Cu-N Synergism Regulation to Enhance Anionic Redox Reversibility and Activity of Li- and Mn-Rich Layered Oxides Cathode.

Anionic redox chemistry enables extraordinary capacity for Li- and Mn-rich layered oxides (LMROs) cathodes. Unfortunately, irreversible surface oxygen evolution evokes the pernicious phase transition, structural deterioration, and severe electrode-electrolyte interface side reaction with element dissolution, resulting in fast capacity and voltage fading of LMROs during cycling and hindering its commercialization. Herein, a redox couple strategy is proposed by utilizing copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) to address the irreversibility of anionic redox. The Cu-N synergistic effect of CuPc could not only inhibit surface oxygen evolution by reducing the peroxide ion O2 2- back to lattice oxygen O2-, but also enhance the reaction activity and reversibility of anionic redox in bulk to achieve a higher capacity and cycling stability. Moreover, the CuPc strategy suppresses the interface side reaction and induces the forming of a uniform and robust LiF-rich cathode electrolyte, interphase (CEI) to significantly eliminate transition metal dissolution. As a result, the CuPc-enhanced LMRO cathode shows superb cycling performance with a capacity retention of 95.0% after 500 long-term cycles. This study sheds light on the great effect of N-based redox couple to regulate anionic redox behavior and promote the development of high energy density and high stability LMROs cathode.

Atomic reconstruction for realizing stable solar-driven reversible hydrogen storage of magnesium hydride.

Reversible solid-state hydrogen storage of magnesium hydride, traditionally driven by external heating, is constrained by massive energy input and low systematic energy density. Herein, a single phase of Mg2Ni(Cu) alloy is designed via atomic reconstruction to achieve the ideal integration of photothermal and catalytic effects for stable solar-driven hydrogen storage of MgH2. With the intra/inter-band transitions of Mg2Ni(Cu) and its hydrogenated state, over 85% absorption in the entire spectrum is achieved, resulting in the temperature up to 261.8 °C under 2.6 W cm-2. Moreover, the hydrogen storage reaction of Mg2Ni(Cu) is thermodynamically and kinetically favored, and the imbalanced distribution of the light-induced hot electrons within CuNi and Mg2Ni(Cu) facilitates the weakening of Mg-H bonds of MgH2, enhancing the "hydrogen pump" effect of Mg2Ni(Cu)/Mg2Ni(Cu)H4. The reversible generation of Mg2Ni(Cu) upon repeated dehydrogenation process enables the continuous integration of photothermal and catalytic roles stably, ensuring the direct action of localized heat on the catalytic sites without any heat loss, thereby achieving a 6.1 wt.% H2 reversible capacity with 95% retention under 3.5 W cm-2.

In Situ Construction of Interface with Photothermal and Mutual Catalytic Effect for Efficient Solar-Driven Reversible Hydrogen Storage of MgH2.

Hydrogen storage in MgH2 is an ideal solution for realizing the safe storage of hydrogen. High operating temperature, however, is required for hydrogen storage of MgH2 induced by high thermodynamic stability and kinetic barrier. Herein, flower-like microspheres uniformly constructed by N-doped TiO2 nanosheets coated with TiN nanoparticles are fabricated to integrate the light absorber and thermo-chemical catalysts at a nanometer scale for driving hydrogen storage of MgH2 using solar energy. N-doped TiO2 is in situ transformed into TiNxOy and Ti/TiH2 uniformly distributed inside of TiN matrix during cycling, in which TiN and Ti/TiHx pairs serve as light absorbers that exhibit strong localized surface plasmon resonance effect with full-spectrum light absorbance capability. On the other hand, it is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that the intimate interface between TiH2 and MgH2 can not only thermodynamically and kinetically promote H2 desorption from MgH2 but also simultaneously weaken Ti─H bonds and hence in turn improve H2 desorption from the combination of weakened Ti─H and Ti─H bonds. The uniform integration of photothermal and catalytic effect leads to the direct action of localized heat generated from TiN on initiating the catalytic effect in realizing hydrogen storage of MgH2 with a capacity of 6.1 wt.% under 27 sun.

