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Molybdenum silicides (Mo–Si) have attracted great interest owing to their good electrical conductivity, ultra-high melting point and well oxidation resistance. In this work, the controllable syntheses of Mo5Si3 and Mo3Si powders by silicothermic reduction of MoS2 in the presence of lime are studied for the first time. The internal mixture composed of MoS2 and Si is wrapped by sufficient CaO. After the reaction is finished, the synthesized molybdenum silicides can be easily separated from the desulfurization layer by peeling off the desulfurization product. The results show that Mo3Si and Mo5Si3 can be prepared at 1500 °C for the samples with the MoS2:Si molar ratio of 1:1.7 and 1:2.33, respectively. In addition, the results show that both SiS2 and SiS can be formed during the heating process. The thermodynamic analysis about the disproportionation reaction of SiS indicates that the existence of SiS2 depends on the partial pressure of SiS (PSiS) and temperature. Moreover, it is demonstrated that SiS2 is preferentially formed under low temperature conditions. As the temperature rises, it is much easier for SiS2 to react with Si to form SiS. Additionally, this work experimentally proves for the first time that SiS gas can directly reduce MoS2 to form MoSi2 and SiS2. Subsequently, the recovery of S in the desulfurization product was studied. S in MoS2 was first captured by CaO in the form of CaS (accompanied by Ca2SiO4 and Si). In order to solve this CaS containing desulfurization product which is detrimental to the environment, CaS in the desulfurization product is react with Fe2O3 and C to form FeS. This work provides new insights into the closed-loop capture and recovery of S in the process of extracting metals or metal compounds from sulfide ores.

Because of its superior safety and excellent processability, solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have attracted widespread attention. In lithium based batteries, SPEs have great prospects in replacing leaky and flammable liquid electrolytes. However, the low ionic conductivity of SPEs cannot meet the requirements of high energy density systems, which is also an important obstacle to its practical application. In this respect, escalating charge carriers (i.e. Li+) and Li+ transport paths are two major aspects of improving the ionic conductivity of SPEs. This article reviews recent advances from the two perspectives, and the underlying mechanism of these proposed strategies is discussed, including increasing the Li+ number and optimizing the Li+ transport paths through increasing the types and shortening the distance of Li+ transport path. It is hoped that this article can enlighten profound thinking and open up new ways to improve the ionic conductivity of SPEs.

Copper is one of the extensively utilized heavy metals in modern industry and can be easily released into the environment due to high solubility of copper ions (Cu

Aqueous zinc (Zn) batteries have long been considered a potentially more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries because of their better environmental compatibility, enhanced safety and cost advantage. However, in the presence of an aqueous electrolyte, the Zn anode is poised to undergo dendrite failure, corrosion and hydrogen evolution, all of which resonate with each other leading to fast performance degradation. Here, in a break from the current aqueous battery path, we report a low-cost hydrous organic electrolyte involving a hydrated Zn(BF4)2 salt and an ethylene glycol solvent, which not only promotes the in situ formation of a favourable ZnF2 passivation layer to protect Zn from dendrite growth and side reactions but also embraces excellent non-flammability. Remarkably, the present Zn anode sustains a long-term cycling over 4,000 h at a current density of 0.5 mA cm−2 with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.4% and shows an areal capacity as high as 5 mAh cm−2. Equally intriguingly, the electrolyte can run across a wide temperature range from −30 °C to 40 °C without seriously compromising performance. The Zn//V2O5 full cells with our electrolyte also perform much better in terms of capacity retention than a device with an aqueous ZnSO4 electrolyte. Our findings suggest a promising direction for developing electrolyte solutions for practical Zn batteries which combine safety, performance and sustainability. Aqueous Zn batteries offer safety, but the Zn anodes are vulnerable to dendrite failure and side reaction. Here the authors show a low-cost electrolyte that involves hydrate salt and organic solvent but proves inflammable. The Zn battery cell delivers excellent performance even at a low temperature of −30 °C.

Storing as much energy as possible in as compact a space as possible is an ever-increasing concern to deal with the emerging “space anxiety” in electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices like batteries, which is known as “compact energy storage”. Carbons built from graphene units can be used as active electrodes or inactive key materials acting as porous micro- or even nano-reactors that facilitate battery reactions and play a vital role in optimizing the volumetric performance of the electrode and the battery. In this review, we discuss and clarify the key issues and specific strategies for compact energy storage, especially in batteries. The use of shrinkable carbon networks to produce small yet sufficient reaction space together with smooth charge delivery is highlighted as the simplest structure–function-performance relationship when used in supercapacitors and is then extended to overcome problems in compact rechargeable lithium/sodium/potassium batteries. Special concerns about cycling stability, fast charging and safety in compact batteries are discussed in detail. Strategies for compact energy storage ranging from materials to electrodes to batteries are reviewed here to provide guidance for how to produce a compact high energy battery by densifying the electrodes using customized carbon structures.

This study focused on the problem that simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal cannot be achieved in current urban sewage treatment systems. To address this, a pilot system was developed to first use immobilized biologically active fillers to remove nitrogen, and then use activated sludge to independently remove phosphorus. The goal was to maximize the effectiveness of biological phosphorus removal. This study mainly aimed at analyzing the post-independent phosphorus removal characteristics and mechanisms; the composition of the phosphorus removing bacteria; and the contribution rate of the system. The effluent PO43--P of the system remained stable at 0.15–0.2 mg L−1, with the phosphorus removal anaerobic tank maintaining a "micro-release" state. When the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of the aerobic phosphorus removal tank was reduced to 1 h, the contribution rate of the aerobic phosphorus removal bacteria decreased from 28.42% to 16.68%; the contribution rate of the denitrifying phosphorus removal bacteria increased from 72.58% to 83.32%; and the abundance of the dominant bacteria Dechloromonas and Thaurea significantly increased. The phosphorus removal system provides a new approach for deep phosphorus removal in main municipal wastewater systems.

