Design strategy and comprehensive performance assessment towards Zn anode for alkaline rechargeable batteries

Alkaline Zn-based primary batteries have been commercialized in the past decades.However,their success has not been extended to secondary batteries due to the poor cycle reversibility of Zn anodes.Although some research has been conducted on alkaline Zn anodes,their performance is still far from commercial requirements.A variety of degradation mechanisms,including passivation,dendrites,morphological changes,and hydrogen precipitation,are claimed responsible for the failure of alkaline Zn metal anodes.What’s worse,these constraints always interact with each other,which leads to a single strategy being unable to suppress all the issues.Therefore,a comprehensive evaluation of the positive and negative effects of various strategies on performance is important to promote the commercialization of alkaline Zn batteries.Herein,the recent progress and performance of improvement strategies for Zn anode in alkaline conditions are reviewed systematically.First,the principles and challenges of alkaline Zn anodes are briefly analyzed.Then,various design strategies for alkaline Zn anodes from the perspectives of ion and electron regulation are highlighted.Last,through a comprehensive summary of various performance parameters,the advantages and disadvantages of different strategies are compared and evaluated.On the basis of this assessment,we aim to provide more insights into the anode design of high-performance alkaline rechargeable Zn batteries.

Pharmacological mechanisms of Yishen Xingyang capsule in the treatment of oligoasthenospermia in rats

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effects and pharmacological mechanisms of Yishen Xingyang capsule(YXC)in oligoasthenospermia(OA)rats.Methods:Forty-eight male SpragueeDawley rats were randomly divided into eight groups of six rats each:normal control(NC);model control(MC);three different positive drug(PD);and low-,medium-,and high-dose YXC groups.A rat model of OA was established by administering glucosides of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.F(GTW).After YXC administration,penile erectile function was observed.The epididymis,blood,and testes of the rats were harvested for analysis of sperm quality,sex hormone levels,mitochondrial membrane potential,and the transforming growth factor(TGF)-b1/Smad signaling pathway.Results:Compared with that in the MC group,penile erectile function in the YXC groups and three PD groups increased(all P<.01).Moreover,sperm quality in the YXC groups and three PD groups improved(all P<.001).The levels of testosterone,follicle stimulating hormone,and luteinizing hormone in the three PD and YXC groups increased(all P<.05).The mitochondrial membrane potential in the three PD and YXC groups significantly improved(all P<.001).Furthermore,the YXC and three PD groups showed decreased TGF-b1 expression(all P<.05)compared with the MC group.The high-dose YXC group and three PD groups improved Smad2 and Smad4 expression(all P<.05).Conclusion:YXC improved penile erectile function and sperm quality in OA rats,and the underlying mechanism included increase in sex hormones,inhibition of sperm apoptosis,and regulation of the TGFb1/Smad signaling pathway.Meanwhile,this study provides a new effective drug option for the treatment of OA,which is beneficial to male reproductive health and social harmony.

Research Progress on Metabolic Diseases in Rural Areas

Through the review of relevant literature in recent years,it is found that the incidence rate of metabolic diseases in rural areas is on the rise:The related factors that may cause diseases include diet structure,exercise habits,medical resources and other aspects.At the same time,there are some limitations in the intervention and treatment measures of this kind of disease.It is urgent to carry out in-depth exploration for the special conditions in rural areas.By reviewing the research progress related to metabolic diseases in rural areas,more new ideas are provided for the treatment and improvement of metabolic diseases in rural areas.

Large-Scale Surface Modification of Decellularized Matrix with Erythrocyte Membrane for Promoting In Situ Regeneration of Heart Valve

In situ regeneration is a promising strategy for constructing tissue engineering heart valves(TEHVs).Currently,the decellularized heart valve(DHV)is extensively employed as a TEHV scaffold.Nevertheless,DHV exhibits limited blood compatibility and notable difficulties in endothelialization,resulting in thrombosis and graft failure.The red blood cell membrane(RBCM)exhibits excellent biocompatibility and prolonged circulation stability and is extensively applied in the camouflage of nanoparticles for drug delivery;however,there is no report on its application for large-scale modification of decellularized extracellular matrix(ECM).For the first time,we utilized a layer-by-layer assembling strategy to immobilize RBCM on the surface of DHV and construct an innovative TEHV scaffold.Our findings demonstrated that the scaffold significantly improved the hemocompatibility of DHV by effectively preventing plasma protein adsorption,activated platelet adhesion,and erythrocyte aggregation,and induced macrophage polarization toward the M2 phenotype in vitro.Moreover,RBCM modification significantly enhanced the mechanical properties and enzymatic stability of DHV.The rat models of subcutaneous embedding and abdominal aorta implantation showed that the scaffold regulated the polarization of macrophages into the anti-inflammatory and pro-modeling M2 phenotype and promoted endothelialization and ECM remodeling in the early stage without thrombosis and calcification.The novel TEHV exhibits excellent performance and can overcome the limitations of commonly used clinical prostheses.

