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With the rapid development of mobile internet technology, the operator would be no longer a single operator but could participate in the sharing economy as a resource supplier. Shared farms were based on an economic organization that was fully covering the interests of farmers as the primary carrier, with mixed-ownership enterprises composed of various capitals as the leading construction and operation body, supported by information technologies such as mobile Internet and Internet of Things, and sharing farms and homestays as the main features—integrating circular agriculture, creative agriculture, agricultural experience, and service functions, allowing farmers to participate in fully and benefit from the comprehensive operation and development model of rural revitalization, which more and more consumers favor.

The development of solid state electrolytes is considered as an effective approach to build safer lithium-ion batteries by replacing the conventional liquid electrolytes. However, the solid state electrolytes face continuous challenges to improve their ionic conductivities and mechanical properties. Herein, we report the synthesis of novel polymer electrolytes based on cross-linked polyacrylonitrile-polyethylenimine (PAN-PEI) nanofiber membranes infiltrated with in-situ gelated electrolytes using tripropylene glycol diacrylate as crosslinking agent in the organic carbonate-based liquid electrolytes. The PAN-PEI nanofiber membranes with different mass ratios of PAN/PEI prepared by electrospinning method are constructed with entangled nanofibers of an average diameter of ~600 nm. The optimized PAN-PEI based electrolyte has a high ionic conductivity up to 3.39 mS cm−1 at room-temperature and decent tensile strength of 9.36 MPa. Linear sweep voltammetry shows that the polymer electrolyte also has a wide electrochemical window of 5.4 V (vs. Li/Li+). This polymer electrolyte exhibits excellent cycling stability even in the high energy density of LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2/Graphite, delivering an initial discharge capacity of 175 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C with a capacity retention of 91.4% after 200 cycles.

Intelligent technology is widely used in all aspects of life. The use of modern information technology to promote the development of sports intelligence to improve the physical health of students is an important way to reform school sports. As the development of school sports is facing problems such as insufficient attention and insufficient teachers, it is recommended to establish a dynamic monitoring system of student physique, school sports teaching and competition training management mechanism, construct a school sports culture network platform, and build a “cloud” by means of network technology such as big data. “Platform sports education new model and other paths to achieve the intelligent development of school sports.

Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped hierarchical porous carbon (N,S-HPC) is synthesized by using polyaniline and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) as doping sources and polytetrafluoroethylene as the silica template removal agent for lithium-sulfur batteries. N,S-HPC shows the interconnected hierarchical porous network, which enables sulfur to be uniformly dispersed in the carbon matrix thus accelerating the transport of electrons and lithium ions. The S@N,S-HPC composite cathode exhibits a high capacity utilization of 1106 mA h/g at 0.2 C, together with excellent rate capacity of 600 mA h/g at 2 C, and also superior cycle life over 500 cycles with a capacity decay of 0.08 % per cycle at 1 C. The outstanding electrochemical performances for S@N,S-HPC cathode are mainly ascribed to the hierarchical porous structure of carbon and N/S co-doping, which offers sufficient interface for the deposition of solid discharge products and impedes the diffusion of polysulfides due to both physical confinement and chemical interaction by porous carbon matrix and N/S atoms.

Summary Staphylococcus aureus commonly infects the skin, but the host-pathogen interactions controlling bacterial growth remain unclear. S. aureus virulence is regulated by the Agr quorum-sensing system that controls factors including phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs), a group of cytotoxic peptides. We found a differential requirement for Agr and PSMα for pathogen growth in the skin. In neutrophil-deficient mice, S. aureus growth on the epidermis was unaffected, but the pathogen penetrated the dermis through mechanisms that require PSMα. In the dermis, pathogen expansion required Agr in wild-type mice, but not in neutrophil-deficient mice. Agr limited oxidative and non-oxidative killing in neutrophils by inhibiting pathogen late endosome localization and promoting phagosome escape. Unlike Agr, the SaeR/S virulence program was dispensable for growth in the epidermis and promoted dermal pathogen expansion independently of neutrophils. Thus, S. aureus growth and invasion are differentially regulated with Agr limiting intracellular killing within neutrophils to promote pathogen expansion in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue.

High voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode material was prepared by two steps solid-state method with additive PEG dispersant. XRD, SEM, XPS and electrochemical tests have been carried out, and the results show that the PEG can promote the pyrolysis of MnO2 and limit the impurities formation. The secondary particle can also be effectively restrained in the pre-calcination of MnO2 and NiO, and the effect can be last to the final product. The capacity from Mn3+/Mn4+ couple was reduced and the whole capacity can reach 140.7 mAh g−1 with the retention rate of 81.33% after 100 cycles at 0.2C. Meanwhile, the product has better rate performance and surface stability than those prepared by traditional two-step solid-state method.

Xanthan Gum (XG) is systematically investigated and employed as water soluble binder for LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode in Li-ion batteries. XG binder exhibits good thermal stability and processes abundant functional groups such as carboxyl and hydroxyl, displaying a better adhesion strength of 0.085 N cm−1 than sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC, 0.050 N cm−1), but inferior to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF, 0.170 N cm−1). The Rheology test reveals that the viscosity of LFP slurry prepared with XG binder is higher than that of PVDF, resulting in a better dispersion of LFP and carbon black particles. The electrochemical performances of LFP-XG electrode are investigated and compared with those of aqueous CMC and conventional PVDF binder. LFP-XG displays better cycle stability and rate performance than PVDF, comparable to CMC, which retains 55.3% capacity of C/5 at 5 C as compared to PVDF (34.8%) and CMC (57.8%). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) shows that LFP-XG has smaller redox polarization and faster lithium diffusion rate than PVDF while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurement at specified intervals reveals its more favorable electrochemical kinetics than that with PVDF, similar to CMC, thus better rate capability. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) displays that LFP-XG has a more homogenous distribution of LFP and conductive carbon black particles with XG before cycling and better maintains its structure integrity after 100 cycles than that of PVDF. Furthermore, LFP-XG is observed to process a high ionic conductivity supported by dQ/dV profiles.

