12.6 µm-Thick Asymmetric Composite Electrolyte with Superior Interfacial Stability for Solid-State Lithium-Metal Batteries.

Solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) show great promise in terms of high-energy-density and high-safety performance. However, there is an urgent need to address the compatibility of electrolytes with high-voltage cathodes/Li anodes, and to minimize the electrolyte thickness to achieve high-energy-density of SSLMBs. Herein, we develop an ultrathin (12.6 µm) asymmetric composite solid-state electrolyte with ultralight areal density (1.69 mg cm-2) for SSLMBs. The electrolyte combining a garnet (LLZO) layer and a metal organic framework (MOF) layer, which are fabricated on both sides of the polyethylene (PE) separator separately by tape casting. The PE separator endows the electrolyte with flexibility and excellent mechanical properties. The LLZO layer on the cathode side ensures high chemical stability at high voltage. The MOF layer on the anode side achieves a stable electric field and uniform Li flux, thus promoting uniform Li+ deposition. Thanks to the well-designed structure, the Li symmetric battery exhibits an ultralong cycle life (5000 h), and high-voltage SSLMBs achieve stable cycle performance. The assembled pouch cells provided a gravimetric/volume energy density of 344.0 Wh kg-1/773.1 Wh L-1. This simple operation allows for large-scale preparation, and the design concept of ultrathin asymmetric structure also reveals the future development direction of SSLMBs.

More resilient polyester membranes for high-performance reverse osmosis desalination.

Thin-film composite reverse osmosis membranes have remained the gold standard technology for desalination and water purification for nearly half a century. Polyamide films offer excellent water permeability and salt rejection but also suffer from poor chlorine resistance, high fouling propensity, and low boron rejection. We addressed these issues by molecularly designing a polyester thin-film composite reverse osmosis membrane using co-solvent-assisted interfacial polymerization to react 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methylbenzoic acid with trimesoyl chloride. This polyester membrane exhibits substantial water permeability, high rejection for sodium chloride and boron, and complete resistance toward chlorine. The ultrasmooth, low-energy surface of the membrane also prevents fouling and mineral scaling compared with polyamide membranes. These membranes could increasingly challenge polyamide membranes by further optimizing water-salt selectivity, offering a path to considerably reducing pretreatment steps in desalination.

IRAK-M deficiency exacerbates dopaminergic neuronal damage in a mouse model of sub-acute Parkinson's disease.

Emerging evidence has proved that inflammatory responses aggravate the pathological progression of Parkinson's disease. This study aimed to identify the role of Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-M (IRAK-M) as an important negative regulator of innate immunity, in the pathological progression of Parkinson's disease. In the present study, a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) injection was administered to prepare the acute and sub-acute Parkinson's disease mouse models. Western blot analysis was utilized to examine the protein expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase and IRAK-M. The mRNA expression levels of IRAK-M, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-ß, and cyclooxygenase-2 were evaluated via using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in corpus striatum and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) tissues was detected using immunohistochemistry. The results showed that the protein and mRNA levels of IRAK-M were considerably upregulated in corpus striatum and SNc tissues in the sub-acute Parkinson's disease model. Furthermore, IRAK-M knockout significantly enhanced the MPTP-induced loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive fibers in corpus striatum and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in SNc, and intensified the effect of MPTP on the activation of microglial cells and the expression of inflammatory cytokines. In addition, sub-acute Parkinson's disease mice with IRAK-M deletion exhibited worse motor abilities than those of wild-type littermates. Overall, the present study suggested that IRAK-M reduces dopaminergic neuron damage in sub-acute Parkinson's disease by suppressing inflammation, which may provide a new therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease treatment.

Apolipoprotein E mimetic peptide COG1410 alleviates blood­brain barrier injury in a rat model of ischemic stroke.

Blood­brain barrier (BBB) damage is one of the main causes of poor outcomes and increased mortality rates following cerebral ischemia­reperfusion injury. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and its mimetic peptide have been previously reported to exhibit potent neuroprotective properties in various central nervous system disease models. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the possible role of the ApoE mimetic peptide COG1410 in cerebral ischemia­reperfusion injury and its potential underlying mechanism. Male SD rats were subjected to 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by 22 h reperfusion. Evans blue leakage and IgG extravasation assays results revealed that COG1410 treatment significantly reduced BBB permeability. In addition, in situ zymography and western blotting were used to prove that COG1410 was able to downregulate the activities of MMPs and upregulate the expression of occludin in the ischemic brain tissue samples. Subsequently, COG1410 was found to significantly reverse microglia activation while also suppressing inflammatory cytokine production, according to immunofluorescence signal of Iba­1 and CD68 and protein expression of COX­2. Consequently, this neuroprotective mechanism mediated by COG1410 was further tested using the BV2 cell line in vitro, which was exposed to oxygen glucose deprivation followed by reoxygenation. The mechanism of COG1410 was found to be mediated, as least partly, through the activation of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2. In conclusion, the data suggest that COG1410 can alleviate BBB injury and neuroinflammation following ischemic stroke.

A Fluorinated Covalent Organic Framework with Accelerated Oxygen Transfer Nanochannels for High-Performance Zinc-Air Batteries.

The establishment of abundant three-phase interfaces with accelerated mass transfer in air cathodes is highly desirable for the development of high-rate and long-cycling rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) exhibit tailored nanopore structures, facilitating the rational tuning of their specific properties. Here, by finely tuning the fluorinated nanopores of a COF, a novel air cathode for rechargeable ZABs is unprecedentedly designed and synthesized. COF nanosheets are decorated with fluorinated alkyl chains, which shows high affinity to oxygen (O2 ), in its nanopores (fluorinated COF). The fluorinated COF nanosheets are stacked into well-defined O2 -transport channels, which are then assembled into aerophilic "nano-islands" on the hydrophilic FeNi layered-double-hydroxide (FeNi LDH) electrocatalyst surface. Therefore, the mass-transport "highway" for O2 and water is segregated on the nanoscale, which significantly enlarges the area of three-phase boundaries and greatly promotes the mass-transfer therein. ZABs based on the COF-modified air cathode deliver a small charge/discharge voltage gap (0.64 V at 5 mA cm-2 ), a peak power density (118 mW cm-2 ), and a stable cyclability. This work provides a feasible approach for the design of the air cathodes for high-performance ZABs, and will expand the new application of COFs.