A New Beam Selection Method for MLC-Based Robotic Radiotherapy

Purpose: The CyberKnife system equipped with multileaf collimator (MLC) has been shown promising in treatment-time reduction and plan-quality improvement, because of the enhanced coverage of larger lesions and the improved target conformity. In this study, we aim to develop an efficient non-coplanar beam selection program for CyberKnife-based IMRT. Method: The candidate beam set in this study consists of 94 non-coplanar beams, each defined by a vector connecting a CyberKnife node and a target point. Our goal is to choose an adequately small number of beams that will allow the generation of high quality IMRT plans. We use the beam coverage of patient-surface as a surrogate for the solution space of beamlet-based inverse planning. Based on body-surface coverage and beam-projection overlap on the surface, a beam-selection program was developed. To evaluate the effectiveness of the beam selection method, IMRT plans with the selected beams for different treatment sites were generated using the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system and compared with the IMRT plans with conventional coplanar beams. Results: Our program efficiently selected a subset of relatively small number of non-coplanar beams, while pre-serving the body-surface coverage and therefore the solution space for inverse planning optimization. For example, a set of 17 beams were selected for a pancreatic cancer case, covering 92.5% of the surface area which was covered by all the 94 candidate beams with the same field size. The IMRT plans with the selected beams show superior quality with dramatically improved critical structure sparing, as compared with the clinically approved IMRT plans. Conclusion: One can efficiently select effective sets of non-coplanar beams with our program, which allow the generation of high-quality plans for MLC-based robotic radiotherapy.

GAS7 expression and its significance in human osteosarcoma

Objective： To detect the expression of GAS7 in osteosarcoma and discuss its significance. Methods： Immunohistochemistry SABC method was applied to detect GAS7 expression in specimens of 54 osteosarcoma and 15 osteochondroma cases. Results： The positive expression rate of GAS7 was 74.7% （40/54） in the group of osteosarcoma and 0% （0/15） in the group of osteochondroma. There was a significant difference in the comparison of GAS expression in these two groups （P 〈 0.05）. GAS7 was higher expressed in the samples which complicated with relapse or pulmonary metastasis than the control group （P 〈 0.05）. There was no significant association between GAS7 expression and the size of tumor, the gender or the age of the patients （P 〉 0.05）. Conclusion： The hyper-expression ot GAST may play an important role in the initiation and development of human osteosarcoma.

Biofunctionalisation strategies of material surface and the inspired biological effects for bone repair

Due to trauma and disease,bone defects endanger the healthy life of human beings.At present,the gold standard for bone defect repair is still autologous bone transplantation and allogeneic bone transplantation.However,its insufficient source,potential disease transmission and immune rejection limit its clinical application.Therefore,the development of bone repair materials plays an important role in promoting bone repair.As the interface between material and tissue,the surface of the material plays an important role in the reaction after implantation,which determines the effectiveness of defect repair treatment.With the development of surface engineering and technology,bone repair materials have developed from biological inertia to biological activity by endowing various biological functions by controlling the composition,topological morphology and structure of the material surface etc.The inspired biofunctionalisation of material surface includes the capacities of inducing osteogenesis,promoting angiogenesis,antibacterial,immune regulation etc.,as well as integration of postoperative repair and treatment.The authors review the biofunctionalisation of biomaterial surface and the inspired biological effects for bone repair,mainly including physical and chemical properties of material surface to regulate osteogenesis,and functional strategy of bone repair material surface.