Nickel hydroxides with hierarchical micro-nano structures are prepared by a facile homogeneous precipitation method with different nickel salts (Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, NiCl2·6H2O, and NiSO4·6H2O) as raw materials. The effect of nickel sources on the microstructure and lithium storage performance of the nickel hydroxides is studied. It is found that all the three prepared samples are α-nickel hydroxide. The nickel hydroxides synthesized with Ni(NO3)2·6H2 or NiCl2·6H2O show a similar particle size of 20–30 μm and are composed of very thin nano-sheets, while the nickel hydroxide synthesized with Ni(SO4)2·6H2O shows a larger particle size (30–50 μm) and consists of very thin nano-walls. When applied as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the nickel hydroxide synthesized with NiSO4·6H2O exhibits the highest discharge capacity, but its cyclic stability is very poor. The nickel hydroxides synthesized with NiCl2·6H2O exhibit higher discharge capacity than the nickel hydroxides synthesized with Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, and both of them show much improved cyclic stability and rate capability as compared to the nickel hydroxide synthesized with Ni(SO4)2·6H2O. Moreover, pseudocapacitive behavior makes a great contribution to the electrochemical energy storage of the three samples. The discrepancies of lithium storage performance of the three samples are analyzed by ex-situ XRD, FT-IR, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests.

A novel core–shell structured Si/S-doped-carbon composite with buffering voids (Si/v-SC), was prepared by a facile hydrothermal method using glucose as carbon source and simultaneously chemical polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) in the presence of Si@SiO2 nanoparticles, and followed by carbonization and removal of the SiO2 layer. The results showed that the Si nanoparticles were embedded in the S-doped-carbon buffer space to form a core–shell structure. Compared to the Si/carbon composite (Si/v-C) without S-doping in carbon layer, the Si/v-SC composite electrode showed improved cycling and rate performance, exhibiting a reversible capacity of 664 mA h g−1 over 300 cycles at the current of 0.4 A g−1 and a high capacity of 537 mA h g−1 even at 10 A g−1. The effects of S-doping on the properties of carbon material were further investigated. XRD and Raman test revealed that the S-doping increased the interspace of carbon crystal face, and improved the amorphous structure of carbon and thus the initial coulombic efficiency.

Inflammasome activation is an important innate immune defense mechanism against bacterial infection, and in return, bacteria express virulence determinants that counteract inflammasome activation. Many such effectors are secreted into host cells via specialized bacterial secretion systems. Here, the intracellular pathogenic bacterium Edwardsiella tarda was demonstrated to activate NLRC4 and NLRP3 inflammasomes via a type III secretion system (T3SS), and to inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome via a type VI secretion system (T6SS), indicating the antagonistic roles of these systems in inflammasome signaling. Furthermore, a non-VgrG T6SS effector, EvpP, was identified that significantly inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Subsequent studies revealed that EvpP significantly suppressed Jnk activation, thus impairing oligomerization of the inflammasome adaptor ASC. Moreover, EvpP counteracted cytoplasmic Ca2+ increase, which works upstream of Jnk activation to regulate the NLRP3 inflammasome. Finally, EvpP-mediated inflammasome inhibition promoted bacterial colonization in vivo. This work expands our understanding of bacterial T6SS in counteracting host immune responses.

A water-soluble conductive composite binder consisting of carboxymethyl chitosan (CCTS) as a binder and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a conduction-promoting agent is reported for the LiFePO 4 (LFP) cathode in Li-ion batteries. The introduction of conductive PEDOT:PSS as a conductive composite binder facilitates the formation of homogeneous and continuous conducting bridges throughout the electrode and raises the compaction density of the electrode sheet by decreasing the amounts of the commonly used conducting agent of acetylene black. The optimized replacement ratios of acetylene black with PEDOT:PSS (acetylene black/PEDOT:PSS = 1:1, by weight) are obtained by measuring electrical conductivity, peel strength and compaction density of the electrode sheets. The LFP half-cell with the optimized conductive binder exhibits better cycling and rate performance and more favorable electrochemical kinetics than that using only acetylene black conducting agent. The pilot application of PEDOT:PSS/CCTS binder in 10 Ah CCTS-LFP prismatic cell exhibits a comparable cycling performance, retaining 89.7% of capacity at 1 C/2 C (charge/discharge) rate as compared with 90% for commercial PVDF-LFP over 1000 cycles, and better rate capability than that of commercial PVDF-LFP, retaining 98% capacity of 1 C at 7 C rate as compared with 95.4% for PVDF-LFP.

Two fluorosilanes with oligo(ethylene oxide) unites were synthesized through hydrosilylation of chlorosilane with allyl substituted oligo(ethylene oxide) ether followed by fluorination with potassium fluoride. The synthesized fluorosilane compounds exhibited lower viscosity, higher dielectric constant and higher oxidation potential, compared with their non-fluorination counterparts. Difluoro(3-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)propyl)methylsilane (DFSM 2 ), one of the two compounds, was evaluated as high-voltage and thermal stable electrolyte co-solvent with the conventional carbonate-based electrolytes. Using an optimized electrolyte of 1M LiPF 6 in EC/DFSM 2 /EMC (2/3/5 in vol .) with addition of 5 wt % fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), high-voltage LiCoO 2 (LCO)/graphite full cell displayed outstanding cycling stability of 92.5% capacity retention after 135 cycles at 4.4 V upper cutoff voltage. Characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, the DFSM 2 -based electrolyte demonstrated higher thermal stability with lithiated graphite anode and delithiated LCO cathode, thus better safety feature compared with the conventional electrolyte.

