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Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurological disorders that can severely affect the ability to perform daily activities. The clinical presentation of PD includes motor and nonmotor symptoms. The motor symptoms generally involve movement conditions like tremors, rigidity, slowness, and impaired balance. In contrast, the nonmotor symptoms are often not apparent but can affect various organ systems, such as the urinary and gastrointestinal systems, and mental health. Gene mutations and toxic environmental factors have contributed significantly to PD; nevertheless, its cause and underlying mechanism remain unknown. Currently, treatments such as dopamine agonists, RNA molecules, and antioxidants can, to some extent, alleviate the motor symptoms triggered by PD. However, these medicines cannot effectively halt ongoing dopaminergic damage, mainly because the blood-brain barrier (BBB) lowers the efficiency of drug delivery. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs), a novel drug delivery platform, have been widely used in various neurological diseases, including stroke and brain tumors, because of their excellent biocompatibility, their ability to penetrate the BBB without toxicity, and their target specificity. EVs thus provide a promising therapeutic for treating PD. Objective: This review focuses on novel therapies based on EVs in practice. Herein, we briefly introduce the biogenesis, composition, isolation, and characterization of EVs, and we discuss strategies for loading therapeutic agents onto EVs and recent applications for PD treatment. Moreover, we discuss perspectives on the direction of preclinical and clinical studies regarding novel and effective therapies. Methods: A literature search regarding PD treatment based on extracellular vesicles was performed in PubMed (updated in June 2020). Treatment, therapy, drug delivery, extracellular vesicles, and their combinations were the search queries. Both systematic reviews and original publications were included. Searched results were selected and compared based on relevance. Articles published in the last five years were given top priority. Conclusion: PD is a heterogeneous disease that can be treated by using pharmacologic approaches (e.g. dopamine agonists and levodopa) and nonpharmacologic approaches (e.g. music), based on symptoms and progression level in patients. Even though current treatments have demonstrated effectiveness, clinical challenges remain because the BBB reduces the medication received and lowers the efficacy of drug delivery, which impairs the treatment’s effect. Therefore, EVs, as an emerging delivery platform, are highly promising for PD treatment since they can readily cross the BBB with high therapeutic efficiency through the loading or functionalization process. However, defining a safe source of EVs, reliably purifying and isolating EVs with high yield, and improving the efficacy of therapeutic loading in EVs remain challenging in this field. Therefore, future investigations should focus on generating large-scale exosomal carriers and designing new effective drugs encapsulated in EVs for better efficacy.

Robust neuromorphic computing in the Big Data era calls for long-term stable crossbar-array memory cells; however, the elemental segregation in the switch unit and memory unit that inevitably occurs upon cycling breaks the compositional and structural stability, making the whole memory cell a failure. Searching for a novel material without segregation that can be used for both switch and memory units is the major concern to fabricate robust and reliable nonvolatile cross-array memory cells. Tellurium (Te) is found recently to be the only peculiar material without segregation for switching, but the memory function has not been demonstrated yet. Herein, apparent piezoelectricity is experimentally confirmed with spontaneous polarization behaviors in elementary 2D Te, even in monolayer tellurene (0.4 nm), due to the highly oriented polarization of the molecular structure and the non-centrosymmetric lattice structure. A large memory window of 7000, a low working voltage of 2 V, and high on switching current up to 36.6 µA µm

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has become the key technology for identification and quantification of various chemical molecules, biomolecules, viruses, and other pathogens in biology, el...

