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Sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) represents a unique class of cathode material for lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries as it eradicates the polysulfides shuttling issue in carbonate-based electrolyte. However, due to the essential chemical S-linking and organic nature of SPAN, the active mass percentage and rate capability are two bottleneck issues preventing its ultimate deployment outside of laboratories. In the current work, aiming to endow both the charge conductivity and catalytic activity to SPAN for maximizing the redox kinetics of S conversion, a freestanding nanofibrous SPAN cathode embedding conductive CNTs and atomically dispersed Co centers is fabricated via multivariate electrospinning. While the CNTs enable dramatically enhancing the fiber conductivity and generating mesoscopic porosity for facilitating charge and mass transportation, the cross-linking of SPAN by Co-N4S motifs creates extra charge conduction pathways and further serves as the catalytic active sites for expediting redox S conversion. As a result, an extraordinary Li-SPAN performance is achieved with a high specific capacity up to 1856 mAh g−1@0.2 C, a superb rate capability up to 10 C, and an ultra-long battery life up to 1500 cycles@1 C. Consequently, our study here provides insights into the adoption of coordination chemistry to maximize the sulfur utilization by ensuring a more complete redox conversion from SPAN to Li2S, and vice versa.

Metastasis due to circulating tumor cells (CTCs) shed from the original tumor accounts for the majority of cancer-related death. Efficient CTCs detection is pivotal to the diagnosis of early cancer metastasis. In this work, Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) decorated hyperbranched PdRu nanospines (PdRu/Pt) hierarchical structures were firstly synthesized to detect CTCs with the assistance of DNAzyme. Meanwhile, Super P and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) acted as sensing medium to improve electrical conductivity and immobilization of anti-EpCAM antibody to specifically capture model CTCs. After immune-conjugation of anti-EpCAM-MCF-7-signal probes on the gold electrode, PtNPs, PdRu nanospines (PdRuNSs) and hemin/G-quadruplex co-catalyzed substrate H2O2 to realize multiplexed signal amplification, which significantly improves the analytical performance of the electrochemical biosensor. As-proposed biosensor reached a limit of detection (LOD) down to 2 cells mL−1 and showed a wide detection range of 2 to 106 cells mL−1. Application of the biosensor to detect MCF-7 cells spiked human blood samples further demonstrated the feasibility for early cancer evaluation in clinic.

Purpose Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive molecule which participates in many physical and pathological processes. Although LPA receptor 6 (LPAR6), the last identified LPA receptor, has been reported to have diverse effects in multiple cancers, including breast cancer, its effects and functioning mechanisms are not fully known. Methods Multiple public databases were used to investigate the mRNA expression of LPAR6, its prognostic value, and potential mechanisms in breast cancer. Western blotting was performed to validate the differential expression of LPAR6 in breast cancer tissues and their adjacent tissues. Furthermore, in vitro experiments were used to explore the effects of LPAR6 on breast cancer. Additionally, TargetScan and miRWalk were used to identify potential upstream regulating miRNAs and validated the relationship between miR-27a-3p and LPAR6 via real-time polymerase chain reaction and an in vitro rescue assay. Results LPAR6 was significantly downregulated in breast cancer at transcriptional and translational levels. Decreased LPAR6 expression in breast cancer is significantly correlated with poor overall survival, disease-free survival, and distal metastasis-free survival, particularly for hormone receptor-positive patients, regardless of lymph node metastatic status. In vitro gain and loss-of-function assays indicated that LPAR6 attenuated breast cancer cell proliferation. The analyses of TCGA and METABRIC datasets revealed that LPAR6 may regulate the cell cycle signal pathway. Furthermore, the expression of LPAR6 could be positively regulated by miR-27a-3p. The knockdown of miR-27a-3p increased cell proliferation, and ectopic expression of LPAR6 could partly rescue this phenotype. Conclusion LPAR6 acts as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer and is positively regulated by miR-27a-3p.

The implementation of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as the co-catalysts in hybrid photocatalytic systems puts requirements on both their charge-carrying capability and solvent stability. In the current study, in order to simultaneously promote the electrical conductivity and water stability of ZIF-67, an in-situ monomer trapping strategy is deployed to synthesize polypyrrole (PPy)-reinforced ZIF-67 ensembles. Through coordination modulation, the incremental addition of pyrrole monomers enables to alter the crystal morphology of ZIF-67 from rhombic dodecahedra to truncated rhombic dodecahedra, and further to cubes. Upon polymerization, the resulted composite, in comparison to ZIF-67, demonstrates a billion-fold conductivity enhancement, much improved chemical stability in pronated solvents, as well as largely retained specific surface area and porosity, enabling it functioning as an outstanding co-catalyst for catalyzing robust photocatalytic CO2 reduction. Furthermore, a PPy-mediated electron harvest and relay mechanism is proposed for rationalizing the enhanced photocatalytic performance.

The deployment of Li metal batteries has been significantly tethered by uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth, especially in heavy-duty operations. Herein, we implement an in situ surface transformation tactic exploiting the vapor-phase solid-gas reaction to construct an artificial solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) of Li2Se on Li metal anodes. The conformal Li2Se layer with high ionic diffusivity but poor electron conductivity effectively restrains the Li/Li+ redox conversion to the Li/Li2Se interface, and further renders a smooth and chunky Li deposition through homogenized Li+ flux and promoted redox kinetics. Consequently, the as-fabricated Li@Li2Se electrodes demonstrate superb cycling stability in symmetric cells at both high capacity and current density. The merits of inhibited dendrite growth and side reactions on the stabilized Li@Li2Se anode are further manifested in Li-O2 batteries, greatly extending the cycling stability and energy efficiency.