Background De Winter syndrome is an electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern related to acute occlusion of the anterior descending artery. The incidence rate of De Winter syndrome is rare, but still requires much attention from clinicians. Methods Two patients who finnaly diagnosed with De Winter syndrome were included in our study. Results A 55‐year‐old male farmer, who was previously healthy, came to the emergency room due to sudden pain in the precordial area for 6 hours, accompanied with back pain and sweating. The second ECG revealed De Winter syndrome. Emergency coronary angiography was taken, which showed a severe atrioventricular block; diffuse stenosis in the proximal and middle segments of the left anterior descending branch, with 90% stenosis in the severest region. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the left anterior descending artery was performed. A 70‐year‐old man with a history of hypertension arrived at the Emergency Department with chest pain for 3 hours. The first ECG was performed, which was contacted with de winter syndrome. The second ECG demonstrated acute anterior Myocardial infarction. Emergency coronary angiography showed approximately 95% stenosis at the junction of the proximal and middle segments. PCI of the proximal and middle segments of the left anterior descending artery was performed. Conclusion De Winter syndrome is a type of acute coronary syndrome, which may be an early ECG pattern in the development of acute ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction. Therefore, once De Winter syndrome is observed on the ECG, acute coronary syndrome, especially acute anterior descending occlusion should not be ignored.

Compared with monostatic Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems, bistatic SAR systems own obvious advantages, and have attracted more and more attentions from academe. A number of experiments with various configurations and platforms have verified the application potential of bistatic SAR. However, the bistatic SAR system is far more complicated than monostatic one, which means more non-ideal factors may be encountered during bistatic SAR experiments, such as motion deviation of receiver and transmitter platforms. To keep the motion state of the receiver and transmitter stable and simplify the process of implementing bistatic SAR experiments, we employ a translational invariant bistatic SAR system whose transmitter and receiver are suspended on the arm of a tower crane. In this case the transmitter and the receiver can only move along the arm of the tower crane, which makes it more convenient to control the motion state of receiver and transmitter. With the translational invariant bistatic SAR system based on a tower crane, we conducted real-scene experiments in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China and some meaningful imaging results are obtained.

Image composition is an important operation to create visual content. Among image composition tasks, image blending aims to seamlessly blend an object from a source image onto a target image with lightly mask adjustment. A popular approach is Poisson image blending [23], which enforces the gradient domain smoothness in the composite image. However, this approach only considers the boundary pixels of target image, and thus can not adapt to texture of target background image. In addition, the colors of the target image often seep through the original source object too much causing a significant loss of content of the source object. We propose a Poisson blending loss that achieves the same purpose of Poisson image blending. In addition, we jointly optimize the proposed Poisson blending loss as well as the style and content loss computed from a deep network, and reconstruct the blending region by iteratively updating the pixels using the L-BFGS solver. In the blending image, we not only smooth out gradient domain of the blending boundary but also add consistent texture into the blending region. User studies show that our method outperforms strong baselines as well as state-of-the-art approaches when placing objects onto both paintings and real-world images. Code is available at: https://github.com/owenzlz/DeepImageBlending

Objective: To establish a spinal cord injury (SCI) model by ventral violence and explore its pathological changes. Methods: We first designed and made a shape-suitable impinger. SD rats were divided into 4 groups according to force momentum calculated by weight and height: Group A (350 g*28 cm), Group B (280 g*28 cm), Group C (210 g*28 cm), and Group D (sham, 0 g*0 cm). Then the anterior border of the rat’s T11 centrum was hit by the by impinger via a free-falling method. Locomotor functional (Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scale-BBB scale), GFAP expression and pathological changes, complications, and mortality were observed. Results: The BBB scale scores were significantly different among all groups. Contusion, hematoma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage appeared at 1-6 h after injury in group A and B. Edema was obvious and the inflammatory cell infiltrated at the time of 6-48 h. Cicatricial contracture and porosis formed at 3-4 weeks, while group C only showed sporadic punctate hemorrhage. GFAP expression changed by time and location dynamically compared with group D. Various complications appeared in the experimental groups. Intestinal obstruction was the main cause of death. The mortality was significantly different among the groups (P

Intestinal T cells form a central part of the front-line defence against foreign organisms and need to be situated in the mucosa where infection occurs. It is well accepted that immunization by a mucosal route favours localization of antigen-specific effector T cells in the mucosal epithelium, while systemic immunization does not. The aim of the study is to determine how homing receptors are specifically involved in retaining effector T cells in the small intestine after oral immunization. We here demonstrate that the chemokine receptor CXCR6, integrins β7 and CD29 contribute differentially to the epithelial retention phenotype of CD8

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrine disorder characterized by theca cell hyperplasia and excessive androgen production. An increasing body of evidence has pointed to a close association between PCOS and low-grade chronic systemic inflammation. However, the mechanistic basis for this linkage is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of the inflammatory agents lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and IL-1β on rat theca-interstitial cells (TICs). We found that incubation with either LPS or IL-1β elicited a dose-dependent increase in both TIC viability and androgen production. Using RNA sequencing analysis, we found that both of these inflammatory agents also triggered profound and widespread shifts in gene expression. Using a stringent statistical cutoff, LPS and IL-1β elicited differential expression of 5201 and 5953 genes, respectively. Among the genes upregulated by both LPS and IL-1β were key regulatory genes involved in the cholesterol and androgen biosynthesis pathways, including Cyp17a1, Cyp11a1, Hsd3b, and Hmgcr. This provides a molecular explanation for the mechanism of action of inflammatory agents leading to increased androgen production. Gene ontology and pathway analysis revealed that both LPS and IL-1β regulated genes highly enriched for many common functions, including the immune response and apoptosis. However, a large number of genes (n = 2222) were also uniquely regulated by LPS and IL-1β, indicating that these inflammatory mediators have substantial differences in their mechanism of action. Together, these findings highlight the potential molecular mechanisms through which chronic low-grade inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of androgen excess in PCOS.