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has become one of the most sensitive analytical techniques for identifying the chemical components, molecular structures, molecular conformations, and the interactions between molecules. However, great challenges still need to be addressed until it can be widely accepted by the absolute quantification of analytes. Recently, many efforts have been devoted to addressing these issues via various electromagnetic (EM), chemical (CM), and EM-CM hybrid coupling enhancement strategies. In comparison with uncoupled SERS devices, they offer key advantages in terms of sensitivity, reproducibility, uniformity, stability, controllability and reliability. This review provides an in-depth analysis of coupled SERS devices, including coupling enhancement mechanisms, materials and approaches. Finally, we also discuss the remaining bottlenecks and possible strategies for the development of coupling-enhanced SERS devices in the future.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of miR-665 in neuropathic pain and the possible molecular mechanism involved.Methods: A neuropathic pain model was established using chronic constriction injury (CCI) methods in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia were measured using paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and paw withdrawal latency (PWL), respectively. The inflammation response was determined by assessing the production of inflammation factors. The target relationship of miR-665 and suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) was verified by luciferase assay.Results: In the CCI rat model, PWT and PWL decreased following treatment with miR-665 (p < 0.01). MiR-665 was elevated in the spinal cord and microglia of CCI rats at different time points (p < 0.01). Down-regulation of miR-665 increased PWT and PWL and inhibited the production of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in CCI rats (p < 0.01). Luciferase assay results indicate that SOCS1 was the target of miR-665 (p < 0.01). SOCS1 decreased in CCI rats (p < 0.01) after treatment with miR-665. MiR-665 negatively regulated the expression of SOCS1 (p < 0.01). Down-regulation of SOCS1 reversed the alleviating effect of decreased miR-665 on pain sensitivity and inflammationresponse (p < 0.01).Conclusion: Down-regulation of miR-665 alleviates neuropathic pain by targeting SOCS1, and hence making miR-665 a promising therapeutic target for neuropathic pain. Keywords: MiR-665, SOCS1, Neuropathic pain, CCI, Spinal cord

Purpose: To investigate the effect of eriodictyol on spinal cord injury (SCI) and its underlying mechanism of action.Methods: Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sham, SCI, and eriodictyol-treated groups (SCI + Eri; 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg). Moderate spinal cord contusion injury was induced to model SCI. Locomotor recovery was assessed based on Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score. Pain wasevaluated by paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and latency (PWL), and spinal cord water content was measured. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Immunoassay was used to determine malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) levels while Western blotting was employed to evaluate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and phosphorylated NF-κB (p-NF-κB) levels.Results: Eriodictyol elevated BBB score, PWT, and PWL in SCI rats but reduced spinal cord water content (p < 0.05). Eriodictyol treatment down-regulated TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and MDA, whereas SOD, GSH, and GSH-PX levels were elevated (p < 0.05). Eriodictyol administration increased Nrf2 and HO-1 levels but reduced p-NF-κB/NF-κB.Conclusion: This study provides a potential therapy to promote long-term functional recovery following SCI. Keywords: Spinal cord injury, Eriodictyol, Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, Polymerase chain reaction, Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan score

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been explored extensively for reliable hydrogen supply to boost the energy conversion efficiency. The superior OER performance of newly developed non-noble metal electrocatalysts has concealed the identification of the real active species of the catalysts. Now, the critical active phase in nickel-based materials (represented by NiNPS) was directly identified by observing the dynamic surface reconstruction during the harsh OER process via combining in situ Raman tracking and ex situ microscopy and spectroscopy analyses. The irreversible phase transformation from NiNPS to α-Ni(OH)2 and reversible phase transition between α-Ni(OH)2 and γ-NiOOH prior to OER demonstrate γ-NiOOH as the key active species for OER. The hybrid catalyst exhibits 48-fold enhanced catalytic current at 300 mV and remarkably reduced Tafel slope to 46 mV dec-1 , indicating the greatly accelerated catalytic kinetics after surface evolution.

Structural instability and limited operational efficiency of sodium-ion battery (SIB) anodes, compared lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes, are main hurdles for their large-scale applications that can be tackled using self-tunable electrode materials. Here, we created and utilized ultrathin partially-crystalline carbon nanocups (CNCs) that have the ability to self-tune their structure, contain highly tangled walls and present open framework for enhanced energy densities for SIBs and the outcomes are benchmarked with LIBs. The tangled wall structure offers enhanced spacings for ionic storage and the open framework supports enhanced mass transport, while partial-crystallinity of CNCs provides high conductivity and stabilizes the structure for long cycle life. The CNCs delivered high capacities up to 468 mAh/g for SIBs at 25 mA/g and 953 mAh/g for LIBs at 50 mA/g after 100 cycles, respectively, while bore excellent stability by delivering highly stable performance exceeding 1000 cycles for SIBs at 1.5 A/g and 5000 cycles for LIBs at 7.5 A/g (20 C) with only a loss of 0.013 mAh/g per cycle. Moreover, when tested in lower voltage ranges, the CNCs delivered unprecedented capacity of 368 mAh/g (0.01–2.0 V) for SIBs and 671 mAh/g (0.01–2.0 V) and 449 mAh/g (0.01–1.5 V) for LIBs at 25 and 50 mA/g, respectively, which indicate the usability of the CNCs in full-cells. The post-electrochemical characterizations revealed that the developed CNCs self-modified their interlayer spacings (average spacing increased to 0.44 nm from 0.42 nm) during charge-discharge to create additional voids for increased ionic storage and stable performance, especially for Na+, while maintaining their overall morphology, composition and structure. The structural design presented here will provide new pathways of tailoring carbonaceous nanostructures for future high-performance energy storage devices.