Unlocking the Potential of Iron Sulfides for Sodium-Ion Batteries by Ultrafine Pulverization.

Iron sulfides have attracted tremendous research interest for the anode of sodium-ion batteries due to their high capacity and abundant resource. However, the intrinsic pulverization and aggregation of iron sulfide electrodes induced by the conversion reaction during cycling are considered destructive and undesirable, which often impedes their capacity, rate capability, and long-term cycling stability. Herein, an interesting pulverization phenomenon of ultrathin carbon-coated Fe1- xS nanoplates (Fe1- xS@C) is observed during the first discharge process of sodium-ion batteries, which leads to the formation of Fe1- xS nanoparticles with quantum size (≈5 nm) tightly embedded in the carbon matrix. Surprisingly, no discernible aggregation phenomenon can be detected in subsequent cycles. In/ex situ experiments and theoretical calculations demonstrate that ultrafine pulverization can confer several advantages, including sustaining reversible conversion reactions, reducing the adsorption energies, and diffusion energy barriers of sodium atoms, and preventing the aggregation of Fe1- xS particles by strengthening the adsorption between pulverized Fe1- xS nanoparticles and carbon. As a result, benefiting from the unique ultrafine pulverization, the Fe1- xS@C anode simultaneously exhibits high reversible capacity (610 mAh g-1 at 0.5 A g-1), superior rate capability (427.9 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1), and ultralong cycling stability (377.9 mAh g-1 after 2500 cycles at 20 A g-1).

Unleashing the Power of Sn2 S3 Quantum Dots: Advancing Ultrafast and Ultrastable Sodium/Potassium-Ion Batteries with N, S Co-Doped Carbon Fiber Network.

Tin sulfide (Sn2 S3 ) has been recognized as a potential anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) due to its high theoretical capacities. However, the sluggish ion diffusion kinetics, low conductivity, and severe volume changes during cycling have limited its practical application. In this study, Sn2 S3 quantum dots (QDs) (≈1.6 nm) homogeneously embedded in an N, S co-doped carbon fiber network (Sn2 S3 -CFN) are successfully fabricated by sequential freeze-drying, carbonization, and sulfidation strategies. As anode materials, the Sn2 S3 -CFN delivers high reversible capacities and excellent rate capability (300.0 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1 and 250.0 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1 for SIBs; 165.3 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1 and 100.0 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1 for PIBs) and superior long-life cycling capability (279.6 mAh g-1 after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g-1 for SIBs; 166.3 mAh g-1 after 5 000 cycles at 2 A g-1 for PIBs). According to experimental analysis and theoretical calculations, the exceptional performance of the Sn2 S3 -CFN composite can be attributed to the synergistic effect of the conductive carbon fiber network and the Sn2 S3 quantum dots, which contribute to the structural stability, reversible electrochemical reactions, and superior electron transportation and ions diffusion.

Polymeric Electronic Shielding Layer Enabling Superior Dendrite Suppression for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries.

LiBH4 is one of the most promising candidates for use in all-solid-state lithium batteries. However, the main challenges of LiBH4 are the poor Li-ion conductivity at room temperature, excessive dendrite formation, and the narrow voltage window, which hamper practical application. Herein, we fabricate a flexible polymeric electronic shielding layer on the particle surfaces of LiBH4. The electronic conductivity of the primary LiBH4 is reduced by 2 orders of magnitude, to 1.15 × 10-9 S cm-1 at 25 °C, due to the high electron affinity of the electronic shielding layer; this localizes the electrons around the BH4- anions, which eliminates electronic leakage from the anionic framework and leads to a 68-fold higher critical electrical bias for dendrite growth on the particle surfaces. Contrary to the previously reported work, the shielding layer also ensures fast Li-ion conduction due to the fast-rotational dynamics of the BH4- species and the high Li-ion (carrier) concentration on the particle surfaces. In addition, the flexibility of the layer guarantees its structural integrity during Li plating and stripping. Therefore, our LiBH4-based solid-state electrolyte exhibits a high critical current density (11.43 mA cm-2) and long cycling stability of 5000 h (5.70 mA cm-2) at 25 °C. More importantly, the electrolyte had a wide operational temperature window (-30-150 °C). We believe that our findings provide a perspective with which to avoid dendrite formation in hydride solid-state electrolytes and provide high-performance all-solid-state lithium batteries.

