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The overdiagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) caused by nonspecific elevation serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and the overtreatment of indolent PCa have become a global problem that needs to be solved urgently. We aimed to construct a prediction model and provide a risk stratification system to reduce unnecessary biopsies. In this retrospective study, clinical data of 1807 patients from three Chinese hospitals were used. The final model was built using stepwise logistic regression analysis. The apparent performance of the model was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis. Finally, a risk stratification system of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) was created, and diagnosis-free survival analyses were performed. Following multivariable screening and evaluation of the diagnostic performances, a final diagnostic model comprised of the PSA density and Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score was established. Model validation in the development cohort and two external cohorts showed excellent discrimination and calibration. Finally, we created a risk stratification system using risk thresholds of 0.05 and 0.60 as the cut-off values. The follow-up results indicated that the diagnosis-free survival rate for csPCa at 12 months and 24 months postoperatively was 99.7% and 99.4%, respectively, for patients with a risk threshold below 0.05 after the initial negative prostate biopsy, which was significantly better than patients with higher risk. Our diagnostic model and risk stratification system can achieve a personalized risk calculation of csPCa. It provides a standardized tool for Chinese patients and physicians when considering the necessity of prostate biopsy., (Copyright © 2023 Copyright: © The Author(s)(2023).)

Objective: To investigate the expression and significance of regulatory T cells (Tregs), FoxP3 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in different phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)., Methods: Peripheral blood of 73 CML patients in Department of Hematology, Heze Municipal Hospital from March 2018 to March 2021 were collected. According to patient's period in CML, they were divided into ND CML group (newly diagnosed), CP CML group (chronic period), and BP CML group (blast phase). The percentage of Tregs, expression level of FoxP3 mRNA and TGF-β were detected by flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, and ELISA, respecitively. The roles of above indices in clinical pathogenesis of patients with CML were analyzed., Results: The proportion of Treg in the ND CML group was slightly higher than the CP CML group, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P =0.695), while the BP CML group was significantly higher than the other two groups ( P =0.008, P <0.001). The expression levels of FoxP3 mRNA in ND CML group, CP CML group and BP CML group were 11.61±2.21, 6.46±1.35 and 8.54±2.13, respectively. Significant difference in FoxP3 mRNA levels was observed among patients in different phases of CML ( F =55.199, P <0.001). The expression levels of FoxP3 mRNA both in ND CML group and BP CML group were significantly higher than that in CP CML group ( P <0.001), and the ND CML group was the highest ( P <0.001). However, the expression levels of TGF-β in different phases of CML showed no statistical differences ( H =0.634, P =0.728)., Conclusion: The abnormal distribution of Treg subset in different phases of CML and the significant increase of the expression level of FoxP3 mRNA in the new onset and blast phase of CML suggest that Tregs may promote the occurrence and progression of CML through immune regulation.

Sluggish multiphase reaction kinetics and severe shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) are two major challenges facing lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, which largely prevent them from becoming a reality. Herein, a shell with catalytic function for sulfur cathode is in situ constructed through an ingenious electrochemical oxidative polymerization strategy by introducing hexafluorocyclotriphosphazene (HFPN) as additives, which suppresses the shuttle effect and promotes efficient sulfur conversion. The shell with abundant heteroatoms effectively confines polysulfides to the cathode matrix by chemically interacting with them to eliminate capacity degradation. Moreover, the shell exhibits high catalytic activities, which turns Li 2 S (2) into an activated state and facilitates its dissociation. The functionalized shell substantially advances the performance of Li-S batteries, thanks to efficient lithium-ion transportation and abundant adsorption-catalytic sites. As a result, Li-S batteries demonstrate superb resistance to self-discharge, ultrastable cycle performance, and greatly enhanced rate capability. Impressively, the batteries show an ultralow capacity decay rate of 0.034% throughout 700 cycles at 2C. They deliver a capacity of 517 mAh g -1 even at a 4C rate, exhibiting relieved electrochemical polarization and excellent sulfur utilization. This work provides an ingenious strategy to construct adsorption-catalytic nets for next-generation Li-S batteries with enhanced lifespan and electrochemical performance.

Owning to its various advantages, the lithium-sulfur battery is one of the research hot spots for new energy storage systems. Diverse hollow structures with specific morphologies have been used as the sulfur host materials to adsorb or/and catalyze the polysulfides, and can in particular concurrently inhibit the volume expansion during electrochemical processes in lithium-sulfur batteries. However, hollow space with a large volume will restrict the performance of the cell under high sulfur area loading, which is a very important indicator for the practical applications of the lithium-sulfur battery. Here, we report a nano thin cage cobalt acid zinc (ZnCo 2 O 4 ) with limited hollow space as the cathode catalyst for lithium-sulfur batteries, which greatly reduces the electrode volume occupied by the hollow structure. The hollow volume of these thin cages is much smaller than those of the normally reported hollow materials in the literatue. The electrochemical performance of lithium-sulfur batteries with ZnCo 2 O 4 thin cages could greatly improve due to the unique structure and the synergistic adsorption/catalytic effect of Zn/Co sites, especially at an ultrahigh S area load. Under a high S loading of 8 mg cm -2 , the cell could keep a reversible capacity of 600 mAh g -1 after 500 cycles. Even at a sulfur loading of 10 mg cm -2 , the cell still releases a discharge capacity of 1000 mAh g -1 which is equivalent of an area capacity of 10 mAh cm -2 . This work provides a feasible way to develop lithium sulfur batteries with a high area sulfur load. This idea provides a possible solution to develop a Li-S battery at high area S loading and move one step closer to the practical applications.

