mRNA-Based Cancer Vaccines: Advancements and Prospects.

The success of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines has reinvigorated research and interest in mRNA-based cancer vaccines. Despite promising results in clinical trials, therapeutic mRNA-based cancer vaccines have not yet been approved for human use. These vaccines are designed to trigger tumor regression, establish enduring antitumor memory, and mitigate adverse reactions. However, challenges such as tumor-induced immunosuppression and immunoresistance significantly hinder their application. Here, we provide an overview of the recent advances of neoantigen discovery and delivery systems for mRNA vaccines, focusing on improving clinical efficacy. Additionally, we summarize the recent clinical advances involving mRNA cancer vaccines and discuss prospective strategies for overcoming immuneresistance.

Nonstoichiometry Induced Amorphous Grain Boundary of Na5SmSi4O12 Solid-State Electrolyte for Long-Life Dendrite-Free Sodium Metal Battery.

Oxide ceramics are considered promising candidates as solid electrolytes (SEs) for sodium metal batteries. However, the high sintering temperature induced boundaries and pores between angular grains lead to high grain boundary resistance and pathways for dendrite growth. Herein, we report a grain boundary modification strategy, which in situ generates an amorphous matrix among Na5SmSi4O12 oxide grains via tuning the chemical composition. The mechanical properties as well as electron mitigating capability of modified SE have been significantly enhanced. As a result, the SE achieves a room-temperature total ionic conductivity of 5.61 mS cm-1, the highest value for sodium-based oxide SEs. The Na|SE|Na symmetric cell achieves a high critical current density of 2.5 mA cm-2 and excellent cycle life over more than 2800 h at 0.15 mA cm-2 without dendrite formation. The full cell with Na3V2(PO4)3 as the cathode demonstrates impressive cycling performance, maintaining stability over 3000 cycles at 5C without observable loss of capacity.

Engineering Detrimental Functional Groups in Conductive Additives Toward High-Performance All-Solid-State Batteries.

Conductive additives are of great importance for the adequate utilization of active materials in all-solid-state lithium batteries by establishing conductive networks in the composite cathode. However, it usually causes severe interfacial side reactions with solid electrolytes, especially sulfide electrolytes, leading to sluggish ion transportation and accelerated performance degradation. Herein, a simple hydrogen thermal reduction process is proposed on a commonly used conductive additive Super P, which effectively removes the surface oxygen functional groups and weakens the interfacial side reactions with sulfide. With a small amount of 1 wt % reduced Super P, ASSLBs demonstrates a competitive capacity of 180.2 mAh g-1, which is much higher than the 130.8 mAh g-1 of untreated Super P. Impressively, reduced Super P based ASSLBs also exhibit a higher capacity retention of 81.8 % than 64.6 % of untreated Super P. The cathode interfacial chemical evolutions reveal that reduced Super P could effectively alleviate the side reactions of sulfide. Reduced Super P shows better reversible capacity compared to reduced carbon nanofiber with almost no loss of capacity retention, due to its more complete conductive network. Our results highlight the importance of oxygen-containing functional groups for conductive additives, lightening the prospect of low-cost 0D conductive additives for practical ASSLBs.

Boosting K+-ionic Conductivity of Layered Oxides via Regulating P2/P3 Heterogeneity and Reciprocity for Room-temperature Quasi-solid-state Potassium Metal Batteries.

