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This study aimed to investigate the role of salidroside (SAL) in the cellular communication between Müller cells and retinal ganglion cells in diabetic mice. The diabetes mellitus (DM) animal models were established by the intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin and treatment with SAL via gavage or by the injection of IL-22BP into the vitreous cavity. Immunohistochemistry was used to measure the expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein in Müller cells. The expression of IL-22 and IL-22Rα1 in retinal tissues was assessed by immunofluorescence. Western blotting was used to measure the expression of inflammatory and apoptosis-related proteins. Hematoxylin–eosin staining, TUNEL staining, and flow cytometry were used to analyze the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells. The effect of cellular interactions was explored by Transwell assays. Western blotting showed that glial fibrillary acidic protein, IL-22 protein expression was significantly upregulated in the DM animal models compared with the control mice. Immunofluorescence showed that IL-22 was highly expressed in Müller cells and IL-22Rα1 was expressed in ganglion cells in the retina of DM mice. Hematoxylin–eosin and TUNEL staining results showed an increase in the number of ganglion cells apoptotic in DM. However, SAL reversed these phenomena. Meanwhile, after coculture with Müller cells, Western blotting suggested that ganglion cells secreted p-STAT3, and c-caspase3 protein expression was increased. More interestingly, the treatment of IL-22BP and SAL inhibited the expression of the p-STAT3 and c-caspase3 proteins. Flow cytometry indicates that compared with the control group, the apoptosis rate of ganglion cells was increased in the high glucose group, while the apoptosis rate of cells in the recombinant IL-22 protein group was significantly increased, while the SAL inhibited ganglion cells apoptosis. SAL inhibits the apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells via the IL-22/STAT3 pathway in Müller cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of low-cost and high-activity Fe-based anodic materials is very promising for the present solid-state energy storage. In this work, we successfully synthesize ultra-long KFeS2 nanowires on an Fe foam substrate via a simple hydrothermal strategy. Physical characterization shows that the as-synthesized KFeS2 nanowires possess merits of good morphological uniformity, considerable mass loading (∼76 mg cm−2) and strong affinity for the substrate. As an anode for solid-state energy storage, the areal capacity of the KFeS2 electrode can reach 21.1 mA h cm−2 (at 50 mA cm−2), which is greatly enhanced as compared to the previous best result (<2 mA h cm−2), and the durability test indicates that the electrode only shows a small working potential shift after long-time cycling. The assembled KFeS2//NiO single solid-state battery exhibits an enhanced energy density of 175.2–135.8 W h m−2 at a power range of 436.5–1750 W m−2. By using in situ Raman and in situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technologies, the dynamics of the electrode and the energy storage mechanism of the KFeS2 nanowires are revealed. This work achieves a milestone in the development of high-performance Fe-based film anodes for solid-state energy storage, especially aiming for low-cost and large-scale application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel compounds, especially Ni(HCO3)2 (here denoted as NiC), have been widely combined with other materials to obtain composites with a more favorable structure that exhibit excellent electrochemical performance as supercapacitors. Unfortunately, the complicated processes for preparing such composites directly restrict their further application. Herein, we prepared a NiC/nickel tetraphosphate (Ni(P4O11)) nanocomposite (NiC/NiP) by introducing ions into the NiC reaction system; this composite can be applied in high-performance supercapacitors. The micromorphology of NiC/NiP material displayed an appropriate combination of NiP nanowires and thin NiC nanosheets, which provide sufficient active sites, short ion diffusion paths and fast ion diffusion speeds. NiC/NiP material exhibited an excellent rate performance of 70.2% retained capacity, although the current was increased by 15 times (1196 F g−1 at 2.0 A g−1 and 840 F g−1 at 30 A g−1). The energy density of a NiC/NiP//active carbon (AC) asymmetric supercapacitor fabricated in 6 M KOH was as much as 39.02 W h kg−1 and 26.67 W h kg−1 under corresponding power densities of 160 W kg−1 and 8000 W kg−1, respectively. The asymmetric supercapacitor delivered a stable cyclic performance of 78% capacitive retention after 5000 continuous charge/discharge cycles. More importantly, a 2.5 V light-emitting diode was lit successfully by two NiC/NiP//AC asymmetric supercapacitors in series. These results confirm that NiC/NiP nanocomposite has great potential in practical applications of electrochemical energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]