Modulating the afterglow time of Mn2+ doped double perovskites by size tuning and its applications in dynamic information display.

Mn2+ doped lead-free double perovskites are emerging afterglow materials that can avoid the usage of rare earth ions. However, the regulation of the afterglow time is still a challenge. In this work, the Mn doped Cs2Na0.2Ag0.8InCl6 crystals with afterglow emission at about 600 nm are synthesized by a solvothermal method. Then, the Mn2+ doped double perovskite crystals are crushed into different sizes. As the size decreases from 1.7 mm to 0.075 mm, the afterglow time decreases from 2070 s to 196 s. Steady-state photoluminescence (PL) spectra, time resolved PL, thermoluminescence (TL) reveal the afterglow time monotonously decreases due to the enhanced nonradiative surface trapping. The modulation on afterglow time will greatly promote their applications in various fields, such as bioimaging, sensing, encryption, and anti-counterfeiting. As a proof of concept, dynamic display of information is realized based on different afterglow times.

Hydrogen-assisted synthesis of Ni-ZIF-derived nickel nanoparticle chains coated with nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon layers as efficient electrocatalysts for non-enzymatic glucose detection.

Chains of nickel nanoparticles coated with few nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon layers (Ni@NC) are synthesized by hydrogen-assisted pyrolysis of Ni-ZIF. Hydrogen and temperature can play key roles in the formation of oriented Ni@NC nanoparticle chains, and carbon shells can protect Ni nanoparticles from external oxidation and aggregations. Under the optimized potential (0.60 V vs. Ag/AgCl), the Ni@NC7H nanoparticle chains obtained at 700 °C under H2/Ar atmosphere (Ni@NC7H) demonstrate outstanding performances, such as high sensitivity of 1.44 mA mM-1 cm-2 (RSD = 1.0%), low detection limit of 0.34 µM (S/N = 3), broad linear range from 1 µM to 1.81 mM, and excellent application potential in artificial sweat and human serum. Therefore, the findings above indicate that this study will provide a general methodology for the synthesis of chains-like core-shell nanoparticle electrocatalysts for non-enzymatic glucose detection.

Ultrabroadband metamaterial absorbers from ultraviolet to near-infrared based on multiple resonances for harvesting solar energy.

In this paper, a metal-dielectric metamaterial absorber is proposed to achieve ultrabroadband absorption at frequencies from ultraviolet to near-infrared. Based on finite element method solutions, the average absorption of the absorber is 97.75% from 382 nm to 1100 nm, with a maximum of 99.92%, resulting from multiple resonance coupling. The influences of geometric parameters and incident conditions on absorption are investigated. Broadband and narrowband absorption changes are realized by changing incident light polarization. Polarization-independent properties can be realized by changing the dielectric structure to centrosymmetric. The average absorption of the polarization-independent structure is 97.11% from 250 nm to 1115 nm, with a maximum of 99.98%. The proposed absorber structure has wide optical applications including solar energy harvesting and light-emitting devices.

Tunable dual plasmon-induced transparency based on a monolayer graphene metamaterial and its terahertz sensing performance.

In this paper, tunable dual plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) is achieved by using a monolayer graphene metamaterial in the terahertz region, which consists of two graphene strips of different sizes and a graphene ring. As the dual PIT effect is induced by the destructive interference between the two quasi-dark modes and the bright mode, we propose a four-level plasmonic system based on the linearly coupled Lorentzian oscillators to explain the mechanism behind the dual PIT. It is proved that the theoretical results agree well with the simulation results. Most importantly, the sensing properties of the designed device have been investigated in detail and we found that it can exhibit high sensitivities and figure of merit (FOM). Furthermore, the dual PIT windows can be effectively modulated by changing the Fermi energy of the graphene layer and the angle of incidence. Thus, the proposed graphene-based metamaterial can hold wide applications for switches, modulators, and multi-band refractive index sensors in the terahertz region.

