Identification of direct connections between the dura and the brain.

The arachnoid barrier delineates the border between the central nervous system and dura mater. Although the arachnoid barrier creates a partition, communication between the central nervous system and the dura mater is crucial for waste clearance and immune surveillance1,2. How the arachnoid barrier balances separation and communication is poorly understood. Here, using transcriptomic data, we developed transgenic mice to examine specific anatomical structures that function as routes across the arachnoid barrier. Bridging veins create discontinuities where they cross the arachnoid barrier, forming structures that we termed arachnoid cuff exit (ACE) points. The openings that ACE points create allow the exchange of fluids and molecules between the subarachnoid space and the dura, enabling the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid and limited entry of molecules from the dura to the subarachnoid space. In healthy human volunteers, magnetic resonance imaging tracers transit along bridging veins in a similar manner to access the subarachnoid space. Notably, in neuroinflammatory conditions such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, ACE points also enable cellular trafficking, representing a route for immune cells to directly enter the subarachnoid space from the dura mater. Collectively, our results indicate that ACE points are a critical part of the anatomy of neuroimmune communication in both mice and humans that link the central nervous system with the dura and its immunological diversity and waste clearance systems.

Oxidation state-specific fluorescent copper sensors reveal oncogene-driven redox changes that regulate labile copper(II) pools.

Copper is an essential metal nutrient for life that often relies on redox cycling between Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states to fulfill its physiological roles, but alterations in cellular redox status can lead to imbalances in copper homeostasis that contribute to cancer and other metalloplasias with metal-dependent disease vulnerabilities. Copper-responsive fluorescent probes offer powerful tools to study labile copper pools, but most of these reagents target Cu(I), with limited methods for monitoring Cu(II) owing to its potent fluorescence quenching properties. Here, we report an activity-based sensing strategy for turn-on, oxidation state-specific detection of Cu(II) through metal-directed acyl imidazole chemistry. Cu(II) binding to a metal and oxidation state-specific receptor that accommodates the harder Lewis acidity of Cu(II) relative to Cu(I) activates the pendant dye for reaction with proximal biological nucleophiles and concomitant metal ion release, thus avoiding fluorescence quenching. Copper-directed acyl imidazole 649 for Cu(II) (CD649.2) provides foundational information on the existence and regulation of labile Cu(II) pools, including identifying divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) as a Cu(II) importer, labile Cu(II) increases in response to oxidative stress induced by depleting total glutathione levels, and reciprocal increases in labile Cu(II) accompanied by decreases in labile Cu(I) induced by oncogenic mutations that promote oxidative stress.

Electrolyte Salts and Additives Regulation Enables High Performance Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries: A Mini Review.

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) are regarded as one of the most ideally suited candidates for large-scale energy storage applications owning to their obvious advantages, that is, low cost, high safety, high ionic conductivity, abundant raw material resources, and eco-friendliness. Much effort has been devoted to the exploration of cathode materials design, cathode storage mechanisms, anode protection as well as failure mechanisms, while inadequate attentions are paid on the performance enhancement through modifying the electrolyte salts and additives. Herein, to fulfill a comprehensive aqueous ZIBs research database, a range of recently published electrolyte salts and additives research is reviewed and discussed. Furthermore, the remaining challenges and future directions of electrolytes in aqueous ZIBs are also suggested, which can provide insights to push ZIBs' commercialization.

Increased expression of Triad1 is associated with neuronal apoptosis after intracerebral hemorrhage in adult rats.

Objective: It has been demonstrated that Triad1 (2 RING fingers and double RING finger linked 1) negatively regulates myeloid cell growth and induces cell apoptosis. However, its functions in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) disease have not been conducted. In this study, the role of Triad1 in rat model of ICH was explored.Methods: We observe an increasing expression of Triad1 in areas adjacent to hematoma after ICH. Immunofluorescence shows that Triad1 is colocalized with neurons, while not microglia or astrocyte, indicates its correlation with neuronal activities following ICH.Results: As neuronal apoptosis is the most crucial event in ICH disease, the expression of active caspase-3 and p53 is also enhanced around the hematoma, which is consistent with Triad1 in expression tendency. In turn, Triad1 depletion in primary cortical neurons decreased the apoptosis of neurons after using Triad1 shRNA.Conclusion: We conclude that inhibition of Triad1 expression might protect the brain from secondary damage following ICH.