Numerous studies on cancer, biopharmaceuticals, and clinical trials have necessitated comprehensive and precise analysis of protein O-glycosylation. However, the lack of updated and convenient databases deters the storage and utilization of emerging O-glycoprotein data. To resolve this issue, an O-glycoprotein repository named OGP was established in this work. It was constructed with a collection of O-glycoprotein data from different sources. OGP contains 9354 O-glycosylation sites and 11,633 site-specific O-glycans mapping to 2133 O-glycoproteins, and it is the largest O-glycoprotein repository thus far. Based on the recorded O-glycosites, an O-glycosylation site prediction tool was developed. Moreover, an OGP-backed website is already available (http://www.oglyp.org/). The website comprises four specially designed and user-friendly modules: Statistic Analysis, Database Search, Site Prediction, and Data Submit. The first version of OGP repository and the website allow users to obtain vast O-glycoprotein related information, such as protein accession numbers, glycopeptides, site-specific glycan structures, experimental methods, and potential glycosylation sites. O-glycosylation data mining can be performed efficiently on this website, which can greatly facilitates O-glycosylation studies.

The effectiveness of suppression of lithium ion battery, LIB, fires with water mist was investigated experimentally using a previously developed bench-scale wind tunnel. The experiments were conducted on lithium ion cell arrays constructed from twelve cylindrical (18,650 form factor), fully charged, lithium cobalt oxide cells, which were densely packed in a rectangular configuration without gaps. An electric heater was employed to initiate thermal runaway in one cell. Failure propagation was then tracked using thermocouples located at the bottom surfaces of the cells. Heat release due to flaming combustion was computed based on the oxygen consumption method. Experiments conducted at 640 l min−1 of air, 320 l min−1 of air, and 186 l min−1 of nitrogen tunnel purge flow were used as reference points. All reference point experiments underwent complete cascading failure. Addition of 1.0 and 1.6 g s−1 of water mist to 320 and 640 l min−1 of air produced agent concentrations of 14.1 and 11.1 wt%, respectively, which are slightly above the concentration of water mist recommended for suppression of traditional fires. Application of water mist at 1.0 and 1.6 g s−1 prevented cascading failure in 40% and 50% of the tests, respectively, and significantly reduced the rate of failure propagation in the other tests. At both water mist delivery rates, flaming combustion associated with burning of battery ejecta was inhibited, reducing the combustion efficiency below 50%. One of the key findings of this study is that suppression of flaming combustion is not sufficient to stop cascading failure. The array must be continually cooled with water mist until the temperature of the cells decreases below a certain threshold, which prevents chemical reactions between battery materials inside the cell casings.

Apple flavor quality is vital for fruit assessment and the competitiveness. Complex apple flavor constitution is normally determined by complicated detection methods, which make simple, fast, and effective quality determination a challenge. In this study, the representative Fuji apples (Malus × domestica Borkh.) from Xinjiang and Shandong regions in China were selected to establish a simple and effective method for flavor assessment. Appearance, soluble solid content (SSC), and ethylene release changes of the fruits were monitored. During 65 days of storage, SSC, representing sugar content, kept stable as storage became longer, while the ethylene release exhibited dynamic changes with a peak and a reflection point, which reflected the physiological information of fruit. Moreover, ethylene could also reflect the aroma condition of the fruit in previous study. Therefore, SSC, together with ethylene, can stand for the flavor quality characteristics of apple fruits. Especially, both of them can be obtained independently by rapid nondestructive technologies, providing a new sight and strategy for the simple and effective flavor quality detection of Fuji apples.

In this paper, the antimicrobial effect of inert flue gas on indicator microorganisms in ballast water was investigated based on a 265h test. The inert flue gas consists of nitrogen (N_2) and carbon dioxide (CO_2) the microorganisms include Chlorella and Escherichia coli. Within the scope of the test, the killing effect of the microbes treated by combining N_2 and CO_2 was higher than that of using only either N_2 or CO_2. When the dissolved oxygen concentration in the ballast water was 0.5 mg/L and the pH value was 6, the killing effect was the highest. At this time, the mortality rate of Chlorella sp. and E. coli reached 99.99%, and 99.98%, respectively. After the experiment, property of the ballast water treated by N_2 and CO_2 were analyzed. The dissolved organic carbon concentration was lower than the recommended minimum concentration of 5 mg/L. The concentration of particulate organic carbon was higher than the standard value of 0.3%.The experiment proposes a new method for ballast water treatment of large ocean-going vessels in the future.

Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a fatal disease with molecular heterogeneity, inducing differences in biological behavior, and therapeutic strategy. NGS profiles of pathogenic alterations in the Chinese PDAC population are limited. We conducted a retrospective study to investigate the predictive role of DNA damage repair (DDR) mutations in precision medicine. Methods The NGS profiles were performed on resected tissues from 195 Chinese PDAC patients. Baseline clinical or genetic characteristics and survival status were collected. The Kaplan–Meier survival analyses were performed by the R version 3.6.1. Results The main driver genes were KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, and SMAD4. Advanced patients with KRAS mutation showed a worse OS than KRAS wild-type (p = 0.048). DDR pathogenic deficiency was identified in 30 (15.38%) of overall patients, mainly involving BRCA2 (n = 9, 4.62%), ATM (n = 8, 4.10%) and RAD50 genes (n = 3, 1.54%). No significance of OS between patients with or without DDR mutations (p = 0.88). But DDR mutation was an independent prognostic factor for survival analysis of advanced PDAC patients (p = 0.032). For DDR mutant patients, treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy (p = 0.0096) or olaparib (p = 0.018) respectively improved the overall survival. No statistical difference between tumor mutation burden (TMB) and DDR mutations was identified. Treatment of PD-1 blockades did not bring significantly improved OS to DDR-mutated patients than the naive DDR group (p = 0.14). Conclusions In this retrospective study, we showed the role of germline and somatic DDR mutation in predicting the efficacy of olaparib and platinum-based chemotherapy in Chinese patients. However, the value of DDR mutation in the prediction of hypermutation status and the sensitivity to the PD-1 blockade needed further investigation.

