Fe-Co Co-Doped 1D@2D Carbon-Based Composite as an Efficient Catalyst for Zn-Air Batteries.

A Fe-Co dual-metal co-doped N containing the carbon composite (FeCo-HNC) was prepared by adjusting the ratio of iron to cobalt as well as the pyrolysis temperature with the assistance of functionalized silica template. Fe1Co-HNC, which was formed with 1D carbon nanotubes and 2D carbon nanosheets including a rich mesoporous structure, exhibited outstanding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic activities. The ORR half-wave potential is 0.86 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE), and the OER overpotential is 0.76 V at 10 mA cm-2 with the Fe1Co-HNC catalyst. It also displayed superior performance in zinc-air batteries. This method provides a promising strategy for the fabrication of efficient transition metal-based carbon catalysts.

BMAL1 involved in autophagy and injury of thoracic aortic endothelial cells of rats induced by intermittent heat stress through the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 pathway.

Physiological activities of the body exhibit an obvious biological rhythm. At the core of the circadian rhythm, BMAL1 is the only clock gene whose deletion leads to abnormal physiological functions. However, whether intermittent heat stress influences cardiovascular function by altering the circadian rhythm of clock genes has not been reported. This study aimed to investigate whether intermittent heat stress induces autophagy and apoptosis, and the effects of BMAL1 on thoracic aortic autophagy and apoptosis. An intermittent heat stress model was established in vitro, and western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of autophagy, apoptosis, the AMPK/mTOR/ULK1 pathway, and BMAL1. After BMAL1 silencing, RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression levels of autophagy and apoptosis-related genes. Our results suggest that heat stress induces autophagy and apoptosis in RTAECs. In addition, intermittent heat stress increased the phosphorylation of AMPK and ULK1, but reduced the phosphorylation of mTOR, AMPK inhibitor Compound C reversed the phosphorylation of AMPK, mTOR, and ULK1, and Beclin1 and LC3-II/LC3-I were downregulated. Furthermore, BMAL1 expression was elevated in vitro and shBMAL1 decreased autophagy and apoptosis. We revealed that intermittent heat stress induces autophagy and apoptosis, and that BMAL1 may be involved in the occurrence of autophagy and apoptosis.

Bioinspired polydopamine nanoparticles as efficient antioxidative and anti-inflammatory enhancers against UV-induced skin damage.

Excessive and prolonged ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure causes photodamage, photoaging, and photocarcinogenesis in human skin. Therefore, safe and effective sun protection is one of the most fundamental requirements. Living organisms tend to evolve various natural photoprotective mechanisms to avoid photodamage. Among them, melanin is the main functional component of the photoprotective system of human skin. Polydopamine (PDA) is synthesized as a mimic of natural melanin, however, its photoprotective efficiency and mechanism in protecting against skin damage and photoaging remain unclear. In this study, the novel sunscreen products based on melanin-inspired PDA nanoparticles (NPs) are rationally designed and prepared. We validate that PDA NPs sunscreen exhibits superior effects on photoprotection, which is achieved by the obstruction of epidermal hyperplasia, protection of the skin barrier, and resolution of inflammation. In addition, we find that PDA NPs are efficiently intake by keratinocytes, exhibiting robust ROS scavenging and DNA protection ability with minimal cytotoxicity. Intriguingly, PDA sunscreen has an influence on maintaining homeostasis of the dermis, displaying an anti-photoaging property. Taken together, the biocompatibility and full photoprotective properties of PDA sunscreen display superior performance to those of commercial sunscreen. This work provides new insights into the development of a melanin-mimicking material for sunscreens.

Improved LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of tacrolimus and cyclosporine A in human blood and application to therapeutic drug monitoring.

