Single-Atom Yttrium Engineering Janus Electrode for Rechargeable Na-S Batteries.

The development of rechargeable Na-S batteries is very promising, thanks to their considerably high energy density, abundance of elements, and low costs and yet faces the issues of sluggish redox kinetics of S species and the polysulfide shuttle effect as well as Na dendrite growth. Following the theory-guided prediction, the rare-earth metal yttrium (Y)-N4 unit has been screened as a favorable Janus site for the chemical affinity of polysulfides and their electrocatalytic conversion, as well as reversible uniform Na deposition. To this end, we adopt a metal-organic framework (MOF) to prepare a single-atom hybrid with Y single atoms being incorporated into the nitrogen-doped rhombododecahedron carbon host (Y SAs/NC), which features favorable Janus properties of sodiophilicity and sulfiphilicity and thus presents highly desired electrochemical performance when used as a host of the sodium anode and the sulfur cathode of a Na-S full cell. Impressively, the Na-S full cell is capable of delivering a high capacity of 822 mAh g-1 and shows superdurable cyclability (97.5% capacity retention over 1000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g-1). The proof-of-concept three-dimensional (3D) printed batteries and the Na-S pouch cell validate the potential practical applications of such Na-S batteries, shedding light on the development of promising Na-S full cells for future application in energy storage or power batteries.

Lansoprazole-induced osteoporosis via the IP3R- and SOCE-mediated calcium signaling pathways.

BACKGROUND: Many clinical studies have shown a correlation between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and osteoporosis or fractures. The purpose of this study was to establish a murine model of chronic oral PPI administration to verify whether PPIs caused bone metabolic impairment and investigate the relevant molecular mechanism underlying the effects of PPIs on MC3T3-E1 murine osteoblasts. METHODS: A lansoprazole-induced bone loss model was used to investigate the damaging effects of PPIs. In vivo, immunohistochemistry, Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining, micro-CT analysis, and blood biochemical analyses were used to evaluate the effect of lansoprazole on bone injury in mice. In vitro, the effects of lansoprazole and related signaling pathways in MC3T3-E1 cells were investigated by CCK-8 assays, EdU assays, flow cytometry, laser confocal microscopy, patch clamping, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. RESULTS: After 6 months of lansoprazole gavage in ICR mice, the micro-CT results showed that compared with that in the vehicle group, the bone mineral density (BMD) in the high-dose group was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the bone microarchitecture gradually degraded. Biochemical analysis of bone serum showed that blood calcium and phosphorus were both decreased (P < 0.01). We found that long-term administration of lansoprazole impaired skeletal function in mice. In vitro, we found that lansoprazole (LPZ) could cause calcium overload in MC3T3-E1 cells leading to apoptosis, and 2-APB, an inhibitor of IP3R calcium release channel and SOCE pathway, effectively blocked increase in calcium caused by LPZ, thus protecting cell viability. CONCLUSIONS: Longterm administration of LPZ induced osteoporotic symptoms in mice, and LPZ triggered calcium increases in osteoblasts in a concentration-dependent manner. Intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) persisted at a high concentration, thereby causing endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and inducing osteoblast apoptosis.

Fundamental challenges induced by phase modulation inaccuracy and optimization guidelines of geometric phase metasurfaces with broken rotation symmetry.

Geometric phase metasurfaces feature complete phase manipulation of light at the nanoscale. While a majority of prior works assume the structure rotation in a fixed lattice of unit cells as equivalent to the element rotation required by the geometric phase principle, we argue that this assumption is fundamentally challenged for many current schematics which induce phase modulation inaccuracy. Here we take the dielectric nanobar type geometric phase metasurfaces as an example and perform an in-depth analysis about the physical origins of the phase modulation inaccuracy: imperfect structure rotation, resonance, tilted incidence and aperiodic arrays. We clarify the trade-off in phase modulation accuracy, efficiency, broadband property and wide angle acceptance. Furthermore, we present several examples of geometric phase metasurface devices to evaluate the performance degradation under different applications. Finally, based on the research, we provide a set of practical design and optimization guidelines to outperform the present devices of geometric phase metasurface.