The development of solid-state smart materials, in particular those showing photoresponsive luminescence, is highly desirable for their cutting edge applications in displays, sensors, data-storage, and anti-counterfeiting. However, to achieve both excellent photoresponsive performance and bright luminescence in solid state remains challenge. Herein, we integrate a novel photochromic fluorophore YL into flexible polymer chains, thereby enabling the resultant polymer PYL with reversible photoisomerization upon aggregation. Remarkably, the polymer PYL possesses excellent photochromic properties and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) activity, which can be attributed to the photoactive YL moiety. Upon light exposure, its film exhibits reversibly off-to-on fluorescent modulation with quick response, high emission efficiency and signal contrast, sharply different from the weak emission in solution. The novel photoresponsive AIE polymer with invisible/visible color and fluorescence transformation allows for advanced anti-counterfeiting applications. This work provides an efficient platform for constructing solid-state photocontrollable luminescent materials.

CARM1 is a protein arginine methyltransferase and acts as a transcriptional coactivator regulating multiple biological processes. Aberrant expression of CARM1 has been related to the progression of multiple types of cancers, and therefore CARM1 was considered as a promising drug target. In the present work, we report the structure-based discovery of a series of N1-(3-(pyrimidin-2-yl)benzyl)ethane-1,2-diamines as potent CARM1 inhibitors, in which compound 43 displays high potency and selectivity. With the advantage of excellent tissue distribution, compound 43 demonstrated good in vivo efficacy for solid tumors. Furthermore, from the detailed immuno-oncology study with MC38 C57BL/6J xenograft model, we confirmed that this chemical probe 43 has profound effects in tumor immunity, which paves the way for future studies on the modulation of arginine post-translational modification that could be utilized in solid tumor treatment and cancer immunotherapy.

Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries with high theoretical energy density are promising energy storage systems in the next decades, while the lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) shuttling caused by the sluggish sulfur redox reaction severely lowers the practical performance. The use of interlayer between the cathode and separator has been widely investigated to physically or chemically block the LiPSs, while the introduction of catalytic materials is a more effective strategy to accelerate the conversion of LiPSs. MXene with rich surface chemistry has shown its potential for facilitating the catalytic conversion, however, the aggregation of MXene sheets usually leads to the loss of the catalytic active sites. Herein, we report a diatomite/MXene (DE/MX) hybrid material as the bifunctional interlayer for improving the adsorption/conversion of LiPSs in Li-S batteries. The diatomite with porous structure and rich silica-hydroxyl functional groups could trap LiPSs effectively, while prevent the aggregation of MXene. The DE/MX based interlayer showed bifunctions of enhancing the chemical adsorption and promoting the conversion of LiPSs. The Li-S batteries with the DE/MX interlayer delivered an improved cycling stability with a low capacity decay of 0.059% per cycle over 1000 cycles at 1.0 C. Moreover, stable 200 cycles can be realized with a high sulfur loading electrode up to 6.0 mg cm−2. This work provides an effective strategy to construct bifunctional interlayers for hindering the shuttling of LiPSs and boosting the practical application of Li-S batteries.

Natural polymer cellulose has been first employed to synthesize a thin (only 14.9 μm), lightweight (0.98 mg cm−2) and highly conductive (270.2 S cm−1) integrated film electrode by a green strategy in this report. Herein, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) is planned as coordination modulation to develop zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF8s) with great morphology at room temperature. Particularly, the puzzle that monodispersed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are difficult to grow in aqueous solution is effectively solved. Moreover, the excellent film-formation and anisotropy of CNFs as well as the great mechanical properties of graphene oxide (GO) are exploited to constructed ingenious lamellar microstructure. Actually, the goal product carbonized-CNFs/GO/ZIF8 (CCGZ) with highly conductivity gets a “frame structure” belonging to architecture in part on the strength of the volume shrinkage of carbon material. Eventually, CCGZ with unique topology delivers a specific capacitance of 432.8 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1, and the all-solid-state device achieves a desirable energy density of 14.92 Wh kg−1 at 200 W kg−1. These electrochemical properties are ahead of similar materials and devices. Consequently, this green method without any toxic solvents expands the application of natural carbon materials, which also highly propels the industrialization of film electrode with complex microstructure.

The corrosion performances of the as-cast and solution-treated Mg-0.5Zn samples were investigated in 0.9% NaCl solution and compared. From the electrochemical measurement results and corrosion morphology observations, it is found that the corrosion resistance of Mg-0.5Zn deteriorated with the extension of solution treatment duration. The main reason was the formation of Fe-Si precipitates with higher Fe concentrations during heat treatment. The Fe-Si precipitates, especially the ones with high Fe contents influenced the corrosion initiation and propagation significantly. In regard of corrosion performance, the solution-treated and then extruded sample was also performing not as good as the cast and then directly extruded sample.

We have studied topological indices of the one the hardest crystal structures in a given chemical system, namely, M-carbon. These structures are based and obtained by the famous algorithm USPEX. The computations and applications of topological indices in the study of chemical structures is growing exponentially. Our aim in this article is to compare and compute some well-known topological indices based on degree and sum of degrees, namely, general Randić indices, Zagreb indices, atom bond connectivity index, geometric arithmetic index, new Zagreb indices, fourth atom bond connectivity index, fifth geometric arithmetic index, and Sanskruti index of the M-carbon M r , s , t . Moreover, we have also computed closed formulas for these indices.

Metal oxides have long suffered from losses of electronic conductivity and structural durability in the form of three-dimensional nanostructure. Encapsulation with a carbon-based electrocatalyst su...

