by RH and liquid water content (LWC), while oxalate particles during the pandemic were originated from O3-dominated photochemical oxidation.

Solar-driven photocatalysis offers an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach for the removal of air pollutants such as nitric oxides without chemical addition. However, the low specific surface area and adsorption capacity of common photocatalysts restrict the surface reactions with NO at the ppb-level. In this study, imidazolium-based hyper-cross-linked polymer (IHP) was introduced to modify the surface of TiO2to construct a porous TiO2/IHP composite photocatalyst. The as-prepared composite with hierarchical porous structure achieves a larger specific surface area as 309 m2/g than that of TiO2(119 m2/g). Meanwhile, the wide light absorption range of the polymer has brought about the strong visible-light absorption of the TiO2/IHP composite. In consequence, the composite photocatalyst exhibits excellent performance toward NO oxidation at a low concentration of 600 ppb under visible-light irradiation, reaching a removal efficiency of 51.7%, while the generation of the toxic NO2intermediate was suppressed to less than 1 ppb. The enhanced NO adsorption and the suppressed NO2generation on the TiO2/IHP surface were confirmed by in situ monitoring technology. This work demonstrates that the construction of a porous structure is an effective approach for efficient NO adsorption and photocatalytic oxidation.

In order to improve the starved lubrication condition of rolling bearings, three kinds of textures, namely dimple, groove texture, and gradient groove texture, were developed on the guiding surface of thrust ball bearings in this study. The results show that gradient groove texture has the one-way self-driving function of liquid droplets. The root mean square (RMS) value of vibration acceleration of gradient groove textured bearing (GGB) decreased by 49.1% and the kurtosis decreased by 24.6% compared with non-textured bearing (NB) due to the directional spreading effect of gradient groove textures on oil. The frequency domain analysis showed that the textures mainly suppressed the medium and high-frequency energy of bearing vibration, and the GGB was reduced the most with 65.3% and 48%, respectively. In addition, whether the grease is sufficiently sheared has a large impact on the oil guiding effect, and the friction torque of GGB could decrease by 10.5% compared with NB in the sufficiently sheared condition. Therefore, the gradient groove texture with oil self-driven effect on the guiding surface of rolling bearing can effectively improve the lubrication condition of the bearing and thus reduce the bearing vibration and friction torque, which has a promising application prospect.

Molybdenum disulfide nanoparticles is an effective additive used to enhance the tribological properties of greases. However, there are four main mechanisms for improving the tribological properties of nanoparticles. Nano-MoS2mainly plays the role of film formation, but it is difficult to achieve rolling, mending, and polishing effect. In this paper, based on addition of MoS2nanoparticles, CuO, SiO2, and Al2O3nanoparticles are further added to calcium sulfonate complex grease to achieve the other three effects, hoping to further improve the tribological performance of the grease. The tribological properties and the suppression effect on bearing vibration of the five greases were studied by four-ball friction experiment and bearing vibration experiment. The results show that a protective film consisting of MoS2and MoO3is formed on the worn surface. The addition of three oxide nanoparticles can further improve the properties of the calcium sulfonate complex grease containing MoS2nanoparticles. Among them, calcium sulfonate complex grease with MoS2and SiO2nanoparticles performs the best, with 11.9% decrease in friction coefficient, 5.9% reduce in wear scar diameter, 27% decrease in the high frequency vibration of the bearing. The wettability test shows that the contact Angle of polyα-olefin 40 base oil on the thickening agent surface of calcium sulfonate complex grease containing MoS2and SiO2nanoparticles is the smallest, and it can be quickly added to the raceway.

Bearing triazine-centered linkers, three primitive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with a Zr6O4cluster have been prepared as ZrL1(without any branch), ZrL2(with −F), and ZrL3(with −SCH3). The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by their pristine and transition metal-loaded (TM-loaded) forms was studied. It was found that the loading of TM ions could enhance the electrocatalytic power of these TM-loaded MOFs in HER, as reflected by their lower overpotentials and smaller Tafel slopes when compared with primitive MOFs. More importantly, the best electrocatalytic HER performance of ZrL3-TM among all TM-loaded MOFs studied in this work highlights the effective housing of TM ions for unambiguous active sites through cooperative coordination by triazinic N and thioether pendants. This work proposes microenvironment regulation of MOFs as an effective strategy to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of MOF materials.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has brought an unprecedented public health crisis and persistently threatens to humanity. With tireless efforts from scientists around the world, understanding of the biology of coronavirus has been greatly enhanced over the past 2 years. Structural biology has demonstrated its powerful impact on uncovering structures and functions for the vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 proteins and guided the development of drugs and vaccines against COVID-19. In this review, we summarize current progress in the structural biology of SARS-CoV-2 and discuss important biological issues that remain to be addressed. We present the examples of structure-based design of Pfizer’s novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug PF-07321332 (Paxlovid), Merck’s nucleotide inhibitor molnupiravir (Lagevrio), and VV116, an oral drug candidate for COVID-19. These examples highlight the importance of structure in drug discovery to combat COVID-19. We also discussed the recent variants of Omicron and its implication in immunity escape from existing vaccines and antibody therapies.

