Attapulgite-intercalated g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4 3D hierarchical Z-scheme heterojunction for boosting photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Construction of hierarchical architecture with suitable band alignment for graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) played a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency of photocatalysts. In this study, a novel attapulgite-intercalated g-C3N4/ZnIn2S4 nanocomposite material (ZIS/CN/ATP, abbreviated as ZCA) was successfully synthesized using the freeze-drying technique, thermal polymerization, and a simple low-temperature hydrothermal method. Attapulgite (ATP) was intercalated into g-C3N4 to effectively regulate its interlayer structure. The results reveal a substantial enlargement of its internal space, thereby facilitating the provision of additional active sites for improved dispersibility of ZnIn2S4. Notably, the optimized photocatalyst, comprising a mass ratio of ATP, g-C3N4, and ZnIn2S4 at 1:1:2.5 respectively, achieves an outstanding hydrogen evolution rate of 3906.15 µmol g-1h-1, without the need for a Pt co-catalyst. This rate surpasses that of pristine g-C3N4 by a factor of 475 and ZnIn2S4 by a factor of 5, representing a significant improvement in performance. This significant enhancement can be primarily attributed to the higher specific surface area, richer active sites, broadened light response range, and efficient interfacial charge transfer channels of the ZCA composite photocatalyst. Furthermore, the Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism for the sandwich-like layered structure heterojunction was thoroughly investigated using diverse characterization techniques. This work offers new insights for enhancing photocatalytic performance through the expanded utilization of natural minerals, paving the way for future advancements in this field.

Realizing Efficient Activity and High Conductivity of Perovskite Symmetrical Electrode by Vanadium Doping for CO2 Electrolysis.

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) show significant promise in converting CO2 to valuable fuels and chemicals, yet exploiting efficient electrode materials poses a great challenge. Perovskite oxides, known for their stability as SOEC electrodes, require improvements in electrocatalytic activity and conductivity. Herein, vanadium(V) cation is newly introduced into the B-site of Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-δ perovskite to promote its electrochemical performance. The substitution of variable valence V5+ for Mo6+ along with the creation of oxygen vacancies contribute to improved electronic conductivity and enhanced electrocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction. Notably, the Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.4V0.1O6-δ based symmetrical SOEC achieves a current density of 1.56 A cm-2 at 1.5 V and 800 °C, maintaining outstanding durability over 300 h. Theoretical analysis unveils that V-doping facilitates the formation of oxygen vacancies, resulting in high intrinsic electrocatalytic activity for CO2 reduction. These findings present a viable and facile strategy for advancing electrocatalysts in CO2 conversion technologies.

Rule-based omics mining reveals antimicrobial macrocyclic peptides against drug-resistant clinical isolates.

Antimicrobial resistance remains a significant global threat, driving up mortality rates worldwide. Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides have emerged as a promising source of novel peptide antibiotics due to their diverse chemical structures. Here, we report the discovery of new aminovinyl-(methyl)cysteine (Avi(Me)Cys)-containing peptide antibiotics through a synergistic approach combining biosynthetic rule-based omics mining and heterologous expression. We first bioinformatically identify 1172 RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) responsible for Avi(Me)Cys-containing peptides formation from a vast pool of over 50,000 bacterial genomes. Subsequently, we successfully establish the connection between three identified BGCs and the biosynthesis of five peptide antibiotics via biosynthetic rule-guided metabolic analysis. Notably, we discover a class V lanthipeptide, massatide A, which displays excellent activity against gram-positive pathogens, including drug-resistant clinical isolates like linezolid-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.25 µg/mL. The remarkable performance of massatide A in an animal infection model, coupled with a relatively low risk of resistance and favorable safety profile, positions it as a promising candidate for antibiotic development. Our study highlights the potential of Avi(Me)Cys-containing peptides in expanding the arsenal of antibiotics against multi-drug-resistant bacteria, offering promising drug leads in the ongoing battle against infectious diseases.

2-Monoacylglycerol Mimetic Liposomes to Promote Intestinal Lymphatic Transport for Improving Oral Bioavailability of Dihydroartemisinin.

