MRI Differential Diagnosis and Guidance for Puncture Biopsy of Musculoskeletal Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma and Well Differentiated Liposarcoma.

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the significantly different imaging characteristics of musculoskeletal dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLP) and well differentiated liposarcoma (WDLP) on MRI, which in turn could guide puncture biopsy. Materials and Methods: This study included 14 patients with DDLP and 16 patients with WDLP, all of whom were confirmed by histopathological examination. The MRI manifestations of these two pathologies were retrospectively reviewed and compared. Furthermore, a step-by-step procedure regarding preoperative puncture biopsy of fatty masses that are suspicious for WD/DD was designed. Results: Fatty signals can be found in almost all WDs, with a greater proportion of non-fatty areas in DD compared to WD, and it is reasonable to consider WD more likely when the non-fatty areas of the tumor are <25% (p < 0.05), while it is reasonable to consider DD more likely when the non-fatty areas of the tumor are >50% (p < 0.05), and the MRI signals in DD are more complex, inhomogeneous (p < 0.01), usually showed significant enhancement (p < 0.01), and the margins of the tumor were usually indistinct (p < 0.01); and imaging features such as tumor size, vascularity, necrosis, and peritumoral edema did not serve as distinguishing features between the two (p > 0.05). Conclusion: DD has a greater proportion of non-fatty components, with more complex and inhomogeneous MRI signals, and typically shows significant enhancement, with usually indistinct margins of the tumor, in which the inhomogeneous manifestations are associated with the histological components. The possibility of DD should be considered in fatty tumors with non-fatty areas > 25%, for which puncture biopsy is necessary, while simultaneous puncture of low, moderate, high-signal areas within the non-fatty area could improve the accuracy of preoperative puncture pathology.

Effect of salinity on the toxicokinetics, oxidative stress, and metallothionein gene expression in Meretrix meretrix exposed to cadmium.

To understand the effect of salinity on the toxicokinetics, oxidative stress, and detoxification of cadmium-exposed Meretrix meretrix, M. meretrix were acclimatized to different salinities (8, 14, 20, 26, and 32 ppt) for 14 d, exposed to 10 µg/L Cd for 7 d, followed by a 28-day depuration period. The internal Cd concentration was determined, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)), and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content were measured. The mRNA expression levels of antioxidant enzyme (Cu/Zn SOD, CAT) and detoxification-related genes metallothionein (MT) were analyzed. The mean concentrations of Cd in M. meretrix tissues were in the order gill > digestive gland > mantle > axe foot. The Cd uptake rate in the four tissues decreased with increasing salinity (range: 14-26 ppt). The Cd elimination half-lives were the highest at 8 ppt and 14 ppt salinity. Cadmium activated the four oxidative stress-related related enzymes in the gills. At the end of accumulation period, Cd exposure at 20 ppt salinity significantly increased the expression of Cu/Zn SOD. CAT expression was significantly inhibited at 20 ppt salinity, but was induced at 32 ppt. MT mRNA expression was only induced under Cd at 20 ppt salinity. At the end of depuration period, Cu/Zn SOD expression was inhibited at salinities of 8, 14, and 26 ppt. The results indicated that SOD, CAT, GST, MDA, Cu/Zn SOD, CAT, and MT were sensitive to cadmium in a water environment, and can be used as indicators of marine heavy metal pollution.

A telomere-to-telomere reference genome of ficus (Ficus hispida) provides new insights into sex determination.

A high-quality reference genome is indispensable for resolving biologically essential traits. Ficus hispida is a dioecious plant. A complete Ficus reference genome will be crucial for understanding their sex evolution and important biological characteristics, such as aerial roots, mutualistic symbiosis with ficus-wasps, and fruiting from old stems. Here, we generated a telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome for F. hispida using PacBio HiFi and Oxford Nanopore Ultra-long sequencing technologies. The genome contiguity and completeness has shown improvement compared with the previously released genome, with the annotation of six centromeres and 28 telomeres. We have refined our previously reported 2-Mb male-specific region into a 7.2-Mb genomic region containing 51 newly predicted genes and candidate sex-determination genes AG2 and AG3. Many of these genes showed extremely low expression, likely attributed to hypermethylation in the gene body and promoter regions. Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) revealed that AG2 and AG3 are related to the regulation of stamen development in male flowers, while the AG1 gene is responsible for regulating female flowers' defense responses and secondary metabolite processes. Comparative analysis of GRNs showed that the NAC, WRKY, and MYB transcription factor families dominate the female GRN, whereas the MADS and MYB transcription factor families are prevalent in the male GRN.