Considering the excellent properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the demand for this material in semiconductor manufacturing equipment has been rapidly growing in recent years. PTFE parts with special shapes can be efficiently produced by mechanical cutting methods. The main objective of the present study is to conduct turning experiments to evaluate the cutting performance and surface quality of pure PTFE. In this regard, the mechanism of the chips’ formation, cutting temperature, and cutting force were analyzed to study the cutting behavior and cutting performance. Moreover, the subsurface damage of the finished surface was investigated to evaluate the surface quality. The obtained results show that the continuous type of chips was formed in all cutting conditions. When the cutting temperature varied in the range of 40.8–57.9 °C, the cutting force varied in the range of 2.3–25.2 N. The deepest subsurface damage layer was 123.17 μm when the cutting depth and the feed rate were set to 1.0 mm and 0.1 mm/r, respectively. Considering the chip formation, cutting temperature, cutting force, surface quality, and machining efficiency as the main affecting parameters, it is found that the ideal feed rate and cutting depth at the spindle speed of 800 r/min were 0.5 mm/r and 0.8 mm, respectively.

The regulated self-assembly of adjustable-structure cuprous iodide cluster-based supramolecules still presents a significant challenge. In this study, we adopt two flexible quinoline-based ligands (L1and L2), which can form a C3-symmetric cavity through conformation vibration. By the employment of a conformation-adaptive self-assembly strategy, a high yield of two host–guest-encapsulated cuprous iodide cluster-based supramolecular architectures [(Cu3I3)L1–2] (C1and C2) is precisely synthesized. The trapped Cu3I3cyclic core is supported by organic ligands via Cu–N and Cu–O synergistic coordination bonds, associated with metal–metal bonding interactions. These neutral supramolecular clusters, C1and C2, exhibit red emissions in the solid state and blue emissions in the solution. Additionally, such trinuclear clusters demonstrate high photocatalytic activity with azide–alkyne cycloaddition reactions in water.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have drawn considerable attention in the field of cancer treatment, yet these drugs display limited potency and selectivity against cancer cells. To address these problems, we designed a peptide-based self-delivery system [Indomethacin-Phe-Phe-Tyr (H2PO3)-Ser-Val, IDM-FFpYSV] that combines an NSAID molecule (indomethacin, or IDM) and a segment of anticancer tripeptide (tyroservatide, or YSV). IDM-FFpYSV is capable of self-assembling in an aqueous solution to afford nanofibrillar hydrogels under the catalysis of alkaline phosphatases (ALPs), which are overexpressed on the plasma membrane of cancer cells. The IDM-FFpYSV + ALP hydrogel displays a continuous release profile of peptide drugs, whereas a solution mixture of pure drugs (IDM-OH + pYSV + ALP) shows burst release of drug moieties. The treatment of IDM-FFpYSV selectively inhibits the proliferation of HeLa cells in vitro, with precise regulations of intracellular targeting proteins (COX-2 and AC-H3). The enhanced potency and selectivity of IDM-FFpYSV are found to be attributed to enhanced cellular uptake of peptide drugs, which involves a caveolae-mediated endocytosis pathway. Furthermore, intravenous administration of the IDM-FFpYSV formulation significantly inhibits the tumor growth in a HeLa-xenografted mouse model, whereas treatment of solution mixtures of pure drugs (IDM-OH + pYSV) fails to do so. Taken together, the study provides a viable strategy to augment anticancer efficacies of self-delivery system through molecular integration of multiple anticancer elements with an enzyme-instructed self-assembly process.

Two primitive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), NiL1and NiL2, based on Ni8O6-cluster and ditopic pyrazolate linkers, L1(with rigid alkyne arms) and L2(with flexible alkyne chains), were prepared. The proton conductivities of these MOFs in pristine form and imidazole-encapsulated forms, Im@NiL1and Im@NiL2, were measured and compared. Upon introduction of imidazole molecules, the proton conductivity could be increased by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude and reached as high as 1.72 × 10−2S/cm (at 98% RH and 80 °C). Also, whether imidazole molecules were introduced or not, Ni8O6-based MOFs with L2in general gave better proton conductivity than those with L1signifying that flexible side arms indeed assist proton conduction probably viaestablishment of efficient proton-conducting channels along with formation of highly ordered domains of water/imidazole molecules within the network cavities. Beyond the active Ni8O6-cluster, tuning flexibility of linker pendants serves as an alternative approach to regulate/modulate the proton conductivity of MOFs.