In the perspective of technical evaluation, the pre-marketing regulatory requirements of allergen detection reagents in China, America, European Union were compared, and the regulatory risks and performance requirements of this product were analyzed based on the monitoring of post-marketing adverse events, reference standards and domestic and foreign regulatory documents. In view of the "neck-stuck" problems such as the difficulty of clinical trials, the difficulty of finding comparable contrast reagents and the lack of clinical diagnostic gold standards, this paper discusses and gives regulatory suggestions, with a view to providing technical reference for product R&D, production, evaluation, approval and supervision in this field.

The redox reactions occurring in the Li-S battery positive electrode conceal various and critical electrocatalytic processes, which strongly influence the performances of this electrochemical energy storage system. Here, we report the development of a single-dispersed molecular cluster catalyst composite comprising of a polyoxometalate framework ([Co 4 (PW 9 O 34 ) 2 ] 10- ) and multilayer reduced graphene oxide. Due to the interfacial charge transfer and exposure of unsaturated cobalt sites, the composite demonstrates efficient polysulfides adsorption and reduced activation energy for polysulfides conversion, thus serving as a bifunctional electrocatalyst. When tested in full Li-S coin cell configuration, the composite allows for a long-term Li-S battery cycling with a capacity fading of 0.015% per cycle after 1000 cycles at 2 C (i.e., 3.36 A g -1 ). An areal capacity of 4.55 mAh cm -2 is also achieved with a sulfur loading of 5.6 mg cm - 2 and E/S ratio of 4.5 μL mg -1 . Moreover, Li-S single-electrode pouch cells tested with the bifunctional electrocatalyst demonstrate a specific capacity of about 800 mAh g -1 at a sulfur loading of 3.6 mg cm -2 for 100 cycles at 0.2 C (i.e., 336 mA g -1 ) with E/S ratio of 5 μL mg -1 ., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a series of molecular metal oxide clusters, which span the two domains of solutes and solid metal oxides. The unique characters of POMs in structure, geometry, and adjustable redox properties have attracted widespread attention in functional material synthesis, catalysis, electronic devices, and electrochemical energy storage and conversion. This review is focused on the links between the intrinsic charge carrier behaviors of POMs from a chemistry-oriented view and their recent ground-breaking developments in related areas. First, the advantageous charge transfer behaviors of POMs in molecular-level electronic devices are summarized. Solar-driven, thermal-driven, and electrochemical-driven charge carrier behaviors of POMs in energy generation, conversion and storage systems are also discussed. Finally, present challenges and fundamental insights are discussed as to the advanced design of functional systems based upon POM building blocks for their possible emerging application areas., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The storage of sodium ions with carbon materials has huge potential for large-scale application due to its resource-rich and environmental advantages. However, how to realize high power density, high energy density and long cycle life are the bottlenecks restricting its development. Herein, by using a facile synthesis strategy, a carbon-based framework with a hierarchical structure and intrinsic heteroatom sites which are the characteristics contributing to ultrahigh rate and capacity has been achieved. As a result, the hierarchical carbon-based material exhibits excellent performance when used as both the anode and cathode for sodium-ion capacitors (SICs), which can deliver a high energy density of 224 W h kg -1 (at 180 W kg -1 ), an ultrahigh power density of 17 160 W kg -1 (at 128 W h kg -1 ) and ultralong cycle life (91% capacity retention after 10 000 cycles at 2 A g -1 ), outperforming most of the previously reported SICs with other configurations.

The purpose of this study is to explore whether uric acid (UA) can independently act as a prognostic factor and critical marker of the 2019 novel corona virus disease (COVID-19). A multicenter, retrospective, and observational study including 540 patients with confirmed COVID-19 was carried out at four designated hospitals in Wuhan. Demographic, clinical, laboratory data were collected and analyzed. The primary end point was in-hospital death of patients with COVID-19. The concentration of admission UA (adUA) and the lowest concentration of uric acid during hospitalization (lowUA) in the dead patients were significantly lower than those in the survivors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed the concentration of lowUA (OR 0.986, 95% CI 0.980-0.992, p < 0.001) was able to independently predict the risk of in-hospital death. The mean survival time in the low-level group of lowUA was significantly lower than other groups. When lowUA was ≤ 166 µmol/L, the sensitivity and specificity in predicting hospital short-term mortality were 76.9%, (95% CI 68.5-85.1%) and 74.9% (95% CI 70.3-78.9%). This retrospective study determined that the lowest concentration of UA during hospitalization can be used as a prognostic indicator and a marker of disease severity in severe patients with COVID-19., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Gliomas are highly aggressive and lack of efficient targeted therapy. YAP, as a Hippo pathway downstream effector, plays a key role in promoting tumor development through the interaction with transcription factor TEAD on the NH3-terminal proline-rich domain. Therefore, targeting TEAD-interacting domain of YAP may provide a novel approach for the treatment of gliomas., Materials and Methods: We generated a truncated YAP protein which includes the TEAD-binding domain (YAPBD), and supposed YAPBD can interact with endogenous TEAD but lost the function to activate YAP target gene expressions. The association of YAP expression with the malignant characters of glioma tissues were determined by immunohistochemistry. TEAD-binding capacity of YAPBD was determined by co-immunoprecipitation. The cell proliferation and migration were determined by MTT assay, xenograft assay, wound healing assay and transwell assay, respectively. YAP target genes were detected by Western blot., Results: YAP was highly expressed in glioma tissues and associated with tumor malignancy. YAPBD could block the TEAD-YAP complex formation by competing with YAP binding to TEAD. YAPBD could inhibit glioma cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, through the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The cell cycle-related gene cyclin D1 and c-myc, and anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and survivin were inhibited after YAPBD overexpression. Furthermore, YAPBD also decreased cell migration and invasion, and repressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition., Conclusion: YAPBD can block glioma cell survival and repress YAP-dependent gene expressions, indicating gene therapy which targets TEAD-YAP complex would be a potential and significant novel approach for human malignant gliomas.