Strategies for improving stability of Pt-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs),which can directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy with high efficiency and zero carbon emission,have attracted extensive attention.Unfortunately,the sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)on the cathode leads to considerable overpotential and thus severely lowering its operational energy conversion efficiency.Although Pt-based catalysts have been developed as the most efficient catalyst towards ORR,however,their stability is far from the application requirements,which hinders the large-scale application of PEMFCs to a certain extent.Thus,improving the stability of Pt-based catalysts is urgently desirable to advance the widespread commercialization of fuel cells.This review focuses on the stability of Pt-based ORR catalysts in PEMFCs,from the perspectives of catalyst degradation mechanism and stability improvement strategies.It is aimed at providing research directions for the development of stable Pt-based catalysts.Firstly,degradation of metal nanoparticles(dissolution,migration,agglomeration,Ostwald ripening,etc.)and corrosion of carbon supports are introduced.To conquer the two attenuation mechanisms,stability improvement strategies such as constructing intermetallic compounds,enhancing metal-support interaction and the modification of carbon support,are summarized in detail.In addition,some typical stability characterization techniques are outlined.Finally,we discuss the challenges and possible research directions in the future.We hope this review can help readers gain insights into the stability issues of Pt-based ORR nanocatalysts and encourage research that will enable the commercialization of PEMFCs.

Corrigendum to“3D-printed tri-element-doped hydroxyapatite/polycaprolactone composite scaffolds with antibacterial potential for osteosarcoma therapy and bone regeneration”[Bioact.Mater.31(January 2024)18-37]

The authors regret<insert corrigendum text>.The cytoskeleton staining images in Fig.5(C)of the original manuscript overlap,as shown in the white dotted box below.Given this error,we re-supplement the relevant experiments and take new images,as shown in the following Fig.5(C)of the new manuscript.The new cytoskeleton staining image has been added to the new manuscript.

3D-printed tri-element-doped hydroxyapatite/polycaprolactone composite scaffolds with antibacterial potential for osteosarcoma therapy and bone regeneration

The resection of malignant osteosarcoma often results in large segmental bone defects,and the residual cells can facilitate recurrence.Consequently,the treatment of osteosarcoma is a major challenge in clinical practice.The ideal goal of treatment for osteosarcoma is to eliminate it thoroughly,and repair the resultant bone defects as well as avoid bacterial infections.Herein,we fabricated a selenium/strontium/zinc-doped hydroxyapatite(Se/Sr/Zn-HA)powder by hydrothermal method,and then employed it with polycaprolactone(PCL)as ink to construct composite scaffolds through 3D printing,and finally introduced them in bone defect repair induced by malignant osteosarcoma.The resultant composite scaffolds integrated multiple functions involving anti-tumor,osteogenic,and antibacterial potentials,mainly attributed to the anti-tumor effects of SeO_(3)^(2-),osteogenic ef-fects of Sr^(2+)and Zn^(2+),and antibacterial effects of SeO_(3)^(2-)and Zn^(2+).In vitro studies confirmed that Se/Sr/Zn-HA leaching solution could induce apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells,differentiation of MSCs,and proliferation of MC3T3-E1 while showing excellent antibacterial properties.In vivo tests demonstrated that Se/Sr/Zn-HA could significantly suppress tumors after 8 days of injection,and the Se/Sr/Zn-HA-PCLs scaffold repaired femoral defects effectively after 3 months of implantation.Summarily,the Se/Sr/Zn-HA-PCLs composite scaffolds developed in this study were effective for tumor treatment,bone defect repair,and post-operative anti-infection,which provided a great potential to be a facile therapeutic material for osteosarcoma resection.

Corrigendum to“3D-printed tri-element-doped hydroxyapatite/polycaprolactone composite scaffolds with antibacterial potential for osteosarcoma therapy and bone regeneration”[Bioact.Mater.31(January 2024)18-37]

The authors regret<insert corrigendum text>.The cytoskeleton staining images in Fig.5(C)of the original manu-script overlap,as shown in the white dotted box below.Given this error,we re-supplement the relevant experiments and take new images,as shown in the following Fig.5(C)of the new manuscript.The new cytoskeleton staining image has been added to the new manuscript.

生态实践中的传承与创新--中国城市科学研究会景观学与美丽中国建设专业委员会座谈会纪实

2018年1月21日,中国城市科学研究会景观学与美丽中国建设专业委员会座谈会于北京大学建筑与景观设计学院举办。来自景观、生态、水利、规划等领域的30余位学者、设计师、教育者及其他从业人士参加了会议,并围绕美丽中国建设、生态文明建设、景观设计学科建设、行业融合等议题展开讨论。座谈会最终达成共识,提出了跨界生态实践的迫切性和必要性,同时探讨了在教育和实践层面跨界的难点与问题——不同行业的优势、职责以及在"跨界"中的作用尚不明确,学科教育也未能很好地构建并明晰自身的核心竞争力——呼吁应积极促进学科与行业融合,使其适应当代需求。