For practical sodium-ion batteries, both high electrochemical performance and cost efficiency of the electrode materials are considered as two key parameters. Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are broadly recognized as promising cathode materials due to their low cost, high theoretical capacity, and cycling stability, although they suffer from low-crystallinity-induced performance deterioration. Herein, a facile “ice-assisted” strategy is presented to prepare highly crystallized PBAs without any additives. By suppressing structure defects, the cathode exhibits a high capacity of 123 mAh g–1with initial Coulombic efficiency of 87.2%, a long cycling lifespan of 3000 cycles, and significantly enhanced high/low temperature performance and calendar life. Remarkably, the low structure distortion and high sodium diffusion coefficient have been identified via in situsynchrotron powder diffraction and first-principles calculations, while its thermal stability has been analyzed by in situheated X-ray powder diffraction. We believe the results could pave the way to the low-cost and large-scale application of PBAs in all-climate sodium-ion batteries.

ABSTRACTBackgroundBevacizumab, an inhibitor of angiogenesis, has been approved in several anti-cancer therapies. This study compared the pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles, safety, and immunogenicity of a bevacizumab biosimilar, LY01008, with those of European Union – approved bevacizumab (Avastin®) in healthy Chinese males.Research Design and MethodsIn this double-blind, open-label, parallel-group study, healthy Chinese male subjects were randomized 1:1 to receive either LY01008 or Avastin® 3 mg/kg intravenously. Primary study endpoints were PK parameters such as the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) from time zero to infinity (AUC0–∞), AUC from time zero to last quantifiable concentration (AUC0–t), and maximum serum concentration (Cmax). Secondary study endpoints included safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity.ResultsOne hundred and twelve subjects were randomized to receive LY01008 (n = 56) or Avastin® (n = 56). The 90% CIs of the GMRs of AUC0–t, AUC0–∞, and Cmaxof LY01008 to Avastin® were all within the bioequivalence margin. Other PK parameters, safety, and immunogenicity profiles were comparable across the two treatment groups.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated equivalent PK, comparable safety, and similar immunogenicity of LY01008 to Avastin® in healthy subjects, thus paving the way for further clinical evaluation.Trial RegistrationThe trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (CT.gov identifier: NCT05110118).

The normal operation of the anchor winch ensures the safe and stable operation of the ship. It is mainly used for the operation of ship anchoring, anchoring and berthing. The design and manufacture of traditional anchor winch has significant problems of high cost and low efficiency, which cannot meet the development needs of modern shipbuilding industry. This research introduces the concept of modular design, and determines the division of different modules by combining the artificial intelligence method of fuzzy clustering. According to the specific working principle of ship anchor winch, the parameters of each stage in the operation process of anchor winch are calculated respectively, and the overall structure design of anchor winch is completed. Finally, 1020 anchor winch is selected for specific application analysis, and the basic design parameters and main module design parameters of anchor winch are calculated by modular design method. Finally, the number of outfitting is 1600, the anchoring depth is h < 82.5 m, and the coaxial bedroom single side double drum design is adopted.

Amines are important for new particle formation and subsequent growth in the atmosphere. Consequently, the processes involved are receiving more attention in recent years. Here, we conduct a field observation in order to investigate the atmospheric particulate amines at a background site in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) during the summer of 2018. Four amines in PM2.5, i.e., methylamine (MA), dimethylamine (DMA), diethylamine (DEA), and trimethylamine (TMA), were collected, twice daily and analyzed. During the campaign, our measurements found the concentrations of MA, DMA, DEA, and TMA of 15.0 ± 15.0, 6.3 ± 6.9, 20.4 ± 30.1, and 4.0 ± 5.9 ng m−3, respectively, and the four amines correlated well with each other. The concentration of amines appear to be independent of whether they were collected during the day or night. Both MA and DMA exhibited a bimodal size distribution that had peaks at 0.67 and 1.1 µm, suggesting amines preferably distribute on submicron particles. Boundary layer height (BLH), relative humidity, and pH of aerosols were found have a negative relationship with amines, while aerosol liquid water content (ALWC) was found to have a positive relationship with amines. The PMF (positive matrix factorization) source apportionment results showed that the main source of amines in Chongming Island was of anthropogenic origin such as industrial and biomass emission, followed by marine sources including sea salt and marine biogenic sources. Given that the YRD region is still suffering from complex atmospheric pollution and that the knowledge on aerosol amines is still limited, more field studies are in urgent need for a better understanding of the pollution characteristics of amines.