In order to facilitate therapeutic drug monitoring of tacrolimus and cyclosporine A in clinical practice, a simple, rapid, robust, sensitive and specific LC-MS/MS assay was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of tacrolimus and cyclosporine A in human whole blood. Erythrocytes were destroyed using internal standard solution with 10% (w/v) zinc sulfate in water. The analytes were extracted from 100 µl of whole blood by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. Chromatographic separation was conducted on a Kinetex PFP column (60°C) by a gradient elution with a flow rate of 0.450 ml/min in 2.5 min. Quantitative analysis was performed using electrospray ionization and multiple reaction monitoring in positive ionization mode. The method was fully validated as per current guidelines on bioanalytical methodologies of the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. The method developed was applied successfully in analyzing clinical samples from patients administered tacrolimus or cyclosporine A. The sample treatment procedure was rationalized and improved to fulfill the complete target extraction. The chromatography conditions were optimized to achieve rapid and accurate quantification of both analytes. This method may be beneficial as a constructive input for the therapeutic drug monitoring of tacrolimus and cyclosporine A in obtaining individualized therapy.

Elevated circulating PCSK9 level is associated with 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Pro-protein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) decreases the clearance of the pathogenic lipids, supporting the potential role of PCSK9 in the prognosis of sepsis. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, patients with sepsis were consecutively recruited from 1 to 2020 to 30 September 2021 at the First People's Hospital of Huaihua, China. All the eligible patients were categorized into low-PCSK9 and high-PCSK9 groups, based on their PCSK9 levels at admission. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to evaluate the association between PCSK9 level and 28-day mortality of sepsis. RESULTS: Of the 203 enrolled patients, 56 (27.59%) died during the 28-day follow-up. The PCSK9 level was positively related to the C-reactive protein level. The cut-off point of PCSK9 levels for 28-day mortality risk was 370 ng/ml. Through comparison between high-PCSK9 (> 370 ng/ml) with low-PCSK9 (≤ 370 ng/ml) groups, the adjusted HR for mortality was 2.56 (95% CI: 1.25-5.23, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The 28-day mortality of sepsis increased significantly as the baseline circulating PCSK9 level exceeded 370 ng/ml, indicating circulating PCSK9 levels may be a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis of sepsis.

Inhibition of TLR4 Alleviates Heat Stroke-Induced Cardiomyocyte Injury by Down-Regulating Inflammation and Ferroptosis.

Inflammatory response and cell death play key roles in the mechanism of myocardial cell injury induced by heat stroke (HS) in rats. Ferroptosis is a newly discovered regulatory type of cell death, which is involved in the occurrence and development of various cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of ferroptosis in the mechanism of cardiomyocyte injury caused by HS remains to be clarified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role and potential mechanism of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in cardiomyocyte inflammation and ferroptosis under HS conditions at the cellular level. The HS cell model was established by exposing H9C2 cells at 43 °C for 2 h and then recovering at 37 °C for 3 h. The association between HS and ferroptosis was investigated by adding the ferroptosis inhibitor, liproxstatin-1, and the ferroptosis inducer, erastin. The results show that the expressions of ferroptosis-related proteins recombinant solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were decreased, the contents of glutathione (GSH) were decreased, and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and Fe2+ were increased in H9C2 cells in the HS group. Moreover, the mitochondria of the HS group became smaller and the membrane density increased. These changes were consistent with the effects of erastin on H9C2 cells and were reversed with liproxstatin-1. The addition of TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242 or NF-κB inhibitor PDTC reduced the expressions of NF-κB and p53, increased the expressions of SLC7A11 and GPX4, reduced the contents of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1ß, increased the content of GSH and reduced MDA, ROS, and Fe2+ levels in H9C2 cells under the HS condition. TAK-242 may improve the mitochondrial shrinkage and membrane density of H9C2 cells induced by HS. In conclusion, this study illustrated that inhibition of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway can regulate the inflammatory response and ferroptosis induced by HS, which provides new information and a theoretical basis for the basic research and clinical treatment of cardiovascular injuries caused by HS.

AIEgens in Solar Energy Utilization: Advances and Opportunities.