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional risk and therapy in severe and critical patients with COVID-19., Methods: A total of 523 patients enrolled from four hospitals in Wuhan, China. The inclusion time was from January 2, 2020 to February 15. Clinical characteristics and laboratory values were obtained from electronic medical records, nursing records, and related examinations., Results: Of these patients, 211 (40.3%) were admitted to the ICU and 115 deaths (22.0%). Patients admitted to the ICU had lower BMI and plasma protein levels. The median Nutrition risk in critically ill (NUTRIC) score of 211 patients in the ICU was 5 (4, 6) and Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) score was 5 (3, 6). The ratio of parenteral nutrition (PN) therapy in non-survivors was greater than that in survivors, and the time to start nutrition therapy was later than that in survivors. The NUTRIC score can independently predict the risk of death in the hospital (OR = 1.197, 95%CI: 1.091-1.445, p = 0.006) and high NRS score patients have a higher risk of poor outcome in the ICU (OR = 1.880, 95%CI: 1.151-3.070, p = 0.012). After adjusted age and sex, for each standard deviation increase in BMI, the risk of in-hospital death was reduced by 13% (HR = 0.871, 95%CI: 0.795-0.955, p = 0.003), and the risk of ICU transfer was reduced by 7% (HR = 0.932, 95%CI:0.885-0.981, p = 0.007). The in-hospital survival time of patients with albumin level ≤35 g/L was significantly decreased (15.9 d, 95% CI: 13.7-16.3, vs 24.2 d, 95% CI: 22.3-29.7, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Severe and critical patients with COVID-19 have a high risk of malnutrition. Low BMI and protein levels were significantly associated with adverse events. Early nutritional risk screening and therapy for patients with COVID-19 are necessary., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.)

Sodium metal anodes combine low redox potential (-2.71 V versus SHE) and high theoretical capacity (1165 mAh g -1 ), becoming a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries. Due to the infinite volume change, unstable SEI films, and Na dendrite growth, it is arduous to achieve a long lifespan. Herein, an oxygen-doped carbon foam (OCF) derived from starch is reported. Heteroatom doping can significantly reduce the nucleation resistance of sodium metal; combined with its rich pore structure and large specific surface area, OCF provides abundant nucleation sites to effectively guide the nucleation and subsequent growth of sodium metal, and the nature of this foam can accommodate the deposited sodium. Furthermore, a more uniform, robust, and stable SEI layer is observed on the surface of OCF electrode, so it can maintain ultra-high reversibility and excellent integrity for a long time without dendritic growth. As a result, when the current density is 10 mA cm -2 , the electrode can maintain stable 2000 cycles and the coulombic efficiency can reach to 99.83%. Na@OCF||Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 full cell also has extremely high capacity retention of about 97.53% over 150 cycles. These results provide a simple but effective method for achieving the safety and commercialization of sodium metal anode., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2020 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

We demonstrate a facile and effective method, which is low-cost and easy to scale up, to fabricate holey graphene nanosheets (HGNSs) via ultrafast heating during synthesis. Various heating temperatures are used to modify the material properties of HGNSs. First, we use HGNSs as the electrode active materials for electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). A synthesis temperature of 900 °C seems to be optimal, i.e., the conductivity and adhesion of HGNSs reach a compromise. The gravimetric capacitance of this HGNS sample (namely HGNS-900) is 56 F·g -1 . However, the volumetric capacitance is low, which hinders its practical application. Secondly, we incorporate activated carbon (AC) into HGNS-900 to make a composite EDLC material. The effect of the AC:HGNS-900 ratio on the capacitance, high-rate performance, and cycling stability are systematically investigated. With a proper amount of HGNS-900, both the electrode gravimetric and volumetric capacitances at high rate charging/discharging are clearly higher than those of plain AC electrodes. The AC/HGNS-900 composite is a promising electrode material for nonaqueous EDLC applications.

The quasi-solid-state electrolytes (QSSEs) with an inorganic skeleton, a solid-liquid composite material combining their respective merits, exhibit high ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. However, most quasi-solid electrolytes prepared by immobilizing ionic liquid (IL) or organic liquid electrolyte in inorganic scaffold generally have poor interface compatibility and low lithium ion migration number, which limits its application. Herein, we design and prepare a ZIF-8-based QSSE (ZIF-8 QSSE) in which the ZIF-8 has a special cage structure and interaction with the guest electrolyte to form a composite electrolyte with good ionic conductivity about 1.05 × 10 -4 S cm -1 and a higher lithium-ion transference number of about 0.52. With the ZIF-8 QSSE, a protype lithium battery coupled with LiCoO 2 cathode shows good electrochemical performances with an initial discharge capacity of 135 mAh g -1 at 50 mA g -1 and a remaining capacity of 119 mAh g -1 after 100 cycles, only 0.119% capacity degradation per cycle. It is worth noting that the ZIF-8-based QSSEs have good thermal stability up to 350 °C that does not show thermal runaway, which is significantly higher than that of a conventional organic liquid battery system.