BES1-regulated BEE1 controls photoperiodic flowering downstream of blue light signaling pathway in Arabidopsis.

BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1) functions as a key regulator in the brassinosteroid (BR) pathway that promotes plant growth. However, whether BES1 is involved in photoperiodic flowering is unknown. Here we report that BES1 acts as a positive regulator of photoperiodic flowering, but it cannot directly bind FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) promoter. BR ENHANCED EXPRESSION 1 (BEE1) is the direct target of BES1 and acts downstream of BES1. BEE1 is also a positive regulator of photoperiodic flowering. BEE1 binds directly to the FT chromatin to activate the transcription of FT and promote flowering initiation. More importantly, BEE1 promotes flowering in a blue light photoreceptor CRYPTOCHROME 2 (CRY2)  partially dependent manner, as it physically interacts with CRY2 under the blue light. Furthermore, BEE1 is regulated by both BRs and blue light. The transcription of BEE1 is induced by BRs, and the BEE1 protein is stabilized under the blue light. Our findings indicate that BEE1 is the integrator of BES1 and CRY2 mediating flowering, and BES1-BEE1-FT is a new signaling pathway in regulating photoperiodic flowering.

Toll-Interleukin 1 Receptor domain-containing adaptor protein positively regulates BV2 cell M1 polarization.

Microglial activation, including classical (M1) and alternative (M2) activation, plays important roles in the development of several central nervous system disorders and promotes tissue reconstruction. Toll-like receptor (TLR)4 is important for microglial polarization. TIR domain-containing adaptor protein (TIRAP) is an intracellular adaptor protein, which is responsible for the early phase of TLR4 activation. The role of TIRAP in BV2 cell M1 polarization is still unknown. In this study, we showed that TIRAP expression is greatly elevated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/interferon (IFN)-γ-treated microglia. TIRAP overexpression promoted BV2 microglial M1 polarization by increasing M1-related marker production (inducible nitric oxide synthase, CD86, interleukin-6, interleukin-1ß and tumour necrosis factor-α). In contrast, TIRAP knockdown prevented M1-related marker production. Mechanistically, TIRAP could interact with TNF Receptor-Associated Factor 6 (TRAF6) to increase M1-related marker production in TIRAP overexpressed and LPS/IFN-γ-treated BV2 cells. In addition, silencing of TIRAP effectively inhibited the activation of the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta-Activated Kinase 1/I-Kappa-B Kinase /Nuclear Factor of Kappa Light Polypeptide Gene Enhancer in B-Cells (TAK1/IKK/NF-κB) signalling pathway and the phosphorylation of Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinases, which were activated by LPS/IFN-γ stimulation. Thus, our results suggest that TIRAP positively regulated BV2 microglial M1 polarization through TLR4-mediated TAK1/IKK/NF-κB, mitogen-activated protein kinases and Akt signalling pathways.

Downregulation of FOXP2 promoter human hepatocellular carcinoma cell invasion.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health concern with a high morbidity and mortality rate worldwide. However, the mechanism underlying hepatocarcinogenesis remains unclear. Forkhead box P2 (FOXP2) has been implicated in various human cancer types. However, the role of FOXP2 in HCC remains unknown. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to measure the expression of FOXP2 protein in HCC and adjacent normal tissues in 50 patients. Wound healing and transwell assays were used to determine the cell invasion ability. We showed that the level of FOXP2 was significantly reduced in HCC compared with the adjacent non-tumorous tissue. There was statistical significance between the expression of FOXP2 and vein invasion (P = 0.017), number of tumor nodes (P = 0.028), and AFP (P = 0.033). Low expression of FOXP2 correlated with poor survival. Moreover, wound healing and transwell assays showed that FOXP2 could decrease cell invasion and affect the expression of vimentin and E-cadherin. Our results suggested that FOXP2 expression was downregulated in HCC tumor tissues, and reduced FOXP2 expression was associated with poor overall survival. In addition, downregulation of FOXP2 significantly enhanced cell invasiveness. These findings uncover that FOXP2 might be a new prognostic factor and be closely correlated with HCC cell invasion.

