One-Stone-for-Two-Birds Strategy for VSe2 to Enable High Capacity and Long-Life Zinc Storage.

Based on a specific zinc storage mechanism and excellent electronic conductivity, transition metal dichalcogenides, represented by vanadium diselenide, are widely used in aqueous zinc-ion battery (AZIB) energy storage systems. However, most vanadium diselenide cathode materials are presently limited by low specific capacity and poor cycling life. Herein, a simple hydrothermal process has been proposed for obtaining a vanadium diselenide cathode for an AZIB. The interaction of defects and crystal planes enhances zinc storage capacity and reduces the migration energy barrier. Moreover, abundant lamellar structure greatly increases reaction sites and alleviates volume expansion during the electrochemical process. Thus, the as-obtained vanadium diselenide AZIB exhibits an excellent reversible specific capacity of 377 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1, and ultralong cycle stability of 291 mAh g-1 after 3200 cycles, with a nearly negligible capacity loss. This one-stone-for-two-birds strategy would be expected to be applied to large-scale synthesis of a high-performance zinc-ion battery cathode in the future.

Portable Electrochemical Sensor for Micromotor Speed Monitoring.

Autonomous movement promotes practical applications of micromotors. Understanding the moving speeds is a crucial step in micromotor studies. The current analysis method relies on an expensive optical microscope, which is limited to laboratory settings. Herein, we have developed a lightweight (0.15 g), portable (2.0 × 3.5 cm2), and low-cost (approximately $0.26) micromotor sensor (µ-Motor sensor), composed of water-sensitive materials for micromotor speed monitoring. Moving micromotors induce fluid flow, enhancing the evaporation rate of the liquid medium. Consequently, a high correlation between motor speed and water molecule concentration above the moving medium has been established. The µ-Motor sensor enables a real-time readout of the moving speed in various settings, with high accuracy (≥95% in the lab and ≥90% in field studies at a local beach). The µ-Motor sensor opens up a new way for detecting micro/nanomachine movements, illuminating future applications of micro/nanorobotics for diverse scenarios.

Chemresistor Smart Sensors from Silk Fibroin-Graphene Composites for Touch-free Wearables.

With the rapid development of wearable electronics, low-cost, multifunctional, ultrasensitive touch-free wearables for human-machine interaction and human/plant healthcare management have attracted great attention. The experience of fighting the COVID-19 epidemic has also confirmed the great significance of contactless sensation. Herein, a wearable smart-sensing platform using silk fibroin-reduced graphene oxide (SF-rGO) as bifunctional sensing active layers has been fabricated and integrated with a noncontact moisture/thermo sensor and Joule heater. As a result, the as-prepared smart sensor operated at 0.1 V exhibits good stability and sensitivity (sensor response of 60 for 97% RH) under a wide linear range of 6-97% RH, fast response/recover speed (real test: 21.51 s/85.62 s) toward touch-free humidity/temperature sensing for wearables, and thermal readings that can be accurately corrected by Joule heater. Impressively, it can achieve breath monitoring, mental state prediction, or elevator switching by identifying fingertip humidity variation. Prospectively, this all-in-one wearable smart sensor would set an example for improving sensing performance from structure-function relationship points of view and building a noncontact sensing system for daily life.

Genome-wide survey and expression analysis of Dof transcription factor family in sweetpotato shed light on their promising functions in stress tolerance.

