Nonflammable Phosphate-Based Electrolyte for Safe and Stable Potassium Batteries Enabled by Optimized Solvation Effect.

Current potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) are limited in safety and lifetime owing to the lack of suitable electrolyte solutions. To address these issues, herein, we report an innovative non-flammable electrolyte design strategy that leverages an optimal moderate solvation phosphate-based solvent which strikes a balance between solvation capability and salt dissociation ability, leading to superior electrochemical performance. The formulated electrolyte simultaneously exhibits the advantages of low salt concentration (only 0.6 M), low viscosity, high ionic conductivity, high oxidative stability, and safety. Our electrolyte also promotes the formation of self-limiting inorganic-rich interphases at the anode surface, alongside robust cathode-electrolyte interphase on iron-based Prussian blue analogues, mitigating electrode/electrolyte side reactions and preventing Fe dissolution. Notably, the PIBs employing our electrolyte exhibit exceptional durability, with 80% capacity retention after 2,000 cycles at high-voltage of 4.2 V in a coin cell. Impressively, in a larger scale pouch cell, it maintains over 81% of its initial capacity after 1,400 cycles at 1C-rate with high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.6%. This work represents a significant advancement toward the realization of safe, sustainable, and high-performance PIBs.

High Sensitivity Triboelectric Based Flexible Self-Powered Tactile Sensor with Bionic Fingerprint Ring Structure.

Flexible self-powered tactile sensors, with applications spanning wearable electronics, human-machine interaction, prosthetics, and soft robotics, offer real-time feedback on tactile interactions in diverse environments. Despite advances in their structural development, challenges persist in sensitivity and robustness, particularly when additional functionalities, such as high transparency and stretchability. In this study, we present a novel approach integrating a bionic fingerprint ring structure with a PVDF-HFP/AgNWs composite fiber electrode membrane, fabricated via 3D printing technology and electrospinning, respectively, yielding a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG)-based self-powered tactile sensor. The sensor demonstrates high sensitivity (5.84 V/kPa in the 0-10 kPa range) and rapid response time (10 ms), attributed to the microring texture on its surface, and exhibits exceptional robustness, maintaining electrical output integrity even after 24,000 cycles of loading. These findings highlight the potential of the microring structures in addressing critical challenges in flexible sensor technology.

Experimental Study on Liquid Metal Embrittlement of Al-Zn-Mg Aluminum Alloy (7075): From Macromechanical Property Experiment to Microscopic Characterization.

This study is a multiscale experimental investigation into the embrittlement of Al-Zn-Mg aluminum alloy (7075-T6) caused by liquid metal gallium. The results of the experiment demonstrate that the tensile strength of the 7075-T6 aluminum alloy significantly weakens with an increase in the embrittlement temperature and a prolonged embrittlement time, whereas it improves with an increase in the strain rate. On the basis of the analysis of the experimental data, the sensitivity of the embrittlement of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy by liquid gallium to the loading strain rate is significantly higher compared to other environmental factors. In addition, this study also includes several experiments for microscopic observation, such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation, Energy-Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) spectroscopy, and Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis. The experimental observations confirmed the following: (1) gallium is enriched in the intergranular space of aluminum; (2) the fracture mode of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy changes from ductile to brittle fracture; and (3) the infiltration of liquid gallium into aluminum alloys and its enrichment in the intergranular space result in the formation of new dislocation nucleation sites, in addition to the original dislocations cutting and entanglement. This reduces the material's ability to undergo plastic deformation, intensifies stress concentration at the dislocation nucleation point, and, ultimately, leads to the evolution of dislocations into cracks.

Do income-welfare satisfaction and competency enhance work engagement among Chinese nursing home caregivers? --A moderated mediating effect based on professional identity.

Due to China's aging population, there is a high demand for elderly care that is further exacerbated by the shortage of well-trained caregivers and high turnover rates in nursing homes, urgently requiring enhanced work engagement of caregivers. This study used structural equation modeling based on the survey data of Chinese caregivers in nursing homes to explore the association among income-welfare satisfaction, competency, professional identity, family support and work engagement. Findings indicated that (1) income-welfare satisfaction, competency, and professional identity all enhanced caregivers' work engagement, with professional identity being stronger. (2) Professional identity partially mediated the effects of income-welfare satisfaction and competency on work engagement, with higher values and shares of competency. (3) When family support was high, the positive effect of income-welfare satisfaction on professional identity was significant, and the mediating role of professional identity between income-welfare satisfaction and work engagement was moderated by family support.