Electrolyte is a key component in high-voltage lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquid (IL)/organic carbonate hybrid electrolytes have been a research focus owing to their excellent balance of safety and ionic conductivity. Nevertheless, corrosion of Al current collectors at high potentials usually happens for this kind of electrolyte. In this study, this long-standing problem is solved via the modulation of the IL/carbonate ratio and LiPF 6 concentration in the hybrid electrolyte. The proposed electrolyte suppresses Al dissolution and electrolyte oxidation at 5 V (vs Li + /Li) and thus allows for ideal lithiation/delithiation performance of a high-voltage LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 (LNMO) cathode even at 55 °C. The underlying mechanism is examined in this work. Excellent cycling stability (97% capacity retention) for an LNMO cathode after 300 cycles is achieved. This electrolyte shows good wettability toward a polyethylene separator and low flammability. In addition, satisfactory compatibility with both graphite and Si-based anodes is confirmed. The proposed electrolyte design strategies have great potential for applications in high-voltage LIBs.

Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), a Hippo pathway downstream effector, promotes tumor progression by serving as a transcriptional coactivator with TEAD. Here, we introduced a new construct which can express the TEAD-binding domain of TAZ protein (TAZBD), and determined its antitumor effect in malignant glioma both in vitro and in vivo. We first observed that TAZ was upregulated in glioma tissues and related to malignant clinicopathologic characteristic, indicating the crucial role of TAZ during glioma progression. In U87 and U251 cells, TAZBD expression increased the proportion of apoptotic cells, and suppressed the colony formation and tumorigenicity. Further, TAZBD also decreased cell metastasis through the repression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The mechanistic study showed that TAZBD suppression of glioma cells was predominantly through blocking the TAZ-TEAD complex formation by competing with endogenous TAZ. Thus, the gene therapy of malignant glioma through blocking TAZ-TEAD complex by TAZBD may provide a new way for the targeted therapy of glioma., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

We present strategies to tune the redox properties of polyoxometalate clusters to enhance the electron-coupled proton-buffer-mediated water splitting process, in which the evolution of hydrogen and oxygen can occur in different forms and is separated in time and space. By substituting the heteroatom template in the Keggin-type polyoxometalate cluster, H 6 ZnW 12 O 40 , it is possible to double the number of electrons and protonation in the redox reactions (from two to four). This increase can be achieved with better matching of the energy levels as indicated by the redox potentials, compared to the ones of well-studied H 3 PW 12 O 40 and H 4 SiW 12 O 40 . This means that H 6 ZnW 12 O 40 can act as a high-performance redox mediator in an electrolytic cell for the on-demand generation of hydrogen with a high decoupling efficiency of 95.5 % and an electrochemical energy efficiency of 83.3 %. Furthermore, the H 6 ZnW 12 O 40 cluster also exhibits an excellent cycling behaviour and redox reversibility with almost 100 % H 2 -mediated capacity retention during 200 cycles and a high coulombic efficiency >92 % each cycle at 30 mA cm -2 ., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Sodium metal anodes are poor due to the reversibility of Na plating/stripping, which hinders their practical applications. A strategy to form a sodiophilic Au-Na alloy interphase on a Cu current collector, involving a sputtered Au thin layer, is shown to enable efficient Na plating/stripping for a certain period of time. Herein, electrochemical behaviors of Na plating on different substrates are explored, and it is revealed that the sodiophilic interphase can be achieved universally by in situ formation of M-Na (M = Au, Sn, and Sb) alloys during Na plating prior to Na bulk deposition in the initial cycle. Moreover, it is found that repetitive alloying-dealloying leads to falling-off of thin film sodiophilic materials and thus limits the lifespan of efficient Na cycling. Therefore, an approach is further developed by employing particles of sodiophilic materials combined with the control over the cutoff potential, which significantly improves the stability of Na plating/stripping process. Especially, the low-cost Cu@Sn-NPs and Cu@Sb-MPs composite current collectors allow Na plating and stripping to cycle for 2000 and 1700 times with the average efficiency of 99.9% at 2 mA cm -2 ., (© 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

For Li-S batteries, the interlayer between the separator and sulfur cathode preventing lithium polysulfide (LiPS) travel across the membrane is a research hotspot. The good blocking ability for LiPSs indicates that these interlayers can promote the electrochemistry performance with high S loading. However, most of these interlayers are just used as a simple blocking wall. Such a blocking wall, for example, the lower Li + ion conductivity, would often reduce the electrochemical performance, especially under large current density. Here, we report a multifunctional ion-sieve made by three two-dimensional (2D) sheets, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ), boron nitride (BN), and graphene. A g-C 3 N 4 sheet which possesses orderly channels with a size of 3 Å in the crystalline structure can effectively prevent polysulfides from passing through but allow lithium ions to pass freely, whereas a BN sheet acts as an excellent catalyst for sulfur redox, and graphene acts as an extended collector, which can promote the conductivity of the sulfur electrode region. Benefiting from the synergistic effect among these 2D materials, the ion-sieve interlayer makes the Li-S battery show excellent performance at a large rate with both high sulfur loadings and high sulfur content. In addition, the host materials are not necessary in these cells. The ion-sieve liberated a discharge capacity of about 600 mA h g -1 after 500 cycles at 1 C, and the capacity attenuation was less than 0.01% per cycle with a 6 mg cm -2 areal S-loading (pure S as the active material). The reversible capacity could be maintained at more than 400 mA h g -1 at 2 C, which amounts to an area current density of 26.88 mA cm -2 .