Hierarchical Multicavity Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanospheres as Efficient Polyselenide Reservoir for Fast and Long-Life Sodium-Selenium Batteries.

Sodium-selenium (Na-Se) battery has been emerging as one of the most prospective energy storage systems owing to their high volumetric energy density and cost effectiveness. Nevertheless, the shuttle effect of sodium polyselenide (NaPSe) and sluggish electrochemical reaction kinetics present the main bottlenecks for its practical implementation. Herein, a new Se host of 3D nitrogen-doped hierarchical multicavity carbon nanospheres (3D NHMCs) is designed and synthesized via a facile self-sacrifice templating strategy. The 3D NHMCs are verified to hold a favorable structure of a hollow macropore core and numerous micro/mesopores hollow shell for hosting Se, which can not only maximize Se utilization and alleviate the volumetric expansion but also promote the electrical/ionic conductivity and electrolyte infiltration. Moreover, the abundant self-functionalized surfaces as an efficient NaPSe scavenger via robust physical-chemical dual blocking effects demonstrate high-efficiency in situ anchoring-diffusion-conversion of NaPSe, rendering rapid reaction kinetics and remarkable suppressive shuttle effect, as evidenced by systematic experimental analysis and density functional theory calculations. As a result, the high-Se-loading 3D NHMCs/Se cathode exhibits an ultrahigh volumetric capacity (863 mAh cm-3 ) and rate capability (377 mAh g-1 at 20 C) and unexceptionable stability over 2000 cycles at 2 C.

Cloaking object on an optofluidic chip: its theory and demonstration.

Recently, the design of metamaterial guided by transformation optics (TO) has emerged as an effective method to hide objects from optical detection, based on arranging a bended light beam to detour. However, this TO-based solution involves fabrication of material with complicated distribution of permittivity and permeability, and the device falls short of tunability after fabrication. In this work, we propose an optofluidic model employing the method of streamline tracing-based transformation optofluidics (STTOF) to hydrodynamically reconfigure light propagation in a given flow field for object-cloaking purposes. The proof-of-concept is demonstrated and tested on an optofluidic chip to validate our proposed theory. Experimental results show that our proposed STTOF method can be used to successfully detour the light path from the object under cloaking in a mathematically pre-defined manner.

Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resin-Coated Prussian Blue Core-Shell Spheres and Their Derived Unique Yolk-Shell FeS2@C Spheres for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The practical applications of transition metal sulfides as electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is greatly hindered by the fast capacity fading owing to the large volume expansion. To address this issue, construction of transition metal sulfide and carbon nanocomposites with unique yolk-shell structures is an effective strategy but also remains a great challenge. In this work, we reported a facile approach to synthesize the unique yolk-shell FeS2@carbon (FeS2@C) spheres via calcination treatment of the resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin-coated Prussian blue (FeFe PB) core-shell spheres in Ar atmosphere and a subsequent sulfidation treatment. The synthetic method herein was quite simple and convenient. Such unique structure design could effectively prevent the large volume expansion and dissolution of the active materials in the electrolytes during lithiation. As expected, the yolk-shell FeS2@C spheres exhibited good electrochemical performance as anode materials for LIBs, which displayed a high discharge capacity of 560 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1 for 100 cycles. When the current density increased to 1000 mA g-1, a reversible discharge capacity of 269 mA h g-1 was still retained after 500 cycles. The present work demonstrated an extraordinary synthetic strategy to construct transition metal sulfide and carbon nanocomposites with unique yolk-shell structure. In addition, this RF resin coating strategy can be further extended to synthesize other RF resin-coated PB analogue (PBA) core-shell nanostructures, demonstrating the generality of this RF resin coating strategy.

Stability of Anthocyanins and Their Degradation Products from Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine under Gastrointestinal pH and Temperature Conditions.