Solar energy is the most abundant energy resource on earth. Unfortunately, only a very small portion of the solar radiation can be utilized by current light-harvesting materials, thus leading to the poor utilization efficiency of solar energy. In this regard, aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) have demonstrated versatile properties that can enhance energy conversion and potentially revolutionize solar utilization systems. AIEgens with great processability can selectively absorb radiation across multiple spectral regions and transform solar energy into longer-wavelength light, heat, or alternative forms of energy. These processes can considerably enhance the solar energy utilization performance by either developing light-harvesting systems based on AIEgens or hybridizing modern light-harvesting systems with AIE technology. In this Perspective, based on material properties, we highlight different functions of AIEgens related to solar light utilization, including sunlight transformation, chemical conversion, and thermal conversion.

One-Step Preparation of Hydrophobic Surfaces Containing Hydrophilic Groups for Efficient Water Harvesting.

Multifunctional surfaces that are favorable for both droplet nucleation and removal are critical for water-harvesting applications, but there still remain great challenges. Herein, we proposed a facile strategy to construct hydrophobic surfaces containing moderate hydrophilic groups to achieve both exceptional droplet nucleation and removal. Different from natural desert beetle-inspired water-harvesting materials, these surfaces utilize limited hydrophilic domains to condense fog, and transport of formed tiny droplets relies on a hydrophobic background. The total surface area of the presented hydrophobic fabric contains hydrophilic groups, and the areas for trapping fog have increased. This feature is optimized to enhance the droplet nucleation density, and the surface still has excellent liquid repellency, resulting in maximum water collection efficiency of the prepared surface reaching up to 3.145 g·cm-2·h-1, much higher than the most reported water-harvesting materials. Due to its high efficiency and scalability, we believe that the proposed strategy to construct hydrophobic surfaces containing hydrophilic groups has great practical value.

Hollow polydopamine nanoparticles loading with peptide RL-QN15: a new pro-regenerative therapeutic agent for skin wounds.

BACKGROUND: Although the treatments of skin wounds have greatly improved with the increase in therapeutic methods and agents, available interventions still cannot meet the current clinical needs. Therefore, the development of new pro-regenerative therapies remains urgent. Owing to their unique characteristics, both nanomaterials and peptides have provided novel clues for the development of pro-regenerative agents, however, more efforts were still be awaited and anticipated. RESULTS: In the current research, Hollow polydopamine (HPDA) nanoparticles were synthesized and HPDA nanoparticles loading with RL-QN15 (HPDAlR) that was an amphibian-derived peptide with obvious prohealing activities were prepared successfully. The characterization, biodistribution and clearance of both HPDA nanoparticles and HPDAlR were evaluated, the loading efficiency of HPDA against RL-QN15 and the slow-releasing rate of RL-QN15 from HPDAlR were also determined. Our results showed that both HPDA nanoparticles and HPDAlR exerted no obvious toxicity against keratinocyte, macrophage and mice, and HPDA nanoparticles showed no prohealing potency in vivo and in vitro. Interestingly, HPDAlR significantly enhanced the ability of RL-QN15 to accelerate the healing of scratch of keratinocytes and selectively modulate the release of healing-involved cytokines from macrophages. More importantly, in comparison with RL-QN15, by evaluating on animal models of full-thickness injured skin wounds in mice and oral ulcers in rats, HPDAlR showed significant increasing in the pro-regenerative potency of 50 and 10 times, respectively. Moreover, HPDAlR also enhanced the prohealing efficiency of peptide RL-QN15 against skin scald in mice and full-thickness injured wounds in swine. CONCLUSIONS: HPDA obviously enhanced the pro-regenerative potency of RL-QN15 in vitro and in vivo, hence HPDAlR exhibited great potential in the development of therapeutics for skin wound healing.

Mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles carrying peptide RL-QN15 show potential for skin wound therapy.

