APIP5 functions as a transcription factor and an RNA-binding protein to modulate cell death and immunity in rice.

Many transcription factors (TFs) in animals bind to both DNA and mRNA, regulating transcription and mRNA turnover. However, whether plant TFs function at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels remains unknown. The rice (Oryza sativa) bZIP TF AVRPIZ-T-INTERACTING PROTEIN 5 (APIP5) negatively regulates programmed cell death and blast resistance and is targeted by the effector AvrPiz-t of the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. We demonstrate that the nuclear localization signal of APIP5 is essential for APIP5-mediated suppression of cell death and blast resistance. APIP5 directly targets two genes that positively regulate blast resistance: the cell wall-associated kinase gene OsWAK5 and the cytochrome P450 gene CYP72A1. APIP5 inhibits OsWAK5 expression and thus limits lignin accumulation; moreover, APIP5 inhibits CYP72A1 expression and thus limits reactive oxygen species production and defense compounds accumulation. Remarkably, APIP5 acts as an RNA-binding protein to regulate mRNA turnover of the cell death- and defense-related genes OsLSD1 and OsRac1. Therefore, APIP5 plays dual roles, acting as TF to regulate gene expression in the nucleus and as an RNA-binding protein to regulate mRNA turnover in the cytoplasm, a previously unidentified regulatory mechanism of plant TFs at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels.

A quasi-solid-state self-healing flexible zinc-ion battery using a dual-crosslinked hybrid hydrogel as the electrolyte and Prussian blue analogue as the cathode material.

Due to their excellent safety and lower cost, aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) have garnered extensive interest among various energy-storage systems. Here we report a quasi-solid-state self-healing AZIB by using a hybrid hydrogel which consists of dual-crosslinked polyacrylamide and polyvinyl alcohol as a flexible electrolyte and a cobalt hexacyanoferrate (K3.24Co3[Fe(CN)6]2·12.6H2O) Prussian blue analogue as the cathode material. The obtained hybrid hydrogel showed a superhigh fracture strain of up to 1490%, which was almost 15 times higher than that of the original size. Due to the fast formation of hydrogen bonds, the self-healed hydrogel from two pieces still displayed 1165% strain upon failure. As a result, the self-healed battery delivered stable capacities of 119.1, 108.6 and 103.0 mA h g-1 even after being completely cut into 2, 3 and 4 pieces, respectively. The battery capacity recovery rates for each bending cycle exceeded 99.5%, 99.8%, 98.6% and 98.9% during four continuous bending cycles (30 times bending at 90° for each cycle), which indicates outstanding flexibility and self-healing capability. In parallel, the hydrogel electrolyte displayed a broader electrochemically stable window of 3.37 V due to the suppression of water splitting and low overvoltage during the 500 h cycling in a symmetric cell. Zinc dendrites were also suppressed as evidenced in symmetric cell measurements. The assembled AZIB exhibited an initial capacity of 176 mA h g-1 upon vertical bending. The battery showed a reliable capacity of 140.7 mA h g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 after 100 cycles along with a coulombic efficiency of >99%. A reliable capacity of nearly 100 mA h g-1 was retained after 300 cycles at 1.0 A g-1. The highly flexible and self-healing AZIB demonstrates great potential in various wearable electronic devices.

A foldable self-healing rocking chair zinc-ion battery using a three-dimensional zinc metal-free anode.

We developed H2Ti5O11·xH2O on carbon cloth (HTO·xH2O/CC) as a binder-free Zn metal-free anode. This 'rocking chair' battery incorporated a ZnMn2O4/CC cathode, HTO·xH2O/CC anode, and a polyacrylamide-based electrolyte, and exhibited satisfactory flexibility and self-healing. It displayed recoverable capacities after four repetitions of cutting and healing, indicating a potential using as a foldable and wearable battery.

Novel Insights into the Roles and Mechanisms of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists against Aging-Related Diseases.