Solid-state potassium metal batteries are promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage due to their low cost, high energy density and inherent safety. However, solid state K-ion conductors struggle with poor ionic conductivity due to the large ionic radius of K+-ions. Herein, we report precise regulation of phase heterogeneity and reciprocity of the P2/P3-symbiosis K0.62Mg0.54Sb0.46O2 solid electrolyte (SE) for boosting a high ionic conductivity of 1.6×10-4 S cm-1 at 25 °C. The bulk ionic conducting mechanism is explored by elucidating the effect of atomic stacking mode within the layered framework on K+-ion migration barriers. For ion diffusion at grain boundaries, the P2/P3 biphasic symbiosis property assists in tunning the SE microstructure, which crystallizes in rod-like particles with lengths of tens of micrometers facilitating long-distance ion transport and significantly decreasing grain boundary resistance. Potassium metal symmetric cells using the modified SE deliver excellent cycling life over 300 h at 0.1 mA cm-2 and a high critical current density of 0.68 mA cm-2. The quasi-solid-state potassium metal batteries (QSSKBs) coupled with two kinds of layered oxide cathodes demonstrate remarkable stability over 300 cycles, outperforming the liquid electrolyte counterparts. The QSSKB system provides a promising strategy for high-efficiency, safe, and durable large-scale energy storage.

High-Entropy Solid-State Na-Ion Conductor for Stable Sodium-Metal Batteries.

Solid-state sodium-metal batteries (SSBs) hold great promise for their merits in low-cost, high energy density, and safety. However, developing solid electrolyte (SE) materials for SSBs with high performance is still a great challenge. In this study, high-entropy Na4.9 Sm0.3 Y0.2 Gd0.2 La0.1 Al0.1 Zr0.1 Si4 O12 was synthesized at comparatively low sintering temperature of 950 °C with high room-temperature ionic conductivity of 6.7×10-4  S cm-1 and a low activation energy of 0.22 eV. More importantly, the Na symmetric cells using high-entropy SE show a high critical current density of 0.6 mA cm-2 , outstanding rate performance with fairly flat potential profiles at 0.5 mA cm-2 and steady cycling over 700 h under 0.1 mA cm-2 . Solid-state Na3 V2 (PO4 )3 ||high-entropy SE||Na batteries are further assembled manifesting a desirable cycling stability with almost no capacity decay after 600 cycles and high Columbic efficiency over 99.9 %. The findings present opportunities for the design of high-entropy Na-ion conductors toward the development of SSBs.

Bimetallic CuSbSe2 : A Potential Anode Material for Sodium and Lithium-Ion Batteries with High-Rate Capability and Long-Term Stability.

Bimetallic transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) materials have emerged as attractive anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of the high intrinsic electronic conductivity, rich redox sites and unique reaction mechanism. In this work, we report the synthesis and electrochemical properties of a novel bimetallic TMCs material CuSbSe2 . The as-prepared anode delivers a high reversible capacity of 545.6  mA h g-1 for SIBs and 592.6  mA h g-1 for LIBs at a current density of 0.2 A g-1 , and an excellent rate capability of 425.9  mA h g-1 at 20 A g-1 for SIBs and 226.0  mA h g-1 at 10 A g-1 for LIBs without any common-used surface modification or carbonaceous compositing. In addition, ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveal a combined conversion-alloying reaction mechanism of LIBs and NIBs. Our findings suggest bimetallic CuSbSe2 could be a potential anode material for both SIBs and LIBs.

Binary Metallic CuCo5 S8 Anode for High Volumetric Sodium-Ion Storage.

With the rapid improvement of compact smart devices, fabricating anode materials with high volumetric capacity has gained substantial interest for future sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) applications. Herein, a novel bimetal sulfide CuCo5 S8 material is proposed with enhanced volumetric capacity due to the intrinsic metallic electronic conductivity of the material and multi-electron transfer during electrochemical procedures. Due to the intrinsic metallic behavior, the conducting additive (CA) could be removed from the electrode fabrication without scarifying the high rate capability. The CA-free CuCo5 S8 electrode can achieve a high volumetric capacity of 1436.4 mA h cm-3 at a current density of 0.2 A g-1 and 100 % capacity retention over 2000 cycles in SIBs, outperforming most metal chalcogenides, owing to the enhanced electrode density. Reversible conversion reactions are revealed by combined measurements for sodium systems. The proposed new strategy offers a viable approach for developing innovative anode materials with high-volumetric capacity.