Purpose: Reducing the first-pass hepatic effect via intestinal lymphatic transport is an effective way to increase the oral absorption of drugs. 2-Monoacylglycerol (2-MAG) as a primary digestive product of dietary lipids triglyceride, can be assembled in chylomicrons and then transported from the intestine into the lymphatic system. Herein, we propose a biomimetic strategy and report a 2-MAG mimetic nanocarrier to target the intestinal lymphatic system via the lipid absorption pathway and improve oral bioavailability. Methods: The 2-MAG mimetic liposomes were designed by covalently bonding serinol (SER) on the surface of liposomes named SER-LPs to simulate the structure of 2-MAG. Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) was chosen as the model drug because of its disadvantages such as poor solubility and high first-pass effect. The endocytosis and exocytosis mechanisms were investigated in Caco-2 cells and Caco-2 cell monolayers. The capacity of intestinal lymphatic transport was evaluated by ex vivo biodistribution and in vivo pharmacokinetic experiments. Results: DHA loaded SER-LPs (SER-LPs-DHA) had a particle size of 70 nm and a desirable entrapment efficiency of 93%. SER-LPs showed sustained release for DHA in the simulated gastrointestinal environment. In vitro cell studies demonstrated that the cellular uptake of SER-LPs primarily relied on the caveolae- rather than clathrin-mediated endocytosis pathway and preferred to integrate into the chylomicron assembly process through the endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi apparatus route. After oral administration, SER-LPs efficiently promoted drug accumulation in mesenteric lymphatic nodes. The oral bioavailability of DHA from SER-LPs was 10.40-fold and 1.17-fold larger than that of free DHA and unmodified liposomes at the same dose, respectively. Conclusion: SER-LPs improved oral bioavailability through efficient intestinal lymphatic transport. These findings of the current study provide a good alternative strategy for oral delivery of drugs with high first-pass hepatic metabolism.

Partial Exsolution Enables Superior Bifunctionality of Ir@SrIrO3 for Acidic Overall Water Splitting.

The pursuit of efficient and durable bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting in acidic media is highly desirable, albeit challenging. SrIrO3 based perovskites are electrochemically active for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), however, their inert activities toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) severely restrict the practical implementation in overall water splitting. Herein, an Ir@SrIrO3 heterojunction is newly developed by a partial exsolution approach, ensuring strong metal-support interaction for OER and HER. Notably, the Ir@SrIrO3-175 electrocatalyst, prepared by annealing SrIrO3 in 5% H2 atmosphere at 175 °C, delivers ultralow overpotentials of 229 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for OER and 28 mV at 10 mA cm-2 for HER, surpassing most recently reported bifunctional electrocatalysts. Moreover, the water electrolyzer using the Ir@SrIrO3-175 bifunctional electrocatalyst demonstrates the potential application prospect with high electrochemical performance and excellent durability in acidic environment. Theoretical calculations unveil that constructing Ir@SrIrO3 heterojunction regulates interfacial electronic redistribution, ultimately enabling low energy barriers for both OER and HER.

Reverse Atom Capture on Perovskite Surface Enabling Robust and Efficient Cathode for Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells.

Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) hold potential for sustainable energy conversion, yet their widespread application is hindered by the sluggish kinetics and inferior stability of cathode materials. Here, a facile and efficient reverse atom capture technique is developed to manipulate the surface chemistry of PrBa0.5Sr0.5Co1.5Fe0.5O5+ δ (PBSCF) cathode for PCFCs. This method successfully captures segregated Ba and Sr cations on the PBSCF surface using W species, creating a (Ba/Sr)(Co/Fe/W)O3- δ (BSCFW)@PBSCF heterostructure. Benefiting from enhanced kinetics of proton-involved oxygen reduction reaction and strengthened chemical stability, the single cell using the optimized 2W-PBSCF cathode demonstrates an exceptional peak power density of 1.32 W cm-2 at 650 °C and maintains durable performance for 240 h. Theoretical calculations unveil that the BSCFW perovskite delivers lower oxygen vacancy formation energy, hydration energy, and proton transfer energy compared to the PBSCF perovskite. This protocol offers new insights into advanced atom capture techniques for sustainable energy infrastructures.

