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Traditional cathode chemistry of Li-ion batteries relies on the transport of Li-ions within the solid structures, with the transition metal ions and anions acting as the static components. Here, we demonstrate that a solid solution of F- and PO43- facilitates the reversible conversion of a fine mixture of iron powder, LiF, and Li3PO4 into iron salts. Notably, in its fully lithiated state, we use commercial iron metal powder in this cathode, departing from electrodes that begin with iron salts, such as FeF3. Our results show that Fe-cations and anions of F- and PO43- act as charge carriers in addition to Li-ions during the conversion from iron metal to a solid solution of iron salts. This composite electrode delivers a reversible capacity of up to 368 mAh/g and a specific energy of 940 Wh/kg. Our study underscores the potential of amorphous composites comprising lithium salts as high-energy battery electrodes.

Lithium-sulfur (Li–S) battery is one of the most promising candidates for the next generation energy storage systems. However, several barriers, including polysulfide shuttle effect, the slow solid-solid surface reaction pathway in the lower discharge plateau, and corrosion of Li anode still limit its practical applications, especially under the lean electrolyte condition required for high energy density. Here, we propose a solution-mediated sulfur reduction pathway to improve the capacity and reversibility of the sulfur cathode. With this method, a high coulombic efficiency (99%) and stable cycle life over 100 cycles were achieved under application-relevant conditions (S loading: 6.2 mg cm−2; electrolyte to sulfur ratio: 3 mLE gs−1; sulfur weight ratio: 72 wt%). This result is enabled by a specially designed Li2S4-rich electrolyte, in which Li2S is formed through a chemical disproportionation reaction instead of electrochemical routes. A single diglyme solvent was used to obtain electrolytes with the optimum range of Li2S4 concentration. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms the solution pathway in a practical Li–S cell. This solution pathway not only introduces a new electrolyte regime for practical Li–S batteries, but also provides a new perspective for bypassing the inefficient surface pathway for other electrochemical processes.

Borodin et al. review advances in designing electrolytes for aqueous and non-aqueous batteries with a focus on going beyond the conventional “1 M” salt concentration to super-concentration that brings about multitudes of unexpected electrolyte properties from novel interfaces, interphases, ion transport mechanisms, and thermal stability.