DNA-binding with one finger (Dof) transcription factors play a crucial role in plant abiotic stress regulatory networks, although massive Dofs have been systematically characterized in plants, they have not been identified in the hexaploid crop sweetpotato. Herein, 43 IbDof genes were detected to be disproportionally dispersed across 14 of the 15 chromosomes of sweetpotato, and segmental duplications were discovered to be the major driving force for the expansion of IbDofs. The collinearity analysis of IbDofs with their related orthologs from eight plants revealed the potential evolutionary history of Dof gene family. Phylogenetic analysis displayed that IbDof proteins were assigned into nine subfamilies, and the regularity of gene structures and conserved motifs was consistent with the subgroup classification. Additionally, five chosen IbDof genes were shown to be substantially and variably induced under various abiotic conditions (salt, drought, heat, and cold), as well as hormone treatments (ABA and SA), according to their transcriptome data and qRT-PCR experiments. Consistently, the promoters of IbDofs contained a number of cis-acting elements associated with hormone and stress responses. Besides, it was noted that IbDof2 had transactivation activity in yeasts, while IbDof-11/-16/-36 did not, and protein interaction network analysis and yeast two-hybrid experiments revealed a complicated interaction connection amongst IbDofs. Collectively, these data lay a foundation for further functional explorations of IbDof genes, especially with regards to the possible application of multiple IbDof members in breeding the tolerant plants.

Customizable assembly of free-standing integrated electronics for wearables by phase separation.

The non-solvent induced phase separation method is utilized to produce a free-standing electrode with good conductivity retention during 1000 bending/stretching cycles. The as-prepared electrode has been fabricated for an integrated device consisting of an ethanol fuel cell, a supercapacitor and a motion sensor. This method for fabricating free-standing electronics reveals a cost-effective approach towards wearable devices.

Long-Life Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries of Organic Iminodianthraquinone/rGO Cathode Assisted by Zn2+ Binding with Adjacent Molecules.

Organic compounds have been extensively used as zinc-ion battery (ZIB) cathodes due to their high capacities and outstanding properties. Nevertheless, poor electrical conductivity limits their developments. RGO (reduced graphene oxide) can well interact with organic compounds through π-π stacking for furnishing capacious ion diffusion paths and active sites to enhance conductivity and capacity. Herein, a 1,1'-iminodianthraquinone (IDAQ)/rGO composite is utilized as cathode of ZIBs, demonstrating ultrahigh stability with 96% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. Zn2+ and H+ synergetic mechanism in IDAQ/rGO has been deeply discussed by ex situ analysis and theoretical calculation. Consequently, the structure of IDAQ2(H+)6(Zn2+) is the most probable product after discharging progress. Prospectively, the IDAQ/rGO material with excellent stability and good performance would provide new insights into designing advanced ZIBs.

Highly Selective Wearable Alcohol Homologue Sensors Derived from Pt-Coated Truncated Octahedron Au.

Unhealthy alcohol inhalation is among the top 10 causes of preventable death. However, the present alcohol sensors show poor selectivity among alcohol homologues. Herein, Pt-coated truncated octahedron Au (Ptm@Auto) as the electrocatalyst for a highly selective electrochemical sensor toward alcohol homologues has been designed. The alcohol sensor is realized by distinguishing the electro-oxidation behavior of methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), or isopropanol (2-propanol). Intermediates from alcohols are further oxidized to CO2 by Ptm@Auto, resulting in different oxidation peaks in cyclic voltammograms and successful distinction of alcohols. Ptm@Auto is then modified on wearable glove-based sensors for monitoring actual alcohol samples (MeOH fuel, vodka, and 2-propanol hand sanitizer), with good mechanical performance and repeatability. The exploration of the Ptm@Auto-based wearable alcohol sensor is expected to be suitable for environmental measurement with high selectivity for alcohol homologues or volatile organic compounds.

Effect of superphosphate addition on heavy metals speciation and microbial communities during composting.

Superphosphate fertilizer (SSP) as an additive can reduce the nitrogen loss and increase available phosphorus in composting but few studies investigated the effect of SSP addition on heavy metal and microbial communities. In this study, different ratios (10%, 18%, 26%) of SSP were added into pig manure composting to assess the changes of heavy metal (Cu, Mn, As, Zn, and Fe) fractions, bacterial and fungal communities as well as their interactions. SSP addition at 18% had lower ecological risk but still increased the bioavailability of Cu, Mn, and Fe in composts compared to control. Adding 18% SSP into compost decreased bacterial number and increased the fungal diversity compared to CK. Redundancy analysis indicated heavy metal fractions correlated significantly with bacterial and fungal community compositions in composting with 18% SSP. Network analysis showed adding 18% SSP increased microbial interaction and positive cooperation especially enhanced the proportion of Proteobacteria and Ascomycota.