Terbuthylazine (TBA), ametryn (AME), and atrazine (ATZ) are triazine family herbicides. They are dominantly used in the field of cereal crops like wheat and maize for prevention of upland from annual gramineous and broad-leaved weeds, with attributes of weed efficiency broad spectrum and good market performance. Salicylic acid (SA) is a kind of natural plant growth regulator existing widely in the plant kingdom and participating in many physiological and defense processes. In this study, the effects of SA on the detoxification and degradation of herbicides TBA, AME, and ATZ in maize were investigated. When maize plants were exposed to 6 mg kg–1 of the triazine herbicides, the growth and chlorophyll concentration were reduced, while the membrane permeability increased. After maize was sprayed with 5 mg kg–1 SA, the herbicide-induced phytotoxicity was significantly assuaged, with the increased content of chlorophyll and decreased cellular damage in plants. Activities of several biomarker enzymes such as SOD, POD, and GST were repressed in the presence of SA. The concentration of the triazine herbicides in maize and the soil determined by high-performance liquid chromatography was drastically reduced by spraying SA. Using LC/Q-TOF-MS/MS, six metabolites and nine conjugates of AME in maize and soil were characterized. The relative contents of AME metabolites and conjugates in maize with SA were higher than those without SA. These results suggest that SA is able to promote the detoxification and decay of these triazine herbicides in maize and soil.

In the modern forestry, the demand for renewable and environmentally friendly wood protection is increasing. This paper reports a green method for preparing stable and self-cleaning superhydrophobic coating for wood protection by dripping polyvinyl alcohol cross-linked hollow silica nanoparticles on the surface of wood in combination with polydimethylsiloxane modification. The coating is based on a laminated structure with layers stacked on the surface of the wood and cured quickly with the assistance of UV. The coatings obtained on wood substrates with appropriate ratios have excellent superhydrophobic properties, with an optimum water contact angle of up to 160.4 ± 0.2°. The coating also exhibits good transparency in the UV-visible spectrum and a maximum transmittance of 91%. With transmission electron microscopy, the microscopic morphology of the self-assembled hollow silica nanoparticles was observed. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction were also applied to investigate the morphology and chemical composition of the coatings. A water contact angle of 151.5 ± 0.7° was maintained even after the abrasion tests with sandpaper at a distance of 300 cm. Meanwhile, the resultant coatings exhibit good self-cleaning properties apart from mechanical durability and chemical stability, which enables effective resistance to contamination. Evidenced by the abovementioned data, this composite coating is capable of optimizing the surface wettability of wood, offering a new dimension to the extensive and prolonged application of wood and wood-based products. Furthermore, considering the advantages of this method, it could also be used in other areas in the future, such as glass, solar substrates, and optical devices.

Summary As an analog of graphene, carbon nitrides have drawn increasing attention, ranging from artificial photosynthesis to synthetic organic chemistry. Notably, the most studied polymeric, C3N4, and other stoichiometric ones, such as C3N5, C4N3, and C3N, are commonly employed repetitive units of six-membered rings. Building blocks of five-membered rings (FMRs) are also fascinating and prevalent from a fundamental point of view, but FMR-based carbon nitrides are scarcely reported. Here, we propose a stable FMR-based C3N2 and the kinetic-oriented synthesis method via a pre-stabilization strategy using abundant-available zeolitic imidazolate framework as a precursor. The FMR topological structure and the associated dangling bonds were disclosed in C3N2, leading to an interesting p-π conjugation and splitting molecular orbitals, which remarkably narrowed the optical bandgap unusually down to 0.81 eV. The as-obtained C3N2 was further successfully applied to real-time, dynamic, and quantitative photoelectrochemical biosensing for practical non-transparent biosamples under near-infrared light irradiation.

A smart fluorescence “turn‐on” probe which contained a dansyl amide fluorophore and an N‐oxide group was designed based on the bioorthogonal decaging reaction between N‐oxide and the boron reagent. The reaction proceeds in a rapid kinetics (k 2=57.1±2.5 m −1 s−1), and the resulting reduction product showcases prominent fluorescence enhancement (up to 72‐fold). Time dependent density functional theoretical (TD‐DFT) calculation revealed that the process of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from the N‐oxide moiety to the dansyl amide fluorophore accounts for the quenching mechanism of N‐oxide. This probe also showed high selectivity over various nucleophilic amino acids and good biocompatibility in physiological conditions. The successful application of the probe in HaloTag protein labeling and HepG2 live‐cell imaging proves it a valuable tool for visualization of biomolecules., A smart fluorescence “turn‐on” probe, DASNox, which contained a dansyl amide fluorophore and an N‐oxide group, was designed based on the bioorthogonal decaging reaction between N‐oxide and the boron reagent. DASNox showed good biocompatibility in physiological conditions and has been successfully applied in HaloTag protein labeling and HepG2 live‐cell imaging. This bioorthogonal decaging reaction has enriched the chemical biology toolkit and offered an effective way for visualization and detection of biomolecules in vivo.

Conversion of cellulose and starch to furfural was investigated over four zeolites. The zeolites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, 27Al MAS NMR, IR spectra of pyridine adsorption and NH3 temperature-programmed desorption. The roles of acidity and pore structure of zeolites in conversion of cellulose and starch were discussed in detail. The results showed that Hβ zeolite with appropriate Bronsted acid sites, Lewis acid sites and pore structure was effective to produce furfural from cellulose and starch. HY zeolite could not catalyze cellulose reaction with high conversion because of its weak acidity. However, HY zeolite was effective to produce 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from starch. H-mordenite and HZSM-5 zeolites with fewer Lewis acid sites could not cause the isomerization reaction from glucose to fructose. So, the further conversion of fructose to furfural or HMF was inhibited. The formation of HMF only depended on the acid properties of zeolites. The formation of furfural was not only determined by the acidity of zeolites, but also by their appropriate pore structure.