Solvation Structure Regulation for Highly Reversible Aqueous Al Metal Batteries.

Metallic Al has been deemed an ideal electrode material for aqueous batteries by virtue of its abundance and high theoretical capacity (8056 mAh cm-3). However, the development of aqueous Al metal batteries has been hindered by several side reactions, including water decomposition, Al corrosion, and passivation, which arise from the solvation reaction of Al and H2O in conventional aqueous electrolytes. In this work, we report that water activity in electrolyte can be suppressed by optimizing the Al3+ solvation structure through intercalation of polar pyridine-3-carboxylic acid in an aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate aqueous environment. Furthermore, the pyridine-3-carboxylic acid molecules are inclined to alter the surface energy of Al, thus suppressing the random deposition of Al. As a result, the Al corrosion in the hybrid electrolyte is restrained, and the long-term electrochemical stability of the electrolyte is tremendously improved. These merits bring remarkable reversibility to aqueous Al batteries using Al-preintercalated MnO2 cathodes, delivering a retaining energy density of >250 Wh kg-1 at 0.2 A g-1 after 600 cycles.

Integrated analysis of single-cell sequencing and weighted co-expression network identifies a novel signature based on cellular senescence-related genes to predict prognosis in glioblastoma.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly aggressive cancer with heavy mortality rates and poor prognosis. Cellular senescence exerts a pivotal influence on the development and progression of various cancers. However, the underlying effect of cellular senescence on the outcomes of patients with GBM remains to be elucidated. METHODS: Transcriptome RNA sequencing data with clinical information and single-cell sequencing data of GBM cases were obtained from CGGA, TCGA, and GEO (GSE84465) databases respectively. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) analysis was utilized to calculate the cellular senescence score. WGCNA analysis was employed to ascertain the key gene modules and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with the cellular senescence score in GBM. The prognostic senescence-related risk model was developed by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses. The immune infiltration level was calculated by microenvironment cell populations counter (MCPcounter), ssGSEA, and xCell algorithms. Potential anti-cancer small molecular compounds of GBM were estimated by "oncoPredict" R package. RESULTS: A total of 150 DEGs were selected from the pink module through WGCNA analysis. The risk-scoring model was constructed based on 5 cell senescence-associated genes (CCDC151, DRC1, C2orf73, CCDC13, and WDR63). Patients in low-risk group had a better prognostic value compared to those in high-risk group. The nomogram exhibited excellent predictive performance in assessing the survival outcomes of patients with GBM. Top 30 potential anti-cancer small molecular compounds with higher drug sensitivity scores were predicted. CONCLUSION: Cellular senescence-related genes and clusters in GBM have the potential to provide valuable insights in prognosis and guide clinical decisions.

MXene-Based Mixed Conductor Interphase for Dendrite-Free Flexible Al Organic Battery.

Al batteries are promising post-Li battery technologies for large-scale energy storage applications owing to their low cost and high theoretical capacity. However, one of the challenges that hinder their development is the unsatisfactory plating/stripping of the Al metal anode. To circumvent this issue, an ultrathin MXene layer is constructed on the surface of Al by in situ chemical reactions at room temperature. The as-prepared flexible MXene film acts like armor to protect the Al-metal by its high ionic conductivity and high mechanical flexibility. The MXene endow the Al anode with a long cyclic life of more than 5000 h at ultrahigh current density of 50 mA cm-2 for Al//Al batteries and a retention of 100% over 200 cycles for 355 Wh kg-1 PTO//Al batteries. This work provides fresh insights into the formation and regulation of stable electrode-electrolyte interfaces as well as effective strategies for improving Al metal batteries.

Stable Aluminum Metal Anode Enabled by Dual-Functional Molybdenum Nanoparticles.