A better knowledge of aerosol properties is of great significance for elucidating the complex mechanisms behind frequently occurring haze pollution events. In this study, we examine the temporal and spatial variations in both PM1and its major chemical constituents using three-year field measurements that were collected in six representative regions in China between 2012 and 2014. Our results show that both PM1and its chemical compositions varied significantly in space and time, with high PM1loadings mainly observed in the winter. By comparing chemical constituents between clean and polluted episodes, we find that the elevated PM1mass concentration during pollution events should be largely attributable to significant increases in organic matter (OM) and inorganic aerosols like sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium (SNA), indicative of the critical role of primary emissions and secondary aerosols in elevating PM1pollution levels. The ratios of PM1/PM2.5are found to be generally high in Shanghai and Guangzhou, while relatively low ratios are seen in Xi’an and Chengdu, indicating anthropogenic emissions were more likely to accumulate in forms of finer particles. With respect to the relative importance of chemical components and meteorological factors quantified via statistical modeling practices, we find that primary emissions and secondary aerosols were the two leading factors contributing to PM1variations, though meteorological factors also played important roles in regulating the dispersion of atmospheric PM.

Accurate quantification of low-abundant EVs plays an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Aptamers, which can specifically recognize and bind with protein molecules through transformation, make it possible to integrate DNA polymerase-based amplification strategies for protein detection. Thus, we have designed an allosteric probe and demonstrated its feasibility to convert the detection signals of EVs (extracellular vesicles) to nucleic acids through the specific recognition of target EVs. In addition, we have integrated the Nt.BstNBI and DNA polymerase based ssDNA generation process with the Exo III recycle process and greatly improved the detection sensitivity. The presence of target EVs initiates the Nt.BstNBI triggered multiple cycle amplification, enabling the achievement of high sensitivity and excellent selectivity, holding great potential in disease diagnosis and biomedical research.

To understand the chemical evolution of dust in the current East Asian atmosphere, the chemistry of PM2.5and size-resolved aerosols in Shanghai, China, during the 2019 dust storm event was investigated. Our results showed that concentrations of SO42–in the city during the event highly correlated with Ca2+and Na+due to the direct emissions of CaSO4and Na2SO4from the upwind deserts. In contrast, during the event, NO3–linearly correlated with NH4+at a molar ratio close to 1:1, and both almost entirely stayed in coarse particles, suggesting they accumulated on the dust surface as NH4NO3. Based on the field observations and laboratory smog chamber simulations, we found that NO2and O3in Shanghai during the dust period reacted to form N2O5, which subsequently hydrolyzed into HNO3on the surface of saline mineral dusts (e.g., CaSO4and Na2SO4) and was further neutralized by NH3as NH4NO3. The relative abundances of NO3–and NH4+in Shanghai during the dust event were notably higher than those a decade ago, indicating that this heterogeneous formation of NH4NO3on dust was enhanced by the abundantly coexisting NOx, O3, and NH3in the current East Asian atmosphere, which should be considered in future modeling studies.

Flexible bioelectronics for biomedical applications requires a stretchable, conductive, self-healable, and biocompatible material that can be obtained by cost-effective chemicals and strategies. Herein, we synthesized polypyrrole or Zn-functionalized chitosan molecules, which are cross-linked with poly(vinyl alcohol) to form a hydrogel through dynamic di-diol complexations, hydrogen bonding, and zinc-based coordination bonds. These multiple dynamic interactions endow the material with excellent stretchability and autonomous self-healing ability. The choice of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved materials (poly(vinyl alcohol) and chitosan) as the matrix materials ensures the good biocompatibility of the hydrogel. The conductivity contributed by the polypyrrole allowed the hydrogel to sense strain and temperature, and the coordinated Zn significantly enhanced the antibacterial activity of the hydrogel. Moreover, using a diabetic rat model, we have proved that this hydrogel is capable of promoting the healing of the infected chronic wounds with electrical stimulation.

Although photocatalytic hydrogen peroxide production by covalent organic frameworks (COFs) is emerging as a sustainable alternative for the traditional anthraquinone oxidation process, commonly studied COFs built on reversible imine bonds often suffer from poor operational stability. Here, we leverage the Povarov reaction to simultaneously improve the framework stability and install versatile functions, i.e., tunable donor–acceptor pairs for optimizing photocatalysis. By mixing the amine and aldehyde building blocks (each containing a triazine core), together with the styrene or 2-vinylthiophene reagent in one pot, the imine COF (Tz-COF; formed in situ) was converted into the more stable quinoline-linked analogs, featuring phenyl (PhTz-COF) or 2-thiophene (ThTz-COF) donors conjugated with the quinoline and triazine acceptors. Both PhTz-COFand ThTz-COFshow better (steady) cycling catalytic performances than Tz-COFfor visible light-driven H2O2production from O2and pure water; with the stronger donor of thiophene, ThTz-COFachieves a production rate (2506 μmol g–1h–1) doubling that of PhTz-COF(1210 μmol g–1h–1). The structure–property correlation is also theoretically studied.