In this paper, the electrochemical reactions and ions migration of crystalline silicon solar module were investigated. Based on the different polarity system voltage, the equations of electrochemical reactions in crystalline silicon solar module were given out for the first time. A novel model was developed to quantify ions migration in crystalline silicon solar module. The outcome of calculation indicates that the migration time is mainly associated with the applied electric field and ambient temperature without regard to humidity. And the migration time across n+-p junction is far larger than that across SiNx:H layer, which suggests the migration of Na+ ions in perfect silicon is harder than that in SiNx:H layer, unless there exists stacking faults in n+-p junction. Finally, the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed and that proves there exists a sparse distribution of Na+ ions in solar cells. The obtained results in this paper are beneficial to understand the electrochemical aging of module in the field.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a serious threat to human health worldwide, with a high genetic susceptibility. Rs2302685, a functional germline variant of LRP6, has been recently found to associate with NAFLD risk. This study was aimed to clarify the underlying mechanism associated with rs2302685 risk and its impact on pharmacotherapy in treatment of NAFLD. Methods: Venous blood samples were collected from NAFLD and non-NAFLD patients for SNP genotyping by using mass spectrometry. The Lrp6-floxdel mouse (Lrp6 (+/-)) was generated to model the partial function associated with human rs2302685. The liver injury and therapeutic effects of silibinin were compared between Lrp6 (+/-) and Lrp6 (+/+) mice received a methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet or normal diet. The effect of Lrp6 functional alteration on Wnt/β-catenin-Cyp2e1 signaling activities was evaluated by a series of cellular and molecular assays. Results: The T allele of LRP6 rs2302685 was confirmed to associate with a higher risk of NAFLD in human subjects. The carriers of rs2302685 had reduced level of AST and ALT as compared with the noncarriers. The Lrp6 (+/-) mice exhibited a less severe liver injury induced by MCD but a reduced response to the treatment of silibinin in comparison to the Lrp6 (+/+) mice, suggesting Lrp6 as a target of silibinin. Wnt/β-catenin-Cyp2e1 signaling together with ROS generation could be exacerbated by the overexpression of Lrp6, while decreased in response to Lrp6 siRNA or silibinin treatment under NAFLD modeling. Conclusions: The Lrp6 function affects individual susceptibility to NAFLD and the therapeutic effect of silibinin through the Wnt/β-catenin-Cyp2e1 signaling pathway. The present work has provided an underlying mechanism for human individual susceptibility to NAFLD associated with Lrp6 polymorphisms as well as a rationale for the effective use of silibinin in NAFLD patients.

The low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) is a significant problem hindering the practical uses of carbon anodes in sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs), especially for the carbons with large surface area. Presodiation is an effective way to solve the above problem, but it always needs complicated operations and cannot suppress the unavoidable electrolyte decomposition in the assembled battery. Herein, we develop an ultrafast chemical presodiation method for reduced graphene oxide (rGO) using sodium naphthalene (Na‐Nt) dissolved in dimethoxyethane (DME) solvent as a presodiation reagent. The presodiation effectively improves the ICE of rGO to 96.8% and forms an artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on its surface due to the decomposition of the formed complex between Na+ and DME. The formed artificial SEI suppresses the excessive decomposition of electrolytes in the assembled battery, leading to a formation of uniform and inorganic component–rich SEI on rGO surface, which enables a rapid interfacial ion transfer. Therefore, the presodiated rGO showed excellent rate performance with a high capacity of 198.5 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1. Moreover, excellent cycle stability indicated by the high capacity retention of 68.4% over 1000 cycles was also achieved, showing the potential to promote the practical uses of high‐rate rGO anode in SIBs.

In this work, a nanoplatform (FeCORM NPs) loaded with an iron-carbonyl complex was constructed. By exploiting chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and immunogenic cell death (ICD)-induced immunotherapy (IMT), the nanoparticles exhibited excellent efficacy against lung metastasis of melanoma in vivo. The iron-carbonyl compound of the nanomaterials could be initiated by both glutathione (GSH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to release CO and generate ferrous iron through ligand exchange and oxidative destruction pathways. The released CO caused mitochondria damage, whereas the generated ferrous iron led to oxidative stress via the Fenton reaction. On the other hand, the nanomaterials induced ICD-based IMT, which worked jointly with CDT to exhibit excellent effects against lung metastasis of melanoma through a mouse model. This work demonstrated how a nanoplatform, simple and stable but showing excellent efficacy against tumors, could be built using simple building blocks via a self-assembling approach. Importantly, the system took advantage of relatively high levels of GSH and H2O2 in tumors to initiate the therapeutic effects, which rendered the nanoplatform with a capability to differentiate normal cells from tumor cells. In principle, the system has great potential for future clinical applications, not only in the treatment of lung metastasis of melanoma but also in suppressing other types of tumors.

An epidemic of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is spreading worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 relies on its spike protein to invade host cells by interacting with the human receptor protein Angiotensin-Converting Enzymes 2 (ACE2). Therefore, designing an antibody or small-molecular entry blockers is of great significance for virus prevention and treatment. This study identified five potential small molecular anti-virus blockers via targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein by combining in silico technologies with in vitro experimental methods. The five molecules were natural products that binding to the RBD domain of SARS-CoV-2 was qualitatively and quantitively validated by both native Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR). Anti-viral activity assays showed that the optimal molecule, H69C2, had a strong binding affinity (dissociation constant KD) of 0.0947 µM and anti-virus IC50 of 85.75 µM.