Boronic ester, one typical example of dynamic covalent bonds, has presented great potential to prepare self-healing hydrogels. However, most of currently reported hydrogels based on boronic esters are formed at pH > 8, which impeded their further use in physiological conditions. In this study, we designed two kinds of zwitterionic copolymers with benzoxaborole and catechol pendant groups, respectively. Owing to the lower pKa value of benzoxaborole (7.2), gelation can happen easily at pH 7.4 PBS after mixing these two copolymers due to efficient formation of benzoxaborole-catechol complexations. The resulting hydrogels exhibited excellent self-healing property as well as dual pH/sugar responsiveness due to the dynamic nature of boronic ester. Moreover, benefiting from the cell membrane bioinspired 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-based polymeric matrix, the hydrogel was further investigated for 3D cell encapsulation. The combination of biocompatible zwitterionic polymers with dynamic benzoxab...

Catalytic combustion is an efficient and economical technique to deal with the air pollution of diluted volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this work, oxygen-rich CeO2-Nb2O5 mixed oxides (CexNb1-xO4+δ) with varied Ce/Nb molar ratios in the bulk synthesized by modified sol–gel method were investigated for complete catalytic combustion of VOCs as exemplified by monochlorobenzene and toluene. To reveal the structure–function relationship of these materials, comprehensive catalytic performance evaluation and characterizations were performed, which showed that the 4Ce1Nb catalyst (CeO2-Nb2O5 with Ce/Nb molar ratio of 4:1) displayed superb apparent catalytic activity. Complete oxidation could be accomplished below 300 °C, which was significantly lower than that of single-component CeO2 or Nb2O5, as well as some other types of V and Cr based mixed oxide catalysts. Moreover, the apparent catalytic activity of 4Ce1Nb could be maintained for at least 100 h at 280 °C with high selectivity to the formation of HCl and CO2. The improved catalytic performance of 4Ce1Nb could be ascribed to the formation of oxygen-rich CexNb1-xO4+δ mixed oxides with high dispersion of Ce and Nb species into each other, the strong interaction of Ce–O-Nb, an abundance of active oxygen species, high specific surface area and mesoporous structure.

In this study, a magnetic separation–shaking table gravity separation process was used to treat Sc-bearing V–Ti magnetite tailings, and the Sc2O3 content in the Sc concentrate was enhanced from 0.0039 to 0.0061%. The majority of the Sc in the Sc concentrate originates from augite, hornblende, and aluminosilicate. Magnesium chloride and the Sc concentrate were placed in a roasting furnace for chloridizing roasting, causing the partial chlorination of Sc to ScCl3. Sc was extracted from the roasted ore using hydrochloric acid leaching. Sc extraction indices demonstrated 95.12% Sc2O3 leaching efficiency and 0.0011% Sc2O3 content in the acid leaching residue, clearly indicating the extraction of Sc. No noticeable peak of Sc was observed in the spectrum of the acid leaching residue. Most of the Sc in the roasted ores was dissolved as Sc3+, and it entered the liquid phase. The main minerals in the acid leaching residue were Mg2SiO4, CaTiO3, and Fe2SiO4.

Oxide-derived Cu (OD-Cu) has been viewed as a highly active form for catalyzing the multielectron transfer of electrochemical CO2 reduction, but the underlying catalytic mechanism is still controversial. In the current study, the crystalline and valency factors that influence the CO2R activities of OD-Cu are revisited by employing single crystal Cu(111) foils that exclude convolutions from initial morphological and crystallographic heterogeneity. We observe that the overall CO2R performance, especially the C2H4 selectivity, correlates well with the initial oxidation level of the Cu(111) foil, of which the surface oxide layer is reduced into small fragments comprising rich grain boundaries and diversely orientated facets. Nonetheless, we find that the polycrystallinity and grain boundaries of OD-Cu, in this circumstance, are not the major causes of the observed activity enhancement. Instead, a transition state between the initial oxide and the finally reduced copper phases, as well as its longevity, dictates the catalytic property of OD-Cu in electrochemical CO2 reduction. Consequently, this work furnishes further evidence and in-depth understanding to help clarify the catalytic mechanism of OD-Cu in CO2R.

Pullulan hydrogels are widely used in tissue engineering and drug delivery. However, these hydrogels do not meet the requirements of articular cartilage repair because of their fast degradation rate and poor mechanical strength. Herein, we fabricated a hybrid hydrogel system by combining pullulan with synthetic polymers polyethylene (glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA). In this study, pullulan was modified with methacrylic anhydride (MA) to obtain photo-crosslinkable methacrylated pullulan (PulMA). Moreover, the lithium phenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphinate (LAP) was used as a water-soluble UV photoinitiator to form the PulMA/PEGDA hydrogel by photopolymerization strategy. Compared with the pure PulMA hydrogel, the increase of PEGDA concentration led to a slower degradation rate and an increase of residual mass from 63.9% to 86.8%. There was about 8-fold increase in storage modulus (G') (reach to 16.0 × 10

The development and application of natural antibacterial materials have always been the focus of biomedical research. Borneol as a natural antibacterial compound has received extensive attention. However, the hydrophobicity caused by its unique structure limits its application range to a certain extent. In this study, we combine zwitterionic 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) with a complex bicyclic monoterpene structure borneol compound and prepare an excellent antifouling and antibacterial surface via the Schiff-base bond. The prepared coating has excellent hydrophilicity verified by the contact angle (CA), and its polymer layer is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The zwitterion MPC and borneol moieties in the copolymer play a coordinating role, relying on super hydration and the special stereochemical structure to prevent protein adsorption and inhibit bacterial adhesion, respectively, which are demonstrated by bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption and antibacterial activity test. Moreover, the water-soluble borneol derivative as the antibacterial surfaces we designed here was biocompatible toward MRC-5 (lung fibroblasts), as showed by in vitro cytotoxicity assays. Such results indicate the potential application of the as-prepared hydrophilic surfaces in the biomedical materials.

