Poly(3-Methylthiophene)/Graphene Composite Cathode for Rechargeable Aluminum-Ion Batteries.

To reduce the dependence on traditional fossil energy, developing efficient energy storage systems is urgent. The reserves of aluminum resources in the earth's crust are extremely rich, which makes aluminum-ion batteries a promising competitor of new energy storage devices. Here, we report a poly(3-methylthiophene)/graphene (P3TH/Graphene) composite as the cathode of an aluminum-ion battery. The adjustment of polymer chain spacing by the methyl side chain provides a channel conducive to the transport of large-size AlCl4- complexes. The addition of electron donor groups also changes the electron delocalization characteristics of polymers and improves the specific capacity of the material. At the same time, the in situ composite of graphene can enhance the Π-Π interaction to form a favorable electronic transmission channel. At a current density of 200 mA g-1, the P3TH/Graphene composite showed a specific capacity of ∼150 mA g-1. The flexible structure of the polymer also guarantees the excellent rate capability of the composite.

Methyl-Symmetrically Substituted Poly(3,4-Dimethylthiophene) as Cathode for Aluminum Ion Batteries.

The aggravation of energy problems and the scarcity of lithium resources have forced us to look for new energy storage systems. Aluminum ion batteries, as a promising energy storage system, have the advantages of environmental friendliness and abundant aluminum resources, and have the potential for application in large-scale energy storage and personal portable electronic devices. To solve the stability problem of aluminum ion batteries during cycling for large-scale energy storage needs, we report a polythiophene-based conductive polymer, poly(3,4-dimethylthiophene) (PDMT), as a high performance cathode material for aluminum ion batteries. By introducing two methyl groups on the thiophene ring, we successfully adjust the local charge density of the heterocyclic thiophene, thus changing the electron delocalization characteristics, and improving the electrochemical reaction activity of the polythiophene (PTH) material as a redox electrode material. This also maintains the symmetry and regularity of the polymer structure, giving the material better cycling stability. The discharge specific capacity reaches 110 mAh g-1 at a current density of 200 mA g-1, far exceeding conventional PTH cathodes (~70 mAh g-1), and the capacity retention rate is 92.7 % after 1000 cycles. It also shows excellent rate performance due to the flexible structure of the conductive polymer.

Noise insensitive volumetric fusion method for enhanced photoacoustic microscopy.

Significance: Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging imaging modality that combines the high contrast of optical imaging and the high penetration of acoustic imaging. However, the strong focusing of the laser beam in optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) leads to a limited depth-of-field (DoF). Aim: Here, a volumetric photoacoustic information fusion method was proposed to achieve large volumetric photoacoustic imaging at low cost. Approach: First, the initial decision map was built through the focus detection based on the proposed three-dimensional Laplacian operator. Majority filter-based consistency verification and Gaussian filter-based map smoothing were then utilized to generate the final decision map for the construction of photoacoustic imaging with extended DoF. Results: The performance of the proposed method was tested to show that our method can expand the limited DoF by a factor of 1.7 without the sacrifice of lateral resolution. Four sets of multi-focus vessel data at different noise levels were fused to verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. Conclusions: The proposed method can efficiently extend the DoF of OR-PAM under different noise levels.

A novel strategy of engineering genetically encoded probe for ultrasensitive sensing Hg2+ with unusual planar trigonometric coordination configuration.

At present, few genetically encoded fluorescent probes are currently available for the analysis of toxic heavy metal ions, and most have poor performance that cannot meet the requirements of sensitive and dynamic detection in living cells. In this study, we designed a single fluorescent protein-based probe sfGFP-MerBD, which can specifically response to Hg2+ with high binding affinity and wide dynamic range. More importantly, the developing probe can timely and reversibly monitor changes of Hg2+ concentration in living mammalian cells. The excellent performance of this probe is largely due to the recognition element of the probe, MerBD, which adopts an unusual planar trigonometric coordination configuration with Hg2+, and the coordination can cause enough conformational change to influence the fluorescence of skeleton protein sfGFP coupled with it. The small peptide MerBD was delicately designed based on the three-dimensional structure of metalloprotein MerR. This novel design strategy solves the challenging problems that there are few natural functional proteins in the process of constructing fluorescent probes for toxic metal ions and some functional proteins cannot be directly used as recognition elements. Based on the new strategy, more genetically encoded fluorescent probes of toxic heavy metal ions can be efficiently constructed and applied in the future.