LINC00461 promotes cell migration and invasion in breast cancer through miR-30a-5p/integrin ß3 axis.

Mounting evidence has demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are dysregulated and implicated in the occurrence and development of a wide range of human malignancies. LINC00461, a novel cancer-related lncRNA, has been reported to be highly expressed and serve as oncogene in glioma; however, its biological role in breast cancer (BC) remains obscure. This study aimed to explore the role of LINC00461 in BC and elucidate the potential molecular mechanisms involved. In the current study, LINC00461 was found to be significantly upregulated in both BC tissues and cell lines. Besides, we found that high LINC00461 expression was associated with TNM stage and differentiation. Furthermore, functional studies demonstrated that LINC00461 expedited BC cell migration and invasion. Notably, LINC00461 was observed to enhance the expression of vimentin and zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox factor 1, suppress the expression of E-cadherin, and promote the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and AKT signaling pathways. Mechanical investigations revealed that LINC00461 positively modulated integrin ß3 (ITGB3) expression as miR-30a-5p sponge in BC cells. Taken together, LINC00461 exerts an oncogenic role in BC through miR-30a-5p/ITGB3 axis. Our data indicate that LINC00461 may be used to be a novel candidate therapeutic target and a valuable diagnostic biomarker for BC.

High Performance of N-Doped Graphene with Bubble-like Textures for Supercapacitors.

Nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) with wrinkled and bubble-like texture is fabricated by a thermal treatment. Especially, a novel sonication-assisted pretreatment with nitric acid is used to further oxidize graphene oxide and its binding with melamine molecules. There are many bubble-like nanoflakes with a dimension of about 10 nm appeared on the undulated graphene nanosheets. The bubble-like texture provides more active sites for effective ion transport and reversible capacitive behavior. The specific surface area of NG (5.03 at% N) can reach up to 438.7 m2 g-1 , and the NG electrode demonstrates high specific capacitance (481 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 , four times higher than reduced graphene oxide electrode (127.5 F g-1 )), superior cycle stability (the capacitance retention of 98.9% in 2 m KOH and 99.2% in 1 m H2 SO4 after 8000 cycles), and excellent energy density (42.8 Wh kg-1 at power density of 500 W kg-1 in 2 m KOH aqueous electrolyte). The results indicate the potential use of NG as graphene-based electrode material for energy storage devices.

Theoretical study on the optical and electronic properties of graphene quantum dots doped with heteroatoms.

The effects of four heteroatoms (B, N, P, and S) with three doping patterns on graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are systematically investigated using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). The absorption spectra and HOMO-LUMO gaps are quantitatively analyzed to study the correlations between the optical properties and heteroatom doping of doped GQDs. Heteroatom doping can endow GQDs with various new optical and structural properties, depending on the dopants and doping configurations. Compared with the absorption spectra of pristine GQD, both N and S surface doping demonstrate a slight blue shift, whereas B and P doping lead to a blue shift for edge-doped GQDs with heteroatoms in a pentatomic ring. The absorption process is investigated along with excited state analysis, which includes the density of state, natural transition orbital, and charge difference density. The results indicate that large radius atoms assist charge transfer in the excited state and play an important role in recombining the electron density distribution in the doped GQDs.

RNA-Sequence Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) in Patients Exhibiting Different Risks of Tumor Metastasis.