A strong and tough gelatin/polyvinyl alcohol double network hydrogel actuator with superior actuation strength and fast actuation speed.

Hydrogels are widely used in actuators that are applied in numerous fields such as multifunctional sensors, soft robots, artificial muscles, manipulators and microfluidic valves, and yet their applications in soft robots and artificial muscles are often limited by low actuation strength and slow actuation speed. Here, we develop a hydrogel actuator with high actuation strength (contraction strength of 850 kPa), fast actuation speed (response time of 90 s) and high energy density (output working density of 72 kJ m-3) by introducing a storing-releasing elastic potential energy method into a double network hydrogel. The high actuation strength is owing to the double network hydrogel, which possesses a high elastic modulus of 1.3 MPa, fracture strength of 1.8 MPa, and fracture energy of 16 kJ m-2. The fast actuation speed is due to the storing-releasing elastic potential energy method, which stretches the hydrogel and locks the hydrogel at deformed shape under external stimuli to store the elastic potential energy and then makes the hydrogel contract rapidly under new stimuli to release the pre-stored energy. A capture actuator and a hand muscle actuator are fabricated to achieve strong and fast actuation. The hydrogel actuator has shown potential applications in soft robots and artificial muscles.

Fluorescent aptasensor based on aggregation-induced emission probe and graphene oxide.

Recently, a great variety of aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active molecules has been utilized to design bioprobes for label-free fluorescent turn-on aptasensing with high sensitivity. However, due to nonspecific binding interaction between aptamer and AIE probe, these AIE-based aptasensors have nearly no selectivity, thereby significantly limiting the development. In this work, a 9,10-distyrylanthracene with two ammonium groups (DSAI) is synthesized as a novel AIE probe, and the fluorescent aptasensor based on DSAI and graphene oxide (GO) is developed for selective and sensitive sensing of targeted DNA and thrombin protein. Given its AIE property and high selectivity and sensitivity, this aptasensor can be also exploited to detect other targets.

Model test study on the mechanical response of the deep buried tunnel lining.

Deep-buried tunnels with weak surrounding rock are frequently encountered issues in traffic engineering. It plays an important role in the excavation process and the project operation. This paper applies the theoretical analysis and laboratory test related to four different conditions in terms of their thickness to determine the mechanical response of deep-buried tunnel lining. Then, the energy dissipative structure theory is employed to explain the experimental results. This paper has made the following achievements: firstly, it is found that the toughness of the secondary lining was found to be often the most important indicator of tunnel safety, with better-toughness linings having higher tensile strength and crack resistance. Secondly, it suggests that the inclusion of steel reinforcement in the concrete lining can effectively improve the secondary lining toughness. Finally, it proves that the more ductile liner had more energy, higher load-carrying capacity, and was better able to maintain the overall stability of the structure.

Compact vacuum transfer devices for highly air-sensitive materials in scanning electron microscopy.

Surface analysis experiments on air-sensitive substances are challenging to avoid their contact with air, leading to inaccurate results due to oxidation or hygroscopicity. To address this issue, we designed a compact vacuum transfer device (VTD) and applied it to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) experiments. Our VTD features a split structure that can be opened and separated in the SEM specimen exchange chamber via magnetic control. This design allows the SEM manufacturer's stub to be fed directly into the SEM specimen chamber, preventing damage to the instrument's internal components and avoiding restrictions on specimen height. Additionally, the compact design maximizes the utilization of sample accommodation space. Besides, it can be flexibly customized in different sizes and types of stubs to adapt electron microscopes from various manufacturers. To confirm the reliability of our device, we applied it to several highly air-sensitive samples for morphology and chemical composition analysis by SEM and EDS. The EDS results showed that the atomic percentage of Na reaches 94.55 % after 14 minutes and 93.44 % after 30 minutes of storage when transferring metallic sodium. Furthermore, our VTD enables airtight recycling and re-transfer of samples after the SEM (-EDS) experiments. These results demonstrate that our device has excellent practicality and airtightness, making it suitable for medium- and long-distance sample transfer between laboratories on the campus.