Downregulation of Gadd45ß alleviates osteoarthritis by repressing lipopolysaccharide-induced fibroblast-like synoviocyte inflammation, proliferation and migration.

OBJECTIVE: Gadd45ß have a regulatory role in cellular inflammation, proliferation and migration. However, the role of Gadd45ß in synovial inflammation in osteoarthritis (OA) remains to be explored. This study aimed to ascertain whether Gadd45ß is involved in OA synovial inflammation. METHODS: The rat model was induced by sodium iodoacetate and the cellular model was constructed with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). siRNA was applied to interfere with the expression of intracellular Gadd45ß. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting were used to detect the expression of Gadd45ß mRNA and protein. The inflammation, proliferation, and migration of OA-FLSs were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, cell scratch assay, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine assay, etc. The effect of downregulation of Gadd45ß on the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway was investigated. RESULTS: Expression of Gadd45ß in OA rat synovial tissues and OA-FLSs was increased, and LPS treatment promoted cell proliferation and enhanced cell migration. Gadd45ß interference inhibited the inflammation, proliferation and migration of cells induced by LPS. LPS promoted P65 expression in the nucleus and activated the NF-κB signaling pathway, whereas si-Gadd45ß reversed this situation. CONCLUSIONS: si-Gadd45ß inhibited the inflammatory response, proliferation and migration of FLSs, and activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, which could delay the progression of OA. Hence, it may become a potential therapeutic target for OA.

The correlation of left atrial diameter with preserved ejection fraction, reduced ejection fraction, and mid-range ejection fraction.

BACKGROUND: In patients with heart failure, left atrial remodeling often occurs to varying degrees. Left atrial enlargement has been proved to be an important predictor of cardiovascular-related adverse events. However, the relationship between left atrial diameter (LAD) with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) remains unclear. HYPOTHESIS: We want to explore the correlation between left atrial diameter and HFpEF, HFmrEF, and HFrEF. METHODS: A total of 210 patients with heart failure who underwent hospitalization in Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Zhejiang, China, from January 1, 2020, to June 31, 2021, were reviewed. The basic demographic characteristics, blood test, and the related indexes of echocardiography of the subjects were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: There is a significant difference between HFpEF and HFrEF group in LAD (p = .007), and LAD is negatively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (p = .002, r = -.209). CONCLUSION: LAD is negatively correlated with LVEF, which may predict the prevalence of HFrEF.

Factors associated with follow-up attendance of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the postoperative follow-up attendance of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients, evaluated some of the factors associated with it, and assessed its relationship with early detection of postoperative disease progression. METHODS: An exploratory retrospective cohort study of 430 OSCC patients was conducted. We examined associations of follow-up attendance within the first year after surgery with selected demographic and clinical factors, and with early detection of disease progression. RESULTS: The mean number of follow-up visits within the first year after surgery was 3.9 out of the 12 recommended at our center; few patients were fully adherent. Age ≥70 years, unmarried status, high education level, and negative history of surgery for premalignant or malignant lesions from oral cavity or other sites were significantly associated with lower follow-up attendance. Greater follow-up attendance was significantly associated with early detection of disease progression during the first year after surgery (p = 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to follow-up visits was poor. Several sociodemographic and clinical factors were related to follow-up attendance, greater follow-up attendance was significantly associated with early detection of disease progression, and these should be further explored in future research.