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in women. In a previous study, we found that for two patients who had a high risk of lymphatic metastasis, lymphatic metastasis did not occur; whereas, for two patients who had a low risk of lymphatic metastasis, lymphatic metastasis did occur. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed the differential gene expressions of these four patients by RNA-sequence. The data (HRNM_T versus HRNM_N, LRYM_T versus LRYM_N, and HRNM_T versus LRYM_T) was then processed using differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis, functional analysis for DEGs, and PPI network construct. RESULTS For HRNM_T versus HRNM_N, there were 224 DEGs. There were 504 DEGs for LRYM_T versus LRYM_N, and 88 DEGs for LRYM_T versus LRYM_N. For HRNM_T versus HRNM_N, DEGs were up-regulated mainly in the cell cycle, the IL-17 signaling pathway, and the progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation; DEGs were down-regulated mainly in the IL-17 signaling pathway. For LRYM_T versus LRYM_N, DEGs were up-regulated mainly in protein digestion and absorption, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction; DEGs were down-regulated mainly in ECM-receptor interaction. For HRNM_T versus LRYM_T, DEGs were up-regulated mainly in the PPAR signaling pathway; DEGs were downregulated mainly in the adipocytokine signaling pathway. The DEGs were screened to construct PPI networks. CONCLUSIONS The GO and KEGG functional enrichments of HRNM_T versus HRNM_N, and LRYM_T versus LRYM_N were consistent with earlier studies. For HRNM_T versus LRYM_T, DEGs were up-regulated mainly in PPAR signaling; DEGs were down-regulated mainly in the adipocytokine pathway.

Controlled growth of Cu-Ni nanowires and nanospheres for enhanced microwave absorption properties.

Copper is a good dielectric loss material but has low stability, whereas nickel is a good magnetic loss material and is corrosion resistant but with low conductivity, therefore Cu-Ni hybrid nanostructures have synergistic advantages as microwave absorption (MA) materials. Different Cu/Ni molar ratios of bimetallic nanowires (Cu13@Ni7, Cu5@Ni5 and Cu7@Ni13) and nanospheres (Cu13@Ni7, Cu5@Ni5 and Cu1@Ni3) have been successfully synthesized via facile reduction of hydrazine under similar reaction conditions, and the morphology can be easily tuned by varying the feed ratio or the complexing agent. Apart from the concentrations of Cu(2+) and Ni(2+), the reduction parameters are similar for all samples to confirm the effects of the Cu/Ni molar ratio and morphology on MA properties. Ni is incorporated into the Cu-Ni nanomaterials as a shell over the Cu core at low temperature, as proved by XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS. Through the complex relative permittivity and permeability, reflection loss was evaluated, which revealed that the MA capacity greatly depended on the Cu/Ni molar ratio and morphology. For Cu@Ni nanowires, as the molar ratio of Ni shell increased the MA properties decreased accordingly. However, for Cu@Ni nanospheres, the opposite trend was found, that is, as the molar ratio of the Ni shell increased the MA properties increased.

Dietary fatty acids affect lipid metabolism and estrogen receptor expression in N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced rat mammary cancer model.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) could affect the expression of serum fatty acid binding protein 5 (FABP5) and CD36 levels and also fatty acid synthase (FAS), and estrogen receptor (ER) expressions in breast cancer cells. METHODS: A rat mammary cancer model was induced by injection i.p., with 50 mg MNU/kg body weight. Low (13.8% energy) or high-fat (42.5% energy) diets composed mainly of n-6 or n-3 PUFAs originating either from linoleic acid or linolenic acid, respectively, were given for eight weeks. After sacrifice at week 8, serum FABP5 level was examined and immunostainings of CD36, FAS, and ER of breast cancer tissue were observed. RESULTS: By week 8, there was no statistical difference of tumor formation rate between each group. The level of serum FABP5 in the high n-3 group was significantly lower than the low n-6 and high n-6 groups. Immunohistochemistry results showed that there was a significant difference of CD36 expression between the low n-3 group and high n-6 group (p < 0.05). Although the high n-3 group had the most inhibition on FAS and ER expression, there was no statistical difference between each group. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that different dietary PUFAs may affect lipid metabolism in breast cancer tissues by altering the expression of FABP5, CD-36, FAS, and ER, which may change treatment response and even prognosis of breast cancer.

