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Great expectation is placed on sodium-ion batteries with high rate capability to satisfy multiple requirements in large-scale energy storage systems. However, the large ionic radius and high mass of Na+ hamper its kinetics in the case of diffusion-controlled mechanisms in conventional electrodes. In this study, a unique intercalation pseudocapacitance has been demonstrated in low-vacancy copper hexacyanoferrate, achieving outstanding rate capability. The minimization of the [Fe(CN)6 ] vacancy enables unhindered diffusion pathways for Na+ and little structural change during the Fe2+ /Fe3+ redox reaction, eliminating solid-state diffusion limits. Moreover, the Cu+ /Cu2+ couple is unexpectedly activated, realizing a record capacity for copper hexacyanoferrate. A capacity of 86 mAh g-1 is obtained at 1 C, of which 50 % is maintained under 100 C and 70 % is achieved at 0 °C. Such intercalation pseudocapacitance might shed light on exploiting high-rate electrodes among Prussian blue analogs for advanced sodium-ion batteries.

Rechargeable sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are surfacing as promising candidates for applications in large-scale energy-storage systems. Prussian blue (PB) and its analogues (PBAs) have been considered as potential cathodes because of their rigid open framework and low-cost synthesis. Nevertheless, PBAs suffer from inferior rate capability and poor cycling stability resulting from the low electronic conductivity and deficiencies in the PBAs framework. Herein, to understand the vacancy-impacted sodium storage and Na-insertion reaction kinetics, we report on an in-situ synthesized PB@C composite as a high-performance SIB cathode. Perfectly shaped, nanosized PB cubes were grown directly on carbon chains, assuring fast charge transfer and Na-ion diffusion. The existence of [Fe(CN)6] vacancies in the PB crystal is found to greatly degrade the electrochemical activity of the FeLS(C) redox couple via first-principles computation. Superior reaction kinetics are demonstrated for the redox reactions of the FeHS(N) couple, which rely on the partial insertion of Na ions to enhance the electron conduction. The synergistic effects of the structure and morphology results in the PB@C composite achieving an unprecedented rate capability and outstanding cycling stability (77.5 mAh g−1 at 90 C, 90 mAh g−1 after 2000 cycles at 20 C with 90% capacity retention).

Lithium ion batteries have attained great success in commercialization owing to their high energy density. However, the relatively delaying discharge/charge severely hinders their high power applications due to intrinsically diffusion-controlled lithium storage of the electrode. This study demonstrates an ever-increasing surface redox capacitive lithium storage originating from an unique microstructure evolution during cycling in a novel RGO–MnO–RGO sandwich nanostructure. Such surface pseudocapacitance is dynamically in equilibrium with diffusion-controlled lithium storage, thereby achieving an unprecedented rate capability (331.9 mAh g−1 at 40 A g−1, 379 mAh g−1 after 4000 cycles at 15 A g−1) with outstanding cycle stability. The dynamic combination of surface and diffusion lithium storage of electrodes might open up possibilities for designing high-power lithium ion batteries.

Background EphB receptors and their ephrinB ligands are implicated in modulating spinal nociceptive information processing. Here, we investigated whether cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), acts as a downstream effector, participates in the modulation of spinal nociceptive information related to ephrinB/EphB signalling. Methods Thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia were measured by using radiant heat and von Frey filaments test, respectively. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of spinal COX-2 mRNA. Spinal COX-2 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) protein were determined by Western blot analysis. Results Intrathecal injection of ephrinB2–Fc caused thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia, which were accompanied by increased expression of spinal COX-2 mRNA and protein. Inhibition of spinal COX-2 prevented and reversed pain behaviours induced by the intrathecal injection of ephrinB2–Fc. Blockade of EphB receptors by intrathecal injection of EphB2–Fc reduced complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain behaviours, which were accompanied by decreased expression of spinal COX-2 mRNA and protein. Furthermore, treatment with U0126, a mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor, suppressed spinal ERK activation and COX-2 mRNA and protein expression induced by intrathecal injection of ephrinB1–Fc. Conclusions These results confirmed the important involvement of COX-2 in the modulation of spinal nociceptive information related to ephrinBs–EphBs signalling.