Cerebral infarction is a common cerebrovascular disease in clinical medicine. Cerebral infarction in the anterior circulation accounts for about 90% of cerebral infarction. Its treatment and rehabilitation has always been a research hotspot in the medical field. Functional retraining can enhance the afferent impulses received by receptors, make the plasticity development of cerebral cortex function, and improve the loss of function. Based on the patient’s individual condition, exercise therapy carries out the corresponding comprehensive functional training plan, which also includes the training of patients’ daily living ability, turning over, bridge exercise, trunk rotation, etc., in order to improve the motor function of patients. The other is psychotherapy, which can cause emotional fluctuations, depression, anxiety, and other negative emotions due to the occurrence of diseases. In the rehabilitation treatment, relevant personnel can conduct psychological counseling for patients through timely and effective communication, so as to better establish patients’ confidence in rehabilitation and improve the effect of rehabilitation treatment. The third is acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture is a traditional rehabilitation treatment in China. The rehabilitation effect of stroke has been proved by a large number of clinical practice. Acupuncture at Hegu, Quchi, Zusanli, and Taichong points can dredge channels and improve blood circulation. This paper mainly studies and analyzes the effect of behavior rehabilitation of hemiplegic patients with cerebral anterior circulation infarction treated by cranial magnetic stimulation. The rehabilitation treatment status of hemiplegic patients with anterior circulation cerebral infarction in a hospital was selected, and 100 cases were studied. Among them, 50 cases were treated with conventional rehabilitation therapy, and the other 50 cases were treated with cranial magnetic stimulation. The motor function, activities of daily living, and language expression ability of the two groups were compared for statistical analysis. After transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment, the abilities of the study group were better than those of the control group, P < 0.05 , with statistical significance. Based on the reliable experimental data, we can draw a conclusion that the treatment of cranial magnetic stimulation has a significant effect on the rehabilitation of hemiplegic patients with cerebral anterior circulation infarction, which is higher than the conventional treatment and rehabilitation methods, and can be popularized in clinical application.

Power consumption is one of the most challenging bottlenecks for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor integration. Negative-capacitance field-effect transistors (NC-FETs) offer a promising platform to break the thermionic limit defined by the Boltzmann tyranny and architect energy-efficient devices. However, it is a great challenge to achieving ultralow-subthreshold-swing (SS) (10 mV dec-1 ) and small-hysteresis NC-FETs simultaneously at room temperature, which has only been reported using the hafnium zirconium oxide system. Here, based on a ferroelectric LiNbO3 thin film with great spontaneous polarization, an ultralow-SS NC-FET with small hysteresis is designed. The LiNbO3 NC-FET platform exhibits a record-low SS of 4.97 mV dec-1 with great repeatability due to the superior capacitance matching characteristic as evidenced by the negative differential resistance phenomenon. By modulating the structure and operating parameters (such as channel length (Lch ), drain-sourse bias (Vds ), and gate bias (Vg )) of devices, an optimized SS from ≈40 to ≈10 mV dec-1 and hysteresis from ≈900 to ≈60 mV are achieved simultaneously. The results provide a new potential method for future highly integrated electronic and optical integrated energy-efficient devices.

The emergence of 2D polarized materials, including ferromagnetic, ferrovalley, and ferroelectric materials, has demonstrated unique quantum behaviors at atomic scales. These polarization behaviors are tightly bonded to the new degrees of freedom (DOFs) for next generation information storage and processing, which have been dramatically developed in the past few years. Here, the basic 2D polarized materials system and related devices' application in spintronics, valleytronics, and electronics are reviewed. Specifically, the underlying physical mechanism accompanied with symmetry broken theory and the modulation process through heterostructure engineering are highlighted. These summarized works focusing on the 2D polarization would continue to enrich the cognition of 2D quantum system and promising practical applications.