LIN28 expression in rat spinal cord after injury.

LIN28, an RNA-binding protein, is known to be involved in the regulation of many cellular processes, such as embryonic stem cell proliferation, cell fate succession, developmental timing, and oncogenesis. However, its expression and function in central nervous system still unclear. In this study, we performed an acute spinal cord contusion injury (SCI) model in adult rats and investigated the dynamic changes of LIN28 expression in spinal cord. Western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that LIN28 was present in normal spinal cord. It gradually increased, reached a peak at 3 day, and then nearly declined to the basal level at 14 days after SCI. Double immunofluorescence staining showed that LIN28 immunoreactivity was found in neurons, astrocytes and a handful of microglia. Interestingly, LIN28 expression was increased predominantly in astrocytes but not in neurons. Moreover, the colocalization of LIN28 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen was detected after injury. Western blot showed that LIN28 participated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced astrocytes inflammatory responses by NF-κB signaling pathway. These results suggested that LIN28 may be involved in the pathologic process of SCI, and further research is needed to have a good understanding of its function and mechanism.

Adsorption of methyl violet onto mesoporous MCM-48 from aqueous solution.

In this study, hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide and triblock poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) were used as co-templates and tetraethoxysilane was used as silica source to synthesize mesoporous MCM-48, which was employed to adsorb methyl violet dye from water. The prepared MCM-48, after calcination at 550 degrees C, was found to have a high surface area of 1072 m2/g and a pore volume of 1.08 cm3/g. The MCM-48 adsorption of methyl violet in aqueous solution was studied using UV-visible spectrophotometry. Experimental conditions, including initial pH of sample solution, initial concentration, MCM-48 amount, adsorption time and temperature, were also investigated. Results showed that the adsorption behavior could well be depicted by Langmuir equations and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity of 193.82 mg/g was obtained at 20 degrees C. The values for thermodynamic parameters deltaG0, deltaS0 and deltaH0 were all negative, showing that the MCM-48 adsorption of methyl violet was spontaneous and exothermic.

Expression of PHB2 in rat brain cortex following traumatic brain injury.

Prohibitin2 (PHB2) is a ubiquitous, evolutionarily strongly conserved protein. It is one of the components of the prohibitin complex, which comprises two highly homologous subunits, PHB1 and PHB2. PHB2 is present in various cellular compartments including the nucleus and mitochondria. Recent studies have identified PHB2 as a multifunctional protein that controls cell proliferation, apoptosis, cristae morphogenesis and the functional integrity of mitochondria. However its distribution and function in the central nervous system (CNS) are not well understood. In this study, we examined PHB2 expression and cellular localization in rats after acute traumatic brain injury (TBI). Western Blot analysis showed PHB2 level was significantly enhanced at five days after injury compared to control, and then declined during the following days. The protein expression of PHB2 was further analyzed by immunohistochemistry. In comparison to contralateral cerebral cortex, we observed a highly significant accumulation of PHB2 at the ipsilateral brain. Immunofluorescence double-labeling showed that PHB2 was co-expressed with NeuN, GFAP. Besides, PHB2 also colocalized with activated caspase-3 and PCNA. To further investigate the function of PHB2, primary cultured astrocytes and the neuronal cell line PC12 were employed to establish a proliferation model and an apoptosis model, respectively, to simulate the cell activity after TBI to a certain degree. Knocking down PHB2 by siRNA partly increased the apoptosis level of PC12 stimulated by H2O2. While the PHB2 was interrupted by siRNA, the proliferation level of primary cultured astrocytes was inhibited notably than that in the control group. Together with our data, we hypothesized that PHB2 might play an important role in CNS pathophysiology after TBI.