Diagnostic biomarker panels of osteoarthritis: UPLC-QToF/MS-based serum metabolic profiling.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in the world, characterized by pain and loss of joint function, which has led to a serious reduction in the quality of patients' lives. In this work, ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QToF/MS) in conjunction with multivariate pattern recognition methods and an univariate statistical analysis scheme were applied to explore the serum metabolic signatures within OA group (n = 31), HC (healthy controls) group (n = 57) and non-OA group (n = 19) for early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of OA. Based on logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, seven metabolites, including phosphatidylcholine (18:0/22:6), p-cresol sulfate and so on, were identified as critical metabolites for the diagnosis of OA and HC and yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.978. The other panel of unknown m/z 239.091, phosphatidylcholine (18:0/18:0) and phenylalanine were found to distinguish OA from non-OA and achieved an AUC of 0.888. These potential biomarkers are mainly involved in lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism and amino acid metabolism. It is expected to reveal new insight into OA pathogenesis from changed metabolic pathways.

Extremely fast-charging lithium ion battery enabled by dual-gradient structure design.

Extremely fast-charging lithium-ion batteries are highly desirable to shorten the recharging time for electric vehicles, but it is hampered by the poor rate capability of graphite anodes. Here, we present a previously unreported particle size and electrode porosity dual-gradient structure design in the graphite anode for achieving extremely fast-charging lithium ion battery under strict electrode conditions. We develop a polymer binder-free slurry route to construct this previously unreported type particle size-porosity dual-gradient structure in the practical graphite anode showing the extremely fast-charging capability with 60% of recharge in 10 min. On the basis of dual-gradient graphite anode, we demonstrate extremely fast-charging lithium ion battery realizing 60% recharge in 6 min and high volumetric energy density of 701 Wh liter-1 at the high charging rate of 6 C.

Trace Doping of Multiple Elements Enables Stable Cycling of High Areal Capacity LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 Cathode.

High-voltage spinel cobalt-free LiNi0.5 Mn1.5 O4 (LNMO) is one of the most promising cathode candidates for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high specific capacity, high operating voltage, and low cost. However, inferior electronic conductivity, transition metal dissolution, and fast capacity degradation of LNMO, especially in high mass loading for high areal capacity, are the critical material challenges for its practical application. Herein, trace multiple Cr-Fe-Cu elements doping of LiNi0.45 Cr0.0167 Fe0.0167 Cu0.0167 Mn1.5 O4 (CFC0.5-LNMO) cathode is achieved by a blow-spinning strategy to exhibit very stable cycling at a practical level of areal capacity up to 3 mAh cm-2 . It is demonstrated that the Cu, Fe, and Cr doping into the LNMO lattice can suspend the Mn dissolution and improve the Li ion diffusivity and electronic conductivity of the LNMO host. As a result, the obtained CFC0.5-LNMO cathode exhibits an excellent rate performance (1.75 mAh cm-2 at 1C) and long cycling stability under an areal capacity of 3 mAh cm-2 (78% capacity retention over 300 cycles at 0.5C).

Effect of temperature on the toxicokinetics and gene expression of the pacific cupped oyster Crassostrea gigas exposed to cadmium.

In this study, we investigated the influence of temperature on the bioaccumulation and depuration of Crassostrea gigas exposed to Cd associated with its molecular responses. Oysters were acclimatized to different temperatures (10 °C, 15 °C, 20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C) for 14 d and then exposed to 10 µg/L Cd for 28 d, followed by a depuration period of 35 d. Oysters were sampled for chemical analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and for mRNA quantification by qPCR. In the digestive gland, gill, and mantle, the cadmium concentration at 10 °C was significantly lower than that at 25 °C and 30 °C in both the whole experiments. The use of a two-compartment model showed that the uptake rate k1 in the above three tissues increased with increasing temperatures ranging from 15 to 25 °C. The fastest elimination rates and shortest half-lives were observed at 15-25 °C. The induction of metallothionein (MT) only occurred in the digestive gland at 15 °C and 20 °C at the end of the accumulation phase. In the mantle and gills, the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) was significantly induced at the end of the accumulation phase and significantly inhibited at the end of the depuration phase. In the digestive gland, the expression of P-gp was induced at the end of both the accumulation and depuration phases. Heat shock protein (hsp70) expression exhibited an overall increasing trend throughout the experiment.

Dexmedetomidine inhibits microglial activation through SNHG14/HMGB1 pathway in spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury mice.

