Reconfiguring the Hydrogen Networks of Aqueous Electrolyte to Stabilize Iron Hexacyanoferrate for High-Voltage Decoupled Cell.

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) as insertion-type cathodes have attracted significant attention in various aqueous batteries to accommodate metal or non-metal ions while suffering from serious dissolution and consequent inferior lifespan. Herein, we reveal that the dissolution of PBAs primarily originates from the locally elevated pH of electrolytes that are caused by proton co-insertion during discharge. To address this issue, a water-locking electrolyte (WLE) has been strategically implemented, which interrupts the generation and Grotthuss diffusion of protons by breaking the well-connected hydrogen bonding network in aqueous electrolytes. As a result, the WLE enables the iron hexacyanoferrate to endure over 1000 cycles at a 1C rate and supports a high-voltage decoupled cell with an average voltage of 1.95 V. These findings provide insights for mitigating dissolution problems in electrode materials, thereby enhancing the viability and performance of aqueous batteries.

Health benefits of saponins and its mechanisms: perspectives from absorption, metabolism, and interaction with gut.

Saponins, consisting of sapogenins as their aglycones and carbohydrate chains, are widely found in plants and some marine organisms. Due to the complexity of the structure of saponins, involving different types of sapogenins and sugar moieties, investigation of their absorption and metabolism is limited, which further hinders the explanation of their bioactivities. Large molecular weight and complex structures limit the direct absorption of saponins rendering their low bioavailability. As such, their major modes of action may be due to interaction with the gastrointestinal environment, such as enzymes and nutrients, and interaction with the gut microbiota. Many studies have reported the interaction between saponins and gut microbiota, that is, the effects of saponins on changing the composition of gut microbiota, and gut microbiota playing an indispensable role in the biotransformation of saponins into sapogenins. However, the metabolic routes of saponins by gut microbiota and their mutual interactions are still sparse. Thus, this review summarizes the chemistry, absorption, and metabolic pathways of saponins, as well as their interactions with gut microbiota and impacts on gut health, to better understand how saponins exert their health-promoting functions.

Regulation of gut microbiota and alleviation of DSS-induced colitis by vitexin.

PURPOSE: Vitexin is one of the flavonoids in millet and has a variety of biological activities. However, the function of vitexin on colitis is not clear. This research studied the regulation of vitexin on colitis and investigated the possible mechanisms. METHODS: An in vitro fermentation model was used to evaluate the regulation of vitexin on gut microbiota of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). At the same time, an acute colitis mice model induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) was used to evaluate the effects of vitexin on intestinal inflammation, barrier and gut microbiota. RESULTS: In this study, it was found that vitexin altered the structure of gut microbiota by decreasing harmful bacteria, such as Veillonella, Terrisporobacter, Klebsiella, Paeniclostridium, and increasing beneficial bacteria, such as Parabacteroides, Flavonifractor, Blautia after in vitro fermentation with the feces of colitis patients. Further, DSS-induced colitis mice models revealed that vitexin treatment significantly improved colitis symptoms, maintained intestinal barrier and down-regulated the expression of inflammatory factors, such as IL-1ß and TNF-α. In addition, vitexin also improved the diversity of gut microbiota of colitis mice by decreasing the abundance of harmful bacteria. CONCLUSION: This research suggested that vitexin could alleviate colitis by regulating gut microbiota and attenuated gut inflammation.

In Situ Electrochemical Activation of Hydroxyl Polymer Cathode for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Organic Batteries.