Effect of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids on lipid metabolic genes and estrogen receptor expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the effect of different ratios of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on the expression of lipid metabolic genes and estrogen receptor (ER). METHODS: This study took place in the Department of Surgery, Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, between January 2012 and October 2013. MCF-7 breast cancer cells were cultured for 48 hours with different ratios of PUFAs. Cell proliferation capability was detected by MTT method. Lipid metabolic genes and estrogen receptor (ER) were detected by western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the single n-6 PUFA group had no effect on sterol-regulatory-element-bindingprotein (SREBP) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) expression, while other groups all inhibited their expressions. Single n-6 group and 2:1 n-6/n-3 group down-regulated the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ), while in the other groups it was up-regulated. Single n-3 and n-6 groups had no effect on ER expression, while the others all suppressed the ER expression. CONCLUSIONS: Different ratios of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may suppress the ER expression of MCF-7 cells and the effect may be related to its effect on the expression of lipid metabolic genes.

Transient elastography with controlled attenuation parameter for the diagnosis of colorectal polyps in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND: The severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and lipid metabolism are related to the occurrence of colorectal polyps. Liver-controlled attenuation parameters (liver-CAPs) have been established to predict the prognosis of hepatic steatosis patients. AIM: To explore the risk factors associated with colorectal polyps in patients with NAFLD by analyzing liver-CAPs and establishing a diagnostic model. METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed with colorectal polyps in the Department of Gastroenterology of our hospital between June 2021 and April 2022 composed the case group, and those with no important abnormalities composed the control group. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to predict the diagnostic efficiency. Differences were considered statistically significant when P < 0.05. RESULTS: The median triglyceride (TG) and liver-CAP in the case group were significantly greater than those in the control group (mmol/L, 1.74 vs 1.05; dB/m, 282 vs 254, P < 0.05). TG and liver-CAP were found to be independent risk factors for colorectal polyps, with ORs of 2.338 (95%CI: 1.154-4.733) and 1.019 (95%CI: 1.006-1.033), respectively (P < 0.05). And there was no difference in the diagnostic efficacy between liver-CAP and TG combined with liver-CAP (TG+CAP) (P > 0.05). When the liver-CAP was greater than 291 dB/m, colorectal polyps were more likely to occur. CONCLUSION: The levels of TG and liver-CAP in patients with colorectal polyps are significantly greater than those patients without polyps. Liver-CAP alone can be used to diagnose NAFLD with colorectal polyps.

Effects of calcination treatment on the morphology, crystallinity, and photoelectric properties of all-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells assembled by TiO2 nanorod arrays.

TiO2 has been extensively investigated due to its unique photoelectric properties. In this study, oriented single-crystal rutile TiO2 nanorod arrays were synthesized and then calcined at different temperatures in the atmosphere. The morphology and crystalline characterization indicated that the length of TiO2 nanorods increased rapidly and the nanorods became aggregated and fragile after calcination, yet the sintering treatment seemed to have almost no effect on the crystallinity. To obtain the all-solid-state, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), a newly reported solid inorganic semiconductor, CsSnI2.95F0.05, was employed as the electrolyte, and the Pt deposited on the conductive side of the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate was used as the counter-electrode. The effects of the calcination treatment on the photoelectric properties of the solar cells, including external quantum efficiency (EQE), open circuit voltage (V(OC)), short-circuit current (J(SC)), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η), were investigated under the illumination of a solar simulator. As a result, all of the EQE, V(OC), J(SC), and η values of the cells first increased and then declined with the increase of calcination temperatures, and the highest η of 2.81% was obtained by the cell assembled with its TiO2 electrode sintered at 450 °C for 3 h, a value almost 2.5 times that of the non-sintered sample (1.1%).

Bacillus subtilis and Macleaya cordata extract regulate the rumen microbiota associated with enteric methane emission in dairy cows.