Study on stress variation of advance fiberglass anchor bolts during tunnel excavation process.

One of the main causes for excessive deformation within a tunnel is due to the instability of the soil or soft rock ahead of the excavation face. Fiberglass bolts have been shown to be a useful advance reinforcement method for the excavation face. In this paper, an improved ADECO-RS (Analysis of controlled deformation in rock and soils) method had been proposed for soft rock mountain tunnels, in terms of the partial (mainly the upper bench) excavation face reinforcement and also for the bench excavation method. Strain gauges were used to test the micro-strain in the fiberglass bolt to investigate how the axial force of the fiberglass bolt varied during the tunnel excavation. In addition, combined with the field tunnel deformation monitoring data, the relationship between the reinforcement parameters of the fiberglass bolts and the tunnel construction phase were discussed. The research results show that: (1) The stress state of the anchor rod is related to the reinforcement length of the anchor rod; (2) Excavation within the lap area of the fiberglass bolt leads to an increase in the axial force of the bolt, while excavation outside the lap area of the fiberglass bolt has no effect on the anchor; (3) Reducing the reinforcement area of rock mass will affect the stability of the excavation. To ensure the stability of the excavation face, the initial support construction loop should be completed as soon as possible; (4) In a future project with similar conditions, the recommended lap length of the fiberglass bolt could be 3 m utilizing the fiberglass bolt grouting face reinforcement method.

Quantitative Regulation of Interlayer Space of NH4 V4 O10 for Fast and Durable Zn2+ and NH4 + Storage.

Layered vanadium-based oxides are the promising cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). Herein, an in situ electrochemical strategy that can effectively regulate the interlayer distance of layered NH4 V4 O10 quantitatively is proposed and a close relationship between the optimal performances with interlayer space is revealed. Specifically, via increasing the cutoff voltage from 1.4, 1.6 to 1.8 V, the interlayer space of NH4 V4 O10 can be well-controlled and enlarged to 10.21, 11.86, and 12.08 Å, respectively, much larger than the pristine one (9.5 Å). Among them, the cathode being charging to 1.6 V (NH4 V4 O10 -C1.6), demonstrates the best Zn2+ storage performances including high capacity of 223 mA h g-1 at 10 A g-1 and long-term stability with capacity retention of 97.5% over 1000 cycles. Such superior performances can be attributed to a good balance among active redox sites, charge transfer kinetics, and crystal structure stability, enabled by careful control of the interlayer space. Moreover, NH4 V4 O10 -C1.6 delivers NH4 + storage performances whose capacity reaches 296 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and lifespan lasts over 3000 cycles at 5 A g-1 . This study provides new insights into understand the limitation of interlayer space for ion storage in aqueous media and guides exploration of high-performance cathode materials.

Interfacial Engineering Boosts Highly Reversible Zinc Metal for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Zinc metal is emerging as the promising anode for aqueous Zn-ion batteries. However, corrosion and undesirable Zn dendrite growth limit their practical application in the large-scale energy storage area. Herein, a mountain-valley micro/nanostructure is successfully fabricated on the surface of the Zn anode via a femtosecond-laser filament texturing (FsLFT) technique. Beneficial from the large surface area and spontaneously generated ZnO coating layer, the FsLFT-Zn electrode demonstrates a slow corrosion rate with a current density of 0.62 mA cm-2 and a stable cycle life over 3000 h under 1 mA cm-2, superior to the original Zn anode. Simulation of the electric fields reveals that the enlarged surface area is responsible for the outstanding performance of the FsLFT-Zn electrode. This study not only proposes a novel strategy to suppress dendrite growth toward highly stable AZIBs but also opens a new avenue to solve similar issues in other metal batteries.

Electrochemically induced crystalline-to-amorphization transformation in sodium samarium silicate solid electrolyte for long-lasting sodium metal batteries.