Lithium polymer batteries (LPBs) rely on a high ion transport to gain improved cell performance. Thermostable and porous gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) have attracted much attention due to their excellent properties in electrolyte wettability and ionic conductivity. In this work, iron-nickel-cobalt trimetal Prussian blue analogue (PBA) nanocubes are filled into the electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based membranes to generate GPE composites with morphological superiority consisting of fine fibers and interconnected pores. The thus obtained PBA@PAN fibrous membrane showcases good thermal stability, high porosity and electrolyte uptake, as well as a peak ionic conductivity of 2.7 mS/cm with the addition of 10% PBA. Consequently, the assembled lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery using PBA@PAN-10 as the GPE delivers a high capacity of 152.2 mAh/g at 0.2 C and an ultralow capacity decay of 0.09% per cycle in a long-term cycle life of 350 cycles at 1 C, endorsing its promising applications in LPBs.

The plant-derived polyphenol tannic acid (TA) was used to crosslink linear statistical polymers containing benzoxaborole [poly(MPC-st-MAABO)] to form a bio-inspired, multi-responsive, injectable, and self-healing hydrogel in the physiological environment via benzoxaborole–tannic acid complexation. The mechanical properties of the hydrogel were easily tuned by adjusting the molar ratio between tannic acid and benzoxaborole groups. Fast degradation of the hydrogel was observed in the presence of fructose, adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), and dopamine (catechol), and reversible sol–gel formation was induced by changing the pH of the hydrogel. As the hydrogel was crosslinked by dynamic boronic ester bonds, the self-healing property and injectability were expected and confirmed. 3D cell encapsulation within the hydrogel scaffold was successfully achieved. This technique offered a promising method for preparing bio-inspired, multi-responsive, injectable, and self-healing hydrogels to fulfill current demands in biomedical applications.

Although luminescent indium(III) based halide perovskites have been widely investigated, the study of emissive indium(III) halide hybrids is limited. Three indium(III) chloride hybrids based on a bpym ligand were synthesized, namely [EPy]2[InCl4(bpym)InCl4]·DMF (1), [EPy]2[InCl4(bpym)InCl4] (2), and [BPy]2[InCl4(bpym)InCl4] (3) (EPy = N-ethylpyridinium; BPy = N-butylpyridinium; bpym = 2,2′-bipyrimidine). They all exhibit a zero-dimensional structure, in which the ligand bpym interconnects two [InCl4]− to form a [InCl4(bpym)InCl4]2− anion that is further charge-compensated by the corresponding pyridinium cations. This is the first time using bpym to coordinate with an In atom. At 298 K, 1 exhibits a weak emission at 600 nm while 2 and 3 exhibit emissions peaking at 500 nm and 540 nm, respectively. Interestingly, the DMF solvent molecule in 1 can be removed by heating, thus resulting in the structural transformation of 1 into 2 together with a photoluminescence (PL) change. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that halogen-to-ligand charge-transfer (HLCT) occurs in the emission process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on PL of ionic indium(III) halide hybrids incorporating organic ligands.

The disproportionation of alcohols without an additional reductant and oxidant to simultaneously form alkanes and aldehydes/ketones represents an atom-economical transformation. However, only limited methodologies have been reported, and they suffer from a narrow substrate scope or harsh reaction conditions. Herein, we report that alcohol disproportionation can proceed with high efficiency catalyzed by iodide under acidic conditions. This method exhibits high functional group tolerance including aryl alcohol derivatives with both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups, furan ring alcohol derivatives, allyl alcohol derivatives, and dihydric alcohols. Under the optimized reaction conditions, a 49% yield of 5-methyl furfural and a 49% yield of 2,5-diformylfuran were obtained simultaneously from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. An initial mechanistic study suggested that the hydrogen transfer during this redox disproportionation occurred through the inter-transformation of HI and I2. Radical intermediates were involved during this reaction.

Three bismuth(III) bromide hybrids based on 2,2′-bipyridyl-1,1′-dioxide (bp2do) were obtained by a solvothermal method, namely Bi2Br6(bp2do)2 (1), Bi2Br6(bp2do)2·0.5CH3CN (2), and [PP14][BiBr4(bp2do)] (3, PP14 = 1-butyl-1-methylpiperidinium). 1 features a centrosymmetric [Bi2Br6O4] dimer, in which two identical [BiBr4O2] octahedra edge-share two Br atoms; 2 contains a [Bi2Br6O4] dinuclear unit with a unique configuration, in which a [BiBr4O2] octahedron face-shares one Br and two O atoms with a [BiBr3O4] pentagonal-bipyramid. Moreover, the metal–ligand linking mode adopted in 2 has not been reported before. The choice of organic solvents could induce different Bi–Br–bp2do geometries with a dimer in 1 and a dinuclear unit in 2. Introduction of ionic liquid cations resulted in the ionic compound 3 featuring a mononuclear [BiBr4(bp2do)] unit. A more rigid environment with more hydrogen bonds leads to visible green phosphorescence with long lifetime for 3 under UV light. The three compounds possess similar phosphorescence peaks at 77 K, which originates from inorganic-to-organic charge transfer (IOCT) as confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Two chlorobismuthate hybrids incorportating ionic liquid cations (ILCs) with second-level room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP), namely [Emim]BiCl4(bp2do) (1) and [Emmim]BiCl4(bp2do) (2) (Emim = 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, Emmim = 1-ethyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium, bp2do = 2,2′-bipyridyl-1,1′-dioxide), were obtained. The decrease in the number of substituents in the ILCs largely enhanced the phosphorescence quantum yield (QY) from 2.31% for 2 to 25.05% for 1, owing to the more compact structure of 1. The two compounds possess uncommonly different temperature-dependent emission peak shifting behaviors, which could be ascribed to whether the electron-phonon interactions or the exciton localization at high energy is dominant. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the optical absorptions for both compounds originate from inorganic moiety to organic moiety charge transfer (IOCT). X-ray scintillation was observed for both compounds, which is the first report on inorganic–organic halobismuthate hybrids. Finally, 1 with higher QY was fabricated into a luminescent thin flim, letters and a bendable round wafer with polyacrylonitrile (PAN). This work provides new insight on RTP materials and X-ray scintillation materials involving bismuth halides.

Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into high-value multicarbon (C2+ ) chemical feedstocks offers a promising avenue to liberate the chemical industry from fossil-resource dependence and eventually close the anthropogenic carbon cycle but is severely impeded by the lack of high-performance catalysts. To break the linear scaling relationship of intermediate binding and minimize the kinetic barrier of CO2 reduction reactions, ternary Cu-Au/Ag nanoframes were fabricated to decouple the functions of CO generation and C-C coupling, whereby the former is promoted by the alloyed Ag/Au substrate and the latter is facilitated by the highly strained and positively charged Cu domains. Thus, C2 H4 production in an H-cell and a flow cell occurred with high Faradic efficiencies of 69±5 and 77±2 %, respectively, as well as good electrocatalytic stability and material durability. In situ IR and DFT calculations unveiled two competing pathways for C2 H4 generation, of which direct CO dimerization is energetically favored.

This study reports the transformation of nitrogen during liquefaction of two microalgae (i.e., Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina) in subcritical/supercritical ethanol at 220–260 °C. The nitrogen con...

Li-polysulfide batteries (LPSBs) involving dissolved polysulfides as the catholyte have been sought as an alternative solution for addressing the problem of inefficient sulfur utilization with conventional lithium-sulfur batteries, but imposes even more stringent requirements on polysulfide immobilization. In this study, a hybrid rGO/CNTs aerogel embedding FeP nanocubes is fabricated by instantly freezing and phosphorizing metal organic frameworks (MOF)-containing precursors, and used as the LPSB cathodes for hosting polysulfides with high affinity. A high specific capacity of 1312.3 mA h g−1 at 0.2 C and prolonged cycling with only 0.037% decay per cycle at 1 C were achieved for over 500 cycles, together with an exceptional high areal capacity up to 8.5 mA h cm−2 at the sulfur loading of 9.6 mg cm−2. This remarkable LPSB performance is ascribed to the strong immobilization of polysulfides by the FeP anchoring material, the conductive and microporous carbon scaffolds in providing adequate interfaces for charge transfer, the homogeneous catholyte distribution for promoting sulfur utilization, as well as a possible catalytic effect of FeP on expediting the redox conversion of polysulfides.

In this contribution, a novel cellulose acetate modified with dopamine (CA-DA) membrane material was designed and prepared by a two-step route consist of chlorination and further substitution reactions. The chemical structure of the prepared CA-DA material was determined by FTIR and 1H NMR, respectively. The CA-DA ultrafiltration membrane was subsequently fabricated by the scalable phase inversion process. Compared with cellulose acetate membrane as the control sample, the introduction of dopamine improved the porosity, pore size and hydrophilicity of the CA-DA membrane, which was helpful to the water permeability (181.2 L/m2h) without obviously affecting the protein rejection (93.5%). According to the static protein adsorption and dynamic cycle ultrafiltration experiments, the CA-DA membrane displayed persistent antifouling performance, which was verified by flux recovery ratio, flux decline ratio and filtration resistance. Moreover, the water flux recovery ratio of the CA-DA membrane was retained at 97.3% after three-cycles of BSA solution filtration, which was much higher than that of the reference CA membrane. This new approach provided a long life and excellent ultrafiltration performance for polymer-based membranes, which has potential application prospects in the field of separation process.

Increasing evidence demonstrates that microorganisms and their products can modulate host responses to cancer therapies and contribute to tumor shrinkage via various mechanisms, including intracellular signaling pathways modulation and immunomodulation. Detoxified pneumolysin derivative ΔA146Ply is a pneumolysin mutant lacking hemolytic activity. To determine the antitumor activity of ΔA146Ply, the combination of ΔA146Ply and berbamine, a well-established antitumor agent, was used for breast cancer therapy, especially for triple-negative breast cancer. The efficacy of the combination therapy was evaluated in vitro using four breast cancer cell lines and in vivo using a synergistic mouse tumor model. We demonstrated that in vitro, the combination therapy significantly inhibited cancer cell proliferation, promoted cancer cell apoptosis, caused cancer cell-cycle arrest, and suppressed cancer cell migration and invasion. In vivo, the combination therapy significantly suppressed tumor growth and prolonged the median survival time of tumor-bearing mice partially through inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, promoting tumor cell apoptosis, and activating systemic antitumor immune responses. The safety analysis demonstrated that the combination therapy showed no obvious liver and kidney toxicity to tumor-bearing mice. Our study provides a new treatment option for breast cancer and lays the experimental basis for the development of ΔA146Ply as an antitumor agent., Graphical Abstract, Xuemei Zhang and colleagues demonstrated that the combination of detoxified pneumolysin derivative ΔA146Ply and BBM significantly inhibited triple-negative breast cancer progression both in vitro and in vivo. Their study provides a new treatment option for breast cancer and lays the experimental basis for the development of ΔA146Ply as an antitumor agent.

Two bismuth(III) halides hybrids with room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP), namely, [BPy]2[Bi2Cl8(bpym)] (1, BPy = N-butylpyridinium) and [EPy]2[Bi2Cl8(bpym)] (2, EPy = N-ethylpyridinium), were s...

The MWCNT-COOH and CTAB modified MMT were hybridized by the ultrasonic method, and the nylon 66/MMT/WMCNT composite was prepared by in-situ polymerization to study the effect of the introduction of MMT and MWCNT on the properties of nylon 66. A scanning electron micrograph of the composite cross-section shows that the CNTs were uniformly dispersed in the nylon 66 matrix. The XRD patterns show that the introduction of MMT and MWCNT-COOH caused the ratio of α1 and α2 of nanocomposites. The TGA results show that the heat resistance and residual carbon content of the composite material are improved. The mechanical properties of nanocomposites show that the mechanical properties of the material are improved relative to pure PA66.

To settle the realization difficulty of continuous rotating detonation (CRD) fueled by hydrocarbon, a cavity-based annular combustor scheme was proposed in our previous study, and its feasibility w...

