Multilayered NiMo/CoMn/Ni Cathodic Electrodes with Enhanced Activity and Stability toward Alkaline Water Electrolysis.

In this study, multilayered NiMo/CoMn/Ni cathodic electrodes were prepared by the multilayered electrodeposition method. The multilayered structure includes a nickel screen substrate, CoMn nanoparticles at the bottom, and cauliflower-like NiMo nanoparticles at the top. The multilayered electrodes have a lower overpotential, preferable stability, and better electrocatalytic performance than monolayer electrodes. In a three-electrode system, the overpotentials of the multilayered NiMo/CoMn/Ni cathodic electrodes at 10 and 500 mA/cm2 are only 28.7 and 259.1 mV, respectively. The overpotential rise rate of the electrodes after constant current tests at 200 and 500 mA/cm2 was 4.42 and 8.74 mV/h, respectively, and the overpotential rise rate after 1000 cycles of cyclic voltammetry of the electrodes was 1.9 mV/h, while the overpotential rise rate after the three stability tests of the nickel screen was 5.49, 11.42, and 5.1 mV/h. According to the Tafel extrapolation polarization curve, the Ecorr and Icorr of the electrodes were -0.3267 V and 1.954 × 10-5 A/cm2, respectively. The charge transfer rate of the electrodes is slightly slower than that of the monolayer electrodes, indicating that its corrosion resistance is more excellent. An electrolytic cell was designed for the overall water-splitting test, and the current density of the electrodes was 121.6 mA/cm2 at 1.8 V. In addition, the stability of the electrodes is excellent after intermittent testing for 50 h, which can greatly reduce power consumption and is more suitable for industrial overall water-splitting tests. In addition, the three-dimensional model was used to simulate the three-electrode system and alkaline water electrolytic cell system, and the simulation results are consistent with the experimental results. The hydrogen adsorption free energy (ΔGH) of the electrodes was -1.0191 eV, which was evaluated by density functional theory (DFT). The ΔGH is closer to zero than that of the monolayer electrodes, indicating that the surface has stronger adsorption of hydrogen atoms.

Moderate static magnetic fields enhance antitumor CD8+ T cell function by promoting mitochondrial respiration.

With the discovery of magnetoreceptor mechanisms in animals, it materialized the novel applications of controlling cell and animal behaviors using magnetic fields. T cells have shown to be sensitive to magnetic fields. Here, we reported that exposure to moderate SMFs (static magnetic fields) led to increased granule and cytokine secretion as well as ATP production and mitochondrial respiration from CD8+ T cells. These effects were inhibited by knocking down the Uqcrb and Ndufs6 genes of mitochondrial respiratory chain, whose transcriptions were regulated by candidate magnetoreceptor genes Isca1 and Cry1/Cry2. SMF exposure also promoted CD8+ T cell granule and cytokine secretion and repressed tumor growth in vivo. SMFs enhanced CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity, and the adoptive transfer into tumor-bearing mice resulted in enhanced antitumor effects. Collectively, our study suggests that moderate SMFs enhance CD8+ T cell cytotoxicity by promoting mitochondrial respiration and promoted the antitumor function of CD8+ T cells.

The evolution of zebrafish RAG2 protein is required for adapting to the elevated body temperature of the higher endothermic vertebrates.

The recombination activating gene (RAG or RAG1/RAG2 complex)-mediated adaptive immune system is a hallmark of jawed vertebrates. It has been reported that RAG originated in invertebrates. However, whether RAG further evolved once it arose in jawed vertebrates remains largely unknown. Here, we found that zebrafish RAG (zRAG) had a lower activity than mouse RAG (mRAG). Intriguingly, the attenuated stability of zebrafish RAG2 (zRAG2), but not zebrafish RAG1, caused the reduced V(D)J recombination efficiency compared to mRAG at 37 °C which are the body temperature of most endotherms except birds. Importantly, the lower temperature 28 °C, which is the best temperature for zebrafish growth, made the recombination efficiency of zRAG similar to that of mRAG by improving the stability of zRAG2. Consistent with the prementioned observation, the V(D)J recombination of Rag2KI/KI mice, which zRAG2 was substituted for mRAG2, was also severely impaired. Unexpectedly, Rag2KI/KI mice developed cachexia syndromes accompanied by premature death. Taken together, our findings illustrate that the evolution of zebrafish RAG2 protein is required for adapting to the elevated body temperature of the higher endothermic vertebrates.