Unlocking 4.9 V Quasi-Solid-State Lithium Metal Battery via Solvent Screening and Interfacial Manipulation.

Parlous structure integrity of the cathode and erratic interfacial microdynamics under high potential take responsibility for the degradation of solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Here, high-voltage LMBs have been operated by modulating the polymer electrolyte intrinsic structure through an intermediate dielectric constant solvent and further inducing the gradient solid-state electrolyte interphase. Benefiting from the chemical adsorption between trimethyl phosphate (TMP) and the cathode, the gradient interphase rich in LiPFxOy and LiF is induced, thereby ensuring the structural integrity and interface compatibility of the commercial LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cathode even at the 4.9 V cutoff voltage. Eventually, the specific capacity of NCM811|Li full cell based on TMP-modulated polymer electrolyte increased by 27.7% from 4.5 to 4.9 V. Such a universal screening method of electrolyte solvents and its derived electrode interfacial manipulation strategy opens fresh avenues for quasi-solid-state LMBs with high specific energy.

[The optimation of extraction technology of chuanxiong and xiangfu compatibility by SFE-CO2].

OBJECTIVE: To optimize the extraction conditions of Chuanxiong and Xiangfu compatibility by supercritical CO2 and control the quality of the extract. METHODS: The orthogonal design experiments were used to select the optimal conditions and the factors were extraction pressure, extraction temperature, extraction time and flow rate of CO2. The extraction rate was used as inspection index. The contents of alpha-cyperolone and butenyl were detected by HPLC. RESULTS: The optimal conditions were as follows: extraction pressure 25 Mpa, extraction temperature 45 degrees C, extraction time 2 h, flow rate of CO2 20 Kg/h. The average content of alpha-cyperolone, butenyl was 3.26%, 1.50% respectively. CONCLUSION: The method of supercritical CO2 extraction is reliable and feasible and can be used in industry. The quality of the extract is stable and controlled.

Consistent Learning-Based Breast Tumor Segmentation and Its Application in Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis Prediction.

Accurate staging of lymph nodes provides crucial diagnostic information for breast cancer patients, where segmentation is of great importance by localizing and visualizing the breast tumor of interest. Nevertheless, current segmentation methods perform average when facing large span of tumor sizes, degraded image quality, blurred tumor boundaries, and resulting noise during manual annotation. Therefore, we develop a Multi-scale RepVGG-based Segmentation Network (MPSegNet) to segment breast tumor from MR images. In particular, we construct a consistent learning framework for the MPSegNet to alleviate the impact of noisy labels upon segmentation results. The rationale is that different views covering the same breast tumors are supposed to generate identical segmentation predictions. Then, we predict SLN metastasis given segmented breast tumors, where we evaluate the relationships between the predictive performance and tumor segmentations under different consistencies. The results show the superiority of our method over other state-of-the-art methods. A high consistency among multiple views can boost the segmentation performance during consistent learning. However, the optimal segmentation does not produce the best SLN metastatic prediction results, implying that the dependence of classification upon segmentation needs to be elaborately investigated further.Clinical Relevance- This study facilitates more accurate segmentation of breast tumors with consistent learning, and provides an initial analysis between tumor segmentation and subsequent prediction of SLN metastasis, which has potential significance for the precise medical care of breast cancer patients.

Genome sequence of a novel nicotine-degrading strain, Pseudomonas geniculata N1.

A newly isolated bacterium, Pseudomonas geniculata N1, can efficiently degrade nicotine. Here we present a 4.51-Mb assembly of its genome, which is the first sequence of the P. geniculata group. The sequence contains the genes related to nicotine catabolism and may provide insights into its molecular mechanism for N-heterocyclic degradation.

Steps Toward High-Performance PLA: Economical Production of d-Lactate Enabled by a Newly Isolated Sporolactobacillus terrae Strain.

Optically pure d-lactate production has received much attention for its critical role in high-performance polylactic acid production. However, the current technology can hardly meet the comprehensive demand of industrialization on final titer, productivity, optical purity, and raw material costs. Here, an efficient d-lactate producer strain, Sporolactobacillus terrae (S. terrae) HKM-1, is isolated for d-lactate production. The strain HKM-1 shows extremely high d-lactate fermentative capability by using peanut meal, soybean meal, or corn steep liquor powder as a sole nitrogen source; the final titers (205.7 g L-1 , 218.9 g L-1 , and 193.9 g L-1 , respectively) and productivities (5.56 g L-1 h-1 , 5.34 g L-1 h-1 , and 3.73 g L-1 h-1 , respectively) of d-lactate reached the highest level ever reported. A comparative genomic analysis between S. terrae HKM-1 and previously reported d-lactate high-producing Sporolactobacillus inulinus (S. inulinus) CASD is conducted. The results show that many unrelated genetic features may contribute to the superior performance in d-lactate production of S. terrae HKM-1. This d-lactate producer HKM-1, along with its fermentation process, is promising for sustainable d-lactate production by using agro-industrial wastes.