Monoclinic Bimetallic Prussian Blue Analog Cathode with High Capacity and Long Life for Advanced Sodium Storage.

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) are regarded as promising cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), but most of them suffer from an incompatibility between capacity and structural stability. Herein, an innovative disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Na2EDTA)-assisted hydrothermal method is proposed to synthesize monoclinic Fe-substituted Ni-rich PBA (H-PBA) cathodes for Na-ion storage. The as-designed H-PBA cathode combines the merits of the low strain of a Ni-based PBA framework and the enhanced capacity of N-Fe3+/Fe2+ redox sites. It can achieve superior sodium-storage performance in terms of capacity, rate capability, and cycle stability. Moreover, ex situ measurements reveal that solid solution (2.0-3.0 V) and phase-transition (3.0-4.0 V) reactions occur during the charge/discharge process to allow almost 1.5 Na+ storage in the H-PBA lattice. Meanwhile, the H-PBA//NaTi2(PO4)3@C full cell also delivers remarkable electrochemical properties. Prospectively, this work would promote the practical application of SIBs in grid-scale electric energy storage.

Wearable Self-Powered Smart Sensors for Portable Nutrition Monitoring.

Self-powered sensors have attracted great attention in the field of analysis owing to the necessity of power resources for the routine use of sensor devices. However, it is still challenging to construct wearable self-powered sensors in a simple and efficient way. Herein, wearable self-powered textile smart sensors based on advanced bifunctional polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide (PANI/RGO) films have been successfully developed for remote real-time detection of vitamin C. Specifically, a pH-assisted oil/water (O/W) self-assembly strategy was proposed to boost the O/W self-assembled PANI/RGO films via proton regulation. The as-obtained PANI/RGO films could be directly loaded on the textile substrate, with good capacitive and biosensing performance due to the multifunctionality of PANI and RGO, respectively. Moreover, both wearable power supply devices and wearable biosensors based on PANI/RGO films possess good electrochemical performance, which paves the way for the actual application of self-powered nutrition monitoring. Significantly, obvious signals have been obtained in the detection of vitamin C beverages, exhibiting promising application values in daily nutrition track necessities. Prospectively, this study would provide an effective and simple strategy for integrating wearable self-powered sensors, and the developed smart sensing system is an ideal choice for the portable detection of nutrition.

Wearable healthcare smart electrochemical biosensors based on co-assembled prussian blue-graphene film for glucose sensing.

Wearable film-based smart biosensors have been developed for real-time biomolecules detection. Particularly, interfacial co-assembly of reduced graphene oxide-prussian blue (PB-RGO) film through electrostatic interaction has been systematically studied by controllable pH values, achieving optimal PB-RGO nanofilms at oil/water (O/W) phase interface driven by minimization of interfacial free energy for wearable biosensors. As a result, as-prepared wearable biosensors of PB-RGO film could be easily woven into fabrics, exhibiting excellent glucose sensing performance in amperometric detection with a sensitivity of 27.78 µA mM-1 cm-2 and a detection limit of 7.94 µM, as well as impressive mechanical robustness of continuously undergoing thousands of bending or twist. Moreover, integrated wearable smartsensing system could realize remotely real-time detection of biomarkers in actual samples of beverages or human sweat via cellphones. Prospectively, interfacial co-assembly engineering driven by pH-induced electrostatic interaction would provide a simple and efficient approach for acquiring functional graphene composites films, and further fabricate wearable smartsensing devices in health monitoring fields.

Wearable Motion Smartsensors Self-Powered by Core-Shell Au@Pt Methanol Fuel Cells.