Objective: To develop a rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatographic (UHPLC)-UV method for vancomycin determination in human serum for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). Methods: Human serum samples were precipitated with 10% perchloric acid, and the supernatant after centrifugation was analyzed on an ACQUITY UHPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 50mm, 1.7 μm) via gradient elution with a flow rate at 0.3 mL/min. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 0.005M KH2PO4 buffer (containing 0.1% triethylamine, pH 3.4). The detection wavelength was set at 210 nm, and the column temperature was set at 40°C. The total runtime was 6.0 min per analysis. Results: After comprehensive validation, the method was applied to determine the concentration of vancomycin in human serum. The chromatographic peaks of vancomycin and internal standard were not interfered by endogenous matrices. The Retention Time (RT) of vancomycin was 1.91 min, while the internal standard was 1.58 min. The good linearity range of vancomycin concentration was 2.5-120 μg/mL (R2>0.999). The lower Limit of Quantitation (LLOQ) was 2.5 μg/mL. The precision at three Quality Control (QC) levels (including LLOQ) was restricted within 85-115%. The extraction recovery rate of QC samples (4.0, 20.0, and 60.0 μg/mL) were 101.16%, 97.70%, and 94.90%, respectively. Inter- and intra-day precision was less than 8% (RSD). Stability tests under different storage conditions were satisfactory. In patients, the concentration of vancomycin ranged from 7.30 to 89.12 μg/mL determined by the fully validated method. Conclusion: The rapid sample pre-treatment procedures and short analysis time made this UHPLC-UV method suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of vancomycin.

Tumor microenvironments are characterized not only in terms of chemical composition, but also by physical properties such as stiffness, which influences morphology, proliferation, and fate of tumor cells. However, the underlying mechanisms between matrix stiffness and the apoptosis-autophagy balance remain largely unexplored. In this study, we cultured human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells on rigid (57 kPa), stiff (38 kPa) or soft (10 kPa) substrates and demonstrated that increasing autophagy levels and autophagic flux in the cells cultured on soft substrates partly attenuated soft substrate-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, this protective autophagy is regulated by intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, which triggers the downstream signals of JNK, Bcl-2 and Beclin-1. More importantly, soft substrate-induced activation of ROS/JNK signaling promotes cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway, whereas it increases protective autophagy by suppressing the interaction of Bcl-2 and Beclin-1. Taken together, our data suggest that JNK is the mediator of soft substrate-induced breast cancer cell apoptosis and autophagy which is likely to be the mechanism that partly attenuates mitochondrial apoptosis. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanism by which autophagy plays a protective role against soft substrate-induced apoptosis in human breast cancer cells.

Endemic selenium (Se) deficiency is a major worldwide nutritional challenge. Organic Se can be synthesized through physical and chemical methods that are conducive to human absorption, but its high production cost and low output cannot meet the actual demand for Se supplementation. Some microbes are known to convert inorganic Se into organic forms of high nutritional value and Se-enriched probiotics are the main representatives. The aim of the present review is to describe the characteristics of Se-enriched yeast, lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria and discuss their Se enrichment mechanisms. Se products metabolized by Se-enriched probiotics have been classified, such as Se nanoparticles (SeNPs) and selenoprotein, and their bioactivities have been assessed. The factors affecting the Se enrichment capacity of probiotics and their application in animal feed, food additives, and functional food production have been summarized. Moreover, a brief summary and the development of Se-enriched probiotics, particularly their potential applications in the field of biomedicine have been provided. In conclusion, Se-enriched probiotics not just have a wide range of applications in the food industry but also have great potential for application in the field of biomedicine in the future.

Background The antimicrobial peptide LL37 is produced by white blood cells (mainly neutrophils) and various epithelial cells, and has the outstanding advantages of participating in immune regulation, causing chemotaxis of immune cells and promoting wound healing. However, the central domain of LL37 needs to be improved in terms of antimicrobial activity. Results In this study, the amino acid substitution method was used to improve the antimicrobial activity of the LL37 active center, and a dimeric design with a better selection index was selected. A flexible linker was selected and combined with the 6 × His-SUMO tag and LG was successfully expressed using Pichia pastoris as a host. Recombinant LG displayed strong antimicrobial activity by destroying the cell membrane of bacteria but had low hemolytic activity. In addition, compared with monomeric peptide FR, rLG had improved ability to tolerate salt ions. Conclusion This research provides new ideas for the production of modified AMPs in microbial systems and their application in industrial production.

The separation of Cu from the CuxO-FexO containing waste (such as copper slag and electroplating sludge) is always intractable by using pyrometallurgy method. The carbothermic reduction methods, as well as the conventional sulfurization technology by using sulfurization agent FeS2, will introduce lots of iron into the prepared Cu–Fe alloy or Cu–Fe–S matte, and this results in the difficulty in further separation of Cu from Fe. In this work, CaS is utilized as the new sulfurization agent, and the iron content of prepared Cu–Fe–S matte is lower than 5%, while the copper grade is improved to about 76–79%. Such products could be used as the raw materials for producing metallic copper. According to the experimental results, at 1450 °C, the copper oxides in CuO–Fe2O3–SiO2–CaO system is selectively sulfurized by CaS, and Cu2S dominated product is formed and separated from slags. The recovery extent of copper reaches 98% when the CaS addition is 1.15 times (1.15CaS) of the stoichiometric quantity required. However, the increase of CaS addition (1.6CaS) will lead to the sulfurization of iron oxides, and make the iron content in Cu–Fe–S matte increase to 15%. Besides, when the Cu/Fe ratio (in mass) of synthetic waste is 0.5, part of the CaS is oxidized by Fe2O3, which results in the recovery extent of Cu to only about 73.30%. However, the copper recovery extent could be improved to 97% by adding extra reductant carbon.