BACKGROUND: Ruminant livestock production is a considerable source of enteric methane (CH4) emissions. In a previous study, we found that dietary inclusions of Bacillus subtilis (BS) and Macleaya cordata extract (MCE) increased dry matter intake and milk production, while reduced enteric CH4 emission in dairy cows. The objective of this study was to further elucidate the impact of feeding BS and MCE on rumen methanogenesis in dairy cows using rumen metagenomics techniques. RESULTS: Sixty dairy cows were blocked in 20 groups of 3 cows accordingly to their live weight, milk yield, and days in milk, and within each group, the 3 cows were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 treatments: control diet (CON), control diet plus BS (BS), and control diet plus MCE (MCE). After 75 days of feeding experimental diets, 12 cows were selected from each treatment for collection of rumen samples for the metagenomic sequencing. Results showed that BS decreased ruminal acetate and butyrate, while increased propionate concentrations, resulting in decreased acetate:propionate ratio. The metagenomics analysis revealed that MCE reduced relative abundances of Methanobrevibacter wolinii, Methanobrevibacter sp. AbM4, Candidatus Methanomassiliicoccus intestinalis, Methanobrevibacter cuticularis, Methanomicrobium mobile, Methanobacterium formicicum, and Methanobacterium congolense. Both BS and MCE reduced relative abundances of Methanosphaera sp. WGK6 and Methanosphaera stadtmanae. The co-occurrence network analysis of rumen bacteria and archaea revealed that dietary treatments influenced microbial interaction patterns, with BS and MCE cows having more and stronger associations than CON cows. The random forest and heatmaps analysis demonstrated that the Halopenitus persicus was positively correlated with fat- and protein-corrected milk yield; Clostridium sp. CAG 269, Clostridium sp. 27 14, Haloarcula rubripromontorii, and Methanobrevibacter curvatus were negatively correlated with rumen acetate and butyrate concentrations, and acetate:propionate ratio, whereas Selenomonas rumiantium was positively correlated with those variables. CONCLUSIONS: The present results provided new information for mitigation of enteric methane emissions of dairy cows by feeding BS and MCE to influence rumen microbial activities. This fundamental knowledge is essential for developing enteric CH4 reduction strategies to mitigate climate change and reduce dietary energy waste. Video Abstract.

Dietary supplementation with xylooligosaccharides and exogenous enzyme improves milk production, energy utilization efficiency and reduces enteric methane emissions of Jersey cows.

BACKGROUND: Sustainable strategies for enteric methane (CH4) mitigation of dairy cows have been extensively explored to improve production performance and alleviate environmental pressure. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary xylooligosaccharides (XOS) and exogenous enzyme (EXE) supplementation on milk production, nutrient digestibility, enteric CH4 emissions, energy utilization efficiency of lactating Jersey dairy cows. Forty-eight lactating cows were randomly assigned to one of 4 treatments: (1) control diet (CON), (2) CON with 25 g/d XOS (XOS), (3) CON with 15 g/d EXE (EXE), and (4) CON with 25 g/d XOS and 15 g/d EXE (XOS + EXE). The 60-d experimental period consisted of a 14-d adaptation period and a 46-d sampling period. The enteric CO2 and CH4 emissions and O2 consumption were measured using two GreenFeed units, which were further used to determine the energy utilization efficiency of cows. RESULTS: Compared with CON, cows fed XOS, EXE or XOS + EXE significantly (P < 0.05) increased milk yield, true protein and fat concentration, and energy-corrected milk yield (ECM)/DM intake, which could be reflected by the significant improvement (P < 0.05) of dietary NDF and ADF digestibility. The results showed that dietary supplementation of XOS, EXE or XOS + EXE significantly (P < 0.05) reduced CH4 emission, CH4/milk yield, and CH4/ECM. Furthermore, cows fed XOS demonstrated highest (P < 0.05) metabolizable energy intake, milk energy output but lowest (P < 0.05) of CH4 energy output and CH4 energy output as a proportion of gross energy intake compared with the remaining treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary supplementary of XOS, EXE or combination of XOS and EXE contributed to the improvement of lactation performance, nutrient digestibility, and energy utilization efficiency, as well as reduction of enteric CH4 emissions of lactating Jersey cows. This promising mitigation method may need further research to validate its long-term effect and mode of action for dairy cows.

circ-0000512 inhibits PD-L1 ubiquitination through sponging miR-622/CMTM6 axis to promote triple-negative breast cancer and immune escape.