It is important that bacterium can coordinately deliver several effectors into host cells to disturb the cellular progress during infection, however, the precise role of effectors in host cell cytosol remains to be resolved. In this study, we identified a new bacterial virulence effector from pathogenic Edwardsiella piscicida, which presents conserved crystal structure to thioredoxin family members and is defined as a thioredoxin-like protein (Trxlp). Unlike the classical bacterial thioredoxins, Trxlp can be translocated into host cells, mimicking endogenous thioredoxin to abrogate ASK1 homophilic interaction and phosphorylation, then suppressing the phosphorylation of downstream Erk1/2- and p38-MAPK signaling cascades. Moreover, Trxlp-mediated inhibition of ASK1-Erk/p38-MAPK axis promotes the pathogenesis of E. piscicida in zebrafish larvae infection model. Taken together, these data provide insights into the mechanism underlying the bacterial thioredoxin as a virulence effector in downmodulating the innate immune responses during E. piscicida infection., Author summary Thioredoxin (Trx) is universally conserved thiol-oxidoreductase that regulates numerous cellular pathways under thiol-based redox control in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Despite its central importance, the mechanism of bacterial Trx recognizes its target proteins in host cellular signaling remains unknown. Here, we uncover a bacterial thioredoxin-like protein that can be translocated into host cells and mimic the endogenous TRX1 to target ASK1-MAPK signaling, finally facilitating bacterial pathogenesis. This work expands our understanding of bacterial thioredoxins in manipulating host innate immunity.

The spatial variance of target scattering characteristic would introduce severe impact on the imaging results under the wide aperture for bistatic synthetic aperture radar (BSAR) with navigation satellites. If the isotropic point scattering mechanisms are adopted in image formation processing, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the image will decrease in such case. Therefore, it is necessary to study the corresponding compensation processing to improve the image SNR. This study proposes an adaptive imaging algorithm to compensate for the spatial variance caused by the target scattering in wide aperture of the system. By using experimental equipment of the research group, the echo data of 1600 s from the scene was collected and processed. Comparing strong scattering area imaging results before and after adaptive phase compensation, the focusing performance is improved. Also thus, the feasibility of wide aperture BSAR imaging based on navigation satellite was verified preliminarily.

Quantitating ultra-low concentrations of protein biomarkers is critical for early disease diagnosis and treatment. However, most current point-of-care (POC) assays are limited in sensitivity to meet this clinical need. Herein, we introduce an ultra-sensitive and facile microbubbling digital assay readout method toward POC quantitation of protein biomarkers requiring only bright-field smartphone imaging. Picolitre-sized microwells together with platinum nanoparticle labels enable the discrete “visualization” of protein molecules via immobilized-microbubbling with smartphone. We also use computer vision and machine learning to develop an automated image analysis smartphone application to facilitate accurate and robust counting. Using this method, post-prostatectomy surveillance of prostate specific antigen (PSA) can be achieved with a detection limit of 2.1 fM (0.060 pg/mL), and early pregnancy detection using βhCG with a detection limit of 0.034 mIU/mL (2.84 pg/mL). The results are further validated using clinical serum samples against clinical and research assays. This work provides the proof-of-principle of the microbubbling digital readout as an ultra-sensitive technology with minimal requirement for power and accessories, facilitating future POC applications.

Edwardsiella piscicida is an important pathogen that infects a wide range of hosts from fish to human. Recent studies demonstrated that E. piscicida can invade and survive within multiple nonphagocytic cells, but the internalization mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we used HeLa cells as a nonphagocytic cell model to investigate the endocytic strategy used by the pathogenic E. piscicida isolate EIB202. Using a combination of optical and electron microscopy, we observed obvious membrane ruffles and F-actin rearrangements in HeLa cells after EIB202 infection. We also revealed that EIB202 internalization significantly depended on the activity of Na(+)/H(+) exchangers and multiple intracellular signaling events related to macropinocytosis, suggesting that E. piscicida utilizes the host macropinocytosis pathway to enter HeLa cells. Further, using inhibitory drugs and shRNAs to block specific endocytic pathways, we found that a caveolin-dependent but not clathrin-dependent pathway is involved in E. piscicida entry and that its entry requires dynamin and membrane cholesterol. Together, these data suggest that E. piscicida enters nonphagocytic cells via macropinocytosis and caveolin-dependent endocytosis involving cholesterol and dynamin, improving the understanding of how E. piscicida interacts with nonphagocytic cells. IMPORTANCE Bacterial internalization is the first step in breaking through the host cell defense. Therefore, studying the mechanism of bacterial internalization improves the understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of bacteria. In this study, the internalization process on nonphagocytic cells by Edwardsiella piscicida was evaluated. Our results showed that E. piscicida can be internalized into nonphagocytic cells via macropinocytosis and caveolin-mediated endocytosis, and that cholesterol and dynamin are involved in this process. These results reveal a new method for inhibiting E. piscicida infection, providing a foundation for further studies of bacterial pathogenicity.

In this paper, we study the problem of generating a set of realistic and diverse backgrounds when given only a small foreground region. We refer to this task as image outpainting. The technical challenge of this task is to synthesize not only plausible but also diverse image outputs. Traditional generative adversarial networks suffer from mode collapse. While recent approaches [32], [28] propose to maximize or preserve the pairwise distance between generated samples with respect to their latent distance, they do not explicitly prevent the diverse samples of different conditional inputs from collapsing. Therefore, we propose a new regularization method to encourage diverse sampling in conditional synthesis. In addition, we propose a feature pyramid discriminator to improve the image quality. Our experimental results show that our model can produce more diverse images without sacrificing visual quality compared to state-of-the-arts approaches in both the CelebA face dataset [29] and the Cityscape scene dataset [2]. Code is available at: https://github.com/owenzlz/DiverseOutpaint

Structural hierarchy of porous carbon has been a key role in the sulfur hosts for lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Herein, coral-like hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) is developed by a dual alkaline activation process. The production of HPC is inexpensive and scalable, which gives a great promise as sulfur host for the future application of Li-S batteries. Moreover, the as-prepared material achieves an admirable interconnected conductive network, hierarchical pore size distribution and notably high pore volume. This architecture contributes to ultrafast ion diffusion, rapid mass transport, robust electrode configuration as well as effective physical adsorption for soluble polysulfide, thus enabling a favorable scaffold for Li-S battery cathodes with high sulfur utilization and exceptionally electrochemical stability. As a consequence, the HPC based sulfur cathode manifests high areal capacity of 7.5mAh/cm2 with a high sulfur loading and superb cycling stability over 500 cycles with lower sulfur loading. The classification of alkali significantly affects on the hierarchical porosity of the resultant carbon. And the correlation between the pore size distribution and electrochemical performance is revealed. This work offers a hierarchical material engineering of a sulfur host material for restricting the mobile polysulfide moieties, thus achieving a high efficiency and stable Li-S battery.

Silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) composites with different carbon contents were synthesized by pyrolysis of precursors generated from aldimine condensation of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) with different aldehydes and simultaneous hydrolysis of APTES. Both SiOCN-1 and SiOCN-5 composites, derived from formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde respectively, display similar bulky structure composed by aggregated nanospheres with a diameter of 70–100 nm. SiOCN-5 has a higher carbon content of 30.4% than 15.9% for SiOCN-1, while a lower specific surface area of 38.2 m2 g−1 than 76.0 m2 g−1 for SiOCN-1. SiOCN/S cathodes with sulfur loading of 1.2–1.5 mg cm−2 were fabricated using SiOCN as sulfur host on different current collector of aluminum foil (AL) or carbon paper (CP). When using aluminum foil as current collector, SiOCN-5/S-AL cathode exhibits better electrochemical performance than SiOCN-1/S-AL, primarily due to the higher electrical conductivity of SiOCN-5 comparing with SiOCN-1. When using porous carbon paper as current collector, SiOCN-5/S-CP cathode shows the best cycling performance with a discharge capacity of 648.9 mA h g−1 at 0.2C after 100 cycles. Even at a high rate of 1C, SiOCN-5/S-CP also exhibits an excellent cycling stability, delivering a reversible discharge capacity of 374.5 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles with a capacity retention of 73.0%.

Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) have received much attention as a kind of toxic and important light-absorbing components in atmospheric PM2.5. In order to clarify the chemical composition, concentration levels and sources of NACs in the atmosphere, PM2.5 samples were collected from April 2016 to April 2017 in Beijing. Selective and non-targeted analytical method based on liquid chromatography-Orbitrap MS (LC-Orbitrap MS) was used to characterize atmospheric NACs for the first time. A total of 190 NACs were quantified and semi-quantified with authentic standards or surrogates, of which 165 NACs were identified tentatively. Nitro-polyaromatic compounds (NPCs) were identified and semi-quantified for the first time, including nitronaphthol, nitroacenaphthenol, nitrofluorenol, nitroaceanthrylenol, nitropyrenol and their methyl derivatives, etc. The seasonal average concentrations of total NACs were from 10.8 in summer to 100 ng/m3 in winter, which was higher than in many other areas. Nitrophenols (NP) and nitrocatechols (NC) were the most abundant NACs species, and the proportion to total NACs were 31% and 32%, respectively. The seasonal average concentration of NPCs ranged from 1.5 in summer to 9.6 ng/m3 in winter with an annual average contribution of 12%, which cannot be ignored. In winter, the contribution of NACs to organic matter (OM) and PM2.5 were up to 2.88‰ and 1.59‰, respectively. Four major sources were assigned, coal combustion and secondary formation had the highest contribution of 35%, followed by biomass combustion (32%), dust (18%), and transportation (6%).

s Arabic gum grafted poly (acrylic acid) (GA-g-PAA) is prepared through a free radical graft polymerization of acrylic acid onto Arabic gum. Crosslinkable aqueous binder is developed by combining GA-g-PAA and branched polyols (pentaerythrotol, PER; triethanolamine, TEOA) as crosslinking agent for Si anodes of lithium-ion batteries. The aqueous composite binder undergoes crosslinking at about 110 °C to form robust crosslinked networks, matching well with the processing temperature of the electrode sheet in industry. GA-g-PAA/PER binder displays higher adhesion strength than GA-g-PAA and GA-g-PAA/TEOA. The Si electrode with GA-g-PAA/PER exhibits a slightly better cycling stability at 0.2C for 100 cycles, better rate capability than GA-g-PAA and GA-g-PAA/TEOA. At a high rate of 1C, Si electrode with GA-g-PAA/P delivers a higher specific capacity of 1968.1 mAhg−1 with a better capacity retention of 57.5% when compared with those with GA-g-PAA and GA-g-PAA/T binder.

Novel the bilayered electrospun biosheet with rapid cell mimiciking and proliferative efficacy will be suitable for wound healing application. The optimized concentration of gelatin (G) and sodium alginate (A) biosheet with nanofibrous Poly (3-hydroxybutyric acid) (P) as a bilayered elctrospun matrix through electrospinning. The engineered GAP bilayered biosheet involves tissue formation at extra cellular matrix (ECM) which further characterized its function in vitro and invivo. Here we fabricated GAP which exhibit better physiochemical properties, biological and mechanical properties with superior prosomes it enhance air passable at skin wounds. The Bilayered biosheet matrix possess better biocompatibility, cell adherence, fructuous and cell to cell interactions evaluated using cell lines. Furthermore, GAP bilayered matrix regulates growth factors to attain maximum wound closure efficiency during invivo. Thus, the fabricated GAP electrospun biosheet would be a possible wound dressing for skin wound applications.

Oligo(ethylene oxide)-functionalized trialkoxysilanes can be used as novel electrolytes for high-voltage cathode, such as LiCoO2 (4.35 V) and Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 (4.6 V); however, they are not well compatible with graphite anode. In this study, a synergistic solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film-forming effect between [3-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]propyl]-trimethoxysilane (TMSM2) and propylene carbonate (PC) on graphite electrode was investigated. Excellent SEI film-forming capability and cycling performance was observed in graphite/Li cells using the electrolyte of 1 M LiPF6 in the binary solvent of TMSM2 and PC, with the PC content in the range of 10–30 vol.%. Meanwhile, the graphite/Li cells delivered higher specific capacity and better capacity retention in the electrolyte of 1 M LiPF6 in TMSM2 and PC (TMSM2:PC = 9:1, by vol.), compared with those in the electrolyte of 1 M LiPF6 in TMSM2 and EC (TMSM2:EC = 9:1, by vol.). The synergistic SEI film-forming properties of TMSM2 and PC on the surface of graphite anode was characterized by electrolyte solution structure analysis through Raman spectroscopy and surface analysis detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis.