Smart Dual-Exsolved Self-Assembled Anode Enables Efficient and Robust Methane-Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

Perovskite oxides have emerged as alternative anode materials for hydrocarbon-fueled solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Nevertheless, the sluggish kinetics for hydrocarbon conversion hinder their commercial applications. Herein, a novel dual-exsolved self-assembled anode for CH4 -fueled SOFCs is developed. The designed Ru@Ru-Sr2 Fe1.5 Mo0.5 O6-δ (SFM)/Ru-Gd0.1 Ce0.9 O2-δ (GDC) anode exhibits a unique hierarchical structure of nano-heterointerfaces exsolved on submicron skeletons. As a result, the Ru@Ru-SFM/Ru-GDC anode-based single cell achieves high peak power densities of 1.03 and 0.63 W cm-2 at 800 °C under humidified H2 and CH4 , surpassing most reported perovskite-based anodes. Moreover, this anode demonstrates negligible degradation over 200 h in humidified CH4 , indicating high resistance to carbon deposition. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the created metal-oxide heterointerfaces of Ru@Ru-SFM and Ru@Ru-GDC have higher intrinsic activities for CH4 conversion compared to pristine SFM. These findings highlight a viable design of the dual-exsolved self-assembled anode for efficient and robust hydrocarbon-fueled SOFCs.

Evaluation of the Available Energy Value and Amino Acid Digestibility of Brown Rice Stored for 6 Years and Its Application in Pig Diets.

Long-term storage may reduce the nutritional quality of brown rice, so the present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional values of long-term-stored nutrition in pig diets. In Exp. 1, 18 Landrace × Yorkshire (L × Y) barrows with an initial body weight (IBW) of 25.48 ± 3.21 kg were randomly assigned to three treatments, including a corn-based diet, one-year-stored brown rice (BR1) diet, and six-year-stored brown rice (BR6) diet, to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) values of stored brown rice. In Exp. 2, 24 barrows (L × Y; IBW: 22.16 ± 2.42 kg) fixed with ileal T-cannula were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments, including a corn diet, two stored brown rice diets, and a nitrogen-free diet, to evaluate the amino acid (AA) digestibility of the stored brown rice. In Exp. 3 and 4, 108 crossbred weaned piglets (L × Y; IBW: 9.16 ± 0.89 kg) and 90 crossbred growing pigs (L × Y; IBW: 48.28 ± 3.51 kg) were allotted to three treatment diets, including a control diet and two stored brown rice diets, respectively, to investigate the application of stored brown rice in weaned piglets and fully grown pig diets. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the DE and ME values between corn and stored brown rice (p > 0.05), while the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of arginine, histidine, asparagine + aspartic acid (Asx), and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of arginine and histidine were higher in the stored brown rice diet compared to the corn diet (p < 0.05). Compared to the corn, the stored brown rice showed no significant effects on growth performance, nutrient-apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD), and serum biochemical indices (p > 0.05) but showed decreased activity in the various digestive enzymes in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of the weaned piglets (p < 0.05). Also, the stored brown rice diet showed no significant effects on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, as well as the fatty acid profiles in the longissimus dorsi muscle of fully grown pigs compared with the corn diet (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the brown rice stored for 6 years under good conditions had no obvious changes in the available energy and nutrient values. Although it may reduce digestive enzyme activity in the small intestines of the piglets, the stored brown rice showed no obvious adverse effects on growth performance and meat quality and can be effectively used in pig diets.

Screening study on significant Chinese herb for anti-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by combining clinical experience prescriptions and molecular dynamics simulation technologies.

Various techniques such as data mining, network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation were used in this study to screen and validate effective herbal medicines for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and to reveal their mechanisms of action at the molecular level. The use of this approach will provide new tools and ideas for future drug screening, especially for the application of herbal medicines in the treatment of complex diseases. Among them, the five identified core targets, including IL6, TP53, AKT1, VEGFA, and TNF, as well as a series of major active compounds, will be important references for future anti-IPF drug development. This information will accelerate the discovery and development of relevant drugs. Meanwhile, this study further confirmed the potential value of four Chinese herbal medicines, including Gancao, Danshen, Huangqin, and Sanqi, in the treatment of IPF. This will promote more clinical trials and practices to confirm and optimise the application of these herbs. Finally, this study is an important theoretical guide to enhance the advantages of Chinese herbal medicines in the prevention and treatment of major and difficult diseases, as well as to understand and utilise the potential efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines. This will further promote the scientific research and clinical application of herbal medicines and provide more possibilities for future disease treatmentCommunicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Bacterial Cytochrome P450 Catalyzed Post-translational Macrocyclization of Ribosomal Peptides.

Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a fascinating group of natural products that exhibit diverse structural features and bioactivities. P450-catalyzed RiPPs stand out as a unique but underexplored family. Herein, we introduce a rule-based genome mining strategy that harnesses the intrinsic biosynthetic principles of RiPPs, including the co-occurrence and co-conservation of precursors and P450s and interactions between them, successfully facilitating the identification of diverse P450-catalyzed RiPPs. Intensive BGC characterization revealed four new P450s, KstB, ScnB, MciB, and SgrB, that can catalyze the formation of Trp-Trp-Tyr (one C-C and two C-N bonds), Tyr-Trp (C-C bond), Trp-Trp (C-N bond), and His-His (ether bond) crosslinks, respectively, within three or four residues. KstB, ScnB, and MciB could accept non-native precursors, suggesting they could be promising starting templates for bioengineering to construct macrocycles. Our study highlights the potential of P450s to expand the chemical diversity of strained macrocyclic peptides and the range of biocatalytic tools available for peptide macrocyclization.

Effect of far-infrared therapy device on arteriovenous fistula maturation and lifespan in hemodialysis patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Introduction: Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the first choice of vascular access for hemodialysis treatment, and its surgical maturity rate is not high, and its postoperative complications (mostly stenosis) significantly shorten its life. At present, there are few studies on treatment methods to improve the maturity and survival of AVF. In this study, the effect of far infrared therapy (FIR) on the maturity and longevity of arteriovenous fistula in hemodialysis patients was discussed, and the protective mechanism of AVF induced by FIR therapy was explored, aiming at exploring a new treatment method. Methods: The hemodialysis patients admitted to the 900th Hospital of the Chinese Joint Logistics Support Force of the People's Liberation Army from January 2021 to April 2023 were randomly divided into control group and intervention group, with 40 cases in each group. Among them, the control group was coated with mucopolysaccharide polysulfonate cream; Intervention group: The patients were treated with mucopolysaccharide polysulfonate cream and far infrared radiation at the same time. After 3 months' intervention, the arteriovenous fistula (vein diameter, mature time of arteriovenous fistula, blood flow controlled by pump during dialysis, blood flow of brachial artery during dialysis and the occurrence of complications of internal fistula (oozing, occlusion and infection) and the pain score (numerical rating scale, NRS) of the two groups were compared, and the curative effects were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in general data between the two groups (P > 0.05), which indicated that the study was comparable. After 3 months' intervention, the vein diameter, pump-controlled blood flow and brachial artery blood flow in the intervention group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). And the maturity time, NRS score and complication rate of arteriovenous fistula were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The primary patency rate of AVF in the intervention group was higher than that in the control group, and the overall patency rate between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusions: As a promising new treatment method, far infrared therapy can effectively promote the maturity of AVF, increase venous diameter, pump controlled blood flow during dialysis, brachial artery blood flow during dialysis, and prolong the service life of AVF.

Atomistic Insights into Medium-Entropy Perovskites for Efficient and Robust CO2 Electrolysis.

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) show great promise in converting CO2 to valuable products. However, their practicality for the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is restricted by sluggish kinetics and limited durability. Herein, we propose a novel medium-entropy perovskite, Sr2(Fe1.0Ti0.25Cr0.25Mn0.25Mo0.25)O6-δ (SFTCMM), as a potential electrode material for symmetrical SOEC toward CO2RR. Experimental and theoretical results unveil that the configuration entropy of SFTCMM perovskites contributes to the strengthened metal 3d-O 2p hybridization and the reduced O 2p bond center. This variation of electronic structure benefits oxygen vacancy creation and diffusion as well as CO2 adsorption and activation and ultimately accelerates CO2RR and oxygen electrocatalysis kinetics. Notably, the SFTCMM-based symmetrical SOEC delivers an excellent current density of 1.50 A cm-2 at 800 °C and 1.5 V, surpassing the prototype Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-δ (SFM, 1.04 A cm-2) and most of the state-of-the-art electrodes for symmetrical SOECs. Moreover, the SFTCMM-based symmetrical SOEC demonstrates stable CO2RR operation for 160 h.

Toxicity of polyvinyl chloride microplastics on Brassica rapa.