The slow reaction kinetics and structural instability of organic electrode materials limit the further performance improvement of aqueous zinc-organic batteries. Herein, we have synthesized a Z-folded hydroxyl polymer polytetrafluorohydroquinone (PTFHQ) with inert hydroxyl groups that could be partially oxidized to the active carbonyl groups through the in situ activation process and then undertake the storage/release of Zn2+ . In the activated PTFHQ, the hydroxyl groups and S atoms enlarge the electronegativity region near the electrochemically active carbonyl groups, enhancing their electrochemical activity. Simultaneously, the residual hydroxyl groups could act as hydrophilic groups to enhance the electrolyte wettability while ensuring the stability of the polymer chain in the electrolyte. Also, the Z-folded structure of PTFHQ plays an important role in reversible binding with Zn2+ and fast ion diffusion. All these benefits make the activated PTFHQ exhibit a high specific capacity of 215 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 , over 3400 stable cycles with a capacity retention of 92 %, and an outstanding rate capability of 196 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1 .

Age-related SUMOylation of PLK1 is essential to meiosis progression in mouse oocytes.

Polo like kinase 1 (PLK1) is a protein kinase involved in regulating the spindle assembly and cell cycle control in mammalian oocytes. SUMOylation, one way of post-translational modification, regulates oocyte meiosis by controlling several substrates. However, the relation between PLK1 and SUMOylation in oocytes is still unknown. In this study, we investigated that whether PLK1 was modified by SUMOylation in oocytes and its potential relationship with age-related meiotic abnormalities. We showed that PLK1 had colocalization and protein interaction with Small Ubiquitin-Like Modifier (SUMO)-1 and SUMO-2/3 in mouse oocytes, indicating that PLK1 could be modified by SUMO-1 and SUMO-2/3. Overexpression of PLK1 SUMOylation site mutants PLK1K178R and PLK1K191R caused the increase of the abnormal spindle rate of oocytes and the decline of the first polar body extrusion rate with the abnormal localization of PLK1, suggesting that the SUMOylation modification of PLK1 is essential for normal meiosis in oocytes. Compared with young mice, the expression of PLK1 protein increased and the expression of SUMO-1 and SUMO-2/3 protein decreased in the oocytes of aged mice, indicating that the SUMOylation of PLK1 might be related to the mouse aging. Therefore, our data suggested that PLK1 could be SUMOylated by SUMO-1 and SUMO-2/3 in mouse oocytes and SUMOylation of PLK1 regulated the meiosis progression of oocytes which was related with aging.

Shugoshin Regulates Cohesin, Kinetochore-Microtubule Attachments, and Chromosomal Instability.

Correct regulation of cohesin at chromosome arms and centromeres and accurate kinetochore-microtubule connections are significant for proper chromosome segregation. At anaphase of meiosis I, cohesin at chromosome arms is cleaved by separase, leading to the separation of homologous chromosomes. However, at anaphase of meiosis II, cohesin at centromeres is cleaved by separase, leading to the separation of sister chromatids. Shugoshin-2 (SGO2) is a member of the shugoshin/MEI-S332 protein family in mammalian cells, a crucial protein that protects centromeric cohesin from cleavage by separase and corrects wrong kinetochore-microtubule connections before anaphase of meiosis I. Shugoshin-1 (SGO1) plays a similar role in mitosis. Moreover, shugoshin can inhibit the occurrence of chromosomal instability (CIN), and its abnormal expression in several tumors, such as triple-negative breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer, colon cancer, glioma, and acute myeloid leukemia, can be used as biomarker for disease progression and potential therapeutic targets for cancers. Thus, this review discusses the specific mechanisms of shugoshin which regulates cohesin, kinetochore-microtubule connections, and CIN.

Introducing Polar Groups in Porous Aromatic Framework for Achieving High Capacity of Organic Molecules and Enhanced Self-Cleaning Applications.

Due to the frequent oil/organic solvent leakage, efficient oil/water separation has attracted extensive concern. However, conventional porous materials possess nonpolar building units, which reveal relatively weak affinity for polar organic molecules. Here, two different polarities of superhydrophobic porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) were synthesized with respective orthoposition and paraposition C=O groups in the PAF linkers. The conjugated structure formed by a large number of alkynyl and benzene ring structures enabled porous and superhydrophobic quality of PAFs. After the successful preparation of the PAF solids, PAF powders were coated on polyester fabrics by a simple dip-coating method, which endowed the resulting polyester fabrics with superhydrophobicity, porosity, and excellent stability. Based on the unique structure, the oil/water separation efficiency of two superhydrophobic flexible fabrics was more than 90% for various organic solvents. Polar LNU-26 PAF showed better separation performance for the polar oils. This work takes the lead in adopting the polar groups as building units for the preparation of porous networks, which has great guiding significance for the construction of advanced oil/water separation materials.