A wearable self-powered sensor is a promising frontier in recent flexible electronic devices. In this work, a wearable fuel cell (FC)-type self-powering motion smartsensor has been fabricated, particularly in choosing methanol vapor as a target fuel for the first time. The core-shell structure of Pt@Au/N-rGO and the porous carbon network act as methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reaction catalysts, with a highly conductive alkaline hydrogel as a solid-state electrolyte. As a result, a wearable FC for a self-powered sensing system demonstrates excellent sensing performance toward 2-20% (v/v) methanol vapor with a maximum power density of 2.26 µW cm-1 and good mechanical behaviors during the bending or twisting process. Significantly, this wearable FC device could power strain sensors of human motion, and real-time signals can be easily remotely detected via a cellphone. With attractive biocompatibility and self-powering performance, wearable FCs for a self-powering system would provide new opportunities for next-generation flexible smartsensing electronics and initiate a developed self-powering platform in future practical application of wearable smart monitoring.

[Research progress on chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Trigonella foenum-graecum].

Trigonella foenum-graecum is an annual plant of the genus Trigonella in the Leguminosae family. It is widely distributed in China and has a long history of application. According to phytochemistry research, the seeds, stem, and leaves of this herb contain not only a variety of bioactive ingredients, including alkaloids, saponins, polysaccharides, flavonoids, and phenols, but also abundant nutrients such as unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids and various trace elements. Pharmacological studies have shown that both the extract of T. foenum-graecum and its chemical constituents exhibit hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antitumor, antioxidative, antimicro-bial, and hepatoprotective activities. This paper reviews the research progress on the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of T. foenum-graecum, which may contribute to further development, application, and clinical research of this herb.

The complete chloroplast genome of Cotyledon tomentosa Harv.

Cotyledon tomentosa Harv. is a well-known succulent plant that have important ornamental and economic value. In this study, we release and detail the complete chloroplast genome sequences of C. tomentosa. The whole chloroplast genome was 149,729 bp in length and comprised 131 genes, including 84 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, eight rRNA genes. The C. tomentosa. chloroplast genome had a GC content of 38.23%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete chloroplast genomes showed that C. tomentosa had a close relationship with Kalanchoe tomentosa, Bryophyllum daigremontianum and Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi.

Wearable Helical Molybdenum Nitride Supercapacitors for Self-Powered Healthcare Smartsensors.

To meet the increasing demand for wearable sensing devices, flexible supercapacitors (SCs) as energy storage devices play significant roles in powering sensors/biosensors for healthcare monitoring. Because of its high conductivity and remarkable specific capacitance in SCs, molybdenum nitride (MoN) has been widely used. Herein, a flexible helical structure of MoN modified on nitrogen-doped carbon cloth (CC@CN@MoN) has been prepared by a simple nitride process, delivering an ultralong cycle life of 10,000 cycles and high areal capacitance of 467.6 mF cm-2 as SCs. Moreover, the as-fabricated flexible all-solid-state asymmetrical SCs (ASCs) of CC@CN@MoN//CC@NiCo2O4 demonstrated outstanding electrochemical behavior after 10,000 cycles and over 90% retention, and the value of areal capacitance could reach 90.8 mF cm-2 at 10 mA cm-2. Integrated with solar energy, ASCs could be used as a self-powered energy system for strain sensors in detecting human movement, and finger movements could be further real-time monitored remotely via a smartphone. Prospectively, wearable helical MoN solid-state SCs for self-powered strain smartsensors would inspire the development of structured materials in the application of energy storage, portable self-powering, and strain or chemical/biochemical smartsensors.

Wearable Porous Au Smartsensors for On-Site Detection of Multiple Metal Ions.