Jiuling Deng,1,* Ying Ma,2,* Yuqiong He,1,* Hong Yang,2 Yanhong Chen,2 Liang Wang,1 Doudou Huang,1 Shi Qiu,1,* Xia Tao,2 Wansheng Chen1 1Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pharmacy, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Wansheng ChenInstitute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +64 021 81886182Email chenwansheng@shutcm.edu.cnXia TaoDepartment of Pharmacy, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +64 021 81886182Email taoxia2003@126.comPurpose: Isatis indigotica (Ii) is a cruciferous herb that is widely distributed in China, and its roots and leaves have been used in two renowned antipyretic detoxicate crude drugs in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Radix (R) and Folium (F) Isatidis. However, the pharmacodynamic material basis and underlying mechanisms of the herbal efficacy remained to be elucidated.Methods: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was adopted for the chemical profiling of R and F Isatidis. The active ingredients were screened out through the prediction of gastrointestinal absorption and druglikeness analysis using SwissADME. A herb-ingredient-target network was constructed through target prediction of the herbal active ingredients and anti-inflammation or anti-viral properties, followed by protein–protein interaction analysis. Then, the potential relevant signaling pathways were predicted by pathway enrichment. Finally, for verification, RAW 264.7 cell line was adopted to examine the anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities of 6 representative ingredients in Ii.Results: Seventy-three compounds have been identified from Ii through UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. A total of 17 potential active ingredients were screened through pharmacokinetics and drug-likeness evaluation using SwissADME. It was shown that key targets might include TNF, AKT1, SRC, IL2, CASP9, and CASP3 in our herb-ingredient-target network, and isovitexin, a flavonoid, tended to participate in the inflammatory response, indoles were more likely to affect the cell proliferation processes, and lignans might have a broader affinity to key targets than the other active ingredients, such as regulating immune system (targeting IL-2) and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In vitro, indigo and secoisolariciresinol diglucoside markedly reduced TNF-α expression in Poly (I: C)-incubated cells. Isovitexin significantly inhibited TNF-α expression, and isatin treatment markedly reduced IL-1β expression in LPS-incubated cells.Conclusion: As the pharmacodynamics material basis of Ii, indoles, lignans, and flavonoids are believed to confer beneficial properties through various cellular aspects with multiple signaling pathways involved.Keywords: Isatis indigotica, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, network analysis, bioassay analysis

Phenolic compounds are widely present in domestic and industrial sewage and have serious environmental hazards. Electrochemical oxidation (EO) is one of the most promising methods for sewage degradation because of its high efficiency, environmental compatibility, and safety. In this work, we present an in-depth overview of the mechanism and factors affecting the degradation of phenolic compounds by EO. In particular, the effects of treatment of phenolic compounds with different anode materials are discussed in detail. The non-active anode shows higher degradation efficiency, less intermediate accumulation, and lower energy consumption than the active anode. EO combined with other treatment methods (biological, photo, and Fenton) presents advantages, such as low energy consumption and high degradation rate. Meanwhile, the remaining drawbacks of the EO process in the phenolic compound treatment system have been discussed. Furthermore, future research directions are put forward to improve the feasibility of the practical application of EO technology.

To investigate the influence of crosslinking density and free polysiloxane chain length on oxygen permeability and hydrophilicity of multicomponent silicone hydrogels, two kinds of silicone macromonomers, single methacrylate terminated silicone macromonomers (PDMS-1) and double methacrylate terminated silicone macromonomers (PDMS-2), were synthetized, respectively. Then, a series of multicomponent silicone hydrogels with different crosslinking densities and free polysiloxane chain lengths were prepared by copolymerization of obtained silicone macromonomers, silicone monomer tris(trimethylsiloxy)-3-methacryloxpropylsilane (TRIS), and hydrophilic monomers. The oxygen permeability coefficient (Dk), equilibrium water content (EWC), light transmittance, and mechanical properties of silicone hydrogels were characterized. The results indicated that the longer free polysiloxane chain was beneficial to the increase of Dk values and EWC of silicone hydrogels. With the increase of crosslinking density, the Dk values and EWC of the silicone hydrogels decreased. This work provided a new idea for the preparation of high-permeability silicone hydrogels in the future.

The hot tearing susceptibility of Mg-1Ca-xSr (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, wt.%) alloys was investigated by CRC mold with a contraction force measurement system with a load cell and a temperature monitor. The results showed that the hot tearing susceptibility of Mg-1Ca-xSr alloys significantly improved with increasing of Sr content. Especially in Mg-1Ca-0.6Sr alloy, no visible tear was found on the casting sample. The force dropped and the final force value from the time-force-temperature curve derived from the hot tearing instruments could reflect the hot tearing susceptibility of different alloys. The mechanism of improved hot tearing resistance of Mg-1Ca-xSr alloys was clarified. In addition to susceptible temperature range and eutectic liquid fraction, it is found that the formation tendency of divorced eutectic also plays an important role on the hot tearing behavior of Mg-1Ca-xSr alloys.

A Bi(OTf)3 -catalyed reaction of 3-aryl propargyl alcohols with sulfonamide and halogen source was firstly investigated, which provided a facile route for the synthesis of a large variety of α-halo-β-amino ketones. The key intermediates, β-amino ketones, were obtained through tandem Meyer-Schuster rearrangement reaction of propargyl alcohols and intermolecular Michael addition of α, β-unsaturated ketones and sulfonamide. Then the in situ generated α-halo-β-amino ketones underwent the base-promoted intramolecular cyclization to give diverse acyl aziridines in a one-pot fashion. These transformations are reliable on a large scale. The high yields and convenient experimental operations make it a valuable method for the construction of α-halo-β-amino ketones and acyl aziridine derivatives.

The development of synthetic polymers that mimic the double-stranded helical structure of DNA is a fascinating topic in polymer science. In this study, we designed and synthesized two chiral norbor...