Constructing robust anode with strong aluminophilicity and rapid desolvation kinetics is essential for achieving high utilization, long-term durability, and superior rate performance in Al metal-based energy storage, yet remains largely unexplored. Herein, molybdenum nanoparticles embedded onto nitrogen-doped graphene (Mo@NG) are designed and prepared as Al host to regulate the deposition behavior and achieve homogeneous Al plating/stripping. The monodispersed Mo nanoparticles reduce the desolvation energy barrier and promote the deposition kinetics of Al. Additionally, Mo nanoparticles act as aluminophilic nucleation sites to minimize the Al nucleation overpotential, further guiding uniform and dense Al deposition. As a result, the dual-functional Mo@NG endows Al anodes with low voltage hysteresis, reversible Al plating/stripping with high coulombic efficiency, and excellent high-rate capability under 5 mA cm-2 . Moreover, the as-designed Al metal full batteries deliver a high capacity retention of 92.8% after 3000 cycles at 1 A g-1 . This work provides an effective solution to optimize the electrochemical properties of Al metal anode from the perspective of desolvation and deposition reactions, towards the development of high-safety and long-cycling aluminum-ion batteries.

In-Situ-Generated Electron-Blocking LiH Enabling an Unprecedented Critical Current Density of Over 15 mA cm-2 for Solid-State Hydride Electrolytes.

LiBH4 is a promising solid-state electrolyte (SE) due to its thermodynamic stability to Li. However, poor Li-ion conductivities at room temperature, low oxidative stabilities, and severe dendrite growth hamper its application. In this work, a partial dehydrogenation strategy is adopted to in situ generate an electronic blocking layer dispersed of LiH, addressing the above three issues simultaneously. The electrically insulated LiH reduces the electronic conductivity by two orders of magnitude, leading to a 32.0-times higher critical electrical bias for dendrite growth on the particle surfaces than that of the counterpart. Additionally, this layer not only promotes the Li-ion conductance by stimulating coordinated rotations of BH4 - and B12 H12 2- , contributing to a Li-ion conductivity of 1.38 × 10-3 S cm-1 at 25 °C, but also greatly enhances oxidation stability by localizing the electron density on BH4 - , extending its voltage window to 6.0 V. Consequently, this electrolyte exhibits an unprecedented critical current density (CCD) of 15.12 mA cm-2 at 25 °C, long-term Li plating and stripping stability for 2700 h, and a wide temperature window for dendrite inhibition from -30 to 150 °C. Its Li-LiCoO2 cell displays high reversibility within 3.0-5.0 V. It is believed that this work provides a clear direction for solid-state hydride electrolytes.

Lithium Azides Induced SnS Quantum Dots for Ultra-Fast and Long-Term Sodium Storage.

Tin sulfide (SnS) is an attractive anode for sodium ion batteries (NIBs) because of its high theoretical capacity, while it seriously suffers from the inherently poor conductivity and huge volume variation during the cycling process, leading to inferior lifespan. To intrinsically maximize the sodium storage of SnS, herein, lithium azides (LiN3 )-induced SnS quantum dots (QDs) are first reported using a simple electrospinning strategy, where SnS QDs are uniformly distributed in the carbon fibers. Taking the advantage of LiN3 , which can effectively prevent the growth of crystal nuclei during the thermal treatment, the well-dispersed SnS QDs performs superior Na+ transfer kinetics and pseudocapacitive when used as an anode material for NIBs. The 3D SnS quantum dots embedded uniformly in N-doped nanofibers (SnS QDs@NCF) electrodes display superior long cycling life-span (484.6 mAh g-1 after 5800 cycles at 2 A g-1 and 430.9 mAh g-1 after 7880 cycles at 10 A g-1 ), as well as excellent rate capability (422.3 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1 ). This fabrication of transition metal sulfides QDs composites provide a feasible strategy to develop NIBs with long life-span and superior rate capability to pave its practical implementation.

Ramelteon improves blood-brain barrier of focal cerebral ischemia rats to prevent post-stroke depression via upregulating occludin.