Three choline-based ionic liquids functionalized with trimethylsilyl, allyl, and cynoethyl groups are synthesized in an inexpensive route as safe electrolytes for high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. The thermal stabilities, viscosities, conductivities, and electrochemical windows of these ILs are reported. Hybrid electrolytes were formulated by doping with 0.6 M LiPF6/0.4 M lithium oxalydifluoroborate (LiODFB) as salts and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as co-solvent. By using 0.6 M LiPF6/0.4 M LiODFB trimethylsilylated choline-based IL (SN1IL-TFSI)/DMC as electrolyte, LiCoO2/graphite full cell showed excellent cycling performance with a capacity of 152 mAh g-1 and 99% capacity retention over 90 cycles at a cut-off voltage of 4.4 V. The propagation rate of SN1IL-TFSI)/DMC electrolyte is only one quarter of the commercial electrolyte (1 M LiPF6 EC/DEC/DMC, v/v/v = 1/1/1), suggesting a better safety feature.

Vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) is a retromer complex component regulating membrane protein trafficking and retrieval. Mutations or dysfunction of VPS35 have been linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), which is pathologically characterized by the loss of dopamine neurons in brain substantia nigra region. Dopamine plays a key role in regulating various brain physiological functions by binding to its receptors and triggering their endocytosis and signaling pathways. However, it is unclear whether there is a link between VPS35 and dopamine signaling in PD. Herein, we found that VPS35 interacted with dopamine receptor D1 (DRD1). Notably, overexpression and downregulation of VPS35 increased and decreased steady-state cell surface levels of DRD1 and phosphorylation of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) and extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) that are important dopamine signaling effectors, respectively. In addition, overexpression of VPS35 promoted cell surface recycling of endocytic DRD1. Furthermore, downregulation of VPS35 abolished dopamine-induced CREB/ERK phosphorylation. More importantly, although the PD-associated VPS35 mutant VPS35 (D620N) still interacted with DRD1, its expression did not affect cell surface recycling of DRD1 and phosphorylation of CREB/ERK nor rescue the reduction of CREB/ERK phosphorylation caused by VPS35 downregulation. These results demonstrate that VPS35 regulates DRD1 trafficking and DRD1-mediated dopamine signaling pathway, and that the PD-associated VPS35 (D620N) mutant loses such functions, providing a novel molecular mechanism underlying PD pathogenesis.

Synthesis of a novel small molecule accepter with perylenediimide linked through thiophene ring with triphenylamine is described. Introducing thiophene unit leads to extending the molecular absorption spectrum to the range of 330 nm–700 nm. The molecule showed the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level (LUMO) of −3.80 eV and the highest occupied molecular orbital level (HOMO) of −5.60 eV. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) spectra confirmed that the molecule self-assemble in the solid phase by edge-to-face aromatic interaction, and the addition of 1, 8-diiodooctane in the solvent can adjust its stacking, and thus improve the crystallinity and electron mobility. Solution-processed bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells constructed using the small molecule as acceptor and the polymer of PBDTTT-C-T as donor showed the best efficiency of 1.92%.

To improve corrosion resistance of magnesium alloy AZ91D, y-Mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS) was assembled on the surface of micro-arc oxidation (MAO) treated magnesium alloy by self-assembly membrane (SAM) technique. The surface morphology and chemical components of the MAO/SAM composite coatings were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The corrosion resistance of samples was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and total immersion tests in a 3.5 wt % NaCl solution. The measured EIS data were simulated by an equivalent circuit. Also the molecular dynamic simulation was used to study the adsorption behavior at the molecular level. The results showed that the surface of magnesium alloy was well covered by the MAO/SAM composite coatings with a better corrosion resistance. Chemical adsorption was formed between the organic molecules and the surface of the MAO coating. The approach presented here afforded an effective alternative for surface modification of magnesium-based materials to meet the many aspects of the application requirements.

Edwardsiella tarda, an important fish pathogenic bacterium, could utilize type III secretion system (T3SS) to transfer multiple effector proteins into host cells during infection. EseG was identified to be an E. tarda T3SS effector, which could be injected by T3SS into non-phagocytic cells. Since E. tarda is a facultative intracellular pathogen that resides and replicates in macrophage, it is interesting to expand our knowledge about EseG translocation and localization within phagocytic cells. Here utilizing murine macrophage cell line J774A.1 as the cell model, we demonstrated that EseG could be transported into J774A.1 via T3SS only after E. tarda was internalized into macrophage cells, indicating that extracellular E. tarda could not inject EseG into host cells. Subcellular fractionation analysis gave the evidence that EseG was specifically localized in the membrane fraction of infected host cells. Furthermore, immunofluorescence detection indicated that EseG specifically targeted the E. tarda-containing vacuoles (ECVs) within macrophage cells. Finally the unique features for EseG were also confirmed in non-phagocytic cells. In summarize, this work illuminates internalization-depending translocation and ECV-targeting localization of E. tarda T3SS effector in both non-phagocytic and phagocytic cells, which might be important to interpret the interaction of EseG with host cells upon infection.

