Responsive Ag@NiCo2O4 Nanowires Anchored on N-Doped Carbon Cloth as Array Electrodes for Nonenzymatic Glucose Sensing.

The development of responsive materials in a predictable manner is high on the list of the material industry's trends. In this work, responsive Ag@NiCo2O4 nanowires were, firstly, anchored on N-doped carbon cloth (NC) and, then, employed as array electrodes for a nonenzymatic glucose-sensing application. The results showed that the highly conductive NiCo2O4 nanowires supported Ag nanoparticles and exhibited high conductivity and electrocatalytic properties. The fully exposed crystalline planes of Ag nanoparticles provided more active surface sites. As a result, the assembled Ag@NiCo2O4-NC electrodes for the glucose-sensing evaluation delivered a selectivity of 2803 µA mM-1 cm-2 and a detection limit of 1.065 µM, which outperformed the literature-reported Ag- and NiCo2O4-based glucose-sensing catalysts.

Tailoring the Hollow Structure within CoSn(OH)6 Nanocubes for Advanced Supercapacitors.

The enhanced application performance of hollow-structured materials is attributed to their large surface area with more active sites. In this work, the hollow CoSn(OH)6 nanocubes with increased surface area and mesopores were derived from dense CoSn(OH)6 nanocube precursors by alkaline etching. As a result, the hollow CoSn(OH)6 nanocubes-based cathode electrode exhibited a higher area-specific capacitance of 85.56 µF cm-2 at 0.5 mA cm-2 and a mass-specific capacitance of 5.35 mF g-1 at 0.5 mA cm-2, which was more extensive than that of the dense precursor. Meanwhile, the current density was increased 4-fold with good rate capability for hollow CoSn(OH)6 nanocubes.

Fishnet-like double active layer-loaded carbon fiber for electrical double-layer capacitors.

The rational design and controllable synthesis of high-performance energy storage materials are important measures to address the growing demand for energy storage devices. This work involves the growth of a fishnet-like Fe2O3 nanorod@oxygen-rich carbon layer structure directly onto carbon fiber cloth as a binder-free electrode for symmetric capacitors. The growth of Fe2O3 nanorods provided a large specific surface area, and the coating of an oxygen-rich carbon layer protected the Fe2O3 nanorods as an active substance. Furthermore, oxidation treatment created rich electrochemically active sites by loading oxygen-containing functional groups onto the composite surface. As a result, the optimal OC@Fe2O3-ACC sample exhibited a high areal specific capacitance of 1687 mF cm-2 at a current density of 1 mA cm-2. Meanwhile, an excellent capacity retention rate of 58.7% was achieved at 15 mA cm-2. Finally, the long-term cycling stability was verified with an 80% retention rate of the initial capacitance after 12 000 cycles.

Development of Designer Transcription Activator-Like Effector-Based Plant Growth Regulator for Higher Yield in Rice.

Recent studies have shown that reprogramming of gene expression in a genome can induce the production of proteins enabling yield increase. The transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) from several species of bacterial Xanthomonas have been extensively studied, and a series of research tools, such as genome editing tool TALENs and gene expression activators, have been developed based on the specific protein-nucleic acid recognition and binding mechanisms of TALEs. In this proof-of-principle study, we designed and constructed a designer TALE (dTALE), designated as dTALE-NOG1, to specifically target the promoter of OsNOG1 gene in rice, and demonstrated that this dTALE can be used as a new type of plant growth regulator for better crop growth and harvest. In doing so, the dTALE-NOG1 was transferred into the non-pathogenic Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strain PH to generate a genetically engineered bacteria (GEB) strain called PH-dtNOG1. Functional verification showed that dTALE-NOG1 could significantly induce the expression of OsNOG1. By spraying cell suspension of PH-dtNOG1 on the rice plants during the tillering stage, the transcription level of OsNOG1 was highly enhanced, the grain number of rice plants was increased by more than 11.40%, and the grain yield per plant increased by more than 11.08%, demonstrating that the dTALE-NOG1 was highly effective in enhancing rice yield. This work provided a new strategy for manipulating agronomical traits by reprogramming gene expression in a crop genome.

A New Chinese Medicine Intestine Formula Greatly Improves the Effect of Aminosalicylate on Ulcerative Colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic lifelong inflammatory disorder of the colon. Current medical treatment of UC relies predominantly on the use of traditional drugs, including aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and immunosuppressants, which failed to effectively control this disease's progression and produced various side effects. Here, we report a new Chinese medicine intestine formula (CIF) which greatly improved the effect of mesalazine, an aminosalicylate, on UC. In the present study, 60 patients with chronic UC were treated with oral mesalazine alone or in combination with CIF enema. The combination of mesalazine and CIF greatly and significantly improved the clinical symptoms and colon mucosal condition and improved the Mayo Clinic Disease Activity Index and health-related quality of life, when compared to mesalazine alone. In particular, the addition of CIF further decreased serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and hypersensitivity C-reactive protein but in contrast increased interleukin-4. Thus, the results demonstrate the beneficial role of CIF in UC treatment, which may be mediated by the regulation of inflammation.