Exploiting solid electrolyte (SE) materials with high ionic conductivity, good interfacial compatibility, and conformal contact with electrodes is essential for solid-state sodium metal batteries (SSBs). Here we report a crystalline Na5SmSi4O12 SE which features high room-temperature ionic conductivity of 2.9 × 10-3 S cm-1 and a low activation energy of 0.15 eV. All-solid-state symmetric cell with Na5SmSi4O12 delivers excellent cycling life over 800 h at 0.15 mA h cm-2 and a high critical current density of 1.4 mA cm-2. Such excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to an electrochemically induced in-situ crystalline-to-amorphous (CTA) transformation propagating from the interface to the bulk during repeated deposition and stripping of sodium, which leads to faster ionic transport and superior interfacial properties. Impressively, the Na|Na5SmSi4O12|Na3V2(PO4)3 sodium metal batteries achieve a remarkable cycling performance over 4000 cycles (6 months) with no capacity loss. These results not only identify Na5SmSi4O12 as a promising SE but also emphasize the potential of the CTA transition as a promising mechanism towards long-lasting SSBs.

A novel natural-derived tilapia skin collagen mineralized with hydroxyapatite as a potential bone-grafting scaffold.

Collagen is widely used in medical field because of its excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity. To date, collagen for biomedical use is always derived from bovine or swine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate collagen-based biomaterials from non-mammalian donors for bone repair. Thus, tilapia skin collagen-hydroxyapatite (T-col/HAp) scaffolds were fabricated in three different proportions and then cross-linked with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide-N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC-NHS). The scaffolds were evaluated for their microstructure, chemical and physical properties, mechanical strength and degradability. Then the in vitro responses of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) to the scaffolds were investigated in terms of cellular proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization. At last, the scaffolds were implanted into rat skull critical defections to investigate the potential of osteogenic activities. As a result, the pore sizes and the porosities of the scaffolds were approximately 106.67-196.67 µm and 81.5%-66.7%. Pure collagen group showed a mechanical strength of 0.065 MPa, and the mechanical strength was significantly enhanced almost 17 times and 32 times in collagen/HAp ratio 1:4 and 1:9 groups. In vitro studies revealed the most prominent and healthy growth of BMSCs in collagen/HAp ratio 1:4 group. All the scaffolds showed certain osteogenic activities and those loaded with small amount of hydroxyapatite showed the strongest bioactivities. The micro-CT showed that the critical bone defect was almost filled with generated bone 6 months after implantation in collagen/HAp ratio 1:4 group. The biomechanics tests further confirmed the highest generated bone strength was in the collagen/HAp ratio 1:4 group. This study indicated aquatic collagen might be a potential alternative for type I collagen from mammals in bone tissue engineering. The combination of collagen and inorganic materials was also important and appropriate inorganic component loading can achieve both osteogenic quality and osteogenic efficiency to a certain extent.

Co9S8@carbon nanofiber as the high-performance anode for potassium-ion storage.

Thanks to their intrinsic merits of low cost and natural abundance, potassium-ion batteries have drawn intense interest and are regarded as a possible replacement for lithium-ion batteries. The larger radius of potassium, however, provides slow mobility, which normally leads to sluggish diffusion of host materials and eventual expansion of volume, typically resulting in electrode failure. To address these issues, we design and synthesize an effective micro-structure with Co9S8 nanoparticles segregated in carbon fiber utilizing a concise electrospinning process. The anode delivers a high K+ storage capacity of 721 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and a remarkable rate performance of 360 mA h g-1 at a high current density of 3 A g-1. A small charge-transfer resistance and a high pseudocapacitive contribution that benefit fast potassium ion migration are indicated by quantitative analysis. The outstanding electrochemical performance can be attributed to the distinct architecture design facilitating high active electrode-electrolyte area and fast kinetics as well as controlled volume expansion.