This study investigated the stability of wine anthocyanins under simulated gastrointestinal pH and temperature conditions, and further studied the evolution of anthocyanin degradation products through simulated digestive conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between anthocyanins' structure and their digestive stability. Results showed that a total of 22 anthocyanins were identified in wine and most of these anthocyanins remained stable under simulated gastric digestion process. However, a dramatic concentration decrease happened to these anthocyanins during simulated intestinal digestion. The stability of anthocyanins in digestive process appeared to be related to their structure. The methoxy group in the B-ring enhanced the stability of anthocyanins, whereas hydroxyl group resulted in a reduction of their stability. Acylation decreased the stability of malvidin 3-O-glucoside. Pyruvic acid conjugation enhanced the structural stability of pyranoanthocyanins, whereas acetaldehyde attachment weakened their stability. A commercial malvidin 3-O-glucoside standard was used to investigate anthocyanin degradation products under simulated digestion process, and syringic acid, protocatechuic acid and vanillic acid were confirmed to be the degradation products via anthocyanin chalcone conversion path. Gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid, syringic acid, and p-coumaric acid in wine experienced a significant concentration decrease during digestion process. However, wine model solution revealed that phenolic acids remained stable under gastrointestinal conditions, except gallic acid.

Analog electromagnetically induced transparency for circularly polarized wave using three-dimensional chiral metamaterials.

In this paper, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a three-dimensional metamaterial that can motivate electromagnetic induced transparency (EIT) by using circular polarized wave as stimulations. The unit cell consists of a pair of metallic strips printed on both sides of the printed circuit board (PCB), where a conductive cylinder junction is used to connect the metal strips by drilling a hole inside the substrate. When a right circularly polarized wave is incident, destructive interference is excited between meta-atoms of the 3D structure, the transmission spectrum demonstrates a sharp transparency window. A coupled oscillator model and an electrical equivalent circuit model are applied to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the coupling mechanism in the EIT-like metamaterial. Analysis in detail shows the EIT window's amplitude and frequency are modulated by changing the degree of symmetry breaking. The proposed metamaterial may achieve potential applications in developing chiral slow light devices.

Veiled to Express: Uncovering the Effect of Mask-Wearing on Voice Behavior in the Workplace.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, mask-wearing has become a widespread phenomenon. Even after the pandemic, people continue to maintain the habit of wearing masks in their daily lives. While existing research has explored how mask-wearing can influence wearers' behavior in everyday life, its effects in the workplace have received less attention. Drawing on self-perception theory, this study examined the positive effect of mask-wearing in the workplace on wearers' voice behavior via psychological safety. An online experiment (N = 291) using a within-subject manipulation of wearing masks supported our hypotheses. This study uncovered the positive psychological and behavioral consequences of mask-wearing beyond its benefits in people's health conditions and everyday life.

Advanced Strategies of CAR-T Cell Therapy in Solid Tumors and Hematological Malignancies.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, known as CAR-T cells, represent a promising breakthrough in the realm of adoptive cell therapy. These T-cells are genetically engineered to carry chimeric antigen receptors that specifically target tumors. They have achieved notable success in the treatment of blood-related cancers, breathing new life into this field of medical research. However, numerous obstacles limit chimeric antigen receptors T-cell therapy's efficacy, such as it cannot survive in the body long. It is prone to fatigue and exhaustion, leading to difficult tumor elimination and repeated recurrence, affecting solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The challenges posed by solid tumors, especially in the context of the complex solid-tumor microenvironment, require specific strategies. This review outlines recent advancements in improving chimeric antigen receptors T-cell therapy by focusing on the chimeric antigen receptors protein, modifying T-cells, and optimizing the interaction between T-cells and other components within the tumor microenvironment. This article aims to provide an extensive summary of the latest discoveries regarding CAR-T cell therapy, encompassing its application across various types of human cancers. Moreover, it will delve into the obstacles that have emerged in recent times, offering insights into the challenges faced by this innovative approach. Finally, it highlights novel therapeutic options in treating hematological and solid malignancies with chimeric antigen receptors T-cell therapies.

Recent Advancement in Inhaled Nano-drug Delivery for Pulmonary, Nasal, and Nose-to-brain Diseases.