Post-stroke depression (PSD) negatively affects the prognosis of post-stroke animals. Ramelteon has neuroprotection for chronic ischemia animals, but the effect and the biological mechanism of it on PSD is still unclear. This study explored the effects of ramelteon with prophylactic administration on blood-brain barrier in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and the oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) bEnd.3 cells and found that ramelteon pretreatment improved the depressive-like behaviors and decreased infarct area in MCAO rats. Also, this study found ramelteon pretreatment improved viability and inhibited permeability in OGD/R cells. In addition, this study found that MCP-1, TNF-α, and IL-1 levels were raised in the MCAO rats and that occludin protein and mRNA levels were decreased in the MCAO and the OGD/R models, while the Egr-1 level was up-regulated. All of these were antagonized by ramelteon pretreatment. In addition, overexpression of Egr-1 could reverse the effect of 100 nM ramelteon pretreatment on FITC and occludin levels in OGD/R cells. In short, this study has demonstrated that the protective effect on PSD of ramelteon pretreatment on MCAO rats is related to the development of BBB permeability and that ramelteon regulates occludin to protect the BBB by inhibiting Egr-1.

Acute traumatic coma awakening by right median nerve electrical stimulation: a randomised controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to acute coma and may result in prolonged disorder of consciousness (pDOC). We aimed to determine whether right median nerve electrical stimulation is a safe and effective treatment for accelerating emergence from coma after TBI. METHODS: This randomised controlled trial was performed in 22 centres in China. Participants with acute coma at 7-14 days after TBI were randomly assigned (1:1) to either routine therapy and right median nerve electrical stimulation (RMNS group) or routine treatment (control group). The RMNS group received 20 mA, 300 µs, 40 Hz stimulation pulses, lasting 20 s per minutes, 8 h per day, for 2 weeks. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who regained consciousness 6 months post-injury. The secondary endpoints were Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Full Outline of Unresponsiveness scale (FOUR), Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), Disability Rating Scale (DRS) and Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) scores reported as medians on day 28, 3 months and 6 months after injury, and GCS and FOUR scores on day 1 and day 7 during stimulation. Primary analyses were based on the intention-to-treat set. RESULTS: Between March 26, 2016, and October 18, 2020, 329 participants were recruited, of whom 167 were randomised to the RMNS group and 162 to the control group. At 6 months post-injury, a higher proportion of patients in the RMNS group regained consciousness compared with the control group (72.5%, n = 121, 95% confidence interval (CI) 65.2-78.7% vs. 56.8%, n = 92, 95% CI 49.1-64.2%, p = 0.004). GOSE at 3 months and 6 months (5 [interquartile range (IQR) 3-7] vs. 4 [IQR 2-6], p = 0.002; 6 [IQR 3-7] vs. 4 [IQR 2-7], p = 0.0005) and FOUR at 28 days (15 [IQR 13-16] vs. 13 [interquartile range (IQR) 11-16], p = 0.002) were significantly increased in the RMNS group compared with the control group. Trajectory analysis showed that significantly more patients in the RMNS group had faster GCS, CRS-R and DRS improvement (p = 0.01, 0.004 and 0.04, respectively). Adverse events were similar in both groups. No serious adverse events were associated with the stimulation device. CONCLUSION: Right median nerve electrical stimulation is a possible effective treatment for patients with acute traumatic coma, that will require validation in a confirmatory trial.

Selective Targeting of Class I HDAC Reduces Microglial Inflammation in the Entorhinal Cortex of Young APP/PS1 Mice.