BACKGROUND: Skin wound healing remains a considerable clinical challenge, thus stressing the urgent need for the development of new interventions to promote repair. Recent researches indicate that both peptides and nanoparticles may be potential therapies for the treatment of skin wounds. METHODS: In the current study, the mesoporous polydopamine (MPDA) nanoparticles were prepared and the peptide RL-QN15 that was previously identified from amphibian skin secretions and exhibited significant potential as a novel prohealing agent was successfully loaded onto the MPDA nanoparticles, which was confirmed by results of analysis of scanning electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The encapsulation efficiency and sustained release rate of RL-QN15 from the nanocomposites were determined. The prohealing potency of nanocomposites were evaluated by full-thickness injured wounds in both mice and swine and burn wounds in mice. RESULTS: Our results indicated that, compared with RL-QN15 alone, the prohealing potency of nanocomposites of MPDA and RL-QN15 in the full-thickness injured wounds and burn wounds in mice was increased by up to 50 times through the slow release of RL-QN15. Moreover, the load on the MPDA obviously increased the prohealing activities of RL-QN15 in full-thickness injured wounds in swine. In addition, the obvious increase in the prohealing potency of nanocomposites of MPDA and RL-QN15 was also proved by the results from histological analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our knowledge, this is the first research to report that the load of MPDA nanoparticles could significantly increase the prohealing potency of peptide and hence highlighted the promising potential of MPDA nanoparticles-carrying peptide RL-QN15 for skin wound therapy.

Integrase inhibitors versus efavirenz combination antiretroviral therapies for TB/HIV coinfection: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Integrase inhibitors (INIs)-based antiretroviral therapies (ART) are more recommended than efavirenz (EFV)-based ART for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Yet, the advantage of integrase inhibitors in treating TB/HIV coinfection is uncertain. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the effects and safety of INIs- versus EFV-based ART in TB/HIV coinfection, and demonstrate the feasibility of the regimens. METHODS: Four electronic databases were systematically searched through September 2020. Fixed-effects models were used to calculate pooled effect size for all outcomes. The primary outcomes were virologic suppression and bacteriology suppression for INIs- versus EFV-based ART. Secondary outcomes included CD4+ cell counts change from baseline, adherence and safety. RESULTS: Three trials (including 672 TB/HIV patients) were eligible. ART combining INIs and EFV had similar effects for all outcomes, with none of the point estimates argued against the INIs-based ART on TB/HIV patients. Compared to EFV-based ART as the reference group, the RR was 0.94 (95% CI 0.85 to 1.05) for virologic suppression, 1.00 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.05) for bacteriology suppression, 0.98 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.01) for adherence. The mean difference in CD4+ cell counts increase between the two groups was 14.23 cells/µl (95% CI 0- 6.40 to 34.86). With regard to safety (adverse events, drug-related adverse events, discontinuation for drugs, grade 3-4 adverse events, IRIS (grade 3-4), and death), INIs-based regimen was broadly similar to EFV-based regimens. The analytical results in all sub-analyses of raltegravir- (RAL) and dolutegravir (DTG) -based ART were valid. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis demonstrates similar efficacy and safety of INIs-based ART compared with EFV-based ART. This finding supports INIs-based ART as a first-line treatment in TB/HIV patients. The conclusions presented here still await further validation owing to insufficient data.

Transmission and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in 104 outside-Wuhan patients, China.

Cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emigrating from Wuhan escalated the risk of spreading the disease in other cities. This report focused on outside-Wuhan patients to assess the transmission and clinical characteristics of this illness. Contact investigation was conducted on each patient who was admitted to the assigned hospitals in Hunan Province (geographically adjacent to Wuhan) from 22 January to 23 February 2020. Cases were confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction test. Demographic, clinical, and outcomes were collected and analyzed. Of the 104 patients, 48 (46.15%) were cases who immigrated from Wuhan; 93 (89.42%) had a definite contact history with infection. Family clusters were the major body of patients. Transmission along the chain of three "generations" was observed. Five asymptomatic infected cases were found and two of them infected their relatives. Mean age was 43 (range, 8-84) years, and 49 (47.12%) were male. The median incubation period was 6 (range, 1-32) days, which of 8 patients ranged from 18 to 32 days, 96 (92.31%) were discharged, and 1 (0.96%) died. The average hospital stay was 10 (range, 8-14) days. Family but not community transmission became the main body of infections in the two centers, suggesting the timely control measures after the Wuhan shutdown worked well. Asymptomatic transmission demonstrated here warned us that it may lead to the widespread of COVID-19. A 14-day quarantine may need to be prolonged.