Lithium metal anodes suffer from poor cycling stability and potential safety hazards. To alleviate these problems, Li thin-film anodes prepared on current collectors (CCs) and Li-free types of anodes that involve direct Li plating on CCs have received increasing attention. In this study, the atomic-scale design of Cu-CC surface lithiophilicity based on surface lattice matching of the bcc Li(110) and fcc Cu(100) faces as well as electrochemical achievement of Cu(100)-preferred surfaces for smooth Li deposition with a low nucleation barrier is reported. Additionally, a purposely designed solid-electrolyte interphase is created for Li anodes prepared on CCs. Not only is a smooth planar Li thin film prepared, but a uniform Li plating/stripping on the skeleton of 3D CCs is achieved as well by high utilization of the surface and cavities of the 3D CCs. This work demonstrates surface electrochemistry approaches to construct stable Li metal-electrolyte interphases towards practical applications of Li anodes prepared on CCs., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Ionic-liquid (IL) electrolytes, characterized by large potential windows, intrinsic ionic conductivity, low environmental hazard, and high safety, are used for micropore- and mesopore-rich activated-carbon (AC micro and AC meso ) supercapacitors. IL electrolytes consisting of various cations [1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI + ), N-propyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium (PMP + ), and N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium (BMP + )] and various anions [bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TFSI - ), BF 4 - , and bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI - )] are investigated. The electrolyte conductivity, viscosity, and ion transport properties at the AC micro and AC meso electrodes are studied. In addition, the capacitance, rate capability, and cycling stability of the two types of AC electrodes are systematically examined and post-mortem material analyses are conducted. The effects of IL composition on the charge-discharge capacitances of the AC micro electrodes are more pronounced than those for the AC meso electrodes. The FSI-based IL electrolytes, for which electrochemical properties are cation dependent, are found to be promising. Incorporating EMI + with FSI - results in a low electrolyte viscosity and a fast ion transport, giving rise to optimized electrode capacitance and rate capability. Replacing EMI + with PMP + increases the cell voltage (to 3.5 V) and maximum energy density (to 42 Wh kg -1 ) of the AC micro cell at the cost of cycling stability., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

For Li-S batteries, the catalysis for S redox reaction is indispensable. A lot of multifunctional sulfur electrode support materials with have been investigated widely. However, most of these studies were carried out at room temperature, and the interaction between different components in the matrix is not often paid enough attention. Here, we report a graphene supported BN nanosheet composite in which the synergistic effect between BN and graphene greatly enhanced the adsorption for polysulfides, thus leading to excellent performance in a wide temperature range. When used as a host material of sulfur, it can make the Li-S battery apply to a wide range of temperatures, from -40 to 70 °C, delivering a high utilization of sulfur, an excellent rate capability, and outstanding cycling life. The capacity can stabilized at 888 mAh g -1 at 2 C after 300 cycles with a capacity attenuation of <0.04% per cycle at 70 °C, and the battery can deliver a capacity above 650 mAh g -1 at -40 °C.

The eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)4E‑binding proteins (4E‑BPs) regulate cap‑dependent protein translation and control the assembly of the eIF4F complex. In the present study, a phosphorylation‑deficient truncated 4E‑BP2 (eIF4FD) was constructed into the eukaryotic expression vector pSecTag2, and the in vitro and in vivo effects on malignant glioma survival were determined through inhibiting eIF4F complex assembly. Cell cycle distribution analysis and TUNEL staining show that overexpression of eIF4FD suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in U251 cells. Western blotting showed that the cell cycle‑related genes cyclin D1 and C‑myc, and anti‑apoptotic genes B‑cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl‑2), Bcl‑extra large and survivin were reduced following the overexpression of eIF4FD. Furthermore, eIF4FD suppressed glioma vascularization via reductions in the expression of β‑catenin and vascular endothelial growth factor. In the orthotopic xenograft model, the stable expression of eIF4FD in U251 cells attenuated cell growth and increased the rate of apoptosis. Accordingly, pSecTag2‑PTD‑eIF4FD injection via the tail vein of mice also lead to cell growth inhibition and the induction of apoptosis. Therefore, the study showed that phosphorylation‑deficient truncated 4E‑BP2 efficiently inhibited eIF4E and prevented the formation of the eIF4F complex, which further contributed to the inhibition of cell proliferation and vascularization, and the induction of apoptosis. Therefore, the 4E‑BP2‑based phosphorylation‑deficient truncation designed in the present study may represent a novel approach for the targeted therapy of human malignant glioma though inhibition of the translation initiation complex.

Dendrite growth of alkali metal anodes limited their lifetime for charge/discharge cycling. Here, we report near-perfect anodes of lithium, sodium, and potassium metals achieved by electrochemical polishing, which removes microscopic defects and creates ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphase layers at metal surfaces for providing a homogeneous environment. Precise characterizations by AFM force probing with corroborative in-depth XPS profile analysis reveal that the ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphase can be designed to have alternating inorganic-rich and organic-rich/mixed multi-layered structure, which offers mechanical property of coupled rigidity and elasticity. The polished metal anodes exhibit significantly enhanced cycling stability, specifically the lithium anodes can cycle for over 200 times at a real current density of 2 mA cm -2 with 100% depth of discharge. Our work illustrates that an ultra-smooth ultra-thin solid-electrolyte interphase may be robust enough to suppress dendrite growth and thus serve as an initial layer for further improved protection of alkali metal anodes.

Investigations of the Ag (I)-substituted Keggin K 3 [H 3 Ag I PW 11 O 39 ] as a bifunctional Lewis acidic and basic catalyst are reported that explore the stabilization of Li 2 S n moieties so that reversible redox reactions in S-based electrodes would be possible. Spectroscopic investigations showed that the Li 2 S n -moieties can be strongly adsorbed on the {Ag I PW 11 O 39 } cluster, where the Ag(I) ion can act as a Lewis acid site to further enhance the adsorption of the S-moieties, and these interactions were investigated and rationalized using DFT. These results were used to construct an electrode for use in a Li-S battery with a very high S utilization of 94%, and a coulometric capacity of 1580 mAh g -1 . This means, as a result of using the AgPOM, both a high active S content, as well as a high areal S mass loading, is achieved in the composite electrode giving a highly stable battery with cycling performance at high rates (1050 and 810 mAh g -1 at 1C and 2C over 100 to 300 cycles, respectively).