A Sustainable and Cost-Effective Nitrogen-Doped Three-Dimensional Porous Carbon for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Affordable clean energy is one of the major sustainable development goals that can transform our world. At present, researchers are working to develop cheap electrode materials to develop energy storage devices, the Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is considered a promising energy storage device owing to its excellent theoretical specific capacity and energy density. Herein, utilizing the ramie degumming waste liquid as raw materials, after freeze-drying and high-temperature calcination, a sustainable and cost-effective three-dimensional (3D) porous nitrogen-doped ramie carbon (N-RC) was synthesized. The N-RC calcined at 800 °C (N-RC-800) shows a superior high specific surface area of 1491.85 m2 ⋅ g-1 and a notable high pore volume of 0.90 cm3 ⋅ g-1. When employed as a sulfur host, the S@N-RC-800 cathode illustrates excellent initial discharge capacity (1120.6 mAh ⋅ g-1) and maintains a reversible capacity of 625.4 mAh ⋅ g-1 after 500 cycles at 1 C. Simultaneously, the S@N-RC-800 cathode also shows excellent coulombic efficiency and ideal rate performance. Such exceptional electrochemical performance of S@N-RC-800 can be primarily attributable to N-RC's high specific surface area, high porosity, and abundant polar functional groups. This green and low-cost synthesis strategy offers a new avenue for harnessing the potential of waste biomass in the context of clean energy storage.

Improvement of surface stability of Zn anode by a cost-effective ErCl3 additive for realizing high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous-zinc ion batteries (AZIB) have notable benefits in terms of high safety and low cost. Nevertheless, the challenges, such as dendrite growth, zinc anode corrosion, and hydrogen evolution reaction, impede its practical implementation. Hence, this study proposes the introduction of an economical ErCl3 electrolyte additive to stabilize the Zn anode surface and address the aforementioned issues. The introduced Er3+ will cover the raised zinc dendrite surface and weaken the "tip effect" on the surface of the zinc anode via the "electrostatic shielding" effect. Simultaneously, the introduced Cl- can reduce the polarization of the zinc anode. Due to the synergistic effect of Er3+ and Cl-, the zinc anode corrosion, dendrite growth and hydrogen evolution have been efficiently inhibited. As a result, the Zn||Zn-symmetric battery using ErCl3 additive can stably cycle for 1100 h at 1 mA cm-2, 1 mAh cm-2, and exhibit a high average coulomb efficiency (99.2 %). Meanwhile, Zn||MnO2 full battery based on ErCl3-added electrolyte also demonstrates a high reversible capacity of 157.1 mAh/g after 500 cycles. Obviously, the capacity decay rate of the full battery is also improved, only 0.113 % per cycle. This study offers a straightforward and economically efficient method for stabilizing the zinc anode and realizing high-performance AZIBs.

Temporal-spatial expressions of Spy1 in rat sciatic nerve after crush.

As a novel cell cycle protein, Spy1 enhances cell proliferation, promotes the G1/S transition as well as inhibits apoptosis in response to UV irradiation. Spy1 levels are tightly regulated during mammary development, and overexpression of Spy1 accelerates tumorigenesis in vivo. But little is known about the role of Spy1 in the pathological process of damage and regeneration of the peripheral nervous system. Here we established a rat sciatic nerve crush (SNC) model to examine the spatiotemporal expression of Spy1. Spy1 expression was elevated gradually after sciatic nerve crush and peaked at day 3. The alteration was due to the increased expression of Spy1 in axons and Schwann cells after SNC. Spy1 expression correlated closely with Schwann cells proliferation in sciatic nerve post injury. Furthermore, Spy1 largely localized in axons in the crushed segment, but rarely co-localized with GAP43. These findings suggested that Spy1 participated in the pathological process response to sciatic nerve injury and may be associated with Schwann cells proliferation and axons regeneration.

The expression pattern of Nischarin after lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation in rats brain cortex.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether Nischarin participated in neuronal apoptosis induced by neuroinflammation and via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and PKB-dependent pathway. MATERIAL: Use of male Sprague-Dawley rats, rat pheochromocytoma (PC12), and murine microglial cells (BV-2). Treatment lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were injected into the brain lateral ventricle of the rat. The BV-2 cells were treated by LPS. The PC12 cells were pretreated by or not pretreated by conditioned media and siRNA. METHODS: Western blotting was used for analyzing the expression level of Nischarin, pAKT, BAD and Bcl-2. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were used to perform the morphology and localization of Nischarin. The siRNA could down-regulate the protein level of endogenous Nischarin. RESULTS: The expression level of Nischarin was elevated after LPS injection; meanwhile, Nischarin was located in the neuron. Nischarin was involved in regulating the PI3K/PKB patway. CONCLUSION: Nischarin might be involved in mediating the process of PI3K/PKB pathway-dependent neuronal apoptosis. After the silencing of Nischarin in cultured PC12 (pheochromocytoma) by siRNA, these results showed that it would induce a reduction of pAKT and Bcl-2 proteins expression; meanwhile, it induces an increase of BAD and active caspase-3.