Design and Synthesis of Self-Healable Superhydrophobic Coatings for Oil/Water Separation.

The introduction of the self-healing function into superhydrophobic surfaces has recently raised increasing attention because it can renew the feature of the surface iteratively to a large extent to extend the service life span of the surface in practical applications. However, it still faces a great challenge on how to achieve this unique surface with a tunable self-healing function via an easy and effective way. Here, we propose a general, yet easily implemented strategy to endow a diversity of commercial substrates with self-healable superhydrophobic surfaces mainly relying on the collective use of the polydopamine (PDA) chemistry with a hydrophobic silane-octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODTMS). Upon applying ultrasonication for 30 min to an alkaline aqueous solution comprising dopamine hydrochloride (DA) and ODTMS, ODTMS disperses into the aqueous phase as microdroplets, while DA polymerizes into PDA exclusively onto the micro-sized oil droplets, forming capsules with nanoroughness. In the presence of substrates, PDA also anchors these composite capsules onto substrates, resulting in hierarchical surfaces. ODTMS is detected abundantly on the hierarchical surfaces, leading to superhydrophobic surfaces. Remarkably, this superhydrophobicity is self-restorable at room temperature (e.g., days) once it is deteriorated by the air plasma or extremely acid/alkali treatment, and this self-restoration can be significantly accelerated via the heating (2 h) or rubbing (5 min) treatment. Generally, heating and rubbing are the valid ways to induce self-healing, which is speculated to accelerate the migration of hidden ODTMS from the capsules to the surfaces because of the minimization of the global surface-free energy. Benefiting from the self-healing superhydrophobicity, we devise oil/water separation using various surface-modified commercial fabrics, which exhibit a prolonged life span in applications and may further facilitate other usage in environmental remediation and water purification.

Baricitinib induces LDL-C and HDL-C increases in rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Baricitinib, an oral-administrated selective inhibitor of the JAK1 and JAK2, is recently approved for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. With the aim to provide some insights on the clinical safety, the current study mainly focused on the effect of baricitinib on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and cardiovascular risk. METHODS: The net change scores [least squares mean (LSM) and mean change] of LDL-C and HDL-C levels from baseline with the comparison of baricitinib versus placebo were pooled, respectively. Risk rations (RR) of major cardiovascular events (MACEs) and differences of cardiovascular risk scores at the end of treatment across groups were compared. RESULTS: Six trials with randomized 3552 patients were finally included in summary analysis. Results showed that baricitinib significantly increased LDL-C levels, the net mean change was 13.15 mg/dl with 95% CI 8.89~17.42 (I2 = 0) and the net LSM was 11.94 mg/dl with 95% CI 7.52~16.37 (I2 = 84%). HDL-C also increased obviously with the net LSM change was 7.19 mg/dl (95% CI, 6.05~8.33, I2 = 47%) and net mean change was 5.40 mg/dl (95% CI, 3.07~7.74, I2 = 10%). Subgroup and meta-regression analysis demonstrated baricitinib induced LDL-C and HDL-C increases in a dose-response manner. However, both the pooled RRs of MACEs and differences of cardiovascular risk scores were not statistically significant across groups. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that baricitinib induced a stable dose-response increase in LDL-C and HDL-C levels. Since the causality association between altered lipids and cardiovascular risk was not identified yet, this issue cannot be completely dismissed. Future research is needed to fully dissect the implications of these lipid changes.

Polydopamine Based Colloidal Materials: Synthesis and Applications.