Microplastics (MPs) can pose high risk to living organisms due to their very small sizes. This study selected polyvinyl chloride MPs (PVC-MPs) which experienced up to 1000 h UV light radiation to investigate the influence of PVC-MPs on Brassica rapa growth. The outcomes showed the presence of PVC-MPs inhibited the plants' growth. The stem length, root length, fresh weight and dry weight of plants exposed to PVC-MPs after 30 days reduced by 45.9%, 35.2%, 26.1% and 5.2%, respectively. The chlorophyll, soluble sugar, malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalase (CAT) concentrations for plants exposed to PVC-MPs after 30 days increased by 25.9%, 135.7%, 88.7% and 47.1% respectively. It was also observed that PVC-MPs blocked the plants' leaf stomata and even entered plants' bodies. This might lead to PVC-MPs movement within the plants and influence plants' growth. The transcriptomic analysis results indicated that exposure to PVC-MPs up-regulated metabolic pathway of plant hormone signal transduction of the plants and down-regulated pathway network of ribosome. However, the research outcomes also showed that the PVC-MPs' locations in soil (located at the upper layers or at lower layers) and the UV light radiation time did not exert significantly different influences on inhibiting plants' growth. This can be attributed to PVC-MPs' small sizes and not much decomposition under light radiation. These imply that longer light radiation time and different particle sizes should be included into future research in order to further explore photodegraded MPs' toxicity effects on plants.

Ultrastable Graphite-Potassium Anode through Binder Chemistry.

Graphite with abundant reserves has attracted enormous research interest as an anode of potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) owing to its high plateau capacity of 279 mAh g-1 at ≈0.2 V in conventional carbonate electrolytes. Unfortunately, it suffers from fast capacity decay during K+ storage. Herein, an ultrastable graphite-potassium anode is developed through binder chemistry. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is utilized as a water-soluble binder to generate a uniform and robust KF-rich SEI film on the graphite surface, which can not only inhibit the electrolyte decomposition, but also withstand large volume expansion during K+ -insertion. Compared to the PVDF as binder, PVA-based graphite anode can operate for over 2000 cycles (running time of 406 days at C/3) with 97% capacity retention in KPF6 -based electrolytes. The initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of graphite anode is as high as 81.6% using PVA as the binder, higher than that of PVDF (40.1%). Benefiting from the strong adhesion ability of PVA, a graphite||fluorophosphate K-ion full battery is further built through 3D printing, which achieves a record-high areal energy of 8.9 mWh cm-2 at a total mass loading of 38 mg cm-2 . These results demonstrate the important role of binder in developing high-performance PIBs.

3D printing of hierarchically micro/nanostructured electrodes for high-performance rechargeable batteries.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is capable of fabricating 3D hierarchical micro/nanostructures by depositing a layer-upon-layer of precursor materials and solvent-based inks under the assistance of computer-aided design (CAD) files. 3D printing has been employed to construct 3D hierarchically micro/nanostructured electrodes for rechargeable batteries, endowing them with high specific surface areas, short ion transport lengths, and high mass loading. This review summarizes the advantages and limitations of various 3D printing methods and presents the recent developments of 3D-printed electrodes in rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and lithium-sulfur batteries. Furthermore, the challenges and perspectives of the 3D printing technique for electrodes and rechargeable batteries are put forward. This review will provide new insight into the 3D printing of hierarchically micro/nanostructured electrodes in rechargeable batteries and promote the development of 3D printed electrodes and batteries in the future.

Occurrence and risk associated with urban road-deposited microplastics.

An in-depth understanding of urban road-deposited MPs is important for the accurate prediction of the risk posed by MPs in different exposure scenarios. This study provides new insights into the intrinsic/extrinsic factors in terms of the variability of concentration and species in urban road-deposited MPs. The study results confirmed that a considerable abundance of road-deposited MPs can be identified with the average concentration ranging from 0.33 to 3.64 g m-2. Land use types and sediment particle size are the important factors that contribute to MPs abundance. The majority of detected MPs including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are mainly derived from anthropogenic activities in commercial and residential land uses while rubber MP particles in urban road surfaces are mainly derived from tyre wear. The significant correlation (p < 0.05) between MPs and fine dust particles (< 150 µm) indicated the high affinity of small dust particles for MPs. The risk scores from MPs varied greatly from 10 to 11,000 among the study sites, which indicated the significant spatial variation of potential environmental risks posed by road-deposited MPs. The hotspots of risks posed by MPs were in areas with a high fraction of industrial, commercial and residential land uses. Specifically, the highest risk from MPs was found in mixed industrial and residential areas.