Edwardsiella tarda is an important pathogenic bacterium that can replicate in macrophages. However, how the intramacrophage infection process affects the virulence of this bacterium is essentially unknown. Here, we show that E. tarda replicates and induces a caspase-1-dependent cell pyroptosis in a murine macrophage model. Via pyroptosis, intracellular E. tarda escapes to the extracellular milieu, forming a unique bacterial population. Being different from the bacteria cultured alone, this unique population possesses a reprogrammed transcriptional profile, particularly with upregulated type III secretion system (T3SS)/T6SS cluster genes. Subsequent studies revealed that the macrophage-released population gains enhanced infectivity for host epithelial cells and increases resistance to multiple host defenses and hence displays significantly promoted virulence in vivo . Further studies indicated that T3SS is essentially required for the macrophage infection process, while T6SS contributes to infection-induced bacterial virulence. Altogether, this work demonstrates that E. tarda can utilize macrophages as a niche for virulence priming and for spreading infection, suggesting a positive role for intramacrophage infection in bacterial pathogenesis. IMPORTANCE Many pathogens can replicate in macrophages, which is crucial for their pathogenesis. To survive in the macrophage cell, pathogens are likely to require fitness genes to counteract multiple host-killing mechanisms. Here, Edwardsiella tarda is proved to exit from macrophages during infection. This macrophage-released population displays a reprogrammed transcriptional profile with significantly upregulated type III secretion system (T3SS)/T6SS-related genes. Furthermore, both enhanced infectivity in epithelial cells and activated resistance to complex host defenses were conferred on this macrophage-primed population, which consequently promoted the full virulence of E. tarda in vivo . Our work provides evidence that E. tarda can utilize macrophages as a niche for virulence priming and for spreading infection, highlighting the importance of the intramacrophage infection cycle for the pathogenesis of E. tarda .

Al-substituted Ni(OH) 2 samples with Al 3+ /Ni 2+ mole ratio of 0%, 10% and 20% have been prepared by a very facile chemical co-precipitation method. The microstructure of the prepared samples are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results reveal that the pure Ni(OH) 2 sample is β -Ni(OH) 2 with nanosheets hierarchical structure; the sample with 10% Al is mixed phase α / β- Ni(OH) 2 with hybrid nanosheets/nanoparticles hierarchical structure; the sample with 20% Al is α- Ni(OH) 2 with irregular nanoparticles hierarchical structure. The lithium storage performances of the prepared samples are characterized by cyclic voltammograms (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and charge–discharge tests. The results demonstrate that Al substitution could improve the lithium storage performances of nickel hydroxide. In particular, the mixed phase α / β- Ni(OH) 2 with 10% Al exhibited the highest electrochemical activity, the best rate performance, and superior cycling stability. For example, after 30 charge/discharge cycles under a current density of 200 mA g −1 , the mixed phase α / β- Ni(OH) 2 with 10% Al can still deliver a specific discharge capacity of 964 mAh g −1 , much higher than of for the α- Ni(OH) 2 with 20% Al (681 mAh g −1 ) and the pure Ni(OH) 2 (419 mAh g −1 ).

CdS nanoparticles with high uniformity have been synthesized through a new liquid–liquid approach, using dimethyl sulfoxide and the mixture of oleyl amine and oleic acid as separate solvents, more convenient inorganic cadmium salt as cadmium source, and sulfur powder as sulfur source. The process can be conducted under mild conditions. It is found that the initial Cd/S molar ratio of precursor plays important role in controlling particle size. Higher concentration of sulfur precursor results in the larger particle size. The obtained colloidal CdS nanocrystals show obvious absorption and fluorescence in visible light region. When using methylene blue as degradation agent, the obtained CdS nanoparticles exhibit high photocatalytic ability.

A novel organosilicon-based ionic plastic crystal, N,N,N,-diethylmethyl-N-[(trimethylsilyl)methyl]ammonium bistrifluoromethane sulfonimide ([DTMA][TFSI]) was designed and synthesized as solid-state electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries. The chemical structure and the physical and electrochemical properties were characterized in detail. The ionic conductivity of [DTMA][TFSI] was improved significantly by doping with lithium oxalyldifluoroborate (LiODFB) and propylene carbonate (PC). An optimized plastic crystal composite ([DTMA][TFSI]:LiODFB:PC=8:1:1 in molar ratio) as a solid-state electrolyte exhibited a decent cycling stability in LiFePO4/Li half-cell, with a specific discharge capacity of 144 mA·h/g and capacity retention of 94% after 50 cycles at C/20.

Aliovalently Ce 3+ -doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 (LTO) is firstly synthesized by a sol-gel method using Ce(CH 3 COOH) 3 as the dopant and CH 3 COOLi/(C 4 H 9 O ) 4 Ti as starting materials. The structure and morphology of Ce 3+ -doped LTO with various doping level (Li 4 Ti 5-x Ce x O 12 ; x = 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20) are characterized by XRD, EDX, Raman, XPS, SEM and TEM. Pure phase Ce 3+ -doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 is obtained when x ≤ 0.10, while CeO 2 impurity is observed when x > 0.10. The Ce 3+ -doped LTO with appropriate content of CeO 2 impurity shows much improved rate capability and specific capacity compared with the pristine and Ce 3+ -doped LTO without CeO 2 impurity. Particularly, the Li 4 Ti 5-x Ce x O 12 (x = 0.15) electrode exhibits the best rate capability and long-term cycling stability among all samples, delivering a capacity of 120.0 mAh g −1 at 5C even after 1000 cycles. This work demonstrates that aliovalently Ce 3+ -doping is an effective approach for enhancing LTO’s rate-performance.

This work reports on a newly observed synergistic inhibition between indigo carmine and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) on 1045 carbon steel (CS) corroded in a 0.5 M HCl solution. The results of electrochemical measurements showed that CTAB could change indigo carmine in a manner that would accelerate corrosion and produce an effective inhibitor. The maximal protection efficiency was significantly greater than 0.985, with the concentration of the combination inhibitors reaching approximately 5 × 10 −5 M. The microstructure of the CS corrosion surface demonstrated that the indigo disulfonate anions and cetyltrimethylammonium cations were adsorbed simultaneously on the CS surface to protect it from corrosion. Diffusion coefficient analysis and the surface concentration profiles of the corrosive species were used to investigate the synergistic effect of the indigo carmine/CTAB combination inhibitors, and the results demonstrate the existence of synergy.