Polydopamine is a synthetic analogue of natural melanin (eumelanin) produced from oxidative polymerization of dopamine. Owing to its strong adhesion ability, versatile chemical reactivity, biocompatibility and biodegradation, polydopamine is commonly applied as a versatile linker to synthesize colloidal materials with diverse structures, unique physicochemical properties and tunable functions, which allow for a broad scope of applications including biomedicine, sensing, catalysis, environment and energy. In this personal account, we discuss first about the different synthetic approaches of polydopamine, as well as its polymerization mechanism, and then with a comprehensive overview of recent progress in the synthesis and applications of polydopamine-based colloidal materials. Finally, we summarize this personal account with future perspectives.

Rotenone activates the LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 signaling pathway to induce autophagy and apoptosis in rat thoracic aortic endothelial cells.

BACKGROUND: The specific mechanism by which rotenone impacts thoracic aortic autophagy and apoptosis is unknown. We aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of rotenone on autophagy and apoptosis in rat thoracic aortic endothelial cells (RTAEC) via activation of the LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 signaling pathway and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of rotenone on autophagy and apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells. METHODS: In vivo, 60 male SD rats were randomly selected and divided into 5 groups: control (Con), DMSO, 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg groups, respectively. After 28 days of treatment, histopathological and ultrastructural changes in each group were observed using HE and transmission electron microscopy; Autophagy, apoptosis, and LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 pathway-related proteins were detected by Western blot; Apoptosis levels in the thoracic aorta were detected by TUNEL. In vitro, RTAEC were cultured and divided into control (Con), DMSO, 20, 100, 500, and 1000 nM groups. After 24 h of intervention, autophagy, apoptosis, and LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 pathway-related factors were detected by Western blot and qRT-PCR; Flow cytometry to detect apoptosis levels; Autophagy was inhibited with 3-MA and CQ to detect apoptosis levels, and changes in autophagy, apoptosis, and downstream factors were detected by the AMPK inhibitor CC intervention. RESULTS: Gavage in SD rats for 28 days, some degree of damage was observed in the thoracic aorta and heart of the rotenone group, as well as the appearance of autophagic vesicles was observed in the thoracic aorta. TUNEL analysis revealed higher apoptosis in the rotenone group's thoracic aorta; RTAEC cultured in vitro, after 24 h of rotenone intervention, showed increased ROS production and significantly decreased ATP production. The flow cytometry data suggested an increase in the number of apoptotic RTAEC. The thoracic aorta and RTAEC in the rotenone group displayed elevated levels of autophagy and apoptosis, and the LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 pathway proteins were activated and expressed at higher levels. Apoptosis and autophagy were both suppressed by the autophagy inhibitors 3-MA and CQ. The AMPK inhibitor CC reduced autophagy and apoptosis in RTAEC and suppressed the production of the AMPK downstream factors ULK1 and P-ULK1. CONCLUSIONS: Rotenone may promote autophagy in the thoracic aorta and RTAEC by activating the LKB1-AMPK-ULK1 signaling pathway, thereby inducing apoptosis.

Fe, N, S co-doped carbon network derived from acetate-modified Fe-ZIF-8 for oxygen reduction reaction.

In this work, potassium acetate (KAc) was added during the synthesis of a Zn-Fe based metal-organic framework (Fe-ZIF-8) to increase the fixed amount of Fe while simultaneously enhancing the number of pores. Electrospinning was utilized to embed KAc-modified Fe-ZIF-8 (Fe-ZIF-8-Ac) into the polyacrylonitrile nanofiber mesh, to obtain a network composite (Fe@NC-Ac) with hierarchical porous structure. Fe@NC-Ac was co-pyrolyzed with thiourea, resulting in Fe, N, S co-doped carbon electrocatalyst. The electrochemical tests indicated that the prepared catalyst displayed relatively remarkable oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity, with an onset potential (Eonset) of 1.08 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE) and a half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.94 V, both higher than those of the commercial Pt/C (Eonset = 0.95 V and E1/2 = 0.84 V), respectively. Assembled into Zn-air batteries, the optimized catalyst exhibited higher open circuit voltage (1.698 V) and peak power density (90 mW cm-2) than those of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (1.402 V and 80 mW cm-2), respectively. This work provided a straightforward manufacturing strategy for the design of hierarchical porous carbon-based ORR catalysts with desirable performance.