Recent advances in catalytic synthesis of 2,5-furandimethanol from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and carbohydrates.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a versatile platform chemical derived from the dehydration of renewable carbohydrates (typically glucose/fructose-based monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides). Some useful compounds, such as 2,5-furandimethanol (FDM), 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) and 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran (DMTHF), have been synthesized by reduction of HMF. Among these, FDM is a promising diol and can be further converted towards fine chemicals, liquid fuels and polymer materials. In this review, some typical catalytic systems for the synthesis of FDM from both HMF and carbohydrates were summarized. The discussion focused on controlling the reaction networks for the reduction of HMF. The reaction mechanisms and the stability of the catalysts were introduced briefly. Last but not least, the prospects of effective production of FDM were discussed as well.

Synthesis of a Novel Dithiocarbamate Surfactant Derivative Adsorbent for Efficient Removal of Heavy Metal Ions.

In this work, a novel heavy metal chelating agent (DTC-SDS) containing dithiocarbamate (DTC) was synthesized using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), formaldehyde, and carbon disulfide. DTC-SDS has excellent trapping performance under pH 1-7 and initial concentrations 100-500 mg/L. With the increase in adsorbent dose, the adsorption amount of DTC-SDS increases and then decreases, and the optimized dosage of DTC-SDS is 0.02 g. The DTC-SDS adsorbent exhibits superior adsorption capacity (191.01, 111.7, and 79.14 mg/g) and high removal rates (97.99%, 98.48%, and 99.91%) for Mn2+, Zn2+, and Pb2+ respectively, in wastewater. Such remarkable adsorption performance could be attributed to the strong trapping effect on heavy metal ions by the C-S bond of DTC-SDS. The liquid adsorbent was in full contact with heavy metal ions, which further enhanced the complexation of heavy metal ions. The adsorption isothermal model showed that the adsorption process was typical of Langmuir monomolecular layer adsorption. Kinetic studies showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model fits the experimental adsorption data better than the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. In the ternary metal species system (Mn2+, Zn2+, and Pb2+), DTC-SDS preferentially adsorbed Pb2+ due to its highest covalent index. The main controlling step is the chemical interaction between the active groups of DTC-SDS and the heavy metal ions. This work provides valuable insights into the adsorption of heavy metal ions onto dithiocarbamate, which could guide the development of other heavy metal chelating agents and be beneficial for developing novel treatments of wastewater contaminated with heavy metals.

The cloning of growth associated protein 43 of Gekko japonicus and its effect on cell morphology.

The growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) gene of Gekko japonicus was obtained from a brain and spinal cord cDNA library. The results of northern blot analysis showed the gecko GAP-43 gene transcript is 1.7 kb in length, and it was abundantly expressed in tissues of brain, spinal cord and ovary. Gecko GAP-43 promoted the outgrowth of Gsn3 cells and PC12 cell in vitro, and phosphorylation at serine 42 modulated the effect of GAP-43 on cell spreading and morphology. The change in GAP-43 expression in the spinal cord after tail amputation was examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The level of GAP-43 in the spinal cord was increased during the time course we examined, indicating a possible correlation between GAP-43 expression and the spinal cord injury and regeneration.

Evaluation of anthracycline-induced subclinical LV dysfunction by using myocardial composite index and two-dimension speckle tracking echocardiography technique.

