Unique Hierarchically Structured High-Entropy Alloys with Multiple Adsorption Sites for Rechargeable Li-CO2 Batteries with High Capacity.

Lithium-carbon dioxide (Li-CO2) batteries offer the possibility of synchronous implementation of carbon neutrality and the development of advanced energy storage devices. The exploration of low-cost and efficient cathode catalysts is key to the improvement of Li-CO2 batteries. Herein, high-entropy alloys (HEAs)@C hierarchical nanosheet is synthesized from the simulation of the recycling solution of waste batteries to construct a cathode for the first time. Owing to the excellent electrical conductivity of the carbon material, the unique high-entropy effect of the HEAs, and the large number of catalytically active sites exposed by the hierarchical structure, the FeCoNiMnCuAl@C-based battery exhibits a superior discharge capability of 27664 mAh g-1 and outstanding durability of 134 cycles as well as low overpotential with 1.05 V at a discharge/recharge rate of 100 mA g-1. The adsorption capacity of different sites on the HEAs is deeply understood through density functional theory calculations combined with experiments. This work opens up the application of HEAs in Li-CO2 batteries catalytic cathodes and provides unique insights into the study of adsorption active sites in HEAs.

Pendant Length-Dependent Electrochemical Performances for Conjugated Organic Polymers as Solid-State Polymer Electrolytes in Lithium Metal Batteries.

The development of solid-state polymer electrolytes (SPEs) has been plagued by poor ionic conductivity, low ionic transference number, and limited electrochemical potential window. The exploitation of ionized SPEs is a feasible avenue to solve this problem. Herein, conjugated organic polymers (COPs) with excellent designability and rich pore structures have been selected as platforms for exploration. Three cationic COPs with different chain lengths of quaternary ammonium salts (CbzT@Cx, x = 4, 6, 9) are designed and applied to SPEs for the first time. Meanwhile, the effects of chain lengths on their electrochemical performances are compared. Especially, CbzT@C9 shows the most attractive electrochemical performance due to its high specific surface area of 212.3 m2 g-1. The larger specific surface area allows more exposure of the long-chain quaternary ammonium cation groups, which is more favorable for the dissociation of lithium salts. Moreover, the flexible long-chain structure increases the compatibility with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and reduces the crystallinity of PEO to some extent. The richer pore structure can accommodate more PEO, further disrupting the crystallinity of PEO and creating more channels for the ether-oxygen chain to transport lithium ions. At 60 °C, the SPE (CbzTM@C9) presents an excellent ionic conductivity (σ) of 8.00 × 10-4 S cm-1. CbzTM@C9 has a lithium-ion transference number (tLi+) of 0.48. Thus, the assembled Li/CbzTM@C9/LiFePO4 battery provides a good discharge capacity of 158.8 mAh g-1 at 0.1C. After 70 cycles, the capacity retention rate is 93.8% with a Coulombic efficiency of 98%. The excellent flexibility brings stable power supply capability under various bending angles to the assembled Li/CbzTM@C9/LiFePO4 soft-packed battery. The project uses conjugated organic polymers in SPEs and creates an avenue to develop flexible energy storage equipment.

Clinical diagnosis, treatment, and medical identification of specific pulmonary infection in naval pilots: Four case reports.

BACKGROUND: Specific pulmonary infection could seriously threaten the health of pilots and their companions. The consequences are serious. We investigated the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and medical identification of specific pulmonary infections in naval pilots. CASE SUMMARY: We analyzed the medical waiver and clinical data of four pilots with specific pulmonary infections, who had accepted treatment at the Naval Medical Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army between January 2020 and November 2021, including three cases of tuberculosis and one of cryptococcal pneumonia. All cases underwent a series of comprehensive treatment courses. Three cases successfully obtained medical waiver for flight after being cured, while one was grounded after reaching the maximum flight life after being cured. CONCLUSION: Chest computed tomography scanning should be used instead of chest radiography in pilots' physical examination. Most pilots with specific pulmonary infection can be cured and return to flight.

Analysis of two naval pilots' ejection injuries: Two case reports.

BACKGROUND: Recently, two naval pilots in a two-seat trainer jet were forced to eject urgently due to sudden mechanical failure during night-time training. They were both successfully rescued and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. In this study, we investigate their ejection injuries and recovery process. CASE SUMMARY: We analyzed the clinical data of the traumatic condition and recovery process from ejection injuries of two pilots who ejected from a failed trainer jet and survived. After being successfully rescued and sent to the hospital, they were diagnosed with multiple ejection injuries, including eye trauma, limb bone and joint injury, rib and spine injury, and so on. Both cases underwent fluid replacement, acid suppression, nutritional support, hemostasis, bone metabolism improvement, phlegm elimination, psychological measurement, blood circulation promotion and detumescence, physical therapy, and external fixation with braces for 1 mo before being discharged from hospital. They then recuperated in a sanatorium for 2 mo, and the related laboratory tests and supplementary examinations show that they recovered from all the above injuries. After successfully passing the psychological test and physical examination, they returned to flight duty 3 mo after ejection. CONCLUSION: The causes and conditions of ejection injury in the pilots were very complex. Although they finally recovered quickly and were released, it also serves as a reminder that attention should be paid to pilots' ejection and parachute training in order to significantly reduce ejection injury and improve the ejection success rate. In addition, air defense support personnel should strengthen search and rescue and on-site emergency measures, and locate and rescue pilots in distress as early as possible to reduce subsequent injuries.