Graphical abstract

Currently, atmospheric sulfate aerosols cannot be predicted reliably by numerical models because the pathways and kinetics of sulfate formation are unclear. Here, we systematically investigated the synergetic catalyzing role of transition-metal ions (TMIs, Fe3+/Mn2+) in the oxidation of SO2by O2on aerosols using chamber experiments. Our results showed that the synergetic effect of TMIs is critically dependent on aerosol pH due to the solubility of Fe(III) species sensitive to the aqueous phase acidity, which is effective only under pH < 3 conditions. The sulfate formation rate on aerosols is 2 orders of magnitude larger than that in bulk solution and increases significantly on smaller aerosols, suggesting that such a synergetic-catalyzed oxidation occurs on the aerosol surface. The kinetic reaction rate can be described as R= k*[H+]−2.95[Mn(II)][Fe(III)][S(IV)] (pH ≤ 3.0). We found that TMI-synergetic-catalyzed oxidation is the dominant pathway of sulfate formation in Beijing when haze particles are very acidic, while heterogeneous oxidation of SO2by NO2is the most important pathway when haze particles are weakly acidic. Our work for the first time clarified the role and kinetics of TMI-synergetic-catalyzed oxidation of SO2by O2in haze periods, which can be parameterized into models for future studies of sulfate formation.

In this work, by using Mg(OH)2nanoplatelets as support material for nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI), nZVI@Mg(OH)2composite was prepared and found to have super high adsorption ability toward As(V) at environmentally relevant concentrations. It was revealed that the variation of corrosion products of nZVI in the presence of Mg(OH)2and Mg2+is an important factor for increase in the adsorption ability toward As(V). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the weakly basic condition induced by Mg(OH)2decreases the lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) and increases the magnetite/maghemite (Fe3O4/γ-Fe2O3) content in the corrosion products of nZVI, and the latter has better adsorption affinity to As(V). Moreover, extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) indicated that the coordination between arsenic and iron minerals is influenced by dissolved Mg2+, leading to probable formation of magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4) which has considerable adsorption affinity to As(V). This work provides an important reference not only for the design of pollution control materials but also for understanding arsenic immobilization in natural environments with ubiquitous Mg2+ion.

High levels of HONO have frequently been observed in Chinese haze periods and underestimated by current models due to some unknown sources and formation mechanisms. Combining lab-chamber simulations and field measurements in Xi’an and Beijing, China, we found that NH3can significantly promote HONO formation via the reduction–oxidation of SO2with NO2in the aqueous phase of hygroscopic particles (e.g., NaCl). Concentrations of HONO formed in the aerosol phase showed an exponential increase (R2= 0.91) with NH3levels under the chamber conditions and a linear growth with NH3levels in the two Chinese cities. The uptake coefficient of NO2on NaCl particles ranged from 2.0 × 10–5to 1.7 × 10–4, 3–4 orders of magnitude larger than that on water droplets. Our results further showed that HONO formed from the aerosol phase accounted for 4–33% of the total in the chamber, indicating that aerosol-phase formation is an important source of HONO in China, especially in haze periods. Since NH3, SO2, and NO2abundantly coexist in China, the positive effect of NH3on HONO formation could enhance the atmospheric oxidizing capacity in the country, causing severe secondary aerosol pollution. Our work suggests that NH3emission control is imperative for mitigating air pollution in China.

Recently, rapid acquisition of antibiotic resistance, increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, and slow healing of infected wound have led to vast difficulties in developing innovative antimicrobial agents to obliterate pathogenic bacteria and simultaneously accelerate wound healing. To effectively solve this problem, we designed light-responsive multifunctional nanoparticles with conjugation of quaternary ammonium chitosan and photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) to merge chemical and photodynamic therapy to efficient antibacteria. The Mg/(−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) complex rapidly responded to light irradiation under 660 nm with release of magnesium ions, which effectively accelerated wound healing without toxicity to mammalian cells. Notably, positively charged nanoparticles could efficiently adhere to the bacterial surface, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced under laser irradiation destroyed the membrane structure of the bacteria, which is irreversible, ultimately leading to bacteria death. Thus, multifunctional nanoparticles with a combination of chemical and photodynamic antimicrobial therapy would offer guidance to rational predicted and designed new effective antimicrobial nanomaterials. Most importantly, it may represent a promising class of antimicrobial strategy for potential clinical translation.