Solvation Effect on the Improved Sodium Storage Performance of N-Heteropentacenequinone for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

The performance of electrode material is correlated with the choice of electrolyte, however, how the solvation has significant impact on electrochemical behavior is underdeveloped. Herein, N-heteropentacenequinone (TAPQ) is investigated to reveal the solvation effect on the performance of sodium-ion batteries in different electrolyte environment. TAPQ cycled in diglyme-based electrolyte exhibits superior electrochemical performance, but experiences a rapid capacity fading in carbonate-based electrolyte. The function of solvation effect is mainly embodied in two aspects: one is the stabilization of anion intermediate via the compatibility of electrode and electrolyte, the other is the interfacial electrochemical characteristics influenced by solvation sheath structure. By revealing the failure mechanism, this work presents an avenue for better understanding electrochemical behavior and enhancing performance from the angle of solvation effect.

A Low-Cost Micro-Volume Nephelometric System for Quantitative Immunoagglutination Assays.

Immunoassays have been widely used in scientific research and clinical diagnosis due to their versatile detection capability and high specificity. Immunoagglutination assays are kinds of immunoassay, which can simply and rapidly measure the concentration of analytes. In this work, we developed a low-cost micro-volume nephelometric system for quantitative immunoagglutination assays. We used off-the-shelf components to build the system, and the total cost of key components is only about 20 US dollars. The total detection volume in our system was as low as 3 µL, which could significantly reduce the reagent cost and required sample volume. We further evaluated the system performance via the immunoagglutination assay to measure the concentration of C-reactive protein, a plasma protein with levels rising in response to inflammation. The results demonstrated that our system could measure the concentration of analytes with relatively high sensitivity and precision within four minutes, and has high potential to be applied for clinical diagnostic tests.

Microsecond protein folding events revealed by time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer in a microfluidic mixer.

We demonstrate the combination of the time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (tr-FRET) measurement and the ultrarapid hydrodynamic focusing microfluidic mixer. The combined technique is capable of probing the intermolecular distance change with temporal resolution at microsecond level and structural resolution at Angstrom level, and the use of two-photon excitation enables a broader exploration of FRET with spectrum from near-ultraviolet to visible wavelength. As a proof of principle, we used the coupled microfluidic laminar flow and time-resolved two-photon excitation microscopy to investigate the early folding states of Cytochrome c (cyt c) by monitoring the distance between the tryptophan (Trp-59)-heme donor-acceptor (D-A) pair. The transformation of folding states of cyt c in the early 500 µs of refolding was revealed on the microsecond time scale. For the first time, we clearly resolved the early transient state of cyt c, which is populated within the dead time of the mixer (<10 µs) and has a characteristic Trp-59-heme distance of ∼31 Å. We believe this tool can find more applications in studying the early stages of biological processes with FRET as the probe.

Mapping live cell viscosity with an aggregation-induced emission fluorogen by means of two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Intracellular viscosity is a crucial parameter that indicates the functioning of cells. In this work, we demonstrate the utility of TPE-Cy, a cell-permeable dye with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property, in mapping the viscosity inside live cells. Owing to the AIE characteristics, both the fluorescence intensity and lifetime of this dye are increased along with an increase in viscosity. Fluorescence lifetime imaging of live cells stained with TPE-Cy reveals that the lifetime in lipid droplets is much shorter than that from the general cytoplasmic region. The loose packing of the lipids in a lipid droplet results in low viscosity and thus shorter lifetime of TPE-Cy in this region. It demonstrates that the AIE dye could provide good resolution in intracellular viscosity sensing. This is also the first work in which AIE molecules are applied in fluorescence lifetime imaging and intracellular viscosity sensing.