Aging and aging-related diseases have emerged as increasingly severe health and social problems. Therefore, it is imperative to discover novel and effective therapeutics to delay the aging process and to manage aging-related diseases. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), one of the classes of antihyperglycemic drugs, have been recommended to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Moreover, GLP-1 RAs have been shown to protect against oxidative stress, cellular senescence and chronic inflammation, which are widely accepted as the major risk factors of aging. However, their significance in aging or aging-related diseases has not been elucidated. Herein, we explain the underlying mechanisms and protective roles of GLP-1 RAs in aging from a molecular, cellular and phenotypic perspective. We provide novel insights into the broad prospect of GLP-1 RAs in preventing and treating aging-related diseases. Additionally, we highlight the gaps for further studies in clinical applications of GLP-1 RAs in aging-related diseases. This review forms a basis for further studies on the relationship between aging-related diseases and GLP-1 RAs.

A Hierarchical SnO2@Ni6MnO8 Composite for High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Semiconductor-based composites are potential anodes for Li-ion batteries, owing to their high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, low stability induced by large volumetric change in cycling restricts the applications of such composites. Here, a hierarchical SnO2@Ni6MnO8 composite comprising Ni6MnO8 nanoflakes growing on the surface of a three-dimensional (3D) SnO2 is developed by a hydrothermal synthesis method, achieving good electrochemical performance as a Li-ion battery anode. The composite provides spaces to buffer volume expansion, its hierarchical profile benefits the fast transport of Li+ ions and electrons, and the Ni6MnO8 coating on SnO2 improves conductivity. Compared to SnO2, the Ni6MnO8 coating significantly enhances the discharge capacity and stability. The SnO2@Ni6MnO8 anode displays 1030 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and exhibits 800 mAh g-1 under 0.5 A g-1, along with high Coulombic efficiency of 95%. Furthermore, stable rate performance can be achieved, indicating promising applications.

Measurement of complex permittivity of liquids in the frequency range 100-1000 MHz by using a re-entrant cavity.

For many liquid materials and biological media, their complex permittivity varies with frequency in the P-band (100-1000 MHz). In this paper, a re-entrant coaxial cavity resonance test system with intensive multi-frequency points testing capability is designed for the P-band to realize the test of the complex permittivity of P-band materials. For this system, a test algorithm has been written, and on the basis of this system, a perturbation block has been designed, using stepper motors to control the up and down movement of the perturbation block to achieve frequency tunability of the cavity, enabling more P-band frequency test data to be obtained. The experimental results show that the system is suitable for testing the electrical parameters of P-band biological media and liquid materials and for testing solid materials in aerospace, electromagnetic shielding, and other fields where there is a great demand for P-band testing.

A Self-Healing Flexible Quasi-Solid Zinc-Ion Battery Using All-In-One Electrodes.

Self-healing and flexibility are significant for many emerging applications of secondary batteries, which have attracted broad attention. Herein, a self-healing flexible quasi-solid Zn-ion battery composing of flexible all-in-one cathode (VS2 nanosheets growing on carbon cloth) and anode (electrochemically deposited Zn nanowires), and a self-healing hydrogel electrolyte, is presented. The free-standing all-in-one electrodes enable a high capacity and robust structure during flexible transformation of the battery, and the hydrogel electrolyte possesses a good self-healing performance. The presented battery remains as a high retention potential even after healing from being cut into six pieces. When bending at 60°, 90°, and 180°, the battery capacities remain 124, 125, and 114 mAh g-1, respectively, cycling at a current density of 50 mA g-1. Moreover, after cutting and healing twice, the battery still delivers a stable capacity, indicating a potential use of self-healing and wearable electronics.

Separation and extraction of non-thermal effects of strong microwave electric field on dielectric properties of materials based on time modulation and cavity perturbation method.

The influence of strong microwave electric field (SMEF) on the dielectric properties of materials is the result of the joint action of microwave thermal effect and microwave non-thermal effect. Generally, the thermal effect of SMEF is stronger than the non-thermal effect, which makes the non-thermal effect of SMEF difficult to detect. Moreover, it is difficult to distinguish the influence of these two factors from each other. Therefore, the formation mechanism and characteristics of the non-thermal effect of SMEF have not been elucidated so far. In this paper, a separation and extraction model of the non-thermal effect of SMEF on the dielectric property of material is proposed based on the time modulation method and cavity perturbation method. By adjusting the interaction time between SMEF and materials, reducing the influence of microwave thermal effect, and strengthening the proportion of microwave non-thermal effect, the separation and extraction of the non-thermal effect of SMEF is realized. Through the designed re-entrant coaxial cavity, the corresponding test system is constructed and the typical materials are tested. Experimental results show that the proposed research method is feasible. The research method proposed in this paper provides an effective way for the follow-up study on the formation mechanism and characteristics of the non-thermal effect of SMEF on the dielectric properties of materials.