A novel type of microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate (MAPP) with a triallyl cyanurate (TAC)/SiO2double-layered shell was synthesized through in-situ polymerization, followed by the thiol–ene photograted reaction. With a double bond in the TAC outer shell, MAPP could be utilized as a highly efficient flame retardant for intumescent flame-retarded natural rubber (NR). The chemical structure, morphology, and performance of MAPP were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle (WCA), scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. MAPP exhibited a hydrophobic feature with a WCA of 101° because of its organic outer shell, which made MAPP well dispersed in the NR matrix as well as enhanced the compatibility between the MAPP and NR matrix. The resulting intumescent flame-retardant NR compounds not only achieved excellent flame-retardant performance but also obtain improved mechanical properties because of the presence of 3D-cross-linking networks between the MAPP and NR matrix. The NR/MAPP compounds also presented good water resistance because of the microencapsulation of APP with an SiO2inner shell, which provided a waterproof barrier for APP. Based on the cone calorimetric results, the NR/MAPP compounds also presented a decline in total heat release and heat release rate but an improvement in ignition time due to the fact that both the SiO2inner layer and TAC outer shell could enhance the formation of a high-strength thermally stable char layer during combustion, thus preventing heat transmission and diffusion. The significant enhancement in flame-retardant performance was principally ascribed to the synergistic char-forming effect derived from the APP core and TAC/SiO2shell. This work provides a new idea for development of APP-based flame-retardant additives and also explores their potential applications in intumescent flame-retardant polymeric systems.

The advent of flexible substrates with thin film transistors (TFTs) over large areas (meters) makes large-area electronics (LAE) an attractive platform for integrating very large numbers of sensors onto surfaces over large areas. While TFT's may directly interface to sensors and may be used for sensor addressing, to realistically communicate with the outside world, IC's will probably be bonded onto the "sensor sheets" to create a "hybrid" LAE/IC system. This paper examines novel architectures to minimize the number of physical interfaces to the IC, beyond the typical TFT-based active-matrix approach. Approaches demonstrated include (i) high-frequency TFT-based analog oscillators, and (ii) implementing elements of machine learning into TFT circuitry, so a higher-level information is sent to the IC's, thus requiring fewer physical connections.

Background: The homeostasis of palmitoylation and depalmitoylation is involved in various cellular processes, the disruption of which induces severe physiological consequences. Acyl-protein thioesterase (APT) and palmitoyl-protein thioesterases (PPT) catalyze the depalmitoylation process. The natural mutation in human PPT1 caused neurodegenerative disease, yet the understanding of APT1 remains to be elucidated. While the deletion of APT1 in mice turned out to be potentially embryonically lethal, the decoding of its function strictly relied on the identification of its substrates. Objective: To determine the potential substrates of APT1 by using the generated human APT1 knockout cell line. Methods : The combined techniques of palmitoyl-protein enrichment and massspectrometry were used to analyze the different proteins. Palmitoyl-proteins both in HEK293T and APT1-KO cells were extracted by resin-assisted capture (RAC) and data independent acquisition (DIA) quantitative method of proteomics for data collection. Results: In total, 382 proteins were identified. The gene ontology classification segregated these proteins into diverse biological pathways e.g. endoplasmic reticulum process and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. A few potential substrates were selected for verification; indeed, major proteins were palmitoylated. Importantly, their levels of palmitoylation were clearly changed in APT1-KO cells. Interestingly, the proliferation of APT1-KO cells escalated dramatically as compared to that of the WT cells, which could be rescued by APT1 overexpression. Conclusion: Our study provides a large scale of potential substrates of APT1, thus facilitating the understanding of its intervened molecular functions.

A highly sensitive electrochemical sensing system is developed via in situ integration of Cu-based metal–organic frameworks (Cu-BTC, BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) and high-conductivity ball-mill-exfoliated graphene (Cu-BTC@GS) by a simple method. The as-synthesized Cu-BTC@GS hybrids display remarkably enhanced electrochemical activity due to the synergistic effect resulting from the integration. Compared to those of the pristine GS, the introduction of Cu-BTC nanoparticles leads to significant improvement in the surface area and porosity, as revealed by the nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. In addition, the oxidation behavior of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide studied using the rotating ring disk electrode further reveals a superior electron-transfer rate constant (k) for the composite, indicating higher catalytic ability. Moreover, double potential step chronocoulometry of biomolecules (xanthine and hypoxanthine) and phenolic pollutants (bisphenol A and p-chlorophenol) reveals that the prepared composite possesses greatly enhanced adsorption properties, resulting in much higher response signals and detection sensitivity. Benefiting from the superior reactivity, a highly sensitive electrochemical sensing platform for wide targets is successfully fabricated. It was used in the analysis of plasma, urine, and receipt and wastewater samples, and the results were highly consistent with those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography. We believe that this study provides an effective strategy for the construction of high-performance electrochemical sensing systems.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively studied in recent years due to their tunable porosity, huge specific area, and controllable structure. The rich metal centers and large specific area have endowed MOFs with excellent electrochemical activity due to the multiple valence states, but the poor electronic conductivity of MOFs seriously impedes their electrocatalytic performance. Here, a polyhedral Co-based zeolite imidazole frame [Co(mim)2]n(denoted as ZIF-67, mim = 2-methylimidazole) is in situ loaded on the two sides of physically exfoliated graphene nanosheets (GSs) at room temperature, and sandwich-like GS@ZIF-67 hybrids with an ordered nanostructure are easily obtained. Compared with each individual component, the as-synthesized GS@ZIF-67 hybrids exhibit higher electrochemical activity toward glucose oxidation. Besides, the hierarchical nanocomposites also show better electrocatalytic performance compared with the same ratio of a physical mixture of GSs and ZIF-67, further demonstrating the synergistic effect between ZIF-67 and GSs. Thus, a highly sensitive nonenzymatic glucose electrochemical sensor is proposed with a linear range of 1–805.5 μM, sensitivity of 1521.1 μA Mm–1cm–2, detection limit of 0.36 μM (S/N = 3), and excellent stability and selectivity. More importantly, the newly fabricated sensor is also successfully applied for glucose determination in human serums with satisfactory results, suggesting its promising potential toward glucose detection in real samples.