Background: Abiotrophia (ABI) and Granulicatella (GRA) are rare causative pathogens in infective endocarditis (IE). This study aims to describe the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcome of ABI/GRA-IE. The main features of ABI/GRA-IE were compared with Viridans group streptococci (VGS) IE. Methods: From January 2015 to December 2023, a total of 1531 definite IE in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Clinical and laboratory data were collected. Results: Forty-five ABI/GRA-IE cases were identified, representing 2.9% of all IE cases in Zhongshan Hospital between 2015 and 2023, compared to 20.1% of VGS-IE. ABI and GRA IE shared similar clinical characteristics. Congenital valvulopathy was reported in 21 (46.7%) ABI/GRA-IE and 85 (28.8%) VGS-IE (P = 0.025). Pulmonary valve was more frequently affected in ABI/GRA-IE (6 [13.3%]) than VGS-IE (7 [2.4%]) (P = 0.002). Congestive heart failure was observed in 30 (66.7%) ABI/GRA-IE and 103 (34.9%) VGS-IE (P < 0.001). Systemic embolization excluding central nervous system (CNS) occurred in 13 (28.9%) ABI/GRA-IE and 39 (13.2%) VGS-IE (P = 0.012). In-hospital mortality was reported as 4.4% in ABI/GRA-IE and 3.7% in VGS-IE (P = 0.854). Conclusion: GRA/ABI-IE was approximately one-seventh as prevalent as VGS-IE. Congestive heart failure and systemic embolization (excluding CNS) were more frequent in GRA/ABI-IE compared to VGS-IE. Mortality of ABI/GRA-IE in this study was comparable to that of VGS-IE and lower than previously reported results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to examine the validity of the MFS by analyzing the electronic medical records on fall risk in obstetrics and gynecology wards and determine the optimal cut-off score of the Morse Fall Scale. Design: A retrospective survey. Methods: The research was conducted in an Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital and a general hospital. The sample included 136 fall inpatients and 120 no-fall inpatients recruited from January 1st, 2020, to July 10th, 2022. The Morse Fall Scale was analyzed using the gold standard of patients who fell while hospitalized, assessing the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and Kappa. Results: At cut-off scores of 40, 45,50, and 55, the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was 0.772, 0.761, 0.749, and 0.763, respectively. The Youden index was 0.543, 0.521, 0.498, and 0.525, while Kappa values were 0.540, 0.518, 0.490, and 0.515. Sensitivity was 0.735, 0.713, 0.640, and 0.625; specificity was 0.808, 0.808, 0.858, and 0.900. The positive predictive values were 0.813, 0.808, 0.837, and 0.876, and the negative predictive values were 0.729, 0.713, 0.678, and 0.679. Accuracy were 0.770, 0.758, 0.742, and 0.754. Conclusions: The Morse Fall Scale demonstrates good predictive performance for assessing fall risk in gynecology and obstetrics wards. The optimal cut-off score is 40. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fulminant myocarditis has been defined as the clinical manifestation of cardiac inflammation with rapid-onset heart failure and cardiogenic shock. We report on the case of a 17-year-old boy with hemodynamic derangement and cardiac arrest due to fulminant myocarditis. After about 2 h of intensive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with 13 days of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, the patient finally bridged to orthotopic heart transplantation. The patient recovered uneventfully and was discharged 37 days after transplantation. The explanted heart revealed diffuse lymphocytic infiltration and myocyte necrosis in all four cardiac chamber walls confirming the diagnosis and identifying the underlying cause of fulminant myocarditis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antibodies have been proven effective as diagnostic agents for detecting zoonotic diseases. The variable domain of camel heavy chain antibody (VHH), as an antibody derivative, may be used as an alternative for traditional antibodies in existing immunodiagnostic reagents for detecting rapidly spreading infectious diseases. Objectives: To expedite the isolation of specific antibodies for diagnostic purposes, we constructed a semi‐synthetic camel single domain antibody library based on the phage display technique platform (PDT) and verified the validity of this study. Methods: The semi‐synthetic single domain antibody sequences consist of two parts: one is the FR1‐FR3 region amplified by RT‐PCR from healthy camel peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), and the other part is the CDR3‐FR4 region synthesised as an oligonucleotide containing CDR3 randomised region. The two parts were fused by overlapping PCR, resulting in the rearranged variable domain of heavy‐chain antibodies (VHHs). Y. pestis low‐calcium response V protein (LcrV) is an optional biomarker to detect the Y. pestis infection. The semi‐synthetic library herein was screened using recombinant (LcrV) as a target antigen. Results: After four cycles of panning the library, four VHH binders targeting 1–270 aa residues of LcrV were isolated. The four VHH genes with unique sequences were recloned into an expression vector and expressed as VHH‐hFc chimeric antibodies. The purified antibodies were identified and used to develop a lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) test strip using latex microspheres (LM) for the rapid and visual detection of Y. pestis infection. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the great potential of the semi‐synthetic library for use in isolation of antigen‐specific nanobodies and the isolated specific VHHs can be used in antigen‐capture immunoassays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Simple Summary: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adult stem cells capable of differentiating into various cell types, including osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes. Renowned for their immunomodulatory and regenerative properties, MSCs hold great promise as tools for tissue repair and therapeutic applications. To facilitate the large-scale production of sheep umbilical cord MSCs (UCMSCs), the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene was introduced into UCMSCs to promote immortalization. This study provides valuable insights into (a) the proliferation and anti-aging capabilities of transgenic MSCs compared to primary MSCs; (b) the absence of potential tumorigenicity exhibited in TERT-UCMSCs; and (c) the differentiation potential of TERT-UCMSCs. Immortalized MSCs exhibit enhanced proliferation and anti-aging abilities without tumorigenicity concerns, making them a safe immortalized cell line suitable for medical treatments. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess significant differentiation potential, making them highly promising in medicine and immunotherapy due to their regenerative capabilities and exosome secretion. However, challenges such as limited cell divisions and complex testing hinder large-scale MSC production. In this study, we successfully established an immortalized MSC line by transfecting the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene into MSCs isolated from pregnant sheep umbilical cords. This approach effectively inhibits cell senescence and promotes cell proliferation, enabling the generation of umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) on a larger scale. Our findings demonstrate that these transfected TERT-UCMSCs exhibit enhanced proliferative capacity and a reduced aging rate compared to regular UCMSCs while maintaining their stemness without tumorigenicity concerns. Consequently, they hold great potential for medical applications requiring large quantities of functional MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioanalysis based on optical imaging has gained significant progress in the last few decades. Luminescence probes are capable of detecting, monitoring, and tracing particular biomolecules in complex biological systems to figure out the roles of these molecules in organisms. Considering the rapid development of luminescence probes for bio-applications and their promising future, we have attempted to explore the working principles and recent advances in bio-applications of luminescence probes, in the hope of helping readers gain a detailed understanding of luminescence probes developed in recent years. In this review, we first focus on the current widely used luminescence probes, including fluorescence probes, bioluminescence probes, chemiluminescence probes, afterglow probes, photoacoustic probes, and Cerenkov luminescence probes. The working principles for each type of luminescence probe are concisely described and the bio-application of the luminescence probes is summarized by category, including metal ions detection, secretion detection, imaging, and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]