The exploitation of the interaction between nanostructured matter and small molecules, such as H2O at interfaces via dynamic hydrogen bonding, is essentially the key for smart, responsive nanodevic...

The transmission and distribution of moisture in cement-based materials are of great significance to the properties and durability of materials. Traditional macro-humidity monitoring equipment in civil engineering cannot capture the microscale humidity inside cement-based materials in situ. In this paper, a method of using rhodamine 6G fluorescence to characterize the change in relative humidity in cement-based materials is proposed. Two kinds of moulding processes are designed, which are premixed and smeared after moulding, and the optimal preparation concentration is explored. The results showed that rhodamine 6G can reflect the relative humidity of cement-based materials in situ by its fluorescence intensity and had little effect on the hydration heat release and hydration products of cement-based materials; the fluorescence intensity was much higher when the internal relative humidity was 63% and 75%. The research results lead the application of polymer materials in the field of traditional building materials, help to explore the performance evolution law of cement-based materials in micro scale, and have important significance for the evolution from single discipline to interdisciplinary.

Here we report that the chemoselective activation of Tsuji's 2-(cyanomethyl)allyl carbonates to generate the palladium-trimethylenemethane 1,3-dipoles via a deprotonation strategy can be realized in the presence of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates from substantial activated ketones. The following SN 2'-addition enables the formation of new 1,3-dipole species having an activated alkene moiety through a second deprotonation process, which then undergo cascade [1+2]/[3+2] annulations to furnish complex bicyclic [3.1.0]hexane frameworks having three contiguous quaternary stereogenic centers with good to excellent enantioselectivity. Moreover, by using benzoyl aldehyde-derived substrates, a [1+4]/[3+2] annulation sequence is similarly developed to produce fused cyclopenta[b]furan architectures.

Dual-doping of carbon, especially the combination of nitrogen and a secondary heteroatom, has been demonstrated efficient to optimize the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance. However, the optimum dual-doping is still not clear due to the lack of strong experimental proofs, which rely on a reliable method to prepare carbon materials that can rule out the interference factors and then emphasize only the doping effects. In this work, an inside-out doping method is reported to prepare carbon submicrotubes (CSTs) as a material to study the principles of designing dual-doping catalysts for ORR. The interference factors including the metal impurities and doping gradient in the bulk phase are excluded, and the doping effects including the structural and chemical variation of carbon are studied. P-doping exhibited a higher pore-forming ability to perforate carbon and a lower doping content, but a higher ORR catalytic activity as compared with S- and B-doped N-CSTs, demonstrating the N,P co-doping is more efficient in making carbon-based catalysts for ORR. First-principle calculations reveal that the edge C situated around the oxidized P site nearby a graphitic N atom is the active site that shows the lowest ORR overpotential comparable to Pt-based catalysts. This study suggests that the catalytic activity of dual-heteroatoms-doped carbons not only depends on the intrinsic chemical bonding between heteroatoms and carbon, but also is affected by the structural variation generated by introducing different atoms, which can be extended to the study of other kinds of functionalization of carbon and potential reactions besides ORR.

Ascorbate (Vitamin C) has been proposed as a promising therapeutic agent against sepsis in clinical trials, but there is little experimental evidence on its anti-septic efficacy. We report that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation by LPS stimuli augments ascorbate uptake in murine and human tubular cells through upregulation of two ascorbate transporters SVCT-1 and -2 mediated by Fn14/SCFFbxw7α cascade. Ascorbate restriction, or knockout of SVCT-1 and -2, the circumstance reminiscent to blockade of ascorbate uptake, endows tubular cells more vulnerable to the LPS-inducible apoptosis, whereas exogenous administration of ascorbate overrides the ruin execution, for which the PINK1-PARK2, rather than BNIP3-NIX axis is required. Ascorbate increases, while SVCT-1 and -2 knockout or ascorbate restriction dampens tubular mitophagy upon LPS stimuli. Treatment of endotoxemic mice with high-dose ascorbate confers mitophagy and substantial protection against mortality and septic acute kidney injury (AKI). Our work provides a rationale for clinical management of septic AKI with high doses of ascorbate.

The BCL-2 family of proteins (including the prosurvival proteins BCL-2, BCL-XL, and MCL-1) is an important target for the development of novel anticancer therapeutics. Despite the challenges of targeting protein-protein interaction (PPI) interfaces with small molecules, a number of inhibitors (called BH3 mimetics) have entered the clinic and the BCL-2 inhibitor, ABT-199/venetoclax, is already proving transformative. For BCL-XL, new validated chemical series are desirable. Here, we outline the crystallography-guided development of a structurally distinct series of BCL-XL/BCL-2 inhibitors based on a benzoylurea scaffold, originally proposed as α-helix mimetics. We describe structure-guided exploration of a cryptic "p5" pocket identified in BCL-XL. This work yields novel inhibitors with submicromolar binding, with marked selectivity toward BCL-XL. Extension into the hydrophobic p2 pocket yielded the most potent inhibitor in the series, binding strongly to BCL-XL and BCL-2 (nanomolar-range half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50)) and displaying mechanism-based killing in cells engineered to depend on BCL-XL for survival.

Polymeric monoliths are of great interest in a variety of applications. A new gelation approach to produce a mechanically stable polystyrene (PS) gel directly from its microemulsion is reported. To produce a PS gel, the as-prepared microemulsion is first demulsified by adding selected water-miscible organic solvents. The small PS latex particles liberated from the surfactant are assembled into a piece of bulk material at an appropriate temperature with a high degree of entanglement of the polymer chains. It is found that the d2T/η value is an important parameter to evaluate the gelation ability of the organic solvents and helps determine the gelation conditions. Finally, PS monoliths are obtained by capillary drying and their pore structures can be effectively tuned by changing the gelation time and the amount of solvent exchanged with water. This allows the controlled preparation of bulk PS artefacts with densities in the range of 0.06 to 1.14 g cm−3. This simple method of PS monolith production avoids the use of shaping tools or chemical templates, needs less energy, and is a promising alternative approach to design either integrated porous or compact polymer materials.