Short-term biochar effect on soil physicochemical and microbiological properties of a degraded alpine grassland

Soil remediation is an important part of the restoration process of degraded terrestrial ecosystems.Due to its unique properties,biochar is being used widely as an effective soil modifier in agricultural systems,but research is still rare on biochar application in grassland ecosystems,especially in degraded alpine grasslands.In this study,we conducted a plot experiment to investigate the effect of biochar application on soil physicochemical properties and microorganisms at the 0–20 cm soil depth of a degraded alpine grassland in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China.The experiment consisted of four corn straw biochar application levels(0%,0.5%,1%and 2%,with the percentage representing the ratio of biochar weight to the dry weight of soil in the surface 20 cm soil layer).When the biochar addition increased from 0%to 2%,total nitrogen,total organic carbon and available phosphorus in the 0–10 cm soil layer increased by 41%,55%and 45%,respectively,in the second year after biochar addition.Meanwhile,soil electrical conductivity decreased,and soil water content increased.Total microbial,fungal and bacterial biomasses in the 0–10 cm soil layer increased from 9.15 to 12.68,0.91 to 1.34,and 3.85 to 4.55μg g^(-1),respectively.The relative biomasses of saprophytic fungi and methanotrophic bacteria decreased,while the relative biomasses of ectomycorrhizal fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased.These results indicate that biochar has a great potential in improving microbial activity and soil fertility in soil remediation of the degraded alpine grassland.

Preparation of multigradient hydroxyapatite scaffolds and evaluation of their osteoinduction properties

Porous hydroxyapatite(HA)scaffolds are often used as bone repair materials,owing to their good biocompatibility,osteoconductivity and low cost.Vascularization and osteoinductivity of porous HA scaffolds were limited in clinical application,and these disadvantages were need to be improved urgently.We used water-in-oil gelation and pore former methods to prepare HA spheres and a porous cylindrical HA container,respectively.The prepared HA spheres were filled in container to assemble into composite scaffold.By adjusting the solid content of the slurry(solid mixture of chitin sol and HA powder)and the sintering temperature,the porosity and crystallinity of the HA spheres could be significantly improved;and mineralization of the HA spheres significantly improved the biological activity of the composite scaffold.The multigradient(porosity,crystallinity and mineralization)scaffold(HA-700)filled with the mineralized HA spheres exhibited a lower compressive strength;however,in vivo results showed that their vascularization ability were higher than those of other groups,and their osteogenic Gini index(Go:an index of bone mass,and inversely proportional to bone mass)showed a continuous decrease with the implantation time.This study provides a new method to improve porous HA scaffolds and meet the demands of bone tissue engineering applications.

PSegNet: Simultaneous Semantic and Instance Segmentation for Point Clouds of Plants

Phenotyping of plant growth improves the understanding of complex genetic traits and eventually expedites the development of modern breeding and intelligent agriculture.In phenotyping,segmentation of 3D point clouds of plant organs such as leaves and stems contributes to automatic growth monitoring and reflects the extent of stress received by the plant.In this work,we first proposed the Voxelized Farthest Point Sampling(VFPS),a novel point cloud downsampling strategy,to prepare our plant dataset for training of deep neural networks.

Influence of ammonium sulfate on YAG nanopowders and Yb：YAG ceramics synthesized by a novel homogeneous co-precipitation method

Homogeneous and dispersed Y3 Al5 O12（yttrium aluminum garnet,YAG） nanopowders were synthesized via a homogeneous co-precipitation method from the mixed solutions of yttrium nitrate,aluminum nitrate and a small amount of ammonium sulfate using hot urea as the precipitant.The method has the superiorities that co-precipitation of cations is ensured and continuous decomposition of the hot urea is achieved to obtain the narrow size distribution particles.The addition of small amount of ammonium sulfate surfactant,although has no influence on YAG garnet phase formation,has significant effect on dispersion,particles distribution and sinterability of the resultant YAG and Yb：YAG powders.Compared with the undoped sample,the green body of Yb：YAG doped with ammonium sulfate has higher total shrinkage,linear shrinkage rate and relative density through sintering at 1600 ℃.The resultant Yb：YAG powders can be sintered into transparent ceramics at 1700 ℃ through vacuum sintering.The influence of the sulfate ions on characteristics of the resultant powders was thoroughly studied.