High-resolution volumetric information fusion for depth of field enhancement in photoacoustic microscopy.

Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy suffers from limited depth of field due to the strongly focused laser beam. Here, a novel volumetric information fusion is proposed to achieve large volumetric and high-resolution imaging. First, three-dimensional stationary wavelet transform was performed on the multi-focus data to obtain eight wavelet coefficients. Differential evolution based on joint weighted evaluation was then employed to optimize the block size of division for each wavelet coefficient. The proposed fusion rule using standard deviation for focus detection was used to fuse the corresponding sub-coefficients. Finally, photoacoustic imaging with large depth of field can be achieved by the inverse stationary wavelet transform. Performance test shows that the depth of field of photoacoustic imaging can be doubled without sacrificing lateral resolution. The proposed volumetric information fusion can further promote the capability of volumetric imaging of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy and will be helpful in the acquisition of physiological and pathological process.

A Framework for Multiclass Contour Visualization.

Multiclass contour visualization is often used to interpret complex data attributes in such fields as weather forecasting, computational fluid dynamics, and artificial intelligence. However, effective and accurate representations of underlying data patterns and correlations can be challenging in multiclass contour visualization, primarily due to the inevitable visual cluttering and occlusions when the number of classes is significant. To address this issue, visualization design must carefully choose design parameters to make visualization more comprehensible. With this goal in mind, we proposed a framework for multiclass contour visualization. The framework has two components: a set of four visualization design parameters, which are developed based on an extensive review of literature on contour visualization, and a declarative domain-specific language (DSL) for creating multiclass contour rendering, which enables a fast exploration of those design parameters. A task-oriented user study was conducted to assess how those design parameters affect users' interpretations of real-world data. The study results offered some suggestions on the value choices of design parameters in multiclass contour visualization.

A sacrificial protective layer as fouling control strategy for nanofiltration in water treatment.

High-performance nanofiltration (NF) membrane with super antifouling capability as well as reusability is highly desired in water treatment. A new antifouling strategy by a coating-decoating-recoating cycle was investigated for effective removal of fouling and restoring the original membrane performance. The functional membrane surface was fabricated by in-situ coating a 'green' and biodegradable carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) layer as physical barrier. The CMCS layer can be decoated and re-coated by simple procedures. Results showed that (i) the CMCS layer enhanced surface hydrophilicity, surface smoothness and fouling resistance of NF membrane, (ii) both the unfouled and fouled CMCS layer were easily decoated by the strong acid solution, (iii) the CMCS layer was easily re-coated by facile recoating and (iv) the water flux recovery ratio of membrane with coating layer was maintained more than 88.8% during fouling testing by natural organic matter (NOM) after four sequential cycles of coating, decoating and recoating process. The re-coated membrane exhibited stable, improved membrane operational and antifouling performance. The coating-decoating-recoating approach is proven to be low-cost and eco-friendly strategy for NOM fouling control on NF membrane in water treatment applications.

Toll-like receptor 4-mediated necroptosis in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis.