Metal sulfides, such as MoS2, are widely investigated in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries to suppress the shuttling of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) due to their chemical adsorption ability and catalytic activity. However, their relatively low conductivity and activity limit the LiPS conversion kinetics. Herein, the Co-doped MoS2 is proposed to accelerate the catalytic conversion of LiPS as the Co doping can promote the transition from semiconducting 2H phase to metallic 1T phase and introduce the sulfur vacancies in MoS2. A one-step hydrothermal process is used to prepare such a Co-doped MoS2 with more 1T phase and rich sulfur vacancies, which enhances the electron transfer and catalytic activity, thus effectively improving the LiPS adsorption and conversion kinetics. The cathode using the three-dimensional graphene monolith loaded with Co-doped MoS2 catalyst as the sulfur host shows a high rate capability and long cycling stability. A high capacity of 941 mAh g-1 at 2 C and a low capacity fading of 0.029% per cycle at 1 C over 1000 cycles are achieved, suggesting the effectively suppressed LiPS shuttling and improved sulfur utilization. Good cyclic stability is also maintained under a high sulfur loading indicating the doping is an effective way to optimize the metal sulfide catalysts in Li-S batteries.

Bioinspired smart materials with synergistic allochroic luminescence and complex deformation are expected to play an important role in many areas of science and technology. However, it is still challenging to fabricate such soft actuators with high programmability that can be manipulated in situ with high spatial resolution. Herein, we have incorporated terminally functionalized aggregation-induced emission active tetraphenylethene derivative and photochromic spiropyran moieties into the networks of liquid crystal elastomers through covalent bonding to obtain the synergistic photochromic luminescence and programmable soft actuators. Bio-mimic functions and light-induced auxetic metamaterial-like devices were shown to be feasible based on the combination of assembly and origami-programming strategy. These bioinspired devices with synergistic photochromic luminescence and complex photodeformation abilities provide an elegant strategy to design multi-functional liquid crystal actuators.

Chemoresistance is one of the main factors of treatment failure of cervical cancer (CC). Here, we intended to discover the role and mechanism of miR-509-5p in the paclitaxel chemoresistance of CC cells. RT-PCR was conducted to verify miR-509-3p expression. HCC94 and C-33A paclitaxel-resistant CC cell models were constructed. Additionally, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry were performed to verify the viability and apoptosis of HCC94 and C-33A cells after upregulating miR-509-3p. Besides, the downstream target of miR-509-3p was analyzed by bioinformatics, and the targeted relationship between miR-509-3p and RAC1 was identified by the dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Further, the expression of apoptotic proteins (Bcl2, Bax, and Caspase3) and the RAC1/PAK1/LIMK1/Cofilin pathway was monitored by Western blot. The result showed that upregulating miR-509-3p markedly inhibited the viability and promoted the apoptosis of CC cells. On the other hand, miR-509-3p was distinctly downregulated in paclitaxel-resistant HCC94 and C-33A cells (vs. normal cells). The transfection of miR-509-3p mimics notably increased their sensitivity to paclitaxel. Meanwhile, RAC1 was found as the potential target of miR-509-3p in bioinformatics analysis. Moreover, the RAC1/p21 (RAC1) activated kinase 1 (PAK1)/LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1)/Cofilin pathway was significantly activated in paclitaxel-resistant HCC94 and C-33A cells, while miR-509-3p overexpression significantly inactivated this pathway. Additionally, downregulation of RAC1 also partly reversed the paclitaxel-resistance of CC cells and inhibited PAK1/LIMK1/Cofilin. All in all, miR-509-3p enhances the apoptosis and chemosensitivity of CC cells by regulating the RAC1/PAK1/LIMK1/Cofilin pathway.

Trans-Cinnamaldehyde (TC) is a widely used food additive, known for its sterilization, disinfection, and antiseptic properties. However, its antibacterial mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, quantitative proteomics was performed to investigate differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in Escherichia coli in response to TC treatment. Bioinformatics analysis suggested aldehyde toxicity, acid stress, oxidative stress, interference of carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, and protein translation as the bactericidal mechanism. E. coli BW25113ΔyqhD, ΔgldA, ΔbetB, ΔtktB, ΔgadA, ΔgadB, ΔgadC, and Δrmf were used to investigate the functions of DEPs through biochemical methods. The present study revealed that TC exerts its antibacterial effects by inducing the toxicity of its aldehyde group producing acid stress. These findings will contribute to the application of TC in the antibacterial field.

In the present research, a novel MOF-containing Zn(II) ions as nodes were created via the reaction between Zn salt and 2-hydroxy-4-(pyridin-4-yl)benzaldehyde (HL), a N,O-hetrodonor ligand under a solvothermal reaction condition, and its chemical formula is [Zn(L)2]·2DMA·CH3OH (1). The structural analysis results show that complex 1 has a 3D porous framework with 1D channels running along the c axis, and its network could be simplified into a four-linked nbo-type topological network. Complex 1 possesses outstanding luminescent performances and it can determine selectively the Fe3+ ions with a high Ksv value of 3.5 × 104 M−1 and a low LOD (limit of detection) of 0.3 µM. Its treatment on the primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) was evaluated in this present research, and its specific mechanism was also studied in the meantime. Firstly, the levels of lgG and lgA on the platelets were determined via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detection kit. Furthermore, the PD-L1 relative expression on the platelets was detected employing the real-time RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) assay.