Pulmonary, nasal, and nose-to-brain diseases involve clinical approaches, such as bronchodilators, inhaled steroids, oxygen therapy, antibiotics, antihistamines, nasal steroids, decongestants, intranasal drug delivery, neurostimulation, and surgery to treat patients. However, systemic medicines have serious adverse effects, necessitating the development of inhaled formulations that allow precise drug delivery to the airways with minimum systemic drug exposure. Particle size, surface charge, biocompatibility, drug capacity, and mucoadhesive are unique chemical and physical features that must be considered for pulmonary and nasal delivery routes due to anatomical and permeability considerations. The traditional management of numerous chronic diseases has a variety of drawbacks. As a result, targeted medicine delivery systems that employ nanotechnology enhancer drug efficiency and optimize the overall outcome are created. The pulmonary route is one of the most essential targeted drug delivery systems because it allows the administering of drugs locally and systemically to the lungs, nasal cavity, and brain. Furthermore, the lungs' beneficial characteristics, such as their ability to inhibit first-pass metabolism and their thin epithelial layer, help treat several health complications. The potential to serve as noninvasive self-administration delivery sites of the lung and nasal routes is discussed in this script. New methods for treating respiratory and some systemic diseases with inhalation have been explored and highlight particular attention to using specialized nanocarriers for delivering various drugs via the nasal and pulmonary pathways. The design and development of inhaled nanomedicine for pulmonary, nasal, and respiratory medicine applications is a potential approach for clinical translation.

N-doped 3D carbon encapsulating nickel selenide nanoarchitecture with cation defect engineering: An ultrafast and long-life anode for sodium-ion batteries.

Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) hold great potential for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) owing to their multielectron conversion reactions, yet face challenges of poor intrinsic conductivity, sluggish diffusion kinetics, severe phase transitions, and structural collapse during cycling. Herein, a self-templating strategy is proposed for the synthesis of a class of metal cobalt-doped NiSe nanoparticles confined within three-dimensional (3D) N-doped macroporous carbon matrix nanohybrids (Co-NiSe/NMC). The cation defect engineering within the developed Co-NiSe and 3D N-doped carbon plays a crucial role in enhancing intrinsic conductivity, reinforcing structural stability, and reducing the barrier to sodium ion diffusion, which are verified by a series of electrochemical kinetic analyses and density functional theory calculations. Significantly, such cation defect engineering not only reduces overpotential but also accelerates conversion reaction kinetics, ensuring both exceptional high-rate capability and extended durability. Consequently, the optimally engineered Co-NiSe/NMC demonstrates a remarkable rate performance, delivering 390 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1. Moreover, it exhibits an unprecedented lifespan, maintaining a remarkable capacity of 403 mAh g-1 after 1400 cycles and 318 mAh g-1 after 4000 cycles, even at high rates of 1.0 and 2.0 A g-1, respectively. This work marks a substantial advancement in achieving both high performance and prolonged cycle life in sodium-ion batteries.

Phase engineering of nickel-based sulfides toward robust sodium-ion batteries.

Nickel-based sulfides are considered promising materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) anodes due to their abundant resources and attractive theoretical capacity. However, their application is limited by slow diffusion kinetics and severe volume changes during cycling. Herein, we demonstrate a facile strategy for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) wrapped Ni3S2 nanocrystals composites (Ni3S2-N-rGO-700 °C) through the cubic NiS2 precursor under high temperature (700 ℃). Benefitting from the variation in crystal phase structure and robust coupling effect between the Ni3S2 nanocrystals and N-rGO matrix, the Ni3S2-N-rGO-700 °C exhibits enhanced conductivity, fast ion diffusion kinetics and outstanding structural stability. As a result, the Ni3S2-N-rGO-700 °C delivers excellent rate capability (345.17 mAh g-1 at a high current density of 5 A g-1) and long-term cyclic stability over 400 cycles at 2 A g-1 with a high reversible capacity of 377 mAh g-1 when evaluated as anodes for SIBs. This study open a promising avenue to realize advanced metal sulfide materials with desirable electrochemical activity and stability for energy storage applications.