Design of an actuator with bionic claw hook-suction cup hybrid structure for soft robot.

To improve the adaptability of soft robots to the environment and achieve reliable attachment on various surfaces such as smooth and rough, this study draws inspiration from the collaborative attachment strategy of insects, cats, and other biological claw hooks and foot pads, and designs an actuator with a bionic claw hook-suction cup hybrid structure. The rigid biomimetic pop-up claw hook linkage mechanism is combined with a flexible suction cup of a 'foot pad' to achieve a synergistic adhesion effect between claw hook locking and suction cup adhesion through the deformation control of a soft pneumatic actuator. A pop-up claw hook linkage mechanism based on the principle of cat claw movement was designed, and the attachment mechanism of the biological claw hooks and footpads was analysed. An artificial muscle-spring-reinforced flexible pneumatic actuator (SRFPA) was developed and a kinematic model of the SRFPA was established and analysed using Abaqus. Finally, a prototype of the hybrid actuator was fabricated. The kinematic and mechanical performances of the SRFPA and entire actuator were characterised, and the attachment performance of the hybrid actuator to smooth and rough surfaces was tested. The results indicate that the proposed biomimetic claw hook-suction cup hybrid structure actuator is effective for various types of surface adhesion, object grasping, and robot walking. This study provides new insights for the design of highly adaptable robots and biomimetic attachment devices.

Machine learning predictors of risk of death within 7 days in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in the intensive care unit: A multicenter retrospective study.

Non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a critical neurosurgical emergency with a high mortality rate, imposing a significant burden on both society and families. Accurate prediction of the risk of death within 7 days in SAH patients can provide valuable information for clinicians, enabling them to make better-informed medical decisions. In this study, we developed six machine learning models using the MIMIC III database and data collected at our institution. These models include Logistic Regression (LR), AdaBoosting (AB), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Bagging (BAG), Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB). The primary objective was to identify predictors of death within 7 days in SAH patients admitted to intensive care units. We employed univariate and multivariate logistic regression as well as Pearson correlation analysis to screen the clinical variables of the patients. The initially screened variables were then incorporated into the machine learning models, and the performance of these models was evaluated. Furthermore, we compared the performance differences among the six models and found that the MLP model exhibited the highest performance with an AUC of 0.913. In this study, we conducted risk factor analysis using Shapley values to identify the factors associated with death within 7 days in patients with SAH. The risk factors we identified include Gcsmotor, bicarbonate, wbc, spo2, heartrate, age, nely, glucose, aniongap, GCS, rbc, sysbp, sodium, and gcseys. To provide clinicians with a useful tool for assessing the risk of death within 7 days in SAH patients, we developed a web calculator based on the MLP machine learning model.

Temperature-dependent effects of microplastics on sediment bacteriome and metabolome.

The increasing prevalence of microplastics in the environment has become a concern for various ecosystems, including wetland ecosystems. Here, we investigated the effects of three popular microplastic types: polyethylene, polylactic acid, and tire particles at 5 °C and 25 °C on the sediment microbiome and metabolome at the 3% (w/w) level. Results indicated that temperature greatly influenced catalase and neutral phosphatase activities, whereas the type of microplastic had a more significant impact on urease and dehydrogenase activities. The addition of microplastic, especially tire particles, increased microbial diversity and significantly altered the microbial community structure and metabolic profile, leading to the formation of different clusters of microbial communities depending on the temperature. Nonetheless, the effect of temperature on the metabolite composition was less significant. Functional prediction showed that the abundance of functional genes related to metabolism and biogeochemical cycling increased with increasing temperature, especially the tire particles treatment group affected the nitrogen cycling by inhibiting ureolysis and nitrogen fixation. These observations emphasize the need to consider microplastic type and ambient temperature to fully understand the ecological impact of microplastics on microbial ecosystems.

Endothelial cell-derived RSPO3 activates Gαi1/3-Erk signaling and protects neurons from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