Various types of electrolyte cations as well as binary cations are used to optimize the capacitive performance of activated carbon (AC) with different pore structures. The high-rate capability of micropore-rich AC, governed by the mobility of desolvated cations, can outperform that of mesopore-rich AC, which essentially depends on the electrolyte conductivity., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

High utilization and loading of sulfur in cathodes holds the key in the realization of Li-S batteries. We here synthesized a Co 4 N mesoporous sphere, which was made up of nanosheets, via an easy and convenient method. This material presents high affinity, speedy trapping, and absorbing capacity for polysulfides and acts as a bifunctional catalysis for sulfur redox processes; therefore it is an ideal matrix for S active material. With such a mesoporous sphere used as a sulfur host in Li-S batteries, extraordinary electrochemistry performance has been achieved. With a sulfur content of 72.3 wt % in the composite, the Co 4 N@S delivered a high specific discharge capacity of 1659 mAh g -1 at 0.1 C, almost reaching its theoretic capacity. Also, the battery exhibited a large reversible capacity of about 1100 mAh g -1 at 0.5 C and 1000 mAh g -1 at 1 C after 100 cycles. At a high rate of 2 C and 5 C, after 300 cycles, the discharge capacity finally stabilized at 805 and 585 mAh g -1 . Even at a 94.88% sulfur content, the cathode can still deliver an extremely high specific discharge capacity of 1259 mAh g -1 with good cycle performance.

Translation initiation factors (eIFs) are over-activated in many human cancers and may contribute to their progression. The small molecule 4EGI-1, a potent inhibitor of translation initiation through disrupting eIF4E/eIF4G interaction, has been shown to exert anti-cancer effects in human cancer cells. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the anti-cancer effects of 4EGI-1 in human glioma U251 cells. We found that 4EGI-1 impaired the assembly of the eIF4F complex, and inhibited proliferation of U251 cells via inducing apoptosis. 4EGI-1 treatment induced collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which were prevented by the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). In addition, 4EGI-1 inhibited mitochondrial ATP synthesis via suppressing complex I activity, but had no effects on mitochondrial biogenesis. The results of fluorescence staining showed that 4EGI-1 indeed fragmented the mitochondrial network of U251 cells. We found a significant decrease in optic atrophy type 1 (Opa-1) and mitofusin 1 (Mfn-1) related to fusion proteins as well as an increase in fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp-1). Furthermore, the anti-cancer effects of 4GI-1 were partially nullified by knock down of Drp-1 using siRNA. These data indicate that the use of inhibitors that directly target the translation initiation complex eIF4F could represent a potential novel approach for human glioma therapy., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The polyoxovanadate cluster Li7[V15O36(CO3)] is shown to be an active cathode material in Li-ion batteries, delivering a capacity of 250 mA h g(-1) at 50 mA g(-1) and 140 mA h g(-1) at 10 A g(-1). Li-ion diffusion is rapid in this material and gives rise to an impressive maximum power density output of 25.7 kW kg(-1) (55 kW L(-1))., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

An composite comprising amorphous carbon nitride (ACN) and zinc oxide is derived from ZIF-8 by pyrolysis. The composite is a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries. The nitrogen content of the ACN composite is as high as 20.4 %, and the bonding state of nitrogen is mostly pyridinic, as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The composite exhibits an excellent Na(+) storage performance with a reversible capacity of 430 mA h g(-1) and 146 mA h g(-1) at current densities of 83 mA g(-1) and 8.33 A g(-1) , respectively. A specific capacity of 175 mA h g(-1) was maintained after 2000 cycles at 1.67 A g(-1) , with only 0.016 % capacity degradation per cycle. Moreover, an accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) test demonstrates the excellent thermal stability of the composite, with a low self heating rate and high onset temperature (210 °C). These results shows its promise as a candidate material for high-capacity, high-rate anodes for sodium-ion batteries., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A sulfide-based SEI layer was formed on the surface of a LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode by using a sulfolane-carbonate mixed solvent electrolyte, which led to an improvement in the electrochemical performance. Moreover, the thermal stability of the LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode was also significantly improved in the presence of the SEI layer. ARC (Accelerating Rate Calorimetry) tests showed that the self-heating rate of the delithiated LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 material in the sulfolane-carbonate electrolyte was suppressed.

Nanotubes with different sizes can be readily assembled from simple DNA nanomotifs, which consist of just a few unique DNA sequences. Such structurally well-defi ned DNA-nanotubes will have great potential in many technological applications ranging from drug delivery, to determination of biomacromolecular 3D structures, to nanoplasmonic devices.

CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were uniformly anchored on reduced graphene oxide by a facile solvothermal method. The obtained CoFe2O4/reduced graphene oxide (CoFe2O4/rGO) hybrid was employed as catalyst for Li-O2 batteries. It could effectively lower the ORR (oxygen reduction reaction) and OER (oxygen evolution reaction) overpotentials of the batteries and deliver a large capacity of 12 235 mA h grGO(-1) (2116 mA h ghybrid(-1)). It also exhibited high cyclic stability.