Magnetically driven Janus conical vertical array for all-weather freshwater collection.

The engineering of multifunctional structures with special surface wettability is highly desirable for all-weather freshwater production, but relevant research is scarce. In this study, a Janus conical vertical array was designed and fabricated via a magnetically driven spray-coating method for the first time. Benefiting from the special structure and wettability enhancement of the array in terms of solar absorption, fog capture and merging, droplet movement and evaporation area, all-weather freshwater production consisting of high-quality daytime solar vapor generation (water evaporation rate approximately 2.43 kg m-2 h-1, 1 kW m-2) and nighttime fog collection (water collection rate approximately 3.536 g cm-2 h-1) can be realized concurrently. When the designed array is employed for outdoor environments (114°35'E, 30°38'N, average daily temperature 34.9 °C, average daily humidity 64.0%), reliable and efficient daily pure water yields of 19.13 kg m-2-26.09 kg m-2 are obtainable. We believe that the proposed strategy for fabricating a Janus conical vertical array is novel in the integration of solar vapor generation and fog collection, which has great significance for all-weather freshwater production.

Boosting Luminescence Efficiency of Near-Infrared-II Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogens via a Mash-Up Strategy of π-Extension and Deuteration for Dual-Model Image-Guided Surgery.

The simultaneous pursuit of accelerative radiative and restricted nonradiative decay is of tremendous significance to construct high-luminescence-efficiency fluorophores in the second near-infrared wavelength window (NIR-II), which is seriously hindered by the energy gap laws. Herein, a mash-up strategy of π-extension and deuteration is proposed to efficaciously ameliorate the knotty problem. By extending the π-conjugation of the aromatic fragment and introducing an isotope effect to the aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen), an improved oscillator strength (f), coupled with suppressed deformation and high-frequency oscillation in the excited state, are successively implemented. In this case, a faster rate of radiative decay (kr) and restricted nonradiative decay (knr) are simultaneously achieved. Moreover, the preeminent emissive property of AIEgen in the molecular state could be commendably inherited by the aggregates. The corresponding NIR-II emissive AIEgen-based nanoparticles display high brightness, large Stokes shift, and superior photostability simultaneously, which can be applied for image-guided cancer and sentinel lymph node (SLN) surgery. This work thus provides a rational roadmap to improve the luminescence efficiency of NIR-II fluorophores for biomedical applications.

Sulfur-Bridged Asymmetric CuNi Bimetallic Atom Sites for CO2 Reduction with High Efficiency.

Double-atom catalysts (DACs) with asymmetric coordination are crucial for enhancing the benefits of electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction and advancing sustainable development, however, the rational design of DACs is still challenging. Herein, we synthesize atomically dispersed catalysts with novel sulfur-bridged Cu-S-Ni sites (named Cu-S-Ni/SNC), utilizing biomass wool keratin as precursor. The plentiful disulfide bonds in wool keratin overcome the limitations of traditional gas-phase S ligand etching process and enable the one-step formation of S-bridged sites. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) confirms the existence of bimetallic sites with N2Cu-S-NiN2 moiety. In H-cell, Cu-S-Ni/SNC shows high CO Faraday efficiency of 98.1% at -0.65 V versus RHE. Benefiting from the charge tuning effect between the metal site and bridged sulfur atoms, a large current density of 550 mA cm-2 can be achieved at -1.00 V in flow cell. Additionally, in situ XAS, attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show Cu as the main adsorption site is dual-regulated by Ni and S atoms, which enhances CO2 activation and accelerates the formation of *COOH intermediates. This kind of asymmetric bimetallic atom catalysts may open new pathways for precision preparation and performance regulation of atomic materials toward energy applications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.