BACKGROUND: This study reported the function and mechanism of circ-0000512 in the progression of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). METHODS: circ-0000512 expression in TNBC tissues and paired adjacent normal tissues and cells was examined by qRT-PCR. Moreover, circ-0000512 expression in TNBC cells was modulated by transfection. Thereafter, colony formation assay, Transwell assay and flow cytometry were conducted to observe cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. TNBC cells were treated with cycloheximide and the protease inhibitor MG132. Later, ubiquitination assay was performed to detect programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) ubiquitination in TNBC cells. The T cell killing ability was assessed by the T cell-mediated tumor cell killing assay. IFNγ and IL-2 levels were detected by ELISA. The percentage of activated T cells was detected with a flow cytometer. In addition, dual luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay were carried out to evaluate the binding between two genes. In vivo study was conducted on mice. CD8+ T cells in xenograft tumors were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: circ-0000512 was upregulated in patients with TNBC. circ-0000512 knockdown attenuated the proliferation and migration of TNBC cells and enhanced their apoptosis. circ-0000512 overexpression had opposite effects. circ-0000512 knockdown enhanced the PD-L1 protein ubiquitination in TNBC cells by inhibiting CMTM6. Meanwhile, circ-0000512 promoted CMTM6 expression by sponging miR-622. circ-0000512 knockdown increased the ratio of CD8+T cells and the lethality of T cells against TNBC cells. Besides, circ-0000512 knockdown inhibited the growth of TNBC cells in immunodeficient nude mice and normal immune mice and increased the ratio of CD8+T cells in xenograft tumors of normal immune mice. CONCLUSIONS: circ-0000512 inhibited PD-L1 ubiquitination by sponging the miR-622/CMTM6 axis, thus promoting TNBC progression and immune escape.

Rumen microbiota-host transcriptome interaction mediates the protective effects of trans-10, cis-12 CLA on facilitating weaning transition of lambs.

Developing alternatives to antibiotics for prevention of gastrointestinal dysbiosis in early-weaning farmed animals is urgently needed. This study was to explore the potential effects of trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on maintaining ruminal homeostasis of young ruminants during the weaning transition period. Thirty neonatal lambs were selected (6 lambs per group) and euthanized for rumen microbial and epithelial analysis. The lambs were weaned at 28 d and experienced the following 5 treatments: euthanized on d 28 as the pre-weaning control (CON0), fed starter feed for 5 (CON5) or 21 (CON21) d, fed starter feed with 1% of CLA supplemented for 5 (CLA5) or 21 (CLA21) d. Results showed that the average daily weight gain and dry matter intake were significantly higher in CLA5 than CON5 group. As compared with the CON5 and CON21 group, the relative abundances of volatile fatty acid (VFA) producing bacteria including Bacteroides, Treponema, Parabacteroides and Anaerovibrio, as well as the concentrations of acetate, butyrate and total VFA were significantly increased in CLA5 and CLA21 group, respectively. Integrating microbial profiling and epithelial transcriptome results showed that 7 downregulated inflammatory signaling-related host genes IL2RA, CXCL9, CD4, CCR4, LTB, SPP1, and BCL2A1 with CLA supplementation were significantly negatively correlated with both VFA concentration and VFA producing bacteria, while 3 (GPX2, SLC27A2 and ALDH3A1) and 2 (GSTM3 and GSTA1) upregulated metabolism-related genes, significantly positively correlated with either VFA concentration or VFA producing bacteria, respectively. To confirm the effects of CLA on epithelial signal transduction, in vitro experiment was further conducted by treating rumen epithelial cells without or with IL-17A + TNF-α for 12 h after pretreatment of 100 µM CLA or not (6 replicates per treatment). The results demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of CLA via suppressing the protein expression of NF-кB p-p65/p65 with the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). In conclusion, CLA supplementation enhanced the ruminal microbiota-driven transcriptional regulation in healthy rumen epithelial development via rumen VFA production, and CLA may therefore serve as an alternative way to alleviate early-weaning stress and improve physiological and metabolic conditions of young ruminants.