In Vivo nonlinear optical imaging of immune responses: tissue injury and infection.

In this study, we demonstrate a noninvasive imaging approach based on multimodal nonlinear optical microscopy to in vivo image the responses of immune cells (neutrophils) to the tissue injury and bacterial infection in a zebrafish model. Specifically, the second harmonic generation from myosin thick filaments in sarcomere enabled a clear visualization of the muscle injury and infection. Two-photon excited fluorescence was used to track the behavior of the neutrophils that were transgenically labeled by red fluorescent protein. The corresponding reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) two-photon excited fluorescence images revealed a detailed morphological transformation process of individual neutrophils during muscle tissue injury and bacterial infection. The analysis of time-resolved NADH signals from the neutrophils provided important biological insights of the cellular energy metabolism during the immune responses. We found a significant increase of free/protein-bound NADH ratios in activated neutrophils in bacterial-infected tissue. In this study, we also discovered that, under 720 nm excitation, two wild-type strains (DH5? and BL21) of bacteria Escherichia coli emitted distinct endogenous fluorescence of double-peak at ?450 and ?520 nm, respectively. We demonstrated that the double-peak fluorescence signal could be used to differentiate the E. coli from surrounding tissues of dominant NADH signals, and to achieve label-free tracking of E. coli bacteria in vivo.

Spatial Structure Design of Thioether-Linked Naphthoquinone Cathodes for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Organic Batteries.

Organic electrode materials (OEMs) have gathered extensive attention for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) due to their structural diversity and molecular designability. However, the reported research mainly focuses on the design of the planar configuration of OEMs and does not take into account the important influence of the spatial structure on the electrochemical properties, which seriously hamper the further performance liberation of OEMs. Herein, this work has designed a series of thioether-linked naphthoquinone-derived isomers with tunable spatial structures and applied them as the cathodes in AZIBs. The incomplete conjugated structure of the elaborately engineered isomers can guarantee the independence of the redox reaction of active groups, which contributes to the full utilization of active sites and high redox reversibility. In addition, the position isomerization of naphthoquinones on the benzene rings changes the zincophilic activity and redox kinetics of the isomers, signifying the importance of spatial structure on the electrochemical performance. As a result, the 2,2'-(1,4-phenylenedithio) bis(1,4-naphthoquinone) (p-PNQ) with the smallest steric hindrance and the most independent redox of active sites exhibits a high specific capacity (279 mAh g-1), an outstanding rate capability (167 mAh g-1 at 100 A g-1), and a long-term cycling lifetime (over 2800 h at 0.05 A g-1).

A lipid/PLGA nanocomplex to reshape tumor immune microenvironment for colon cancer therapy.

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy provides a new strategy for tumor treatment; however, the insufficient infiltration of cytotoxic T cells and immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment lead to unsatisfied effects. Herein, we reported a lipid/PLGA nanocomplex (RDCM) co-loaded with the photosensitizer Ce6 and the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor 1MT to improve immunotherapy of colon cancer. Arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) as the targeting moiety was conjugated on 1,2-distearoyl-snglycero-3-phosphoethanolamine lipid via polyethylene glycol (PEG), and programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) peptide inhibitor DPPA (sequence: CPLGVRGK-GGG-d(NYSKPTDRQYHF)) was immobilized on the terminal group of PEG via matrix metalloproteinase 2 sensitive peptide linker. The Ce6 and 1MT were encapsulated in PLGA nanoparticles. The drug loaded nanoparticles were composited with RGD and DPPA modified lipid and lecithin to form lipid/PLGA nanocomplexes. When the nanocomplexes were delivered to tumor, DPPA was released by the cleavage of a matrix metalloproteinase 2-sensitive peptide linker for PD-L1 binding. RGD facilitated the cellular internalization of nanocomplexes via avß3 integrin. Strong immunogenic cell death was induced by 1O2 generated from Ce6 irradiation under 660 nm laser. 1MT inhibited the activity of IDO and reduced the inhibition of cytotoxic T cells caused by kynurenine accumulation in the tumor microenvironment. The RDCM facilitated the maturation of dendritic cells, inhibited the activity of IDO, and markedly recruited the proportion of tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic T cells in CT26 tumor-bearing mice, triggering a robust immunological memory effect, thus effectively preventing tumor metastasis. The results indicated that the RDCM with dual IDO and PD-L1 inhibition effects is a promising platform for targeted photoimmunotherapy of colon cancer.