Objective: To obtain various myocardial strain parameters by using two-dimension speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) technique, calculate the myocardial composite index (MCI) which combines the global longitudinal strain (GLS) of left ventricle and the left ventricular twist (LVtw), and evaluate their diagnostic efficacies for subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients undergoing anthracycline chemotherapy. Methods: A total of 35 female breast cancer patients, who underwent postoperative chemotherapy in the Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery of Nantong Third People's Hospital from September 2018 to December 2019 and had successful follow-up, were included into the chemotherapy group, and the patients were evaluated respectively at baseline and in early, interim and later chemotherapy stages according to the course of chemotherapy; in addition, 30 healthy women undergoing physical examination during the same period were included into the control group. In different chemotherapy stages, the data such as left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD), interventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were collected by using conventional echocardiography, and various myocardial strain parameters such as GLS, global radial strain (GRS), global circumferential strain(GCS) and LVtw were measured using 2D-STE, and then MCI was calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the application values of various parameters in the diagnosis of early cardiotoxicity. Results: There was a difference in MCI between patients at baseline and in the early chemotherapy stage; there were differences in GLS, LVtw and MCI between patients at baseline and in the interim chemotherapy stage; there were differences in four parameters such as MCI, GLS, LVtw and GCS between patients at baseline and in the later chemotherapy stage; The AUC of MCI was 0.915, when the cutoff value was -210.89 (%×°), the sensitivity and specificity were 84.37% and 90.41%, respectively. Conclusion: MCI combines the longitudinal and torsional motions of myocardium, and thus has a better diagnostic value for early detection of subclinical LV dysfunction caused by anthracycline chemotherapy drugs compared with strain parameters in a single direction.

BRAFV600E-Driven Lung Adenocarcinoma Requires Copper to Sustain Autophagic Signaling and Processing.

The transition metal copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient required for development and proliferation, but the molecular mechanisms by which Cu contributes to these processes is not fully understood. Although traditionally studied as a static cofactor critical for the function of Cu-dependent enzymes, an expanding role for Cu is emerging to include its novel function as a dynamic mediator of signaling processes through the direct control of protein kinase activity. We now appreciate that Cu directly binds to and influences MEK1/2 and ULK1/2 kinase activity, and show here that reductions in MAPK and autophagic signaling are associated with dampened growth and survival of oncogenic BRAF-driven lung adenocarcinoma cells upon loss of Ctr1. Efficient autophagy, clonogenic survival, and tumorigenesis of BRAF-mutant cells required ULK1 Cu-binding. Although treatment with canonical MAPK inhibitors resulted in the upregulation of protective autophagy, mechanistically, the Cu chelator tetrathiomolybdate (TTM) was sufficient to target both autophagic and MAPK signaling as a means to blunt BRAF-driven tumorigenic properties. These findings support leveraging Cu chelation with TTM as an alternative therapeutic strategy to impair autophagy and MAPK signaling. As traditional MAPK monotherapies initiate autophagy signaling and promote cancer cell survival. IMPLICATIONS: We establish that copper chelation therapy inhibits both autophagy and MAPK signaling in BRAFV600E-driven lung adenocarcinoma, thus overcoming the upregulation of protective autophagy elicited by canonical MAPK pathway inhibitors.

Highly branched amylopectin binder for sulfur cathodes with enhanced performance and longevity.

The sulfur cathode of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries suffers from inherent problems of insufficient mechanical strength and the dissolution of sulfur and polysulfides. Inspired by the extraordinarily resilient and strong binding force of the Great Wall binder, that is, the sticky rice mortar, we extracted highly branched amylopectin (HBA), the effective ingredient, as a low-cost, nontoxic and environmentally benign aqueous binder for the sulfur cathode. The HBA-based cells outperform the Li-S batteries based on the traditional polyvinyldene diflouride (PVDF) binder and a lowly branched polysaccharide binder. The improved electrochemical performance in the HBA-based cell could be attributed to two mechanisms. First, the branched structure of the HBA provides enhanced mechanical and adhesive properties, which allow for a robust electronic and ionic conductive framework to be maintained throughout the cathode after extended cycling. Second, the HBA shows enhanced polysulfide retention due to the polymer's abundant lone-pair rich hydroxyl groups and the formation of C─S bonds between the HBA and polysulfides prohibits the shuttle effect of polysulfides. The improved mechanical properties and polysulfide retention function of the HBA binder facilitate the HBA-based Li-S battery to deliver a long cycle life of 500 cycles at 2 C while only displaying a capacity fading of 0.104% per cycle.