Highly efficient self-floating jellyfish-like solar steam generators based on the partially carbonized Enteromorpha aerogel.

Solar steam generation (SSG) is a very promising desalination technology. However, new photothermal materials are still to be explored to further reduce the cost, and the device structure is still to be innovated to improve the structural integrality and evaporation performance. In this work, an all-in-one highly-efficient and self-floating jellyfish-like SSG (SFJ-SSG) is developed based on partially carbonized Enteromorpha (EA) aerogel (PCEAA). The carbonized top surface exhibits high solar absorption ability and excellent photothermal effect, while the uncarbonized EA retains the hydrophilicity and high-water transport capability due to the nature of tubular algal plant. Moreover, the heat produced by photothermal effect of the carbonized EA is confined at the top surface due to the thermal insulation of the uncarbonized layer, which is very beneficial for interfacial water evaporation. After optimizing the carbonization time and the height of the SFJ-SSG, a high evaporation rate of 1.87 kg m-2h-1 is obtained under 1.0 sun irradiation, which outcompetes most SSG based on carbonized biomass. The development of SFJ-SSG based on EA not only minimizes the cost of SSG, but also solves the EA pollution, ensuring the broad prospect in practical applications.

Construction of PdSe2/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctions with covalent interface for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Constructing semiconductor heterojunctions can enable novel schemes for highly efficient photocatalytic activity. However, introducing strong covalent bonding at the interface remains an open challenge. Herein, ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) with abundant sulfur vacancies (Sv) is synthesized with the presence of PdSe2 as an additional precursor. The sulfur vacancies of Sv-ZIS are filled by Se atoms of PdSe2, leading to the Zn-In-Se-Pd compound interface. Our density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the increased density of states at the interface, which will increase the local carrier concentration. Moreover, the length of the Se-H bond is longer than that of the SH bond, which is good for the evolution of H2 from the interface. In addition, the charge redistribution at the interface results in a built-in field, providing the driving force for efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole. Therefore, the PdSe2/Sv-ZIS heterojunction with strong covalent interface exhibits an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance (4423 µmol g-1h-1) with an apparent quantum efficiency (λ > 420 nm) of 9.1 %. This work will provide new inspirations to improve photocatalytic activity by engineering the interfaces of semiconductor heterojunctions.

Fe/Cu diatomic catalysts for electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia.

Electrochemical conversion of nitrate to ammonia offers an efficient approach to reducing nitrate pollutants and a potential technology for low-temperature and low-pressure ammonia synthesis. However, the process is limited by multiple competing reactions and NO3- adsorption on cathode surfaces. Here, we report a Fe/Cu diatomic catalyst on holey nitrogen-doped graphene which exhibits high catalytic activities and selectivity for ammonia production. The catalyst enables a maximum ammonia Faradaic efficiency of 92.51% (-0.3 V(RHE)) and a high NH3 yield rate of 1.08 mmol h-1 mg-1 (at - 0.5 V(RHE)). Computational and theoretical analysis reveals that a relatively strong interaction between NO3- and Fe/Cu promotes the adsorption and discharge of NO3- anions. Nitrogen-oxygen bonds are also shown to be weakened due to the existence of hetero-atomic dual sites which lowers the overall reaction barriers. The dual-site and hetero-atom strategy in this work provides a flexible design for further catalyst development and expands the electrocatalytic techniques for nitrate reduction and ammonia synthesis.