BACKGROUND: Dramatic intestinal epithelial cell death leading to barrier dysfunction is one of the mechanism of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), in which Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a pivotal role. This study explored the role of necroptosis, a drastic way of cell death in NEC. METHODS: The expression of necroptotic proteins was tested in NEC intestinal tissue and compared with controls. NEC was induced in neonatal wild-type mice and a necroptosis inhibitor was given to investigate whether NEC could be relieved. The general condition, macroscopic scoring, and histological evaluations were performed. The expression of tight junction proteins, inflammatory cytokines, and necroptosis-related proteins was measured, and barrier function was examined. Then, NEC was induced in TLR4-knockout pups to confirm the role of TLR4 in necroptosis. RESULTS: Necroptotic proteins were significantly upregulated in both NEC patient and animal models, together with the expression of TLR4. NEC could be relieved and inflammatory infiltration was decreased by necrostatin-1s. TLR4-knockout mice showed milder tissue degradation and less necroptosis after NEC induction. CONCLUSIONS: Necroptosis is an essential pathological process of NEC. TLR4 may be one stimulator of necroptosis in NEC. Inhibiting the intestinal cell necroptosis might be a useful strategy in the treatment of NEC. IMPACT: Necroptosis is a key pathological process in NEC, which appears to involve TLR4. Anti-necroptosis treatment is a promising strategy that could significantly relieve the symptoms of NEC.

Stimuli-Responsive Lysozyme Nanocapsule Engineered Microfiltration Membranes with a Dual-Function of Anti-Adhesion and Antibacteria for Biofouling Mitigation.

Biofouling remains as a persistent problem impeding the applications of membranes for water and wastewater treatment. Green anti-biofouling of membranes made of natural and environmentally friendly materials and methods is a promising strategy to tackle this problem. Herein, we have developed a functionalized PVDF membrane with stimuli-responsive lysozyme nanocapsules (NCP). These nanocapsules can responsively release lysozyme according to environmental stimuli (pH and redox) induced by bacteria. Results showed that (i) the surface of the functionalized membrane with NCP had enhanced hydrophilicity, reduced roughness, and negative charge, (ii) a remarkable reduction of adsorption of proteins, polysaccharides, and bacteria was achieved by the functionalized membrane, and (iii) the colony forming unit (CFU) of bacteria on a membrane surface was reduced more than 80% within 24 h of contact. In addition, the NCP membrane showed excellent anti-biofouling activity regarding the bacterial viability being 12.5 and 8.3% on the membrane after filtration with 108 CFU mL-1 Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus solution as feed, respectively. The coating layer and assembled nanocapsules endowed the membrane with improved lysozyme stability, anti-adhesion performance, and antibacterial activity. Stimuli-responsive lysozyme nanocapsule engineered microfiltration membranes show great potential for anti-biofouling in future practical application.

R-Map: A Map Metaphor for Visualizing Information Reposting Process in Social Media.

We propose R-Map (Reposting Map), a visual analytical approach with a map metaphor to support interactive exploration and analysis of the information reposting process in social media. A single original social media post can cause large cascades of repostings (i.e., retweets) on online networks, involving thousands, even millions of people with different opinions. Such reposting behaviors form the reposting tree, in which a node represents a message and a link represents the reposting relation. In R-Map, the reposting tree structure can be spatialized with highlighted key players and tiled nodes. The important reposting behaviors, the following relations and the semantics relations are represented as rivers, routes and bridges, respectively, in a virtual geographical space. R-Map supports a scalable overview of a large number of information repostings with semantics. Additional interactions on the map are provided to support the investigation of temporal patterns and user behaviors in the information diffusion process. We evaluate the usability and effectiveness of our system with two use cases and a formal user study.

Athermal forward osmosis process for the concentration of liquid egg white: Process performance and improved physicochemical property of protein.

The concentrated liquid egg white (LEW) by dewatering process displays the remarkable advantages. However, the concentration process was hindered by the high viscosity and heat sensitivity of LEW. Forward osmosis (FO) as an emerging membrane technology to concentrate LEW was evaluated for the first time in this study. The effects of process conditions on FO flux, fouling control, and product quality were investigated. The LEW can be concentrated up to about 2.1 folds by a single FO process. Flux decline (up to 80%) occurred during the process which was attributed to membrane fouling and dilution of draw solution. However, the membrane fouling could be mitigated by higher cross-flow velocity and the flux could be recovered up to 100% by osmotic backwash. There was no significant leakage of draw solutes and loss of protein in LEW during FO process. The concentration of LEW resulted in a promoted products quality.

Copper metal-organic frameworks loaded on chitosan film for the efficient inhibition of bacteria and local infection therapy.