Biomaterials and Encapsulation Techniques for Probiotics: Current Status and Future Prospects in Biomedical Applications.

Probiotics have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their potential advantages in diverse biomedical applications, such as acting as antimicrobial agents, aiding in tissue repair, and treating diseases. These live bacteria must exist in appropriate quantities and precise locations to exert beneficial effects. However, their viability and activity can be significantly impacted by the surrounding tissue, posing a challenge to maintain their stability in the target location for an extended duration. To counter this, researchers have formulated various strategies that enhance the activity and stability of probiotics by encapsulating them within biomaterials. This approach enables site-specific release, overcoming technical impediments encountered during the processing and application of probiotics. A range of materials can be utilized for encapsulating probiotics, and several methods can be employed for this encapsulation process. This article reviews the recent advancements in probiotics encapsulated within biomaterials, examining the materials, methods, and effects of encapsulation. It also provides an overview of the hurdles faced by currently available biomaterial-based probiotic capsules and suggests potential future research directions in this field. Despite the progress achieved to date, numerous challenges persist, such as the necessity for developing efficient, reproducible encapsulation methods that maintain the viability and activity of probiotics. Furthermore, there is a need to design more robust and targeted delivery vehicles.

Translation and validation of the simplified Chinese version of the Chronic Pain Coping Inventory-42.

BACKGROUND: The Chronic Pain Coping Inventory-42(CPCI-42) is mainly used for chronic pain management project, its original version is written in English and has been widely used in western countries. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to apply the CPCI-42 to Chinese patients and evaluate its responsiveness, reliability, and validity for Chinese patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). METHODS: Translation and adaptation were carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Outcome Committee. A total of 133 patients who were diagnosed with LDH were included in this study. Psychometric evaluations were then performed and included score distribution, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness. RESULTS: CPCI-42 is well adapted to the assessment of the cognitive and behavioral strategies of patients with LDH, and the scores of score distribution, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness are excellent. Forward and reverse translation of the CPCI-42 to English from Chinese worked smoothly. CONCLUSION: It is applicable to the assessment of quality of life of the cognitive and behavioral strategies of patients with LDH, and the scores of all indicators are excellent.

The regulation of lncRNAs and miRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a global endemic that continues to cause a large number of severe illnesses and fatalities. There is increasing evidence that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are crucial regulators of viral infection and antiviral immune response and the role of non-coding RNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection has now become the focus of scholarly inquiry. After SARS-CoV-2 infection, some ncRNAs' expression levels are regulated to indirectly control the expression of antiviral genes and viral gene replication. However, some other ncRNAs are hijacked by SARS-CoV-2 in order to help the virus evade the immune system by suppressing the expression of type I interferon (IFN-1) and controlling cytokine levels. In this review, we summarize the recent findings of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) among non-coding RNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection and antiviral response, discuss the potential mechanisms of actions, and prospects for the detection, treatment, prevention and future directions of SARS-CoV-2 infection research.

Biochar Decreases Fertilizer Leaching and Promotes Miscanthus Growth in Saline-Alkaline Soil.