Sequencing batch dry anaerobic digestion of mixed feedstock regulating strategies for methane production: Multi-factor interactions among biotic and abiotic characteristics.

This study investigated the synergistic effects and regulation strategy of multiple factors for improving methane production in sequencing batch dry anaerobic digestion (SBD-AD) using corn stalks (CS) and cow dung (CD). The regulation of the spray frequency (SF) and inoculum content (IC) significantly improved methane yield, which increased feedstock ratios (FRs) by 12.4-121.3%. Moreover, the relationship between SF and IC produced distinct interaction modes. An FR of 4:6 increased the SF to 2 h for the CD-rich condition, and an FR of 6:4 decreased the SF during a 6 h interval and increased the IC for the CS-rich condition, resulting in increases in methane yield and the conversion efficiency of volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Methanogenesis (Methanogens) played a key role in SBD-AD. The nutrient substrate (NH4-N+) and key enzyme activities of methanogens were significantly affected such that the synergistic effect of the acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis pathways was likely strengthened.

Exosomal miR-1246 in body fluids is a potential biomarker for gastrointestinal cancer.

AIM: The aim was to systematically evaluate whether exosomal miRNAs could be regarded as potential minimally invasive biomarkers of diagnosis for gastrointestinal cancer. METHODS: A systematic review and meta analysis of exosomal miRNA expression in gastrointestinal cancer were performed. RESULTS: A total of 370 articles were retrieved from PubMed and EMBASE. The summary receiver operating characteristic curves of three miRNAs (miR-21, miR-1246 and miR-4644) were drawn, miR-21, miR-1246 and miR-4644 exhibited sensitivities of 0.66, 0.920 and 0.750, respectively; specificities were 0.87, 0.958 and 0.769, respectively; and areas under the curve for discriminating gastrointestinal cancer patients from control subjects were 0.876, 0.969 and 0.827, respectively. CONCLUSION: Exosome miR-1246 had the highest level of diagnostic efficiency, which indicated that miR-1246 could be a biomarker.

Genome Sequence of Sporolactobacillus terrae DSM 11697, the Type Strain of the Species.

Sporolactobacillus terrae DSM 11697 is the type strain of S. terrae. Here, we present a 3.2-Mb assembly of its genome sequence. As S. terrae is one of the important lactic acid bacteria, the genome sequence may provide insights into the molecular mechanism for its further microbial investigation.

Physiological and biochemical characterization of a novel nicotine-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas geniculata N1.

Management of solid wastes with high nicotine content, such as those accumulated during tobacco manufacturing, poses a major challenge, which can be addressed by using bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Arthrobacter. In this study, a new species of Pseudomonas geniculata, namely strain N1, which is capable of efficiently degrading nicotine, was isolated and identified. The optimal growth conditions for strain N1 are a temperature of 30°C, and a pH 6.5, at a rotation rate of 120 rpm min(-1) with 1 g l(-1) nicotine as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. Myosmine, cotinine, 6-hydroxynicotine, 6-hydroxy-N-methylmyosmine, and 6-hydroxy-pseudooxynicotine were detected as the five intermediates through gas chromatography-mass and liquid chromatography-mass analyses. The identified metabolites were different from those generated by Pseudomonas putida strains. The analysis also highlighted the bacterial metabolic diversity in relation to nicotine degradation by different Pseudomonas strains.

In vitro anti-inflammatory effect of apigenin in the Helicobacter pylori-infected gastric adenocarcinoma cells.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori causes extensive gastric epithelial cell inflammation which may progress to atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and even gastric adenocarcinoma. Apigenin (4',5,7-trihydroxyflavone) is widely distributed in fruits and vegetables, and is a well-known antiinflammatory supplement with low cytotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of apigenin in H. pylori-infected MKN45 cells, for which IκBα, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), reactive oxygen species (ROS), interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-6, IL-1ß, and mucin-2 (MUC-2) expressions were examined. Apigenin treatments (9.3-74 µM) significantly increased the IκBα expression, and thus inhibited nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation, and the inflammatory factor (COX-2, ICAM-1, ROS, IL-6, and IL-8) expressions decreased. The ROS levels decreased partially based on the intrinsic scavenging property of apigenin. In summary, apigenin treatments effectively inhibited NF-κB activation and the related inflammatory factor expressions, as well as increased MUC-2 expression in the H. pylori-infected MKN45 cells. The compound shows great potential as a candidate agent for the inhibition of H. pylori-induced extensive gastric epithelial cell inflammation.