The current study explores the potential function and the underlying mechanisms of endothelial cell-derived R-spondin 3 (RSPO3) neuroprotection against ischemia/reperfusion-induced neuronal cell injury. In both neuronal cells (Neuro-2a) and primary murine cortical neurons, pretreatment with RSPO3 ameliorated oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD)/re-oxygenation (OGD/R)-induced neuronal cell death and oxidative injury. In neurons RSPO3 activated the Akt, Erk and ß-Catenin signaling cascade, but only Erk inhibitors reversed RSPO3-induced neuroprotection against OGD/R. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and neuronal cells, RSPO3-induced LGR4-Gab1-Gαi1/3 association was required for Erk activation, and either silencing or knockout of Gαi1 and Gαi3 abolished RSPO3-induced neuroprotection. In mice, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) increased RSPO3 expression and Erk activation in ischemic penumbra brain tissues. Endothelial knockdown or knockout of RSPO3 inhibited Erk activation in the ischemic penumbra brain tissues and increased MCAO-induced cerebral ischemic injury in mice. Conversely, endothelial overexpression of RSPO3 ameliorated MCAO-induced cerebral ischemic injury. We conclude that RSPO3 activates Gαi1/3-Erk signaling to protect neuronal cells from ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Caring load and family caregivers' burden in China: the mediating effects of social support and social exclusion.

Objective: Caring for older adults with disabilities is a source of stress for family caregivers, and the lack of social support and the pressure of social exclusion might aggravate family caregiver burden. This study aimed to examine the association between caring load and family caregivers' burden, as well as the mediating effects of social support and social exclusion. Methods: Data used in this study was derived from the nationally representative database of the aged population in China, and 3,125 households with disabled old adults and their home-bound caregivers were eventually selected for this analysis. Regression methods and mediation analysis methods were employed in this study. Results: The results indicated that there was a significant positive association between caring load and the caregiver burden, and specifically, social support intensity (rather than social support breadth) and passive social exclusion (rather than active social exclusion) played partial mediating effects. Furthermore, the contributions of mediating effects of social support intensity and passive social exclusion were 13-15 and 27-29%, respectively, and the total contribution of mediating effects was about 35-38%. Conclusion: Family caregivers' burden should be paid more attention to in the large population with rapidly aging speed like China, and more guidance services as well as support should be provided to family caregivers. In addition, it is crucial to focus on the community's social support and social exclusion in public policy innovation.

Temporal and spatial dynamic changes of planktonic bacteria community structure in Li River, China: a seasonal survey.

A combined temporal and spatial research approach helps us to evaluate the ecological status of a river scientifically and comprehensively. To understand the response mechanisms of bacteria in the Li River to different environments, we conducted a 1-year study (2020-2021) and collected water samples from 18 sections of the river in October, January, April, and August. 16S sequencing was used to study the composition and structure of bacterial communities in Li River at different temporal and spatial scales. The results showed that NO3--N, TP, T, pH, and DO were significantly different on spatial and temporal scales. Alpha diversity of planktonic bacteria in Li River fluctuated significantly with the season, reaching its highest in summer. Proteobacteria remained the most dominant phylum in all seasons, but the differential microorganisms varied between seasons. Although the abundance of metabolic functions of planktonic bacteria did not show significant differences between seasons, we found that DO, TP, T, and COD were the key environmental factors affecting bacterial metabolism. In addition, the co-occurrence network analysis showed that the autumn network had a higher number of nodes and edges and exhibited a high degree of complexity, while the summer network had the highest degree of modularity and exhibited greater stability. These results deepen our knowledge of the response mechanisms of river microorganisms to temporal and spatial changes and provide a scientific reference for the study of river ecosystems.

Flexible Wet-Spun PEDOT:PSS Microfibers Integrating Thermal-Sensing and Joule Heating Functions for Smart Textiles.

Multifunctional fiber materials play a key role in the field of smart textiles. Temperature sensing and active thermal management are two important functions of smart fabrics, but few studies have combined both functions in a single fiber material. In this work, we demonstrate a temperature-sensing and in situ heating functionalized conductive polymer microfiber by exploiting its high electrical conductivity and thermoelectric properties. The conductive polymer microfibers were prepared by wet-spinning the PEDOT:PSS aqueous dispersion with ionic liquid additives, which was used to enhance the electrical and mechanical properties of the final microfibers. The thermoelectric properties of these microfibers were further studied. Due to their excellent flexibility and mechanical properties, these fibers can be easily integrated into commercial fabrics for the manufacture of smart textiles through knitting. We further demonstrated a smart glove with integrated temperature-sensing and in situ heating functions, and further explored thermoelectric fiber-based temperature-sensing array fabric. These works combine the thermoelectric properties and heating function of conductive polymer fibers, providing new insights that enable further development of high-performance, multifunctional wearable smart textiles.

Functional Hearing Impairment, Psychological Resilience, and Social Well-Being Among Chinese Older Adults in Low-Income Households.