The correlation between metal coordination and electrocatalytic water oxidation performance is elusive in many cobalt-based materials. Herein, we designed an ideal Co phosphate-based platform to explore the effect of coordination environment on oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. The cobalt geometry was modulated from octahedral to tetrahedral by simple removal of water ligands in Co3 (PO4 )2 ⋅8 H2 O. Other features except the coordination structure in the two autologous materials remain similar. The two analogues display the same OER kinetics, but the anhydrous Co3 (PO4 )2 exhibits a greatly enhanced OER activity. On the basis of Raman and operando XAS results, the higher intrinsic activity of the Co tetrahedral sites is because they facilitate the formation of active high valent cobalt (hydr)oxide intermediates during OER. This work not only brings insights of OER on Co-based electrocatalysts but also provides a reference system to study the effect of metal geometry on electrocatalysis.

European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is considered to be a vital commercial fish species. In this study, the effect and molecular mechanism of bioactive peptides from European eel on macrophage-stimulating activity in RAW264.7 cells were investigated. Eel peptide (EP) markedly induced NO and iNOS production and promoted TNF-α and IL-6 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, EP dose-dependently activated NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, EP was purified using a Sephadex A-25 column and a Bio-Gel P-6 column, and the fraction (Fr-1-1) showing the strongest NO-inducing activity was obtained. Then, the molecular weights of the components in Fr-1-1 were analyzed by LC-MS/MS and found to range from 700 to 1900 Da for the majority of components, which suggested that Fr-1-1 mainly consisted of peptides containing 8-20 amino acid residues. Overall, our results indicated that EP from Anguilla anguilla activated macrophages and could be used as a potential nutraceutical or pharmaceutical.

Developing cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts with low kinetic overpotential and superior stability for both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial to build a water splitting system for advancing the production of hydrogen fuel. Herein, we report a bifunctional catalyst by doping atomic Ir into a NiCo layered double hydroxide (LDH) using a facile atmospheric solvothermal method and subsequent spontaneous galvanic displacement. The as-synthesized atomic Ir-doped NiCo LDH exhibits much better durability for over 200 h than the NiCo LDH with the loading of Ir nanoparticles, due to the fine doping of atomic Ir into the crystal lattice of LDH. Benefiting from the synergistic effects in the HER/OER processes, as well as the large electrochemically active surface area and the improved electrical conductivity, the atomic Ir-doped NiCo LDH couple results in an unprecedented performance for overall water splitting with a low cell voltage of 1.45 V at 10 mA cm−2 in a 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. Finally, a practical solar-driven water splitting system with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 14.8% is demonstrated, outperforming the state-of-the-art analogous systems based on ordinary Si solar cells.

Continuous Rotating Detonation (CRD) is a promising combustion mode for aerospace propulsion, with high heat release rate and thermodynamic efficiency, but it exhibits realization difficulty for fuels with low chemical activity. To settle this issue, a cavity-based annular combustor scheme has been proposed in our previous study, and its feasibility has been well demonstrated. A series of ethylene-air tests under different cavity configurations have been carried out in this paper, and the effects of cavity depth are revealed. For CRD mode, traditional isobaric combustion also exists at the contact surface between the high temperature burnt products and combustible mixture. Increasing the cavity depth can improve its isobaric combustion holding ability, but excessive isobaric combustion could destroy the foundation of CRD. For fuels with low chemical activity, appropriately improving the isobaric combustion can help the CRD realization. This paper reveals the cavity depth effects on the competitive relationship between isobaric combustion and CRD, and it can be used as a guideline for the CRD combustor design.

The development of highly efficient bifunctional catalysts for OER and ORR is crucial for improving the efficiency of metal−air batteries. Herein we report a high-performance bifunctional oxygen catalyst of α-MnO2 nanowires synthesized using ionic liquid (IL) as the structure-directing agent. While increasing the IL addition enables to gradually transform the reaction products from β-MnO2 nanorods to α-MnO2 nanowires, increasing the reaction time enables to further improve their crystallinity. For both OER and ORR activities, the same trend was found following β-MnO2 nanorods

Recently developed solid-state catalysts can mediate carbon dioxide (CO

Tirapazamine (TPZ) and its derivatives (TPZD) have shown their great potential for efficiently killing hypoxic cancer cells. However, unsatisfactory clinical outcomes resulting from the low bioavailability of the low-molecular TPZ and TPZD limited their further applications. Precise delivery and release of these prodrugs via functional nanocarriers can significantly improve the therapeutic effects due to the targeted drug delivery and enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Herein, zwitterionic block copolymer (BCP) micelles with aldehyde functional groups are prepared from the self-assembly of poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-b-poly(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-co-4-formylphenyl methacrylate) [PMPC-b-P(DEGMA-co-FPMA)]. TPZD is then grafted onto PMPC-b-P(DEGMA-co-FPMA) to obtain a polymer-drug conjugate, PMPC-b-P(DEGMA-co-FPMA-g-TPZD) (BCP-TPZ), through the formation of a pH-responsive imine bond, exhibiting a pH-dependent drug release profile owing to the cleavage of the imine bond under acidic conditions. Outstandingly, BCP-TPZ shows around 13.7-fold higher cytotoxicity to hypoxic cancer cells in comparison to normoxic cancer cells evaluated through an in vitro cytotoxicity assay. The pH-responsiveness and hypoxia-specific cytotoxicity confer BCP-TPZ micelles a great potential to achieve precise delivery of TPZD and thus enhance the therapeutic effect toward tumor-hypoxia.