A series of novel 4-bromo-1H-indazole derivatives as filamentous temperature-sensitive protein Z (FtsZ) inhibitors were designed, synthesized, and assayed for their in vitro antibacterial activity against various phenotypes of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and their cell division inhibitory activity. The results indicated that this series showed better antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis and penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pyogenes than the other tested strains. Among them, compounds 12 and 18 exhibited 256-fold and 256-fold more potent activity than 3-methoxybenzamide (3-MBA) against penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and compound 18 showed 64-fold better activity than 3-MBA but 4-fold weaker activity than ciprofloxacin in the inhibition of S. aureus ATCC29213. Particularly, compound 9 presented the best activity (4 µg/mL) against S. pyogenes PS, being 32-fold, 32-fold, and 2-fold more active than 3-MBA, curcumin, and ciprofloxacin, respectively, but it was four times less active than oxacillin sodium. In addition, some synthesized compounds displayed moderate inhibition of cell division against S. aureus ATCC25923, Escherichia coli ATCC25922, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC27853, sharing a minimum cell division concentration of 128 µg/mL.

Fe2O3 is a candidate material for anodes in Li-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity. However, the practical application of Fe2O3 is still limited by its sluggish conversion reactions. In this work, porous Fe2O3 films with homogeneously dispersed Ag nanoparticles are fabricated using a facile one-step electrostatic spray deposition technique. Both the unique, highly porous structure and the conducting Ag metal contribute to the outstanding electrochemical performance of the anode. The Fe2O3–Ag composite anode retains stable capacities of 1042 (0.1 C), 961 (1 C) and 857 mA h g−1 (5 C) over 100 cycles. When cycled at even higher rates, competitive capacities of 555 (15 C) and 509 mA h g−1 (20 C) are still acquired. This work might present opportunities to develop an oxide–metal anode with high capacity, long cycling life and good rate capability for Li-ion batteries.

Background Inflammation in brain plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment. Anti-inflammatory therapy may thus constitute a novel approach for associated cognitive dysfunction. The present study investigated the effects of parecoxib in the prevention of cognitive impairments induced by sevoflurane in aged rats. Methods Sixty-six aged rats were divided randomly into three groups: control group (n = 22, sham anesthesia), sevoflurane group (n = 22, received 2% sevoflurane for 5 h) and parecoxib group (n = 22, received intraperitoneal injections of 10 mg/kg parecoxib and then exposed to 2% sevoflurane for 5 h). Spatial learning performance was tested by Morris water maze. The expression of cyclooxygenase-2 protein and ultrastructure of synapse in hippocampus were measured. Results Sevoflurane anesthesia impaired the spatial learning and memory in aged rats. Compared with sevoflurane group, parecoxib group showed shorter escape latency and more number of crossings over the previous platform area. Furthermore, parecoxib treatment also significantly prevented the synaptic changes induced by sevoflurane. Conclusion Parecoxib mitigates spatial memory impairment induced by sevoflurane anesthesia in aged rats. The synaptic morphometry change may be one of the mechanisms involved in learning and memory deficit.

Boosting power density is one of the primary challenges that current lithium ion batteries face. Alloying anodes that possess suitable potential windows stand at the forefront in pursuing ultrafast and highly reversible lithium storage to achieve high power/energy lithium ion batteries. Herein, ultrafast lithium storage in Sn-based nanocomposite anodes is demonstrated, which is boosted by pseudocapacitance benefitting from a high fraction of highly interconnected interfaces of Fe/Sn/Li2 O. By tailoring the voltage window in the range of 0.005-1.2 V for the alloying/dealloying reactions, such Sn-based nanocomposite anodes achieve simultaneous ultrahigh rate capability, superlong cycling performance, and close-to-100% Coulombic efficiency. The nanocomposite anode delivers a high reversible capacity (≈420 mAh g-1 ) at 1 A g-1 for more than 1200 cycles, corresponding to only 0.016% per cycle of capacity decay. A reversible capacity of 350 mAh g-1 can be maintained at an ultrahigh current density of 80 A g-1 , with 67.3% capacity retention relative to the capacity at 1 A g-1 . This combination of pseudocapacitive lithium storage and spatially confined electrochemical reactions in Sn-based nanocomposite anode materials may pave the way for the development of high power/energy and long life lithium ion batteries.

Fe3O4/C composites are obtained from mixtures of Fe2O3 and sucrose in flowing argon at 500 °C for 2 h.

The title composites are prepared by ball milling of LiBH4 and Li3AlH6 in the molar ratio of 1:1 (0.1 MPa Ar, 0.5 h).