Confined WS2 Nanosheets Tubular Nanohybrid as High-Kinetic and Durable Anode for Sodium-Based Dual Ion Batteries.

Sodium based dual-ion battery (SDIB) has been regarded as one of the promising batteries technologies thanks to its high working voltage and natural abundance of sodium source, its practical application yet faces critical issues of low capacity and sluggish kinetics of intercalation-type graphite anode. Here, a tubular nanohybrid composed of building blocks of carbon-film wrapped WS2 nanosheets on carbon nanotube (WS2 /C@CNTs) was reported. The expanded (002) interlayer and dual-carbon confined structure endowed WS2 nanosheets with fast charge transportation and excellent structural stability, and thus WS2 /C@CNTs showed highly attractive electrochemical properties for Na+ storage with high reversible capacity, fast kinetic, and robust durability. The full sodium-based dual ion batteries by coupling WS2 /C@CNTs anode with graphite cathode full cell presented a high reversible capacity (210 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 ), and excellent rate performance with a high capacity of 137 mAh g-1 at 5.0 A g-1 .

Methylation, Hydroxylation, Glycosylation and Acylation Affect the Transport of Wine Anthocyanins in Caco-2 Cells.

Anthocyanins are substances with multiple physiological activities widely present in red wine, but the influence of structure (methylation, hydroxylation, acylation, glycosylation) on the transport remains ill-defined. In the present study, Caco-2 monolayers were used as an in vitro model of the absorptive intestinal epithelium to transport different types of anthocyanin samples. Results showed that both methylation and acetylation promote the level of transport. Monoglycoside standard exhibited higher transport amount and rate compared to diglycoside standard while the transport level of the monoglycoside mixture was unexpectedly lower than that of the diglycoside mixture. Caco-2 monolayers appeared to be more capable of transporting the single standard than the mixed standard. Meanwhile, the transport of anthocyanins in Caco-2 cell model showed time- and concentration-dependent trends. Anthocyanin treatment had a greater effect on sodium-dependent glucose transporter 1 (SGLT1) mRNA expression than glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), and significantly down-regulated the protein expression of SGLT1. Although the low bioavailability of anthocyanins requires much more research, further evidence of the role of structure is provided.

Male spiders avoid sexual cannibalism with a catapult mechanism.

In the animal world, numerous mechanisms have been described that allow for extremely fast actions or reactions via the slow storage of energy, typically in elastic structures, which is then nearly instantly released1-4, similar to the operation of a catapult. Many of these mechanisms are employed for prey capture1,2 or for predator avoidance3,4; however, such superfast actions have not yet been reported as a means to dodge sexual cannibalism. Here, we unveil a novel mechanism in a communal orb-weaving spider Philoponella prominens (Uloboridae) (Figure S1), whereby males undertake a split-second catapult action immediately after mating, thereby fleeing their partner (Video S1). We demonstrate that males achieve their superfast action (up to 88.2 cm/s) by extending the tibia-metatarsus joint of their first leg pair via hydraulic pressure in a joint that is known to lack extensor muscles in spiders. This rapid expansion greatly reduces the likelihood of the male being sexually cannibalized.

Pseudocapacitive Vanadium Nitride Quantum Dots Modified One-Dimensional Carbon Cages Enable Highly Kinetics-Compatible Sodium Ion Capacitors.

The kinetics incompatibility between battery-type anode and capacitive-type cathode for sodium ion hybrid capacitors (SIHCs) seriously hinders their overall performance output. Herein, we construct a SIHCs device by coupling with quantum grade vanadium nitride (VN) nanodots anchored in one-dimensional N/F co-doped carbon nanofiber cages hybrids (VNQDs@PCNFs-N/F) as the freestanding anode and the corresponding activated N/F co-doped carbon nanofiber cages (APCNFs-N/F) as cathode. The strong coupling of VN quantum dots with N/F co-doped 1D conductive carbon cages effectively facilitates the ion/electron transport and intercalation-conversion-deintercalation reactions, ensuring fast sodium storage to surmount aforesaid kinetics incompatibility. Additionally, density functional theory calculations cogently manifest that the abundant active sites in the VNQDs@PCNFs-N/F configuration boost the Na+ adsorption/reaction activity well which will promote both "intrinsic" and "extrinsic" pseudocapacitance and further improve anode kinetics. Consequently, the assembled SIHCs device can achieve high energy densities of 157.1 and 95.0 Wh kg-1 at power densities of 198.8 and 9100.5 W kg-1, respectively, with an ultralong cycling life over 8000 cycles. This work further verified the feasibility of kinetics-compatible electrode design strategy toward metal ion hybrid capacitors.