Toward Enhancing the Chlorine Resistance of Reverse Osmosis Membranes: An Effective Strategy via an End-capping Technology.

Polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes suffer performance decay when exposed to free chlorine because of their unique chemical structure. The decay limits their lifespan and increases operating cost. Herein, the secondary interfacial polymerization method was performed, for the first time, using isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) as the chain-terminating reagent, to eliminate the negative effect when the unreacted amino groups interact with chlorine. The surface zeta potential of the as-prepared membrane remained almost constant over a wide pH range, which greatly demonstrated the high conversion ratio of the end-capping procedure. However, neither the surface morphology nor the separation properties were conspicuously influenced. Because of the absence of the terminated amino groups in the polyamide layer, the IPC-modified membrane exhibited significantly improved chlorine resistance, particularly at high pH. Its desalination performance remained unchanged as the total chlorine exposure approached 10 000 ppm·h, whereas only 80.3% of the NaCl was rejected by the unmodified membrane under the same conditions. Such SIP technology can be applied directly to the commercial SW30 seawater desalination membrane, making it more tolerant to free chlorine. Overall, our results strongly proved the IPC-assisted end-capping process as a promising, practicable, and scalable technology for enhancing the chlorine resistance of an RO membrane.

Fractionation and Concentration of High-Salinity Textile Wastewater using an Ultra-Permeable Sulfonated Thin-film Composite.

A sulfonated thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration membrane was fabricated using 2,2'-benzidinedisulfonic acid (BDSA) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on a polyether sulfone substrate by conventional interfacial polymerization. Due to a nascent barrier layer with a loose architecture, the obtained TFC-BDSA-0.2 membrane showed an ultrahigh pure water permeability of 48.1 ± 2.1 L-1 m-2 h-1 bar-1, and a considerably low NaCl retention ability of <1.8% over a concentration range of 10-100 g L-1. The membrane, which possesses a negatively charged surface, displayed an excellent rejection of over 99% toward Congo red (CR) and allowed the fast fractionation of high-salinity textile wastewater. The prepared membrane required only 3-fold water addition to accomplish the separation of multiple components, whereas the commercial NF270 (Dow) membrane required 4-fold water addition and almost double the length of time. Furthermore, the TFC-BDSA-0.2 membrane was subsequently tested for the dye concentration process. It maintained a high flux of 8.2 L-1 m-2 h-1 bar-1 and a negligible dye loss, even when the concentration factor reached ∼10. Finally, by using a 20% alcohol solution as a back-washing medium, a flux recovery ratio (FRR) of 95.6% was achieved with TFC-BDSA-0.2, and the CR rejection ability remained the same. These results prove the outstanding antifouling and solvent-resistant properties of the membrane.

Integrative analysis workflow for the structural and functional classification of C-type lectins.

BACKGROUND: It is important to understand the roles of C-type lectins in the immune system due to their ubiquity and diverse range of functions in animal cells. It has been observed that currently confirmed C-type lectins share a highly conserved domain known as the C-type carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Using the sequence profile of the CRD, an increasing number of putative C-type lectins have been identified. Hence, it is highly needed to develop a systematic framework that enables us to elucidate their carbohydrate (glycan) recognition function, and discover their physiological and pathological roles. RESULTS: Presented herein is an integrated workflow for characterizing the sequence and structural features of novel C-type lectins. Our workflow utilizes web-based queries and available software suites to annotate features that can be found on the C-type lectin, given its amino acid sequence. At the same time, it incorporates modeling and analysis of glycans - a major class of ligands that interact with C-type lectins. Thereafter, the results are analyzed together with context-specific knowledge to filter off unlikely predictions. This allows researchers to design their subsequent experiments to confirm the functions of the C-type lectins in a systematic manner. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy and usefulness of our proposed immunoinformatics workflow was demonstrated by applying our integrated workflow to a novel C-type lectin -CLEC17A - and we report some of its possible functions that warrants further validation through wet-lab experiments.

[Treatment result of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and tongue base operation for the severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect and operative method of UPPP and tongue base operation for the severe OSAHS at Velo- and tongue-pharyngeal obstruction. METHODS: 26 cases who were diagnosed as severe OSAHS with Velo- and tongue-pharyngeal obstruction by Muller's maneuver were treated surgically by UPPP and tongue base operation. The tongue base operation included fusiform incision or rhomboid incision in the middle of tongue base by laser or electrotome. 4 cases received tongue base lateral incision and advancement fixation. 2 cases underwent tracheotomy before the operation. 20 cases underwent tracheotomy during operation. RESULTS: The 6-month, 1-year and 3-year responders are 100%, 84.6% and 76.9% respectively. The introcession of the tongue base incision were repaired in four cases. After 1-2 years, the cases with lateral incision on the tongue base with advancement fixation had temporary aspiration after the operation and recovered through practice. CONCLUSION: The polysomnography (PSG) was essential to OSAHS and especially to severe OSAHS. Muller's maneuver is important in locating the obstructive sites of OSAHS. The stitching is essential to the cases after fusiform incision or rhomboid incision of tongue base. The combination of UPPP and tongue base operation is important for OSAHS treatment. The combined treatment of OSAHS could have a better results.