A Gram-stain-negative, wheat, rod-shaped, motile, non-spore forming, and aerobic bacterium, designated as strain PIT, was isolated from saline silt samples collected in saltern in Yantai, Shandong, China, and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed a clear affiliation of strain PIT with the genus Kangiella. Strain PIT showed the closest phylogenetic relationship with Kangiella taiwanensis KT1T with the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 98.3%. The genome size of the strain PIT was 2809662 bp consisting of 2653 genes which include 39 tRNAs genes, 2 sRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. The major cellular fatty acids of strain PIT were identified as iso-C15:0, iso-C11:0, iso-C11:0 3-OH and Summed Feature 9 (iso-C17:1ω9c), and the major respiratory isoprenoid quinone was Q8. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 45.8 mol%. The Average Amino Acid identity (AAI) value between strain PIT and Kangiella sediminilitoris was 83.9%. The Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) values between strain PIT and Kangiella sediminilitoris, Kangiella aquimarina and Kangiella taiwanensis were 76.9%, 71.0% and 74.6%, respectively. The digital DNA-DNA Hybridization (dDDH) values between strain PIT and Kangiella sediminilitoris, Kangiella aquimarina and Kangiella taiwanensis were 19.8%, 19.1% and 18.7%, respectively. The results of 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, phenotypic characterizations, chemotaxonomic characterization and genome features indicate that strain PIT represents a novel specie of the genus Kangiella, for which the name Kangiella shandongensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PIT (KCTC 82509T = MCCC 1K04352T).

A novel assembly method was used to prepare the sulfhydryl functionalized magnetic SBA-15 (SH-M-SBA-15). The physicochemical properties of SH-M-SBA-15 were characterized by TEM, XRD, EDS, FT-IR, BET, and VSM. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of initial uranium concentration, dosage of adsorbent, pH values, contact time, and temperature on the adsorption efficiency and behaviors. The adsorption types were analyzed from the aspects of kinetic, isotherms, and thermodynamic. The results show that the specific surface area of SH-M-SBA-15 is 316.67 m2/g, which is smaller than that of SBA-15 (692.18 m2/g). However, compared with SBA-15, SH-M-SBA-15 has more surface sulfhydryl functional groups. The addition of this group can improve the adsorption of uranyl ions by SH-M-SBA-15. The optimal adsorption conditions were adsorption dosage 40 mg/L, pH 6, temperature 35 °C, contact time 180 min, and initial uranium concentration 35 mg/L. Under this condition, the maximum adsorption amount of uranyl ion by SH-M-SBA-15 can reach 804.79 mg/g, which is much higher than the highest adsorption capacity of uranyl ion by SBA-15 (146.23 mg/g). The adsorption process was better depicted by the Langmuir isotherm model. The process was consistent with the quasi-second-order model. ΔG was negative and ΔH was positive, indicating spontaneous and endothermic adsorption.

The present study aimed to evaluate the applicability of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for identifying filamentous fungi and assessing the in vitro activities of common antifungal drugs against different kinds of filamentous fungi that are commonly encountered in a clinical setting. A total of 123 strains of filamentous fungi (24 species) were submitted for identification by MALDI-TOF MS, and the findings were compared with those obtained by conventional methods. The discrepancies were further investigated by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. Then, 79 strains were randomly selected for further testing by the minimum inhibitory concentration Etest method. MALDI-TOF MS correctly identified 114 (92.70%) of the 123 filamentous fungi and failed to identify six isolates (4.9%). By contrast, the conventional identification methods made 113 (91.9%) correct identifications. In addition, 15 isolates of filamentous fungi were further identified by ribosomal DNA-ITS sequencing. In the in vitro antifungal susceptibility test, voriconazole showed the strongest antifungal activity among the tested drugs against a broad range of filamentous fungi. Caspofungin showed a better in vitro antifungal activity than fluconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B. MALDI-TOF MS offers a cost/time-saving, high-throughput and accurate working protocol for identifying filamentous fungi. Voriconazole could still serve as the first-line drug for treating serious infections caused by filamentous fungi, while caspofungin may be another treatment option for fungal infections.

Kaolin/graphene oxide composite has been widely utilized in aero-space and architectural engineering applications due to its excellent mechanical property. Direct ink writing (DIW) is a freeform rapid prototyping technology that could be used to accurately fabricate the resulting size with complex shapes. In this study, we reported the DIW of kaolin/graphene oxide (GO) composite suspensions (KGCS) to assemble 3D structures at ambient temperature for the first time. The effects of GO on the chemical constitution and microstructure of kaolin suspensions were investigated. Rheology was characterized to ensure printability of KGCS. The addition of GO in kaolin suspensions quickened a flocculation structure, which dramatically changed their rheology properties. The DIW of 3D structures from the optimal KGCS sample maintained their initial shape without spreading. The flexural and compressive strengths of the dried optimal KGCS samples were obviously enhanced due to the improvement and reduction of the micro-defects compared from cured kaolin matrix.

In agritechnology applications, the sustained release of pesticides plays significant roles in efficient bioavailability and environmental protection. In this study, hydrophobic derivate of sodium alginate (Ugi-SA), polyacrylamide (PAM) and montmorillonite (MMT) were utilized to construct several stretchable double-network nanocomposite hydrogels, which were used to control the release of λ-cyhalothrin. These nanocomposite hydrogels were fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The adoption of Ugi-SA and appropriate incorporation of MMT could significantly improve the tensile properties, pesticide-loading efficiency and sustained release performances of the hydrogels. The swelling behavior of all the hydrogels well fits into the Fickian diffusion model. The maximum fracture strain and loading efficiency of the hydrogels reached 2000% and 81.30%, respectively. The hydrogel with 5% MMT content shows the lowest cumulative release percentage of 6.68% over 87 h, and the pesticide release curves well fit into the Weibull model. These novel nanocomposite hydrogels take advantages of both the gelation property of alginate derivatives and the adsorption capacity of clays, to serve as promising potential carriers and to improve the utilization efficiency of water-insoluble pesticides.