Driven by intriguingly high energy density up to 2600 Wh/kg, lithium sulfur (Li-S) battery is considered as one of the most promising energy storage devices compared with conventional lithium ion battery. The main obstructions plaguing Li-S batteries associated with the electrical resistivity of sulfur/lithium sulfides, the dissolution of polysulfides in ether-based electrolyte and the large volume variation, result in poor cycling performance and rate capability. Here, we develop a polymer optimized cathode that is polydopamine layer coated on the surface of sulfur loaded hierarchical porous graphitic carbon composites (HPGC-S-PD) by a simple in-situ polymerization method toward the highly suppressed shuttle effect, thus the significantly improved cell performance. Attributed to the superiorities of the structure engineering including the strengthened polysulfide trapping, accelerated ionic conductivity and stable electrode construction, this cathode can deliver an excellent cycling performance over 700 cycles at 1 C, a high areal capacity of 7.25 mAh/cm2 with raised sulfur loading as high as 5.15 mg/cm2. Meanwhile, the obtained cathode can work well with a lower E/S ratio compared with the non-coated cell, which suggests the immense possibility for yielding a practically Li-S battery with high energy density based on this electrode architecture. Strikingly, the pouch cell with optimized cathode material can realize an energy density of 272 Wh/kg after 40 cycles at 0.1 C. This rational design of sulfur cathode combining HPGC with polymer coating by a scalable strategy provides a comprehensive understanding of the structural engineering for sulfur cathodes in pursuit of practically high performance Li-S batteries.

Nanostructured sulfur cathode with a multiple core-shelled structure, featured with the spherical double-layered hollow carbon/sulfur composite (DLHC/S) coated with a conductive layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), is designed and synthesized for lithium-sulfur batteries. Transmission electron microscope images of DLHC/S single nanoparticle show that the sulfur aggregates predominantly in the interior space between the two carbon shells by using a vacuum infiltration process. The electric conductivity of DLHC/S@PEDOT:PSS increases over 5 times as comparing to DLHC/S without PEDOT:PSS coating. The composite cathode exhibits a high reversible capacity of 1089 mAh g−1 at 0.2C and superior rate capacity of 510 mAh g−1 even at 4 C, and also remarkable cycling stability with a capacity decay of 0.097% per cycle after 500 cycles at 1 C. The excellent electrochemical performances for DLHC/S@PEDOT:PSS cathode are primarily attributed to the engineering of the unique multiple core-shell structure of DLHC/S@PEDOT:PSS, which inhibits the sulfur dissolution into the electrolyte and the polysulfide shuttle effect, together with the conductivity enhancement due to PEDOT:PSS coating.

Main obstacles from the shuttle effect and slow conversion rate of soluble polysulfide compromise the sulfur utilization and cycling life for lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In pursuit of a practically viable high performance Li-S battery, a separator configuration (CoS2 /HPGC/interlayer) as efficient polysulfide trapping barrier is reported. This configuration endows great advantages, particularly enhanced conductivity, promoted polysulfide trapping capability, accelerated sulfur electrochemistry, when using the functional interlayer for Li-S cells. Attributed to the above merits, such cell shows excellent cyclability, with a capacity of 846 mAh g-1 after 250 cycles corresponding to a high capacity retention of 80.2% at 0.2 C, and 519 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 1C (1C = 1675 mA g-1 ). In addition, the optimized separator exhibits a high initial areal capacity of 4.293 mAh cm-2 at 0.1C. Moreover, with CoS2 /HPGC/interlayer, the sulfur cell enables a low self-discharge rate with a very high capacity retention of 97.1%. This work presents a structural engineering of the separator toward suppressing the dissolution of soluble Li2 Sn moieties and simultaneously promoting the sulfur conversion kinetics, thus achieving durable and high capacity Li-S batteries.

A novel aminoakyldisiloxane compound, (3-(N,N-dimethylamino)diethoxypropyl) pentamethyldisiloxane (DSON), is reported as an effective electrolyte additive for improving the electrochemical performances of high energy density power batteries of nickel-rich LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 (NCM622)/graphite. The NCM622/graphite cells using DSON addition in the carbonate-based reference electrolyte exhibit enhanced electrochemical performances, especially high temperature performances including long cycle life and high temperature storage. The pouch cell (1 Ah) with 0.2 wt% DSON retained a capacity of 88% as compared with 84% for that without DSON in electrolyte after 200 cycles at 45 °C. The mechanism investigation reveals that DSON acts as a film-forming additive for constructing uniform conductive cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) layer upon NCM622 particles, which suppresses the internal cracks and prohibits the irreversible phase transformation of NCM622. DSON also serves as an effective water/acid scavenger and inhibits the hydrolysis of LiPF6, thus effectively blocking the occurrence of side reactions and the dissolution of transition metal ions from cathode. Therefore, NCM622 cathode sheet maintains a better integrity surface morphology after 100 cycles. This work demonstrates that aminoakyldisiloxane is promising for practical use as effective electrolyte additive for high energy density power batteries of nickel-rich NCM/graphite.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a critical component of the innate immune system that activates caspase-1 to induce secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β/IL-18 and cell death in response to microbial infection and cellular damage. However, aberrant activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to the pathogenesis of several inflammatory disorders, including cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis. Although extensively investigated, the mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation remains not fully understood. Here we used a proteomic approach to identify Nlrp3-interacting proteins in mouse macrophages and found that Rack1 (Receptor for activated C-kinase 1) interacts with both Nlrp3 and Nek7. Inhibition of Rack1 expression abrogated caspase-1 activation and IL-1β release in response to Nlrp3 stimuli, but not Nlrc4 or Aim2 stimuli. Furthermore, this function of Rack1 was independent of its ribosomal association. Mechanistically, Rack1 was required for Nlrp3-mediated Asc speck formation and Nlrp3 stimuli-induced inflammasome complex assembly. Our work therefore identifies Rack1 as a potential therapeutic target for treating NLRP3 inflammasome-driven inflammatory diseases. Given the fact that Rack1 is a critical component of plant innate R protein complexes and contributes to the host defense against rice blast infection, our work further highlights a conserved link in innate immunity between mammals and plants.