OBJECTIVE: Microglial activation is an essential pathological mechanism of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SCIRI). Previous studies showed dexmedetomidine (DEX) could alleviate SCIRI while the mechanism was not clear. This study aims to investigate the role of DEX in microglial activation and clarify the underlying mechanism. METHODS: The motion function of mice was quantified using the Basso Mouse Scale for Locomotion. The expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) small nucleolar RNA host gene 14 (SNHG14) was determined by qRT-PCR. The expression of high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) was measured by western blot. The activation of microglia was evaluated by the expression of ED-1 and the levels of TNF-α and IL-6. The interplay between SNHG14 and HMGB1 was confirmed with RNA pull-down and RIP assay. The stability of HMGB1 was measured by ubiquitination assay and cycloheximide-chase assay. RESULTS: DEX inhibited microglial activation and down-regulated SNHG14 expression in SCIRI mice and oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-treated primary microglia. Functionally, SNHG14 overexpression reversed the inhibitory effect of DEX on OGD/R-induced microglial activation. Further investigation confirmed that SNHG14 bound to HMGB1, positively regulated HMGB1 expression by enhancing its stability. In addition, the silence of HMGB1 eliminated the pro-activation impact of SNHG14 overexpression on DEX-treated microglia under the OGD/R condition. Finally, in vivo experiments showed SNHG14 overexpression abrogated the therapeutic effect of DEX on SCIRI mice by up-regulating HMGB1. CONCLUSION: DEX accelerated HMGB1 degradation via down-regulating SNHG14, thus inhibiting microglial activation in SCIRI mice.

Comprehensive analysis of macrophage-related multigene signature in the tumor microenvironment of head and neck squamous cancer.

Macrophages are among the most abundant cells of the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cancer (HNSC). Although the marker gene sets of macrophages have been found, the mechanism by which they affect macrophages and whether they further predict the clinical outcome is unclear. In this study, a univariate COX analysis and a random forest algorithm were used to construct a prognostic model. Differential expression of the key gene, methylation status, function, and signaling pathways were further analyzed. We cross-analyzed multiple databases to detect the relationship between the most critical gene and the infiltration of multiple immune cells, as well as its impact on the prognosis of pan-cancer. FANCE is recognized as hub gene by different algorithms. It was overexpressed in HNSC, and high expression was predictive of better prognosis. It might promote apoptosis through the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. The expression of FANCE is inversely proportional to the infiltration of CD4 + T cells and their subsets, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), M2 macrophages, but positively co-expressed with M1 macrophages. In summary, FANCE was identified as the hub gene from the macrophage marker gene set, and it may improve the prognosis of HNSC patients by inhibiting lymphocytes and tumor-associated macrophages infiltration.

Spatial analysis of factors affecting fertilizer use efficiency in China: an empirical study based on geographical weighted regression model.

Improving fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) is an effective means to reduce fertilizer use and environmental contamination. Few studies have considered spatial effects of FUE and its determinants. This paper calculates the FUE of agricultural production by adopting panel data on 31 provinces in China from 2007 to 2017 using a stochastic frontier method and discusses the spatial distribution and characteristics. Furthermore, the geographical weighted regression (GWR) model is employed to examine the spatial impact of education level, non-agricultural employment ratio, disaster ratio, and farmers' income on FUE and reveal the spatial dispersion and agglomeration effect of different provinces in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017. The results show that the average FUE in China is 0.747 and has a significant decreasing trend, and FUE has a significant regional difference and spatial positive correlation in different provinces. Non-agricultural employment ratio is the most leading factor for increasing FUE for all provinces in studied years, and its influence degree shows a decreasing trend from southeastern to northwestern in each year. The different agricultural industry development modes, planting structure adjustment, and policy incentive systems for increasing non-agricultural employment ratio should be developed for different regions. Farmers' income has a significant negative impact on FUE, but the influence degree decreases annually, indicating that improving income to higher than turning point of the environmental Kuznets curve plays a critical role in improving FUE. The influence of education level on FUE is positive but relatively weak, and the influence degree declines from the western to eastern areas. It should strengthen the exploration of scientific and rational education and a training policy system to improve the educational level in different regions on the basis of local characteristics. Disaster ratio has a positive impact on FUE but is unstable. For the neighboring provinces, coordinated weather and possible disaster forecasting and release mechanism should be carried out based on the extent of the disaster.