Porous silica beads were coated with poly(vinyl alcohol) by using an in situcoating process. This system has been developed for use as a stationary phase in normal phase high performance liquid chromatography. In the conditions, the coating efficiency was controlled by the initial concentration of poly(vinyl alcohol). The polymer coating has been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, the nitrogen adsorption/desorption method, and infrared spectra analysis. The performance of the developed stationary phase was evaluated by separation of 5 nucleosides (thymidine, thymidine, uridine, adenine, and 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine), 2 anthraquinones (rhein and emodin) and 1 terpenoid (oleanolic acid) in 10 traditional Chinese medicines. Comparison studies showed that the poly(vinyl alcohol) coated silica stationary phase showed better separation performance than bare silica beads. The obtained limits of detection for these analytes varied from 0.02 to 0.64 mg L−1. The linear ranges were from 1 to 1000 mg L−1with the correlation coefficient (r) from 0.9990 to 0.9999. The average recoveries were in the range of 95.60–103.12%. This preparation process did not require chemical synthesis processes and techniques. The developed column offered a simple and convenient approach to obtain normal phase liquid chromatographic columns with satisfactory separation efficiency.

The electrocatalytic role of oxygenated defects in graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) was evaluated to advance the nanosized graphite as an alternative modified matrix in electrochemical sensors. The oxidized GNPs (ox-GNPs) were prepared via a ball milling and oxidizing process. The abundant functional groups and defective sites in the ox-GNPs result in the excellent electrocatalytic activity compared with GNPs. The redox behaviors of hydroquinone and catechol at the ox-GNPs modified glassy carbon electrode (ox-GNPs/GCE) were investigated. Compared to GNPs/GCE, the as-prepared ox-GNPs/GCE exhibited enhanced electrocatalytic activity and well-define redox peaks. The detection limit was 0.4 and 0.6 uM for hydroquinone and catechol, respectively (S/N = 3). In addition, this ox-GNPs/GCE also shows potential applications to the practical sample and some important biomolecules. The as-prepared ox-GNPs/GCE all can exhibit efficient sensitivity for the electrochemical determination of neurotransmitters (ascorbic acid and dopamine), nucleic acid bases (guanine), pharmaceuticals (rutin and thymol), and other biological molecules (uric acid). These results demonstrate the potential of nanosized graphite material in sensing applications.

Manganese ferrite (MnxFe3−xO4) microspheres with a spinel structure are very effective adsorbents for arsenic (As) removal. In this study, highly ordered mesoporous MnxFe3−xO4has been synthesized by a facile and convenient solvothermal method. By comparing the different doping amounts of manganese (Mn), the results show that Mn1.8Fe1.2O4has a relatively higher efficiency for arsenate (As(v)) removal due to the modified surface complexes caused by the optimum Mn substitution. Rietveld XRD refinement reveals that Mn1.8Fe1.2O4microspheres possess the highest distribution ratio of Mn/Fe situated between the octahedral (Oh) and the tetrahedral (Td) sites of the unit cell. The as-prepared Mn1.8Fe1.2O4microspheres with MnO6Ohsites in Fd3msymmetry exhibit a promising ability for toxic As(v) adsorption, which is mainly attributed to the increase of coordinated complexes. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis indicates that the coordination structures of As(v) on Mn1.8Fe1.2O4are present as bidentate binuclear complexes with a regular distance of As–Fe = 3.41 Å. Apart from this, As(v) can also bind with Mn-doped sites through the monodentate coordination mode at a distance of As–Mn = 3.51 Å with a preferred coordination number (CN) of 4.4. This work discloses the correlation between the superior As(v) adsorption ability and MnO6Ohsites in Mn1.8Fe1.2O4and provides an emerging and promising method to enhance the adsorption capacity of As viamodifying Mn doping sites based on the pollutant structure to achieve synergistic adsorption effects.