The ultrabroadband spectrum detection from ultraviolet (UV) to long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) is promising for diversified optoelectronic applications of imaging, sensing, and communication. However, the current LWIR-detecting devices suffer from low photoresponsivity, high cost, and cryogenic environment. Herein, a high-performance ultrabroadband photodetector is demonstrated with detecting range from UV to LWIR based on air-stable nonlayered ultrathin Fe

Lithium-sulfur battery promises great potential to promote the reform of energy storage field. Modified functional interlayer on separator has been recognized as efficient method to promote battery performances, mainly focusing on the entrapment and catalytic effect toward lithium polysulfide, while the mass transfer property across the interlayers has not been carefully considered. Herein, a dense layer composed of ion-inserted metal-organic frameworks is used to facilitate mass transfer across the layer and ensure high polysulfides entrapment efficiency. In situ Raman study reveals that the dense functional layer blocks the transfer of Li ions, while the ion-inserted layer can accelerate the ion-transfer kinetics and avoid the ion depletion caused polarization. As a result, a specific capacity of 742 mAh g-1 is obtained at 2 C, with the decay rate of 0.089% per cycle at 1 C over 600 cycles, demonstrating great potential for the application in advanced Li-S batteries.

Copper nanostructures have aroused extensive research interests due to their large number of applications in phonology, electronics, catalysis, etc . Here, we have developed a novel single-step redox colloidal route to construct three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous Cu leaves. By tuning the surface chemistry of copper nuclei, the morphology of as-prepared copper nanocrystals can be adjusted from nanoparticles to leaves. The 3D Cu leaves own anisotropic nanoporous structure and exhibit surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance with an enhancement factor of ∼10 6 . The present facile and low-cost route to develop 3D nanoporous Cu leaves provides an efficient platform for achieving high-performance nanostructures for next generation photocathode applications.

High-polluting industrial ammonia synthesis runs counter to the intentions of a low-carbon society. In contrast, the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) is expected to provide fascinating and broad prospects for green ammonia synthesis, which urgently requires efficient and low-cost catalysts. Although it has been proven that two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and carbonitrides (MXenes) have great potential for NRR, there is still need to further improve their activity. In this work, a co-doping strategy was employed to design the electronic configuration and structural mechanic of Ti3C2Tx catalysts for efficient NRR. As expected, the synergistic effect of N and S dopants in Ti3C2Tx (NS-Ti3C2Tx) significantly improves the electron/ion transport capacity and increases the catalytic active sites. Specifically, the as-prepared NS-Ti3C2Tx nanosheets demonstrated an excellent electrocatalytic stability with NH3 yield of 34.23 μg h−1 mg−1cat at −0.55 V vs. RHE, and a Faraday efficiency of 6.6% in 0.05 M H2SO4. Therefore, this work opens up a new research approach for preparing high-performance catalysts for energy storage applications through efficient nitrogen fixation technology.

Graphitic carbon (GC) coatings on the surface of functional materials have received tremendous attention because of their significant effect on surface chemistry. Herein, we have explained the interactions of a carbon source (acetylene) on the surface of functional material (tetrapod-zinc oxide, T-ZnO) through Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. DFT studies suggested that the growth of GC in the catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD) process follows two typical pathways: one is chemo/physioadsorption of acetelyne on the T-ZnO surface, and the second one is decomposition of acetylene on the T-ZnO surface to activate carbon atoms that are restructured to generate a GC layer on the T-ZnO surface. Therefore, such a growth through catalytic accumulation reaction of carbon species on the substrate surface is named as vapour-dissociation-solid (VDS) growth. To support our theoretical observation, the GCs on the surface of T-ZnO are grown using acetylene through CCVD, and the results strongly support the VDS growth mechanism. The varying conditions of the CCVD process results in two types of microstructures including a smooth GC coating on T-ZnO that can also yield functional hollow GC nanostructures through acid leaching of the metallic part and ZnC8 nanoparticles embedded in GC walls. The high resolution microscopic analyses confirm the existence of ZnC8 in the nanospheres with an average size of 5.36 nm, which authenticates the decomposition followed by the solid deposition to form the GC on the substrate surface and supports a unique VDS growth mechanism. Therefore, an in-depth study of the GC growth mechanism and its fine coating on complex structures will facilitate research in the prevention of metal oxidation and the design of novel active materials for sensors, environment, energy and medical applications.