Although multiple advanced antibacterial and sterilization materials are available, bacterial infections still remain a big challenge in wound healing as they usually induce serious complications and cannot be thoroughly eliminated. Herein, we report an antibacterial film composed of the naturally derived polysaccharide chitosan (CS) and a copper metal-organic framework (HKUST-1) as a multifunctional platform for antibacterial and local infection therapy applications. As expected, the as-prepared HKUST-1/CS film possessed versatile abilities such as slow release of copper ions and reduced cytotoxicity; moreover, fluorescent staining and morphological changes of the bacteria treated with the HKUST-1/CS film confirmed the antibacterial activity of the fabricated film. Furthermore, in vivo results revealed that the HKUST-1/CS film could simultaneously kill bacteria and promote vessel regeneration; this resulted in an enhanced wound closure rate during the local infection therapy process. Overall, these results highlight that the HKUST-1/CS film exhibits significant potential as a suitable and promising wound dressing.

Rapid and selective fluorometric determination of tannic acid using MoO3-x quantum dots.

The authors describe a fluorometric method for the quantification of tannic acid (TA). MoO3-x quantum dots (QDs) can selectively capture TA via the formation of an organic molybdate complex. This causes an electron transfer effect and an inner filter effect to result in synergistic quenching of the fluorescence of the QDs. TA can be detected via this effect with a linear response in the of 0.1-10 µM concentration range and a lower detection limit of 30 nM within 1 min. The use of such QDs as a quenchable fluorescent probe warrants good selectivity even in the presence of relatively high concentration of potentially interferents and makes the method suitable for real sample analysis. Graphical abstract Tannic acid can be rapidly and selectively detected in food using a MoO3-x quantum dots based fluorometric assay.

Fluorometric determination of dopamine by using molybdenum disulfide quantum dots.

A method is described for the rapid fluorometric determination of dopamine (DA) by using molybdenum disulfide quantum dots (MoS2 QDs) that were fabricated via an ammonium hydroxide etching method. The probe has a fluorescence (with excitation/emission peaks at 267/380 nm) that is quenched by DA with high selectivity over various interferences. This is attributed to a reaction that occurs between DA and the molybdate ions in pH 9 solutions of MoS2 QDs. The formation of organic molybdate complexes and of dopamine-quinone results in strong quenching of the fluorescence of the QDs which is due to both electron transfer and an inner filter effect. Under the optimum conditions, the assay works in the 0.1-100 µM DA concentration range, with two linear ranges and a 10 nM detection limit. The method was applied to the determination of DA in spiked artificial urine samples, where it gave recoveries ranging from 97.6 to 102.2%, demonstrating that the method a promising tool for rapid and selective detection of DA. Graphical abstract MoS2 QDs are facilely synthesized via the etching effect of ammonium hydroxide for highly selective fluorometric detection of dopamine.

In-Situ Fixation of All-Inorganic Mo-Fe-S Clusters for the Highly Selective Removal of Lead(II).

The selective adsorption by suitable substrate materials is considered one of the most economical methods. In this work, an all-inorganic bimetallic Mo-Fe-S cluster is facilely achieved through in situ chemical fixation of tetrathiomolybdate (TTM) on Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) at room temperature (donated as FeMoS NPs). The bimetallic building blocks on the obtained FeMoS NPs possess a monovacancy species of sulfur, endowing FeMoS NPs with a selectivity order of Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ < Cd2+ ≪ Cu2+ < Pb2+ for metal-ion adsorption, a novel application for the Mo-Fe-S clusters. Particularly, with the highest selectivity for Pb2+ (Kd ≈ 107), which is about 3 × 103-1 × 106 times higher than those for other ions and has exceeded that of a series of outstanding sorbents reported for Pb2+, FeMoS NPs can efficiently reduce the concentration of Pb2+ from ∼10 ppm to an extremely low level of ∼1 ppb. This facile and rational fabrication of the Mo-Fe-S cluster with Fe3O4 represents a feasible approach to cheaply develop novel and efficient materials for the selective removal of lead(II).