PURPOSE: Hearing loss (HL) is prevalent and relates to social health in old age. This study aims to examine the association between functional HL and social well-being (SWB) in older adults and to investigate whether psychological resilience mediates this association. METHOD: The analytical sample of 4,531 older adults aged ≥ 60 years was from the Sample Survey on Vulnerable Populations from Poor Families in Urban/Rural China (2018). SWB was measured by social networks and social engagement using the Lubben Social Network Scale and Index of Social Engagement Scale, respectively. Functional hearing impairment was defined by a dichotomized measure of self-perceived hearing difficulty. Psychological resilience was assessed by a 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Structural equation modeling was performed to determine associations of HL with SWB and the mediating roles of psychological resilience. RESULTS: Functional HL was associated with reduced SWB among older adults living in low-income households. Hearing-impaired individuals were more likely to be socially isolated and less socially engaged compared to those with normal hearing. The association persisted in gender subsamples and in non-low-income households but not in older adults aged ≥ 70 years. Psychological resilience partially mediated the association of hearing impairment with SWB, accounting for 50.9% of the variance in the change of SWB. CONCLUSIONS: Functional hearing impairment may be a modifiable risk factor for social restrictions and downstream older adults' health. Promotion of hearing health care and accessibility to coping resources including psychological support may improve social wellness among the older adults and benefit healthy aging. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22750736.

Overcoming resistance to immunotherapy by targeting GPR84 in myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) were found to gradually accumulate in the orthotopic esophageal cancer mouse model during tumor progression. Although the roles of MDSCs in promoting tumor growth and inhibiting immune response have been extensively explored, currently, there are still no effective means for targeting MDSCs clinically. The deficiency of specific markers of MDSCs was responsible for the limited strategy to eliminating in clinic. This study identified that GPR84 was exclusively overexpressed on MDSCs. It was further found that GPR84 was prominently expressed on MDSCs in clinical samples and tumor mouse models, which drives the immunosuppression on CD8+T cells by inhibiting PD-L1 degradation in lysosomes. Furthermore, G-CSF and GM-CSF were found to induce GPR84 expression through the STAT3/C/EBPß signaling pathway. In addition, GPR84+MDSCs and PD-L1+MDSCs were highly accumulated in anti-PD-1 therapy-resistant patients with esophageal cancer, and high GPR84 signature risk was verified as a negative factor for the overall survival of patients with anti-PD-1 treatment. Finally, GPR84 antagonism combined with an anti-PD-1 antibody enhanced the antitumor responses. Therefore, targeting GPR84 enhanced anti-PD-1 efficacy in esophageal cancer and other malignant tumors. This combination therapy has the potential for tumor therapy in clinics.

Nonlinear Viscoelasticity and Toughening Mechanisms in Nanoclay-PNIPAAm Double Network Hydrogels.

We investigate the mechanical properties of a magnetic temperature-sensitive hydrogel at varying concentrations of covalent and physical cross-linking. The hydrogel consists of covalently cross-linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), physically interacting nanoclay particles, and magnetic ferric oxide nanoparticles. The physical nanoclay network exhibits strong viscoplastic behavior, and we find that increasing nanoclay content improves both strength and toughness in the double network materials. We investigate the behavior of the gels using a nonlinear viscoplasticity model with a modified rule of mixtures approach and attribute the observed trends to two factors: (a) the yield-stress behavior of the nanoclay network and (b) load-sharing interactions between the PNIPAAm and the nanoclay. Our findings indicate a strong correlation between the mass ratio of covalent cross-linker used and fractional percolation of the PNIPAAm network.

Distribution of the compression and expansion of morbidity in 194 countries and territories, 1990-2016: The role of income inequality.

Studies on detailed types of health changes and the associations between the types and income inequality are inadequate. This study analyses the global distribution of the compression and expansion of morbidity in 194 countries and territories between 1990 and 2016, and investigates the role of income inequality in the distribution. This study shows that all seven types of health changes coexist, despite being distributed unevenly. The relative expansion of morbidity with increased or constant life expectancy (Type 6, 54.48%) is the most popular type, followed by the relative compression of morbidity with increased or constant life expectancy (Type 3, 30.71%). Income distribution within a society matters for health changes. Societies with greater income inequality tend to have Type 6, a worse scenario of health changes. Measures to reduce income inequality or mitigate its adverse effects will contribute to the relative compression of morbidity with increased or constant life expectancy.

P/Pb transport at the interface of water and Al-substituted ferrihydrite: Effect of P/Pb loading sequence.