Polymorph Engineering for Boosted Volumetric Na-Ion and Li-Ion Storage.

To meet the ever-growing demand for advanced rechargeable batteries with light weight and compact size, much effort has been devoted to improving the volumetric capacity of electrodes. Herein, an effective strategy of polymorph engineering is proposed to boost the volumetric capacity of FeSe. Owing to the inherent metallic electronic conductivity of tetragonal-FeSe, a conductive additive-free electrode (hereafter denoted as CA-free) can be assembled with an enhanced sodium storage volumetric capacity of 1011 mAh cm-3 , significantly higher than semiconducting hexagonal-FeSe. Impressively, the CA-free electrode can achieve an extremely high active material utilization of 96.7 wt% and high initial Coulombic efficiency of 96%, superior to most of the anodes for Na-ion storage. Moreover, the design methodology is branched out using tetragonal FeSe as the cathode for Li-ion batteries. The CA-free tetragonal-FeSe electrode can achieve a high volumetric energy density of 1373 Wh L-1 and power density of 7200 W L-1 , outperforming most metal chalcogenides. Reversible conversion reactions are revealed by in situ XRD for both sodium and lithium systems. The proposed design strategy provides new insight and inspiration to aid in the ongoing quest for better electrode materials.

Joint Enhancement in the Electrochemical Reversibility and Cycle Lives for Copper Sulfide for Sodium- and Potassium-Ion Storage via Selenium Substitution.

Transition metal sulfides have received considerable interest as the anodes for sodium-ion (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) owing to their high theoretical capacity and suitable working potential. However, they suffer from poor electrochemical reversibility and limited cycle lives. Herein, we design and synthesize a Se-substituted CuS material, which demonstrates superior electrochemical properties for both potassium and sodium storage because of the enhanced electronic conductivity, lowered diffusion barrier, and shortened diffusion pathway. The anode delivers a specific capacity of 374 mA h g-1 at a current density of 5 A g-1 in SIBs and 341 mA h g-1 at 2 A g-1 in PIBs and nearly 100% capacity retention over 2000 cycles (SIBs) and 600 cycles (PIBs), respectively. Moreover, a combined measurement including X-ray diffraction, Raman, and transmission electron microscopy reveals an interesting discharge product of Na2S0.8Se0.2, which could accelerate the conversion reaction and enhance the electrochemical reversibility.

CBCT Analysis of Changes in Dental Occlusion and Temporomandibular Joints before and after MEAW Orthotherapy in Patients with Nonlow Angle of Skeletal Class III.

This study focus on the changes of the position and morphology of jaw and condyle after MEAW (the multiloop edgewise arch wire) treatment in adults with a nonlow angle (mean angle or high angle SN - MP > 27°) of skeletal class III (mild to moderate skeletal classs III means -5° < ANB < 0°) malocclusions measured by CBCT (cone beam computed tomography). Twenty adult patients (aged 17-26) with a nonlow angle of skeletal class III malocclusions were selected in this study taken orthodontic treatment by MEAW. CBCT was taken before and after the treatment to analyze the changes of the jaw and condyle. After treatment, the angle of L7-MP decreased 12.2°, L6-MP decreased 10.5°, L1-MP decreased 8.8° (P < 0.001 for each) and U1-SN increased (P < 0.05). There was no significant changes between anterior and posterior APDI index and between anterior and posterior spaces of the TMJ (temporomandibular joint) (P > 0.05). The linear ratio of the TMJ was the LR > 12 before treatment, while it was -12 < LR < 12 after treatment; however, there was no statistically significant difference between them (P > 0.05). There was also no significant change in anterior and posterior position and morphology of the condyle within the joint fossa after the treatment by MEAW in this study. MEAW technology in correcting the class III with nonlow angle patients mainly relies on the compensation of distally and posterior mandibular teeth, rather than the mandible and condyle moving backward to establish a neutral occlusal. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee of the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University (No. KYJJ2013002).