Knudsen diffusion, an important form of gas transport in sub-micro/nanoscale porous electrodes of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), is evaluated typically based on the assumption of isotropic cross-sections of electrode pores. As a consequence, errors are induced in the evaluation of gas transport and polarization loss of SOFCs with irregular, anisotropic pore morphology. Here, a numerical model is derived to investigate the impact of pore morphology on Knudsen diffusivity and effective total diffusivity in porous SOFC electrodes. Based on the model, the correlation between pore morphology and important parameters of SOFCs, including limiting current density (LCD) and concentration polarization (CP), is evaluated. As the aspect ratio of pore cross-section increases, the gas diffusivity in SOFC electrodes decreases, and then nontrivial variations in LCD and CP are induced. This work facilitates the accurate evaluation of gas transport in SOFCs as well as the rational design of electrode microstructure of SOFCs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Considering the expensive and rare property of noble-metal based materials, great efforts are made to synthesize high-activity, economical and electrochemically stable catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in harsh alkaline. Heterogeneous materials coupled by transition metal and carbon exhibit high capability for OER in recent years. Here, three-dimensional (3D) porous carbon coupled with Ni and NiO hybrid nanoparticles (Ni-Cx-y, x and y are annealing temperature and time, respectively) is synthesized via high temperature pyrolysis and air annealing treatment. Redox reaction between carbon atoms and nickel ions during synthesis could achieve a high-level graphitization, which greatly enhances the corrosion resistance of catalyst in alkaline solution. The overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 and Tafel slope of Ni-C500-20 achieve 353 mV and 97 mV dec–1, respectively. Increased defects and intrinsic activity induced by air annealing process and synergistic effect between carbon, Ni and NiO give rise to the enhanced OER performance of as-prepared catalyst, as confirmed by in-situ Raman spectra. The catalyst conforms to sustainable and economic development concept, being a potential material for OER.

Microglial polarization to the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype is essential in resolving neuroinflammation, making it a promising therapeutic strategy for stroke intervention. The actin cytoskeleton is known to be important for the physiological functions of microglia, including migration and phagocytosis. Profilin 1 (PFN1), an actin-binding protein, is involved in the dynamic transformation and reorganization of actin. However, the role of PFN1 in microglial polarization and ischemia/reperfusion injury is unclear. The role of PFN1 on microglial polarization was examined in vitro in BV2 microglial cells subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGDR) and in vivo in male mice after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Knockdown of PFN1 inhibited M1 microglial polarization and promoted M2 microglia polarization 48 hr after OGDR stimulation in BV2 cells and 7 days after MCAO-induced injury in male mice. RhoA/ROCK pathway was involved in the regulation of PFN1 during microglial polarization. Knockdown of PFN1 also significantly attenuated brain infarcts and edema, improved cerebral blood flow and neurological deficits in MCAO-injured mice. Inhibition of PFN1 effectively protected the brain against ischemia/reperfusion injuries by promoting M2 microglial polarization in vitro and in vivo.

The ultrabroadband spectrum detection from ultraviolet (UV) to long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) is promising for diversified optoelectronic applications of imaging, sensing, and communication. However, the current LWIR-detecting devices suffer from low photoresponsivity, high cost, and cryogenic environment. Herein, a high-performance ultrabroadband photodetector is demonstrated with detecting range from UV to LWIR based on air-stable nonlayered ultrathin Fe3 O4 nanosheets synthesized via a space-confined chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Ultrahigh photoresponsivity (R) of 561.2 A W-1 , external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 6.6 × 103 %, and detectivity (D*) of 7.42 × 108 Jones are achieved at the wavelength of 10.6 µm. The multimechanism synergistic effect of photoconductive effect and bolometric effect demonstrates the high sensitivity for light with any light intensities. The outstanding device performance and complementary mixing photoresponse mechanisms open up new potential applications of nonlayered 2D materials for future infrared optoelectronic devices.