Herb-symptom analysis of Erchen decoction combined with Xiebai powder formula and its mechanism in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: In recent years, the incidence and mortality rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have increased significantly. Erchen Decoction combined with Xiebai Powder (ECXB) formula is mainly used to treat lung diseases in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, the active ingredients of ECXB formula, COPD treatment-related molecular targets, and the mechanisms are still unclear. To reveal its underlying action of mechanism, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation approaches were used to predict the active ingredients and potential targets of ECXB formula in treating COPD. As a result, Herb-Symptom analysis showed that the symptoms treated by both TCM and modern medicine of ECXB formula were similar to the symptoms of COPD. Network pharmacology identified 170 active ingredients with 137 targets, and 7,002 COPD targets was obtained. 120 targets were obtained by intersection mapping, among which the core targets include MAPK8, ESR1, TP53, MAPK3, JUN, RELA, MAPK1, and AKT1. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that ECXB formula might exert its treat COPD pharmacological effects in multiple biological processes, such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammatory response, and synaptic connections, and ECXB formula treated COPD of the KEGG potential pathways might be associated with the TNF signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, and VEGF signaling pathway. Molecular docking showed that ECXB formula treatment COPD core active ingredients can bind well to core targets. MD simulations showed that the RELA-beta-sitosterol complex and ESR1-stigmasterol complex exhibited higher conformational stability and lower interaction energy, further confirming the role of ECXB formula in the treatment of COPD through these core components and core targets. Our study analyzed the medication rule of ECXB formula in the treatment of COPD from a new perspective and found that the symptoms treated by both TCM and modern medicine of ECXB formula were similar to the symptoms of COPD. ECXB formula could treat COPD through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway synergistic effects, providing a scientific basis for further study on the mechanism of ECXB formula treatment of COPD. It also provides new ideas for drug development.

Coupling MnS and CoS Nanocrystals on Self-Supported Porous N-doped Carbon Nanofibers to Enhance Oxygen Electrocatalytic Performance for Flexible Zn-Air Batteries.

Seeking highly efficient, stable, and cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs) is the top-priority for developing new generation portable electronic devices. For this, the rational and effective structural design, interface engineering, and electron recombination on electrocatalysts should be taken into account to reduce the reaction overpotential and expedite the kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we construct a MnCo-based metal organic framework-derived heterogeneous MnS-CoS nanocrystals, which are anchored on free-standing porous N-doped carbon fibers (PNCFs) by the in situ growth method and vulcanization process. Benefiting from the abundant vacancies and active sites, strong interfacial coupling as well as favorable conductivity, the MnS-CoS/PNCFs composite electrode delivers a mentionable oxygen electrocatalytic activity and stability with a half-wave potential of 0.81 V for ORR and an overpotential of 350 mV for OER in the alkaline medium. Of note, the flexible rechargeable ZAB using MnS-CoS/PNCFs as binder-free air cathode offers high power density of 86.7 mW cm-2, large specific capacity of 563 mA h g-1, and adapts to different bending degree of operation. In addition, the density functional theory calculation clarifies that the heterogeneous MnS-CoS nanocrystals reduces the reaction barrier and enhances the conductivity of the catalyst and the adsorption capacity of the intermediates during the ORR and OER process. This study opens up a new insight to the design of the self-supported air cathode for flexible electronic devices.

Composite films of sodium alginate and konjac glucomannan incorporated with tea polyphenols for food preservation.

At present, food waste has become a serious issue and the use of petroleum-based food packaging films has resulted in a series of potential hazards. Therefore, more attention has been focused on the development of new food packaging materials. The polysaccharide-based composite film loaded with active substances considered to be an excellent preservative material. A novel packaging film based on sodium alginate and konjac glucomannan (SA-KGM) blended with tea polyphenols (TP) was prepared in the present study. The excellent microstructure of films was shown by atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was indicated by FTIR spectra that the components could interact with each other through hydrogen bonds, which was also confirmed by molecular docking simulation. Meanwhile, the mechanical properties, barrier property, oxidation property, antibacterial activity, and stability of the structure of the TP-SA-KGM film were significantly improved. The AFM images and results of molecular docking simulation indicated that TP could affect the cell wall of bacteria by acting with peptidoglycan. Finally, the film showed excellent preservation effects in both beef and apples, which suggested that TP-SA-KGM film could be a novel bioactive packaging material with wide application potential in food preservation.