This work provides a facile one-step sol-gel route to synthesize high-quality resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin coated nanocomposites that can be further used to fabricate desired carbon nanostructures. Colloidal particles with different morphologies and sizes can be coated with high-quality RF resin shells by the proposed cationic surfactant assisted RF resin coating strategy. The as-synthesized RF resin coated nanocomposites are ideal candidates for selective synthesis of core-shell, hollow, and yolk-shell carbon nanostructures. Based on the carboxylic functional RF resin coating, graphitic carbon nanostructures can also be synthesized by employing the graphitization catalyst. The as-synthesized carbon nanostructures show the advantageous performances in several applications. Hollow carbon spheres are potential electrode materials for lithium-sulfur batteries. Hollow graphitic spheres are promising catalyst supports for oxygen reduction reaction. And yolk-shell structured Au@HCS nanoreactors with ultrathin shells exhibit high catalytic activity and recyclability in confined catalysis.

This communication reports a novel intermolecular interaction for structural DNA nanotechnology.

A hierarchical S/MWCNT nanomicrosphere for lithium/sulfur batteries with a high power and energy density as well as an excellent cycle life is introduced. Sulfur was uniformly coated on the surface of functional MWCNTs, which serves as a carbon matrix, to form a typical nanoscale core-shell structure with a sulfur layer of thickness 10-20 nm. Then the nanoscale sulfur intermediate composite was ball-milled to form interwoven and porous sphere architecture with large pores (around 1 μm to 5 μm). Different from most sulfur/carbon materials with micropore and mesopore structure, the micrometre scale S/MWCNT nanomicrosphere with a large pore structure could also exhibit high sulfur utilization and cycle retention. It could maintain a reversible capacity of 1000 mA h g(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.3 A g(-1) current density. And it even remained 780 mA h g(-1) after 200 cycles at 0.5 A g(-1) and 650 mA h g(-1) after 200 cycles at 1 A g(-1), showing a significant cyclability enhancement. It is believed that under the collective effect of hierarchical architecture, as well as the existence of carboxyl functional groups, sulfur/carbon materials with large pores could also exhibit an excellent electrochemical performance. The synthesis process introduced here is simple and broadly applicable, which would not only be beneficial to design new materials for lithium sulfur batteries but can also be extended to many different electrode materials for lithium ion batteries., (This journal is © the Owner Societies 2012)

A novel polysaccharide (LCP50S-2) with antioxidant activity was isolated from Litchi chinensis Sonn. The structure of LCP50S-2 was elucidated on the basis of physicochemical and instrumental analyses, and its average molecular weight was determined by gel permeation chromatography to be 2.19 × 10(2) kDa. The backbone of LCP50S-2 was composed of (1→3)-linked β-L-rhamnopyranosyl residues, (1→4)-linked α-D-xylopyranosyl residues, (1→4)-linked β-D-glucopyranosyl residues, and (1→4)-linked α-D-glucopyranosyl residues which branched at O-6. The two branches consisted of α-L-arabinopyranosyl residues and (1→6)-linked β-D-galactopyranosyl residues terminated with α-L-arabinopyranosyl residues, respectively. In the in vitro antioxidant assay, LCP50S-2 was found to possess DPPH radical-scavenging activity and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity with IC(50) values of 220 and 266 μg/mL, respectively.

Objective: To analysis and compare the taxol content in different parts of Taxus madia and Taxus chinensis var. mairei by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)., Methods: 85% EtOH and CH2Cl2 were used for the extraction of taxol. By HPLC, the methodology study and taxol content investigation were performed., Results: The taxol was extracted successfully. One simple and reliable methodology was built up. Basing on these, the taxol content in these two Taxus spp. were analysed and compared, among of which the leaf of Taxus chinensis var. mairei has the highest taxol content (5.18 x 10(-5), w/w)., Conclusion: Taxol and its content in the original plants can be simply and reliably extracted and investigated by these methods, which also can provided the scientific basis for the rational development of Taxus spp.

Objective: The exogenous substrate, thymol, was firstly biotransformed by using suspension hairy roots of transgenic Polygonum multflorum, and its biotransformed situation was also investigated., Methods: After five days co-cultivated period, the transformed product was isolated by Thin Layer Chromatograph and Column Chromatograph, with the structure elucidated by physic-chemical methods and spectra data. Meanwhile, the time course of biotransformation (T-C) for thymol was also measured by HPLC to illuminate its bio-transformed situation., Results: The glycosylated product, namely DMP, was isolated and purified, which structure was determined as 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl) phenyl- beta-D-glucopyranoside. And the distribution of DMP in the medium or culture was varied in different co-cultivated periods, and for five days co-cultivated period, it mainly existed in the medium., Conclusion: The hairy roots of Polygonum multiflorum were able to convert the aromatic exogenous substrate, thymol, into its glycoside. Furthermore, the time course indicated the relationship between DMP and co-cultivated period.

In this study, chemical compositions of fatty oils and bioactivity of crude extracts from Holotrichia diomphalia larvae as Chinese materia medica were investigated for the first time. The chemical compositions of the fatty oils were obtained by two different methods and determined by GC/MS. In total, the petroleum ether extract produced 21 compounds (96.3%) while the supercritical fluid extract produced six compounds (99.53%) for identification. The effect of petroleum ether and other crude extracts on Pyricularia oryzae was also examined. Results indicated that ethanol and petroleum ether extracts had excellent antifungal activities. These findings demonstrated that fatty oils from H. diomphalia larvae had great potential to be used as a source for natural health products.