Evaluating Fertilizer Use Efficiency and Spatial Correlation of Its Determinants in China: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach.

Improving fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) is an effective means to reduce fertilizer use and environmental contamination. Few studies have considered the spatial effects of FUE and its determinants. This paper calculated the FUE of agricultural production by adopting panel data on 31 provinces in China from 2007 to 2017 using a stochastic frontier method with a heteroscedastic inefficiency term, and discussed the spatial characteristics. Further, the geographical weighted regression model (GWR) was employed to examine the spatial impact of factors on FUE and revealed the spatial dispersion and agglomeration effect. The results show that averaged FUE in China was 0.722, and had a significantly decreasing trend with a significant regional difference and spatial positive correlation in different provinces. The non-agricultural employment ratio was the leading factor for increasing FUE, and its degree of influence showed a decreasing trend from eastern to western China. The different agricultural industry development modes, crop planting patterns adjustment, labor transfer, and policy incentive systems for increasing the non-agricultural employment ratio should be developed for different regions. Farmers' income had a negative impact on FUE, but the influence degree decreased annually. Education level had a negative impact on FUE and was relatively weak, but the influence degree was increasing. This should strengthen the exploration of a scientific and practical technical training system for farmers on fertilizer use while improving educational levels in different regions on the basis of local characteristics. The impact of disasters on FUE depended on their severity, and a combined weather and disaster forecasting mechanism should be developed.

High expression of EMP1 predicts a poor prognosis and correlates with immune infiltrates in bladder urothelial carcinoma.

Epithelial membrane protein 1 (EMP1) is a key gene that regulates cell proliferation and metastatic capability in various types of cancer, and serves an important role in tumor-immune interactions. However, the association between EMP1 and clinical prognosis, as well as the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the relationship between EMP1 expression and tumor immune cell infiltration in BLCA. In the present study, EMP1 expression in BLCA was analyzed using the Oncomine database, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER). The effects of EMP1 on clinical prognosis were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier plotter and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis. The correlations between EMP1, cancer immune infiltrates and lymphocyte abundance were determined using the TIMER and Tumor immune system interaction database. In addition, correlations between EMP1 expression and gene markers in immune infiltrates were analyzed using cBioportal. The results demonstrated that, compared with adjacent normal tissues, EMP1 was downregulated in BLCA tissues. High expression of EMP1 was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) in BLCA cases obtained from TCGA. Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that EMP1 was an independent predictor of OS in patients with BLCA. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that EMP1 was associated with cancer-related pathways and was positively correlated with the levels of infiltrating CD8+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells in BLCA. Further analysis demonstrated that EMP1 was significantly associated with the enrichment of multiple types of lymphocyte. EMP1 expression exhibited a strong correlation with a range of immune markers in BLCA. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that EMP1 was associated with a poor prognosis in patients with BLCA, and that the levels of immune infiltration and multiple immunomarker groups were associated with EMP1 expression. These results suggested that EMP1 may be used as a predictive biomarker to determine the prognosis and immune infiltration in BLCA.

[Application of serum amino acid profile in urolithiasis based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry].

An overall workflow based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was established for the analysis of the serum amino acid profile between urolithiasis patients (n=80, age (46.82±13.39) years) and healthy controls (n=37, age (43.46±12.79) years). The raw data from GC-MS analysis were processed by multivariate statistical methods to build the model. Following this, student's t-test and logistic regression were performed and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to identify the potential biomarkers. Good linearities were observed for the target amino acids, with correlation coefficients (R2) greater than 0.9985. The limits of detection (LODs) were 0.1-4.0 µmol/L. The results indicated a significant discrimination between the urolithiasis and control groups. Five significantly differentially expressed amino acids (variable importance in projection (VIP)>1 and p<0.05) were found to provide the scientific evidence for the early diagnosis of urolithiasis, while the sensitivity of the integrated five differential amino acids was up to 97.3%. In particular, the area under the curve (AUC) of serine reached 0.819, which suggested a great clinical screening value.