Sediment mineral such as Al-substituted ferrihydrite plays a critical role for contaminant transport in the river systems. Heavy metals and nutrient pollutants often coexisted in the natural aquatic environment, and they may enter the river at different time frames, altering the fate and transport of each other subsequently discharged into the river. However, most studies focused on the simultaneous adsorption of co-existing pollutants instead of their loading sequence. In this study, the transport of P and Pb at the interface of Al-substituted ferrihydrite and water was investigated under different P and Pb loading sequences. The results showed that preloaded P provided additional adsorption sites for the following adsorption of Pb, with enhanced Pb adsorption amount and accelerated adsorption process. Moreover, Pb preferred to be bounded with the preloaded P to form P-O-Pb ternary complexes rather than directly reacted with Fe-OH. The formation of the ternary complexes effectively prevented the release of Pb once adsorbed. However, the adsorption of P was slightly affected by the preloaded Pb, and most of the P were adsorbed onto Al-substituted ferrihydrite directly with the formation of Fe/Al-O-P. Moreover, the release process of the preloaded Pb was significantly inhibited by the following adsorbed P due to the formation of Pb-O-P. Meanwhile, the release of P was not detected from all P and Pb loaded samples of different adding sequence due to the high affinity between P and the mineral. Thus, the transport of Pb at the interface of Al-substituted ferrihydrite was seriously influenced by the adding sequence of Pb and P, while the transport of P was not sensitive to the adding sequence. The results provided important information for the transport of heavy metal and nutrients in river system with different discharging sequence, and offered new insights to further understand the secondary pollution in multi-contaminated river.

Robust five-degree-of-freedom measurement system with self-compensation and air turbulence protection.

A robust five-degree-of-freedom (5-DOF) measurement system is proposed in this paper. The compact optical configuration with high resolution is designed based on lens combination and multiple reflections. Beam drift and dual-beam parallelism are monitored and compensated by autocollimator units and a polarizer unit respectively. In addition, a protection method is proposed to reduce the intensity of air turbulence by reducing the Reynolds number of the beam path. The performance of the system is verified by experiments. The experimental results show that the self-compensation methods and air turbulence protection can effectively improve the accuracy and stability of the system under the long-term interference of external environments. The proposed system has high precision, desirable robustness, and convenient pre-calibration, which can be used for error measurement of precision machines.

Microplastics existence affected heavy metal affinity to ferrihydrite as a representative sediment mineral.

The coexistence of minerals, heavy metals and microplastics in sediment has been widely reported, while the interactions between minerals and heavy metals may be affected by the presence of microplastics. Therefore, to elucidate the effect of microplastics on the interactions between heavy metals and sediment minerals, this study conducted a series of experiments using polystyrene (PS) microplastics, Pb/Cr/Cd and ferrihydrite (Fh). The presence of PS microplastics with ferrihydrite (Fh-MPs200, mass ratio of ferrihydrite to PS of 200:1) improved the adsorption capacity of ferrihydrite, especially with an increase of 36 % for Pb. Morphological characterization demonstrated that the nano-ferrihydrite particles were dispersed on the surface of the PS microplastics, increasing the available reaction sites of the ferrihydrite particles. Furthermore, the results of zeta potential and pH effect showed that the reduction in electrostatic repulsion after adding PS was another critical reason for the increase in Pb adsorption by Fh-MP200. As a result, the presence of PS microplastics enhanced the complexation of Pb ions and the hydroxyl groups on the ferrihydrite surface. This study demonstrated that the presence of microplastics in the sedimentary environment can alter the dispersion and surface properties of minerals, thereby affecting the accumulation and transportation of heavy metals at the water-sediment interface.

IPV Experiences and Financial Strain Over Time: Insights from the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition Analysis.

Financial strain is one hardship faced by female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is often overlooked. This paper examined the relationships between multiple forms of abuse-with a focus on economic abuse-and financial strain. Guided by stress process model, this study tested two hypotheses: (1) economic abuse is associated with financial strain more than other types of IPV; and (2) decreased economic abuse relates to financial strain over time. The study sample consists of 229 female IPV survivors who participated in a longitudinal, randomized controlled study evaluating an economic empowerment curriculum. Results from regression models suggest that physical abuse and economic abuse were significantly and positively associated with the magnitude of financial strain. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was used to partition the mean differences of financial strain over time that was mainly attributed to the decrease in economic and physical abuse (78%). Particularly, the decrease of economic abuse contributed to over half (58%) of the decrease in financial strain over time. Advocates should assess survivors' risk of economic abuse, evaluate financial strain, and utilize financial safety planning skills to help survivors build economic security and independence. In addition, policy makers should address issues concerning economic security among female IPV survivors.