Carbon-coated MoS1.5Te0.5 nanocables for efficient sodium-ion storage in non-aqueous dual-ion batteries.

Sodium-based dual-ion batteries have received increased attention owing to their appealing cell voltage (i.e., >3 V) and cost-effective features. However, the development of high-performance anode materials is one of the key elements for exploiting this electrochemical energy storage system at practical levels. Here, we report a source-template synthetic strategy for fabricating a variety of nanowire-in-nanotube MSxTey@C (M = Mo, W, Re) structures with an in situ-grown carbon film coating, termed as nanocables. Among the various materials prepared, the MoS1.5Te0.5@C nanocables are investigated as negative electrode active material in combination with expanded graphite at the positive electrode and NaPF6-based non-aqueous electrolyte solutions for dual-ion storage in coin cell configuration. As a result, the dual-ion lab-scale cells demonstrate a prolonged cycling lifespan with 97% capacity retention over 1500 cycles and a reversible capacity of about 101 mAh g-1 at specific capacities (based on the mass of the anode) of 1.0 A g-1 and 5.0 A g-1, respectively.

V2O3 Nanoparticles Confined in High-Conductivity and High-Throughput Carbon Nanofiber Nanohybrids for Advanced Sodium-Ion Capacitors.

Electrode materials with high conductivity and high mass transport rate are highly desirable for a variety of electrochemical energy devices but face a grand challenge to be readily prepared yet. Here, we propose the design and preparation of a nanohybrid of V2O3 nanoparticles embedded in a multichannel carbon nanofiber (V2O3@MCNF) network with high conductivity and high mass transport. We demonstrate the V2O3@MCNF shows superior capability for sodium storage with an excellent capacity of 214.3 mA h g-1 even at 5 A g-1, thanks to its high conductivity for electron transfer and facilitated mass transportation endowed by the one-dimensional conductive multichannel fiber structure. Such favorable structures and properties in V2O3@MCNFs enable them to be applied as high-performance anodes of sodium-ion hybrid capacitors (SIHCs), successfully addressing the critical kinetics imbalance between Faradaic anodes and capacitive cathodes for application of SIHCs, which show impressively high energy/power densities along with impressive cycling performance over 10,000 cycles.

A General Self-Sacrifice Template Strategy to 3D Heteroatom-Doped Macroporous Carbon for High-Performance Potassium-Ion Hybrid Capacitors.

Potassium-ion hybrid capacitors (PIHCs) tactfully combining capacitor-type cathode with battery-type anode have recently attracted increasing attentions due to their advantages of decent energy density, high power density, and low cost; the mismatches of capacity and kinetics between capacitor-type cathode and battery-type anode in PIHCs yet hinder their overall performance output. Herein, based on prediction of density functional theory calculations, we find Se/N co-doped porous carbon is a promising candidate for K+ storage and thus develop a simple and universal self-sacrifice template method to fabricate Se and N co-doped three-dimensional (3D) macroporous carbon (Se/N-3DMpC), which features favorable properties of connective hierarchical pores, expanded interlayer structure, and rich activity site for boosting pseudocapacitive activity and kinetics toward K+ storage anode and enhancing capacitance performance for the reversible anion adsorption/desorption cathode. As expected, the as-assembled PIHCs full cell with a working voltage as high as 4.0 V delivers a high energy density of 186 Wh kg-1 and a power output of 8100 W kg-1 as well as excellent long service life. The proof-of-concept PIHCs with excellent performance open a new avenue for the development and application of high-performance hybrid capacitors.