BG45 is a class Ⅰ histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI) with selectivity for HDAC3. Our previous study demonstrated that BG45 can upregulate the expression of synaptic proteins and reduce the loss of neurons in the hippocampus of APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) transgenic mice (Tg). The entorhinal cortex is a pivotal region that, along with the hippocampus, plays a critical role in memory in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology process. In this study, we focused on the inflammatory changes in the entorhinal cortex of APP/PS1 mice and further explored the therapeutic effects of BG45 on the pathologies. The APP/PS1 mice were randomly divided into the transgenic group without BG45 (Tg group) and the BG45-treated groups. The BG45-treated groups were treated with BG45 at 2 months (2 m group), at 6 months (6 m group), or twice at 2 and 6 months (2 and 6 m group). The wild-type mice group (Wt group) served as the control. All mice were killed within 24 h after the last injection at 6 months. The results showed that amyloid-ß (Aß) deposition and IBA1-positive microglia and GFAP-positive astrocytes in the entorhinal cortex of the APP/PS1 mice progressively increased over time from 3 to 8 months of age. When the APP/PS1 mice were treated with BG45, the level of H3K9K14/H3 acetylation was improved and the expression of histonedeacetylase1, histonedeacetylase2, and histonedeacetylase3 was inhibited, especially in the 2 and 6 m group. BG45 alleviated Aß deposition and reduced the phosphorylation level of tau protein. The number of IBA1-positive microglia and GFAP-positive astrocytes decreased with BG45 treatment, and the effect was more significant in the 2 and 6 m group. Meanwhile, the expression of synaptic proteins synaptophysin, postsynaptic density protein 95, and spinophilin was upregulated and the degeneration of neurons was alleviated. Moreover, BG45 reduced the gene expression of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1ß and tumor necrosis factor-α. Closely related to the CREB/BDNF/NF-kB pathway, the expression of p-CREB/CREB, BDNF, and TrkB was increased in all BG45 administered groups compared with the Tg group. However, the levels of p-NF-kB/NF-kB in the BG45 treatment groups were reduced. Therefore, we deduced that BG45 is a potential drug for AD by alleviating inflammation and regulating the CREB/BDNF/NF-kB pathway, and the early, repeated administration of BG45 can play a more effective role.

An Ultra-Stable Electrode-Solid Electrolyte Composite for High-Performance All-Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries.

The low ionic and electronic conductivity between current solid electrolytes and high-capacity anodes limits the long-term cycling performance of all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLIBs). Herein, this work reports the fabrication of an ultra-stable electrode-solid electrolyte composite for high-performance ASSLIBs enabled by the homogeneous coverage of ultrathin Mg(BH4 )2 layers on the surface of each MgH2 nanoparticle that are uniformly distributed on graphene. The initial discharge process of Mg(BH4 )2 layers results in uniform coverage of MgH2 nanoparticle with both LiBH4 as the solid electrolyte and Li2 B6 with even higher Li ion conductivity than LiBH4 . Consequently, the Li ion conductivity of graphene-supported MgH2 nanoparticles covered with ultrathin Mg(BH4 )2 layers is two orders of magnitude higher than that without Mg(BH4 )2 layers. Moreover, the thus-formed inactive Li2 B6 with strong adsorption capability toward LiBH4 , acts as a stabilizing framework, which, coupled with the structural support role of graphene, alleviates the volume change of MgH2 nanoparticles and facilitates the intimate contact between LiBH4 and individual MgH2 nanoparticles, leading to the formation of uniform stable interfaces with high ionic and electronic conductivity on each MgH2 nanoparticles. Hence, an ultrahigh specific capacity of 800 mAh g-1 is achieved for MgH2 at 2 A g-1 after 350 cycles.

Water-Stabilized Vanadyl Phosphate Monohydrate Ultrathin Nanosheets toward High Voltage Al-Ion Batteries.

Al ion batteries (AIBs) are attracting considerable attention owing to high volumetric capacity, low cost, and high safety. However, the strong electrostatic interaction between Al3+ and host lattice leads to discontented cycling life and inferior rate capability. Herein, a new strategy of employing water molecules contained VOPO4 ·H2 O to boost Al3+ migration via the charge shielding effect of water is reported. It is revealed that VOPO4 ·H2 O with water lubrication effect and smaller steric hindrance owns high capacity and fast Al3+ diffusion, while the loss of unstable water upon cycling leads to a rapid performance degradation. To address this problem, ultrathin VOPO4 ·H2 O@MXene nanosheets are fabricated via the formed TiOV bond between VOPO4 ·H2 O and MXene. The MXene aided exfoliation results in enhanced VOwater bond strength between H2 O and VOPO4 that endows the obtained composite with strong water holding ability, contributing to the extraordinary cycling stability. Consequently, the VOPO4 ·H2 O@MXene delivers a high discharge potential of 1.8 V and maintains discharge capacities of 410 and 374.8 mAh g-1 after 420 and 2000 cycles at the current densities of 0.5 and 1.0 A g-1 , respectively. This work provides a new understanding of water-contained AIBs cathodes and vital guidance for developing high-performance AIBs.