MicroRNAs (miRs) have been proposed to be involved in the pathological processes of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CIR) injury. The present study aimed to investigate the potential role and molecular mechanisms of miR‑217 in the regulation of neuronal survival in CIR injury. To perform the investigation, an in vitro cellular model of CIR injury was established by treating neurons with oxygen‑glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R). miR‑217 levels in neurons were detected using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR. The association between miR‑217 and sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) was identified using TargetScan and validated in a dual‑luciferase reporter assay. Cell viability and apoptosis were measured using a Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The release of lactate dehydrogenase, and the production of proinflammatory factors and oxidative stress biomarkers were analyzed by ELISAs and using specific assay kits. It was revealed that miR‑217 was significantly upregulated in OGD/R‑treated neurons. SIRT1 was a direct target of miR‑217, and was downregulated in neurons following OGD/R treatment. Downregulation of miR‑217 significantly ameliorated OGD/R‑induced neuronal injury, inflammatory responses and oxidative stress. The effects of miR‑217 inhibitor on OGD/R treated neurons were attenuated by SIRT1 knockdown. Additionally, western blotting revealed that the SIRT1/AMP‑activated protein kinase‑α/NF‑κB pathway was partially involved in the regulation of OGD/R‑induced neuronal injury by miR‑217. In conclusion, the data of the present study indicated that the downregulation of miR‑217 protected neurons against OGD/R‑induced injury by targeting SIRT1.

Oxytocin might be used therapeutically as an ally to rescue osteopathy resulting from diabetes. However, the in vivo effects of oxytocin on marrow adipogenesis in diabetes remain unknown. In this longitudinal study, we aimed to investigate the protective ef-fects of oxytocin on diabetes-induced marrow adiposity in rabbits using proton MR spectroscopy.Forty-five female New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into controls, diabetes, and diabetes treated with oxytocin (ip, 0.78 mg/kg) for six months. Marrow fat fraction (FF) was determined by proton MR spectroscopy at baseline, and at three and six months. Bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Serum biomarkers, glycolipid metabolism, and histological analysis of marrow adipocytes were determined.Oxytocin treatment had positive metabolic effects in diabetic rabbits, which was based on the changes in glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and lipid profiles. The diabetic rabbits demonstrated dramatic marrow adiposity in a time-dependent manner; at three and six months the FF percentage changes from baseline were 10.1% and 25.8%, respectively (all P0.001). Moreover, oxytocin treatment significantly reversed FF values and quantitative parameters of marrow adipocyte in diabetic rabbits to levels of naive control rabbits. Oxytocin improved bone formation marker in diabetic rabbits compared to the saline group. Also, treatment of diabetic rabbits with oxytocin significantly mitigated bone deterioration when compared with the saline-treated diabetic group (all P0.05).Oxytocin appears to alleviate harmful effects of hyperglycaemia on marrow adiposity. Proton MR spectroscopy may be a valuable tool, providing complementary information on efficacy assessments.

Lithium–sulfur battery is one of the most promising candidates to take over from the conventional lithium-ion batteries for the next-generation high energy storage devices. Although plausible advances have been made on the performances of the composite cathode with high sulfur loading, the development of compatible protection strategies for lithium anode is seriously lagging behind. Here we report a new strategy to suppress the dendrite growth in lithium-sulfur batteries with high sulfur loading by introducing graphene quantum dots into the electrolyte. The graphene quantum dots serve as the heterogeneous sites for uniform nucleation and provide continual regulation for the dendrite-free lithium deposition. The in-situ Raman spectroscopy reveals the enrichment of the GQDs at the electrode-electrolyte interface for the regulated electric field and ion flux, resulting in the dendrite-free Li deposition. As a result, the critical current of short circuit induced by lithium dendrite increases up to 7.44 mA cm−2, and the soft-short risk is excluded when cycling at the current density of 3 mA cm−2 with areal capacity of 3 mAh cm−2 for more than 500 h, demonstrating the excellent dendrite suppressing action of the GQDs. As a proof of concept, high-loading lithium-sulfur batteries using the GQDs-modified anolyte are fabricated with stable Coulombic efficiency of 99% at the current density of 3 mA cm−2 with sulfur loading of 4 mg cm−2 over 200 cycles. Our results provide a novel and facile approach to tackle the intrinsic problem on the lithium anode for high-loading lithium-sulfur batteries.

Cu nanocrystals of various shapes are synthesized via a universal, eco-friendly, and facile colloidal method on Al substrates using hexadecylamine (HDA) as a capping agent and glucose as a reductant. By tuning the concentration of the capping agent, hierarchical 3D Cu nanocrystals show pronounced surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) through the concentrated hot spots at the sharp tips and gaps due to the unique 3D structure and the resulting plasmonic couplings. Intriguingly, 3D sword-shaped Cu crystals have the highest enhancement factor (EF) because of their relatively uniform size distribution and alignment. This work opens new pathways for efficiently realizing morphology control for Cu nanocrystals as highly efficient SERS platforms.