Biochar has been widely reported to improve soil conditions and affect plant growth. However, its effectiveness is limited by soil type and production technology. Considering the application effect of biochar in saline alkali soil, there is currently a lack of in-depth mechanism explanations in the research. Therefore, we designed an experiment to explore the effect of biochar on plant growth in saline alkali soil and conducted soil column experiments in a greenhouse environment using composite inorganic fertilizer (NPK). The results showed that biochar significantly affected the distribution of soil nutrient content at different depths, with a significant increase in fertility levels in the surface and middle layers and a decrease in fertility levels in deep soils. Compared to using fertilizers alone, the combined use of biochar and fertilizers further expands the enrichment effect and significantly reduces the leaching of fertilizers into deeper layers. At the same time, the application of biochar also improved soil properties, including an increase in electrical conductivity and organic matter content, as well as an increase in soil enzyme activity. On the other hand, the application of biochar also increases the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of osmoregulation substances in plants, reducing the environmental stress that plants are subjected to. Therefore, our results indicate that biochar can reduce the leaching of fertilizers into deep soil layers, improve soil properties, and promotes the growth of Miscanthus in saline alkali soils.

Analysis on the epidemiological characteristics of varicella and breakthrough case from 2014 to 2022 in Qingyang City.

We analyze the epidemiological characteristics of varicella and breakthrough cases in Qing Yang City, Gansu Province, and provide a basis for the formulation of varicella prevention and control policies. Varicella and breakthrough cases, public health emergency events in Qing Yang City during 2014-2022 were obtained from the China Disease Prevention and Control information System, and the immunization history of the cases were collected from the Gansu Provincial Immunization Planning Information System, descriptive epidemiological analysis of the obtained information was then performed. A total of 6961 cases of varicella were reported in Qing Yang City from 2014 to 2022, yielding an annual incidence of 36.99 cases per 100 000 population. The incidence increased from 19.74/100,000 in 2014 to 35.97/100,000 in 2022; the incidence peaks were observed from May to July and from November to January of the next year. The reported incidence is higher in males (37.70/100,000) than in females (31.54/100,000), and the main age groups were 4 ~ 6 years old (241.98/100,000), 7 ~ 9 years old (142.39/100,000), 10 ~ 14 years old (101.99/100,000). There were 1975 breakthrough cases, accounting for 28.4% of the total reported cases; the majority of patients were students, children in nursery care and scattered children; a total of 10 outbreaks of varicella were reported in primary schools (40.0%), secondary schools (30.0%), kindergartens (20.0%) and high schools (10.0%). The incidence of varicella showed an increasing trend, children and students are high-risk population. It is suggested that varicella vaccine should be included into the immunization program, and the vaccination rate of two-dose of varicella vaccine should be increased for age-eligible children, and varicella surveillance should be strengthened.

Competitive Li+ Coordination in Ionogel Electrolytes for Enhanced Li-Ion Transport Kinetics.

Developing ionogel electrolytes based on ionic liquid instead of volatile liquid in gel polymer electrolytes is regarded to be effective to diminish safety concerns in terms of overheating and fire. Herein, a zwitterion-based copolymer matrix based on the copolymerization of trimethylolpropane ethoxylate triacrylate (ETPTA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethylphosphorylcholine (MPC, one typical zwitterion) is developed. It is shown that introducing zwitterions into ionogel electrolytes can effectively optimize local lithium-ion (Li+ ) coordination environment to improve Li+ transport kinetics. The interactions between Li+ and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI- )/MPC lead to the formation of Li+ coordination shell jointly occupied by MPC and TFSI- . Benefiting from the competitive Li+ attraction of TFSI- and MPC, the energy barrier of Li+ desolvation is sharply decreased and thus the room-temperature ionic conductivity can reach a value of 4.4 × 10-4 S cm-1 . Besides, the coulombic interaction between TFSI- and MPC can greatly decrease the reduction stability of TFSI- , boosting in situ derivation of LiF-enriched solid electrolyte interface  layer on lithium metal surface. As expected, the assembled Li||LiFePO4 cells deliver a high reversible discharge capacity of 139 mAh g-1 at 0.5 C and good cycling stability. Besides, the pouch cells exhibit a steady open-circuit voltage and can operate normally under abuse testing (fold, cut), showing its outstanding safety performance.