Application of time-domain gating technique in water content measurement of gas-liquid two-phase flow.

This paper introduces an application of the time-domain gating technique in water content measurement of gas-liquid two-phase flow. According to the principle that water and gas have different absorption effects on microwaves, a sensor with transmitting and receiving antennas is designed. Combined with the back propagation neural network, the water content of two-phase fluids can be obtained from the complex transmission coefficient (S21) of antennas. In order to reduce the influence of the sensor structure on antenna measurement, the time-domain gating technique can be used to filter out the interference components in S21 so that the water content can be more easily predicted. Built on the above, an automatic test system is established. In the range of 0%-78%, the absolute test error of the water content is lower than 3%.

An artificial sea urchin with hollow spines: improved mechanical and electrochemical stability in high-capacity Li-Ge batteries.

Metallic germanium (Ge) as the anode can deliver a high specific capacity and high rate capability in lithium ion batteries. However, the large volume expansion largely restrains its further application. Herein, we constructed a three-dimensional sea urchin structure consisting of double layered Ge/TiO2 nanotubes as the spines via a ZnO template-removing method, which displays a capacity as high as 1060 mA h g-1 over 130 cycles. The robust, hollow oxide backbone serves as a strong support to accommodate the morphological change of Ge while the enhanced electron-transfer kinetics is attributed to the Ge content and the intimate contact between Ge and TiO2 during charging/discharging, which were confirmed using in situ transmission electronic microscopy observations and first-principles simulations. In addition, a high capacity retention of batteries using this hybrid composite as the anode was also achieved at low temperature.

An oriented laterally-growing NiCo2O4 nanowire array on a Fe2O3 microdisc as a high-capacity and excellent rate-performance secondary battery anode.

A novel hierarchical composite consisting of an ordered NiCo2O4 nanowire array growing on the lateral side of a Fe2O3 microdisc is presented, which was confirmed by X-ray holography technology on a synchrotron radiation station. The composite-based Li-ion battery anode exhibits a high capacity of 1528 mA h g-1 after 200 cycles at 0.2C, a recoverable rate-performance after repeated tests, and robust mechanical properties.

Synthesis of Uniform Alkane-Filled Capsules with a High Under-Cooling Performance and Their Real-Time Optical Properties.

Encapsulating under-cooling materials has been a promising strategy to address the compatibility issue with a surrounding matrix. Herein, we present the synthesis of a uniform alkane-infilled capsule system that shows obvious under-cooling properties. As demonstrating examples, n-hexadecane was selected as a liquid alkane and n-eicosane as a solid in our systems as core materials via in-situ polymerization, respectively. The under-cooling properties of capsules were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, real-time optical observations with two polarizers, and molecular modeling. The n-hexadecane encapsulated capsules exhibited a large under-cooling temperature range of 20 °C between melt and crystallization, indicating potential applications for structure-transformation energy storage. In addition, molecular modeling calculations confirmed that the solid forms of n-hexadecane and n-eicosane are more stable than their liquid forms. From liquid to solid form, the n-hexadecane and n-eicosane release energies were 4.63 × 10³ and 4.95 × 10³ J·g-1, respectively.

A biomimetic SiO2@chitosan composite as highly-efficient adsorbent for removing heavy metal ions in drinking water.

Highly efficient adsorbents for drinking water purification are demanded since the contaminants are generally in a low concentration which makes it difficult for conventional adsorbents. Herein, we present a novel biomimetic SiO2@chitosan composite as adsorbent with a high adsorption capability towards heavy metal ions including As(V) and Hg(II). The hollow leaf-like SiO2 scaffold within the adsorbent has a stable chemical property; while on the surface SiO2, the chitosan nanoparticle provide a large amount of active sites such as amino and hydroxyl groups for adsorbing heavy metal ions. The special SiO2 structure also prevents the agglomeration and loss of chitosan, which enables the efficient contact between the functional groups of chitosan and heavy metal ions. The SiO2@chitosan composite exhibits maximum adsorption capacities of 204.1 and 198.6 mg g-1 towards Hg(II) and As(V), respectively. In addition, the removal efficiency reaches over 60% within 2 min. The adsorption performance enables the presented biomimetic adsorbent suitable for adsorbing low-concentration heavy metal ions, especially possessing a promising potential for drinking water purification.