We observe an obvious anomalous line shape of the e;{+}e;{-}--> hadrons total cross sections in the energy region between 3.700 and 3.872 GeV. It is inconsistent with the explanation for only one simple psi(3770) resonance with a statistical significance of 7sigma. The anomalous line shape may be explained by two possible enhancements of the inclusive hadron production near the center-of-mass energies of 3.764 and 3.779 GeV, indicating that either there is likely a new structure in addition to the psi(3770) resonance around 3.773 GeV, or there are some physics effects reflecting the DD[over ] production dynamics.

Objective: To discuss the influence of the rhizome of Cibotium barametz on the heamorheology index in mice with adjuvant arthritis and to compare the effect of raw medicinals with that of the processed ones., Method: Mice was injected with Freund's complete adjuvant on the rihgt behind foot to make model of adjuvant arthritis (AA). Hydroxyacrbamide tablets were orally administrated by mice with AA to make model of AA due to deficiency in the kidney (DK-AA). And then we determined the heamorheology index of the normal group, positive control group, AA group, DK-AA group and medicinals-treated groups., Result: In the groups of AA, and DK-AA, the heamorheology index, such as high shearing, middle shearing, low shearing, plasma viscosity, whole blood reduction viscosity, erythrocyte aggregation exponent, erythrocyte degeneration exponent, sedimentation, sedimentation equation K value, erythrocyte rigidity exponent, erythrocyte electrophoresis time, casson viscosity, casson yield stress, increased significantly. After treated with Cibotium barametz, the heamorheology index except red blood count, packed cell volume, fibrinogen decreased obviously to get normal., Conclusion: Rhizome of Cibotium barametz could promote heamorheology in mice with AA and DK-AA to exhibit effect of promoting blood circulation and remove blood stasis. The medicinal rhizomes processed with sand have the effect enhanced.

Using psi(2S) --> pi(+)pi(-) J/psi events in a sample of 14.0 x 10(6) psi(2S) decays collected with the BES-II detector, a search for the decay of the J/psi to invisible final states is performed. No signal is found, and an upper limit at the 90% confidence level is determined to be 1.2 x 10(-2) for the ratio B(J/psi --> invisible)/B(J/psi-->mu(+)mu(-)). This is the first search for J/psi decays to invisible final states.

Using 14 x 10(6) psi(2S) events accumulated at the BESII detector, we report first measurements of branching fractions or upper limits for psi(2S) decays into gammapp, gamma2(pi+pi-), gammaKS0K+pi-+c.c., gammaK+K-pi+pi-, gammaK*0K-pi++c.c., gammaK*0K*0, gammapi+pi-pp, gamma2(K+K-), gamma3(pi+pi-), and gamma2(pi+pi-)K+K- with the invariant mass of hadrons below 2.9 GeV/c2. We also report branching fractions of psi(2S) decays into 2(pi+pi-)pi0, omegapi+pi-, omegaf2(1270), b1+/-pi-/+, and pi02(pi+pi-)K+K-.

Thirteen microsatellite markers of Epinephelus awoara previously discovered by our lab were selected to analyze the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of nine species of grouper (E. awoara, E. merra, E. fario, E. fasciatus, E. lanceolatus, E. akaara, E. septemfasciatus, E. coioides and E. fuscoguttatus) from South China Sea. The results showed that the number of total alleles of these 13 microsatellite loci was 84 in these fishes, the mean number of alleles ranged from 2.69 to 5.38, mean polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.1976 to 0.4267, mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) from 0.4615 to 0.6239, mean expected heterozygosity (He) from 0.3510 to 0.4754 and mean Hardy-Weinberg departure value (D) from 0.1097 to 0.2836, respectively. All of these indicated that genetic diversity of the nine species of grouper was at a medium level. Two NJ dendrograms showed that E. coioides, E. fuscoguttatus and E. lanceolatus were grouped together, while E. awoara, E. akaara and E. septemfasciatus were in a second group, and E. merra, E. fasciatus and E. fario were in a third group which had a relatively closed relationship with the second group. The dendrograms could also support a conclusion that Promicrops lanceolatus (E. lanceolatus) should be included in genus Epinephelus.

We report measurements of the continuum R(uds) near the center-of-mass energy of 3.70 GeV, the R[uds(c)+psi(3770)](s) and the R(had)(s) values in e(+)e(-) annihilation at 68 energy points in the energy region between 3.650 and 3.872 GeV with the BES-II detector at the BEPC Collider. We obtain the R(uds) for the continuum light hadron (containing u, d, and s quarks) production near the DD threshold to be R(uds)=2.141+/-0.025+/-0.085.

Using a data sample of 58 x 10(6) J/psi decays collected with the Beijing Spectrometer II detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, searches for invisible decays of eta and eta' in J/psi to phi eta and phi eta' are performed. The phi signals, which are reconstructed in K+K- final states, are used to tag the eta and eta' decays. No signals are found for the invisible decays of either eta or eta', and upper limits at the 90% confidence level are determined to be 1.65 x 10(-3) for the ratio B(eta-->invisible)/B(eta --> gamma gamma) and 6.69 x 10(-2) for B(eta' --> invisible)/B(eta' --> gammagamma). These are the first searches for eta and eta' decays into invisible final states.

A broad peak is observed at low K+K- invariant mass in J/psi-->K+K-pi(0) decays found in a sample of 5.8x10(7) J/psi events collected with the BESII detector. The statistical significance of the broad resonance is much larger than 5sigma. A partial wave analysis shows that the J;{PC} of this structure is 1--. Its pole position is determined to be [1576(-55)(+49)(stat)-91+98(syst)] MeV/c(2)-i/2[818(-23)(+22)(stat)-133+64(syst)] MeV/c(2). These parameters are not compatible with any known meson resonances.