Septin proteins are involved in diverse physiological functions, including the formation of specialized cytoskeletal structures. Septin 8 (Sept8) is implicated in spine morphogenesis and dendritic branching through palmitoylation. We explored the role and regulation of a Sept8 variant in human neural-like cells and in the mouse brain. We identified Sept8-204 as a brain-specific variant of Sept8 that was abundant in neurons and modified by palmitoylation, specifically at Cys469, Cys470, and Cys472. Sept8-204 palmitoylation was mediated by the palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC7 and was removed by the depalmitoylase PPT1. Palmitoylation of Sept8-204 bound to F-actin and induced cytoskeletal dynamics to promote the outgrowth of filopodia in N2a cells and the arborization of neurites in hippocampal neurons. In contrast, a Sept8-204 variant that could not be palmitoylated because of mutation of all three Cys residues (Sept8-204-3CA) lost its ability to bind F-actin, and expression of this mutant did not promote morphological changes. Genetic deletion of Sept8, Sept8-204, or Zdhhc7caused deficits in learning and memory and promoted anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Our findings provide greater insight into the regulation of Sept8-204 by palmitoylation and its role in neuronal morphology and function in relation to cognition.

In order to clarify the mitochondrial toxicity mechanism of the organic arsenical MOPIMP(2-methoxy-4-(((4-(oxoarsanyl) phenyl) imino) methyl) phenol), research was carried out at the sub-cell level based on the previous finding that the compound MOPIMPcan damage the mitochondria by triggering a burst of ROS. After investigating its influence on isolated mitochondria in vitro, it was demonstrated that a high dose of MOPIMPwith short-term exposure can induce mitochondrial swelling, decrease the membrane potential, enhance the permeability of H+and K+, and induce membrane lipid peroxidation, indicating that it can result in an MPT process in a ROS-mediated and Ca2+-independent manner. Additionally, MPT was also aggravated as a result of impairment of the membrane integrity and membrane fluidity. In addition, short-term incubation between mitochondria and compound MOPIMPpromoted the inhibition of respiratory chain complexes I, II, III and IV, as well as damage to the respiration process, which supported the previous finding about the burst of ROS. On the other hand, after long-term exposure by the organic arsenical MOPIMP, mitochondrial metabolic dysfunction was triggered, which was in accordance with perturbation of the respiratory chain complexes as well as the respiration process. This work systematically sheds light on the mitochondrial toxicity mechanism of the organic arsenical MOPIMP, including induction of the MPT process and inhibition of respiratory metabolism, which provides a potential target for organic arsenicals as anti-tumor drugs.

A facile and effective pyrolysis stratagem is proposed for the synthesis of hierarchical Mo2C/C nanosheet hybrids with sodium chloride (NaCl) crystals as a template. Large numbers of well-dispersed sheet-like Mo2C nanoparticles with the thickness of about 20 nm were anchored on the surface of carbon nanosheets. Benefiting from the ideal synergistic catalytic effect between the highly active sheet-like Mo2C nanoparticles and the conductive graphitic carbon, and strong charge transfer ability, the unique hierarchical sheet-like structure of Mo2C/C hybrids demonstrated excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in both alkaline and acid medias with small overpotential (125 mV for 10 mA cm–2in 1 M KOH and 180 mV for 10 mA cm–2in 0.5 M H2SO4) and remarkable stability, which is comparable to most reported non-noble metal HER electrocatalysts. With the simplicity and low-cost of the synthetic approach, the strategy presented here can be extendable to the preparation of other transition metal-based/carbon nanosheet hybrids for versatile applications.

Calcium carbonate from geological sources (geo-CaCO3, e.g., calcite, aragonite) is used extensively in removing heavy metals from wastewater through replacement reaction. However, geo-CaCO3has an intrinsically compact crystalline structure that results in low efficiency in pollutant removal and thus its use may produce enormous sludge. In this work, biogenic calcium carbonate (bio-CaCO3) derived from oyster shells was used to remove Pb(II) from wastewater and found to significantly outperform geo-CaCO3(calcite). The thermodynamics study revealed that the maximum adsorption capacity of bio-CaCO3for Pb(II) was three times that of geo-CaCO3, reaching up to 1667 mg/g. The kinetics study disclosed that the dissolution kinetics and the rate of intraparticle diffusion of bio-CaCO3were faster than those of geo-CaCO3. Extensive mechanism research through X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2adsorption/desorption test and mercury intrusion porosimetry showed that the hierarchical porous organic–inorganic hybrid structure of bio-CaCO3expedited the dissolution of CaCO3to provide abundant CO32–active sites and facilitated the permeation and diffusion of Pb(II) into the bulk solid phases. In addition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, and the examination of Pb(II) removal ability of bio-CaCO3after calcination indicated that the organic functional groups of bio-CaCO3also facilitated the immobilization of Pb(II) into CaCO3particles, although the major contribution was from the hierarchical porous structure of bio-CaCO3.