Three-Dimensionally Porous Li-Ion and Li-S Battery Cathodes: A Mini Review for Preparation Methods and Energy-Storage Performance.

Among many types of batteries, Li-ion and Li-S batteries have been of great interest because of their high energy density, low self-discharge, and non-memory effect, among other aspects. Emerging applications require batteries with higher performance factors, such as capacity and cycling life, which have motivated many research efforts on constructing high-performance anode and cathode materials. Herein, recent research about cathode materials are particularly focused on. Low electron and ion conductivities and poor electrode stability remain great challenges. Three-dimensional (3D) porous nanostructures commonly exhibit unique properties, such as good Li⁺ ion diffusion, short electron transfer pathway, robust mechanical strength, and sufficient space for volume change accommodation during charge/discharge, which make them promising for high-performance cathodes in batteries. A comprehensive summary about some cutting-edge investigations of Li-ion and Li-S battery cathodes is presented. As demonstrative examples, LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiFePO4, V2O5, and LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 in pristine and modified forms with a 3D porous structure for Li-ion batteries are introduced, with a particular focus on their preparation methods. Additionally, S loaded on 3D scaffolds for Li-S batteries is discussed. In addition, the main challenges and potential directions for next generation cathodes have been indicated, which would be beneficial to researchers and engineers developing high-performance electrodes for advanced secondary batteries.

A Novel Organophosphorus Hybrid with Excellent Thermal Stability: Core-Shell Structure, Hybridization Mechanism, and Application in Flame Retarding Semi-Aromatic Polyamide.

An organophosphorous hybrid (BM@Al-PPi) with unique core-shell structure was prepared through hybridization reaction between boehmite (BM) as the inorganic substrate and phenylphosphinic acid (PPiA) as the organic modifier. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), solid state (31)P and (27)Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, and element analysis were used to investigate the chemical structure of the hybrids, where the microrod-like core was confirmed as Al-PPi aggregates generated from the reaction between BM and PPiA, and those irregular nanoparticles in the shell belonged to residual BM. Compared with the traditional dissolution-precipitation process, a novel analogous suspension reaction mode was proposed to explain the hybridization process and the resulting product. Scanning electronic microscopy further proved the core-shell structure of the hybrids. BM exhibited much higher initial decomposition temperature than that of Al-PPi; therefore, the hybrid showed better thermal stability than Al-PPi, and it met the processing temperature of semi-aromatic polyamide (HTN, for instance) as an additive-type flame retardant. Limiting oxygen index and cone calorimetric analysis suggested the excellent flame-retardant performance and smoke suppressing activity by adding the resulting hybrid into HTN.

Novel Multifunctional Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Curing Agent with High Flame-Retardant Efficiency for Epoxy Resin.

A novel multifunctional organic-inorganic hybrid was designed and prepared based on ammonium polyphosphate (APP) by cation exchange with diethylenetriamine (DETA), abbreviated as DETA-APP. Then DETA-APP was used as flame-retardant curing agent for epoxy resin (EP). Curing behavior, including the curing kinetic parameters, was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The flame retardance and burning behavior of DETA-APP cured EP were also evaluated. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of DETA-APP/EP was enhanced to 30.5% with only 15 wt % of DETA-APP incorporated; and the UL-94 V-0 rating could be easily passed through with only 10 wt % of the hybrid. Compared with DETA/EP, the peak-heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), total smoke production (TSP), and peak-smoke production release (SPR) of DETA-APP/EP (15 wt % addition), obtained from cone calorimetry, were dropped by 68.3, 79.3, 79.0, and 30.0%, respectively, suggesting excellent flame-retardant and smoke suppression efficiency. The flame-retardant mechanism of DETA-APP/EP has been investigated comprehensively. The results of all the aforementioned studies distinctly confirmed that DETA-APP was an effective flame-retardant curing agent for EP.