The development of three-dimensional kaolin-based materials cavities for direct plated copper (3DPC) ceramic substrates has great promising in hermetic and ultraviolet light emitting diodes electronic packaging field. In this study, suspensions with kaolin clay solids content of 24–32 vol% and polyacrylic acid were used for direct ink writing (DIW) technique to fabricate 3DPC. Experiments results showed that the stability and extrudability of kaolin suspensions related to their zeta potential and rheological properties, respectively. The zeta potential absolute values had little variation with the increase of kaolin solids content and characterized that kaolin particles were dispersed adequately in colloidal suspensions. Rheological and thixotropic tests showed that the 32 vol% kaolin solids content suspension with good fluidity and viscoelastic properties was suitable for DIW. The 3DPC prepared using this suspension can maintain basically primal appearance with little slumping. Mechanical properties such as compression, flexural and bonding strengths of the cured 32 vol% kaolin solids content suspension were also conducted. Processing kaolin suspensions via DIW presents opportunity for integrated packaging of electronics chips.

Cu nanoparticle (NP) paste is considered the next-generation die-attach material because of its cost-effectiveness and high conductivity and electro-migration resistance. However, the spontaneous oxidation of Cu NPs severely restrains the incorporation of Cu NP paste into practical applications. Herein, a novel self-reducible Cu NP paste was prepared and demonstrated for low-temperature Cu-Cu bonding. The Cu NP paste was composed of 62 wt.% ultra-small Cu NPs (6.5 nm) and 38 wt.% organic components [isopropanolamine (IPA) stabilizer and ethylene glycol]. The reducing and sintering mechanisms of Cu NP paste were proposed, and the effects of sintering temperature on the mechanical properties and microstructure evolutions of Cu-Cu joints were systematically investigated. Consequently, the reducibility of the IPA stabilizer was beneficial for eliminating the surface oxides and enhancing the sinterability of Cu NPs, and the robust and high-strength Cu-Cu joints (> 20 MPa) were achieved at low temperature of 200°C in Ar atmosphere. Furthermore, the microstructure observations reveal that the robust bonding is attributed to the remarkable metallurgical interconnection between the substrates and sintered Cu NP layer.

In the present study, sulfur-containing functional groups were grafted onto activated carbon and adsorption behavior for [Au(S2O3)2]3− was studied. Activated carbon grafted with sulfur-containing functional groups (S-AC) was developed with MBT (2-Mercaptobenzothiazole). The effects of MBT dosage and contact time in the preparation process were optimized; solution pH, thiosulfate ion concentration, and temperature of the surroundings in the adsorption stage over gold adsorption were studied. With a contact time of 24 h and MBT dosage of 0.7 g, S-AC had better gold adsorption ability and the prepared adsorbents worked well at a pH of about 9.0 and thiosulfate concentration of about 0.1 mol/L. The Freundlich model and pseudo-second order kinetics model fit the [Au(S2O3)2]3− adsorption process well. A total gold amount of 18.402 kg/t for five stages was attained with S-AC. The presence of thiol and disulfide linkages on the surface of activated carbon was proved using XPS, FT-IR, BET, and SEM. The adsorption of [Au(S2O3)2]3− onto S-AC involved a gold(I) thiolate and disulfide interchange mechanism. This study made the adsorption of [Au(S2O3)2]3− on activated carbon possible via a simple and feasible method, and this is of great significance for future research in leaching gold with thiosulfate.

Background: Benzophenones (BPs), parabens, and triclosan (TCS) are widely used in personal care products and may be neurotoxic to children, but limited studies have estimated the associations between exposure to these potential endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy and child neurocognitive development. Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the relationships of prenatal exposure to BPs, parabens and TCS with child neurocognitive development at age 2. Methods: From 2014 to 2015, 478 mother-child pairs from a longitudinal prenatal cohort in China were included in present study. We quantified BPs, parabens and TCS in three spot urine samples during pregnancy (in the first, second, and third trimester). The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) test to children was performed at 2 years. Multivariate linear regression models and generalized estimating equations were used to examine changes in mental developmental index (MDI) and psychomotor development index (PDI) per 2-fold increase in averaged and trimester-specific maternal urinary phenols, respectively. Results: In the adjusted models, each 2-fold increase in average prenatal paraben concentration was associated with lower MDI scores among girls [−1.08 (95% CI: −2.10, −0.06) and − 1.51 (95% CI: −2.69, −0.32) for methyl paraben (Mep) and Σparabens, respectively], but the association was not statistically significant among boys [−0.24 (95% CI: −1.46, 0.99), Psex-int = 0.37 and 0.18 (95% CI: −1.28, 1.64), Psex-int = 0.10 for Mep and Σparabens, respectively]. Increasing urinary 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4-OH-BP) concentration was associated with lower PDI scores among boys [−2.96 (95% CI: −4.48, −1.45)], not girls [−0.07 (95% CI: −1.57, 1.43)] and the association was significantly different in boys and girls (Psex-int = 0.01). No significant associations were observed between the average prenatal TCS exposure and BSID results. In trimester-specific analyses, increasing parabens was associated with lower girls' MDI only in the second trimester, while increasing 4-OH-BP was associated with lower boys' PDI in each trimester. Conclusion: Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to BPs and parabens may be associated with impairment in child cognitive abilities at 2 years. Further human and animal studies are needed to verify our results and elucidate the biological mechanisms involved in these associations. Keywords: Benzophenones, Parabens, Triclosan, Child neurocognitive development

Background: Widespread exposure to parabens has been a concern, especially among pregnant women. Only one study reported that parabens are associated with glucose levels among pregnant women. However, studies on parabens exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are lacking. Objectives: This study investigated whether exposure to parabens in early pregnancy is related to GDM. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 1087 pregnant women from a single tertiary medical center between 2014 and 2015 in Wuhan, China. Parabens [methyl paraben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), butylparaben (BuP), and benzylparaben (BzP)] concentrations were measured in spot urine samples collected between 8 and 16 gestational weeks. GDM was diagnosed according to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups Consensus Panel (IADPSG) recommendations. We used the Poisson regression with a robust error variance with generalized estimating equations (GEE) estimation analyses to evaluate associations between parabens exposure and GDM risk. Results: A total of 103 (9.5%) women were diagnosed with GDM. We evaluated the associations of GDM risk with urinary MeP, EtP, and PrP (detection rate: >90%), but not with BuP and BzP due to the relatively low detection rate (