Blow-Spinning Enabled Precise Doping and Coating for Improving High-Voltage Lithium Cobalt Oxide Cathode Performance.

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) possesses an attractive theoretical specific capacity (274 mAh g-1) and high discharge voltage (∼4.2 V vs Li+/Li). However, only a half of the theoretical capacity of LiCoO2 is available in commercialized lithium ion batteries because of the intrinsic structural instability and detrimental interface of LiCoO2 at the charging voltage over 4.2 V. Here, a facile blow-spinning synthetic method is developed to realize precise doping and simultaneous self-assembly coating of LiCoO2 particles, achieving a record performance among present LiCoO2 cathodes. Owing to the spatial confinement effect of microfibers fabricated by blow-spinning, homogeneously Mn and La doped in the LiCoO2 host and uniformly Li-Ti-O segregated at the LiCoO2 surface can be realized in every batch of samples. It is demonstrated that the Mn and La codoping can suspend the intrinsic instability and increase the Li+ diffusivity of the LiCoO2 host, and the Ti-based coating can stabilize the interface of LiCoO2 particles at the charging voltage up to 4.5 V. As a result, the obtained comodified LiCoO2 cathode shows the best rate performance (1.85 mAh cm-2 at 2C) and longest cycling stability under an areal capacity of 2.04 mAh cm-2 (83% capacity retention over 300 cycles at 0.3C), in comparison to previously reported LiCoO2 cathodes.

A Nacre-Inspired Separator Coating for Impact-Tolerant Lithium Batteries.

The commercial ceramic nanoparticle coated microporous polyolefin separators used in lithium batteries are still vulnerable under external impact, which may cause short circuits and consequently severe safety threats, because the protective ceramic nanoparticle coating layers on the separators are intrinsically brittle. Here, a nacre-inspired coating on the separator to improve the impact tolerance of lithium batteries is reported. Instead of a random structured ceramic nanoparticle layer, ion-conductive porous multilayers consisting of highly oriented aragonite platelets are coated on the separator. The nacre-inspired coating can sustain external impact by turning the violent localized stress into lower and more uniform stress due to the platelet sliding. A lithium-metal pouch cell using the aragonite platelet coated separator exhibits good cycling stability under external shock, which is in sharp contrast to the fast short circuit of a lithium-metal pouch cell using a commercial ceramic nanoparticle coated separator.

Chemically exfoliated boron nitride nanosheets form robust interfacial layers for stable solid-state Li metal batteries.

Two-dimensional (2D) boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) were chemically exfoliated from bulk boron nitride and coated onto the surface of a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based electrolyte through a dry-pressing transfer process. The fabricated BNNSs coating formed a robust interfacial layer to improve the chemical and mechanical stability of the PEO-based electrolyte, leading to the enhanced performance of solid-state Li metal batteries.

Bio-inspired low-tortuosity carbon host for high-performance lithium-metal anode.

Lithium metal is one of the most promising anode materials for high-energy-density Li batteries. However, low stability caused by dendrite growth and volume change during cycling hinders its practical application. Herein, we report an ingenious design of bio-inspired low-tortuosity carbon with tunable vertical micro-channels to be used as a host to incorporate nanosized Sn/Ni alloy nucleation sites, which can guide Li metal's plating/stripping and meanwhile accommodate the volume change. The pore sizes of the vertical channels of the carbon host can be regulated to investigate the structure-performance correlation. After compositing Li, the bio-inspired carbon host with the smallest pore size (∼14 µm) of vertical channels exhibits the lowest overpotential (∼18 mV at 1 mA cm-2), most stable tripping/plating voltage profiles, and best cycling stability (up to 500 cycles) in symmetrical cells. Notably, the carbon/Li composite anode is more rewarding than Li foil when coupled with LiFePO4 in full cells, exhibiting a much lower polarization effect, better rate capability and higher capacity retention (90.6% after 120 cycles). This novel bio-inspired design of a low-tortuosity carbon host with nanoalloy coatings may open a new avenue for fabricating advanced Li-metal batteries with high performance.