Thioredoxin 1 overexpression attenuated diabetes-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in Müller cells via apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1.

As one of the common and serious chronic complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), the related mechanism of diabetic retinopathy (DR) has not been fully understood. Müller cell reactive gliosis is one of the early pathophysiological features of DR. Therefore, exploring the manner to reduce diabetes-induced Müller cell damage is essential to delay DR. Thioredoxin 1 (Trx1), one of the ubiquitous redox enzymes, plays a vital role in redox homeostasis via protein-protein interactions, including apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1). Previous studies have shown that upregulation of Trx by some drugs can attenuate endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in DR, but the related mechanism was unclear. In this study, we used DM mouse and high glucose (HG)-cultured human Müller cells as models to clarify the effect of Trx1 on ERS and the underlying mechanism. The data showed that the diabetes-induced Müller cell damage was increased significantly. Moreover, the expression of ERS and reactive gliosis was also upregulated in diabetes in vivo and in vitro. However, it was reversed after Trx1 overexpression. Besides, ERS-related protein expression, reactive gliosis, and apoptosis were decreased after transfection with ASK1 small-interfering RNA in stable Trx1 overexpression Müller cells after HG treatment. Taken together, Trx1 could protect Müller cells from diabetes-induced damage, and the underlying mechanism was related to inhibited ERS via ASK1.

Unlock the Potassium Storage Behavior of Single-Phased Tungsten Selenide Nanorods via Large Cation Insertion.

Metal chalcogenide anodes with a layered structure have been regarded as potential K-based electrochemical energy storage devices with high energy density for large-scale energy storage applications. However, their development is impeded by the slow K-ion transport kinetics and poor structural stability. In this work, the energy-storage behavior is investigated first and decisively associated them with the capacity-degradation of the promising layer-structured WSe2 from an integrated chemical and physical point of view. Then, a single-phased WSe2 with pre-intercalated high K content (SP-Kx WSe2 ) is designed to overcome the capacity-degradation issue fundamentally. Theoretical calculations clarify the beneficial effect of K-ions inside the interlayer of WSe2 on boosting its electrochemical performance, including increasing the electronic conductivity, promoting the K-ion diffusivity, and improving the structural stability. The novel design enables the K-ions pre-intercalated WSe2 anode material to exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 211 mAh g-1 at 5 A g-1 and superior cycling stability (89.3% capacity retention after 5000 cycles at 1 A g-1 ). Especially, the K-ion hybrid capacitor, assembled from the anode of SP-Kx WSe2 and the cathode of porous activated carbon, delivers superior energy-density up to 175 Wh kg-1 , high power-density as well as exceptional cycling stability.

Solar-Driven Reversible Hydrogen Storage.

The lack of safe and efficient hydrogen storage is a major bottleneck for large-scale application of hydrogen energy. Reversible hydrogen storage of light-weight metal hydrides with high theoretical gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen density is one ideal solution but requires extremely high operating temperature with large energy input. Herein, taking MgH2 as an example, a concept is demonstrated to achieve solar-driven reversible hydrogen storage of metal hydrides via coupling the photothermal effect and catalytic role of Cu nanoparticles uniformly distributed on the surface of MXene nanosheets (Cu@MXene). The photothermal effect of Cu@MXene, coupled with the "heat isolator" role of MgH2 indued by its poor thermal conductivity, effectively elevates the temperature of MgH2 upon solar irradiation. The "hydrogen pump" effect of Ti and TiHx species that are in situ formed on the surface of MXene from the reduction of MgH2 , on the other hand, plays a catalytic role in effectively alleviating the kinetic barrier and hence decreasing the operating temperature required for reversible hydrogen adsorption and desorption of MgH2 . Based on the combination of photothermal and catalytic effect of Cu@MXene, a reversible hydrogen storage capacity of 5.9 wt% is achieved for MgH2 after 30 cycles using solar irradiation as the only energy source.