Owing to advantages of miniaturization, convenient integration, flexibility, and real-time monitoring, wearable smartsensors have received numerous attention and greatly developed in various fields. However, there usually appears a contradiction between sensing behaviors and simple fabricated methods, seriously limiting on-site detection of actual samples. In this work, a porous Au-based smartsensor has been in situ prepared by combining screen printing technology and sacrificial template electrodeposition. Thanks to abundant active adsorption sites, multiple metal ions (Pb, Cu, and Hg) can be easily achieved on-site detection by this smart platform with a low limit of detection as well as high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, good stability, repeatability, and bending performance. Significantly, it also exhibits a reliable detective capability in actual liquid cosmetic samples with a portable cellphone, which identically corresponds to standard inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP--MS) evaluation. Therefore, this wearable smartsensor provides a promising platform for artificial intelligence application in future daily life.

Wearable Textile Supercapacitors for Self-Powered Enzyme-Free Smartsensors.

Wearable energy storage and flexible body biomolecule detection are two key factors for real-time monitoring of human health in a practical environment. It would be rather exciting if one wearable system could be used for carrying out both energy storage and biomolecule detection. Herein, carbon fiber-based NiCoO2 nanosheets coated with nitrogen-doped carbon (CF@NiCoO2@N-C) have been prepared via a simple electrochemical deposition method. Interestingly, being a dual-functional active material, CF@NiCoO2@N-C exhibits excellent behaviors as a supercapacitor and prominent electrocatalytic properties, which can be applied for enzyme-free biosensor. It exhibits outstanding energy storage, high capacitive stability (94% capacitive retention after 10,000 cycles), and pre-eminent flexible ability (95% capacitive retention after 10,000 bending cycles), as well as high sensitivity for enzyme-free glucose detection (592  µA mM-1). Moreover, the CF@NiCoO2@N-C-based wearable supercapacitors would be used as self-powered energy systems for enzyme-free biosensors. Integrating with bluetooth, we have successfully developed a wearable self-powered enzyme-free smartsensor, remotely controlled using a smartphone for health monitoring in a practical environment. From this prospective study, it was found that the design of wearable self-powered smartsensors, demonstrating energy storage and enzyme-free biosensing in one system, provides a promising device for detecting body biomolecules, which has the potential to be implemented in the artificial intelligent fields.

Highly Selective Wearable Smartsensors for Vapor/Liquid Amphibious Methanol Monitoring.

A wearable screen-printed electrochemical smartsensor with excellent selectivity for methanol quantification has been developed. This smartsensor consists of a printable sensing system modified with platinum (Pt) confined in a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) matrix, as well as a compact electronic interface for data collection. The real-time electrochemical signal from methanol could be remotely detected and transmitted to a smartphone by blue tooth. It performs good environmental adaptability of vapor/liquid amphibious behaviors. Owing to the uniform distribution of Pt loading on the rGO nanosheets, this sensor demonstrates high selectivity, sensitivity, stability, and recoverability both in vapor and liquid during temperature or humidity diversification, compared with other resistance-based sensors. It also achieves good bending and stretching performance, and it could be a possible candidate device for the quantification of methanol in different environments.

Wearable biomolecule smartsensors based on one-step fabricated berlin green printed arrays.

The wearable smart detection of body biomolecules and biomarkers is being of significance in the practical fields. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a product of some enzyme-catalyzed biomolecular reactions. The detection of H2O2 could reflect the concentration information of the enzyme reaction biomolecule substrate such as glucose. A high-performance berlin green (BG) carbon ink for monitoring H2O2 was prepared in this work. And we have successfully developed the wearable smartsensors for detecting H2O2 and glucose based on one-step fabricated BG arrays by screen-printing technology. Comparing with other detection methods, these sensors are wearable, movable, flexible and biocompatible for monitoring biomolecules. As a result, the sensors exhibited good sensitivity, specificity, stability and reproductivity towards H2O2 and glucose. Additionally, there also received stable response after near one hundred times stretching and thousands of bending. Moreover, the wearable sensors could be easily remotely controlled by a smart phone, when integrated with wireless into the device. In prospective studies, the one-step fabricated wearable smartsensors is of great significance in developing a straightforward, highly-efficient and low-cost method for actual detection of biomolecules reflecting body health status, and would potentially be applied in the artificial intelligence (AI) fields.