Long-read assembly of the Chinese indigenous Ningxiang pig genome and identification of genetic variations in fat metabolism among different breeds.

Advances in long-read sequencing technology and genome assembly provide an opportunity to improve the pig genome and reveal the full range of structural variations (SVs) between local Chinese and European pigs. To date, little is known about the genomes of some unique Chinese indigenous breeds, such as the Ningxiang pig. Here, we report the sequencing and assembly of a highly contiguous Ningxiang pig genome (NX) via an integration of PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing, Illumina next-generation sequencing, BioNano optical mapping and Hi-C (chromosome conformation capture) approaches. The assembled genome comprises 2.44 Gb with a contig N50 of 26.1 Mb and 418 contigs in total. These contigs are organized into 121 scaffolds with a scaffold N50 of 139.0 Mb. More than 99.1% of the assembled sequence could be localized to 19 pseudochromosomes and is annotated with 20,914 protein-coding genes and 34.04% repetitive sequences. Comparisons between the NX and European Duroc assemblies revealed many SVs in genes involved in the immune system, nervous system, lipid metabolism and environmental adaptation. The genetic variants include 47 Chinese domestic pig-specific SVs and the associated 74 genes may contribute to the differences in domestic traits compared to European pigs. Moreover, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified from whole genome resequencing data of 73 Chinese pigs, representing 17 geographically isolated breeds, showed their specific genetic variations, population structure and evolutionary patterns. Finally, we explore transcriptional regulation in the first intron of the MYL4 gene, as the genomic SV (281-bp deletion) in Ningxiang pig promotes its subcutaneous fat compared to European pig breeds. This work identifies a set of Asian-specific SVs and SNPs, which will be important resources for modern pig breeding and genetic conservation.

Theoretical Study on the Substituent Effect on the Excited-State Proton Transfer in the 7-Azaindole-Water Derivatives.

The first excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) in 7AI-H2 O complex and its derivatives, in which the hydrogen atom at the C2 position in pyrrole ring was replaced by halogen atom X (X = F, Cl, Br), were studied at the TD-M06-2X/6-31 + G(d, p) level. The double proton transfer took place in a concerted but asynchronous protolysis pathway. The vibrational-mode selectivity of excited-state double proton transfer in the model system was confirmed. The specific vibrational-mode could shorten the reaction path and accelerate the reaction rate. The substituent effects on the excited-state proton transfer process were discussed. When the H atom at C2 position in 7AI-H2 O complex was replaced by halogen atom, some geometrical parameters changed obviously, the barrier height of ESDPT reduced, and the asynchronicity of proton transfer enlarged. The above changes correlated with the Pauling electronegativity of halogen atom.

Effect of different alkyl groups on excited-state tautomerization of 7AI-azaindole-H2O: A theoretical study.

The effect of substituted alkyl groups at different substituted position on the first excited-state proton transfer of nR7AI-H2O (n = 2-6; R = CH3, C2H5, CF3) complexes were theoretically investigated at the TD-M06-2X/6-31 + G(d, p) level. Here n value denoted the substituted position Cn of R group. The replacement of alkyl R group had no effect on the features of HOMO and LUMO, but influenced the S0 → S1 adiabatic transition energies of the nR7AI-H2O complex. Through computation, we found that the double proton transfer took place in a concerted but asynchronous protolysis pattern regardless of substituted group R and substituted position in the nR7AI-H2O complex. The vibrational-mode specific nature of ESPT was verified. The alkyl group R changed the geometrical parameters of TS, and resulted in enlarging/narrowing the asynchronousity of ESPT. The ESPT barrier height was also affected by the substituted group and position.

Correction to: Theoretical investigation on the water-assisted excited-state proton transfer of 7-azaindole derivatives: substituent effect.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in Table 3. This correct Table 3 is given below.

Theoretical investigation on the water-assisted excited-state proton transfer of 7-azaindole derivatives: substituent effect.

A systematic study on the first excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) in 2RAI-H2O (R = OH, OCH3, CN, NO2, CHO) complexes in solution were investigated at the TD-M06-2X/6-31 + G(d, p) level. The double proton transfer occurred in an asynchronous but concerted protolysis fashion no matter which substituent R was used at C2 position in pyrrole ring in the 7AI-H2O complex. The specific vibrational-mode of ESPT in the model systems was confirmed and contributed to promote the reaction rate by shortening the reaction path. The substituent effects of different groups on the ESPT thermodynamics and kinetics were discussed. It was obvious that the geometries, barrier height, asynchrony, and specific vibration-mode of excited-state proton transfer changed with the different substituent groups. Graphical Abstract The distance between two neighboring heavy atoms such as N1-O11 (R1) and O11-N8 (R2) distances played an important role in the proton transfer reaction. The sum of the N1-O11 and O11-N8 distances in the reactant of 2RAI-H2O (R=H, OH, OCH3; CN, CHO, NO2) complexes is in the range of 5.542 Å~5.692 Å and changes along with the substituent group at C2 position in the pyrrole ring. The ESDPT barrier height and the sum of the N1-O11 and O11-N8 distances have a good correlation.