Thin polymer electrolyte with MXene functional layer for uniform Li^(+) deposition in all-solid-state lithium battery

Solid polymer electrolyte(SPE) shows great potential for all-solid-state batteries because of the inherent safety and flexibility;however, the unfavourable Li+deposition and large thickness hamper its development and application. Herein, a laminar MXene functional layer-thin SPE layer-cathode integration(MXene-PEO-LFP) is designed and fabricated. The MXene functional layer formed by stacking rigid MXene nanosheets imparts higher compressive strength relative to PEO electrolyte layer. And the abundant negatively-charged groups on MXene functional layer effectively repel anions and attract cations to adjust the charge distribution behavior at electrolyte–anode interface. Furthermore,the functional layer with rich lithiophilic groups and outstanding electronic conductivity results in low Li nucleation overpotential and nucleation energy barrier. In consequence, the cell assembled with MXene-PEO-LFP, where the PEO electrolyte layer is only 12 μm, much thinner than most solid electrolytes, exhibits uniform, dendrite-free Li+deposition and excellent cycling stability. High capacity(142.8 mAh g-1), stable operation of 140 cycles(capacity decay per cycle, 0.065%), and low polarization potential(0.5 C) are obtained in this Li|MXene-PEO-LFP cell,which is superior to most PEO-based electrolytes under identical condition. This integrated design may provide a strategy for the large-scale application of thin polymer electrolytes in all-solid-state battery.

Lignans are the main active components of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus for liver disease treatment:a review

As a traditional Chinese herbal medicine,Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus(SC)has been used in medicine and food industry due to its health care and therapeutic effects.Over the past 20 years,the use of SC and its active ingredient lignans in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases has been increasing,and their hepatoprotective effects has increased the interest of the public and academia.Therefore,in the present work,we first determined the effectiveness of SC in the treatment of liver diseases such as metabolic associated fatty liver disease,alcoholic liver disease,cholestatic liver disease and acute liver injury.Subsequently,the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of lignans,the active components of SC,for liver disease treatment were comprehensively summarized for the first time.The results showed that the lignans in SC could achieve hepatoprotective effects by regulating lipid metabolism,anti-fibrosis,anti-inflammation,anti-oxidation,anti-tumor and regulating bile acid metabolism.The mechanism mainly involved adenosine 5’-monophosphate-activated protein kinase,endoplasmic reticulum stress,sterol regulatory element binding protein 1c,autophagy,transforming growth factor-β,mitogen-activated protein kinase,microRNA,nuclear factor kappa-B,nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2,heat shock proteins and pregnane X receptor signaling pathways.These results can lay a scientific foundation for the development of hepatoprotective drugs or functional foods from SC/lignans.

Prospect of the QTL-qSB-9^(Tq) utilized in molecular breeding program of japonica rice against sheath blight

The major QTL-qSB-9^Tq conferring partial resistance to rice （Oryza sativa L.） sheath blight （Rhizoctonia solani Kvhn） has been verified on chromosome 9 of the indica rice cultivar, Teqing. In this study, the prospect of this QTL utilized in molecular breeding program of japonica rice for sheath blight resistance was investigated. Most of the japonica rice cultivars showed lower level of sheath blight resistance than the indica rice cultivars. At the corresponding site of qSB-9^Tq, nine typical japonica rice cultivars from different ecological regions or countries proved to possess the susceptible allele（s）. Introgression of qSB-9^Tq into these cultivars enhanced their resistance level by decreasing sheath blight score of 1.0 （0.5-1.3）, which indicated that qSB-9^Tq had a large potential in strengthening the resistance of japonica rice to sheath blight. The use of the three molecular markers, which were polymorphic between Teqing and many japonica rice cultivars, promotes the application of qSB-9^Tq in a concrete molecular breeding program.

Advances in Research of Green Tea Polyphenols in Drug Development

This paper elaborated the chemical components,biological metabolism,and progress in the field of drug development of green tea polyphenols,mainly in the prevention and treatment of cancer,neurodegenerative diseases,and diabetes.The potential anti-tumor activity of tea polyphenols can be achieved through intervening in various stages of tumor generation,development,and metastasis.However,the development of tea polyphenols as a therapeutic drug still faces many challenges,such as low bioavailability.Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have particular advantages over the simple tea polyphenols.Since there are emerging safety issues and potential local drug overdose effects,it is necessary to determine the actual dosage and pharmacological mechanism of the drug after encapsulating the nanoparticles.

Numerical investigation on the effect of gas parameters on ozone generation in pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

Pulsed dielectric barrier discharge is a promising technology for ozone generation and is drawing increasing interest. To overcome the drawback of experimental investigation, a kinetic model is applied to numerically investigate the effect of gas parameters including inlet gas temperature, gas pressure, and gas flow rate on ozone generation using pulsed dielectric barrier discharge. The results show that ozone concentration and ozone yield increase with decreasing inlet gas temperature, gas pressure, and gas flow rate. The highest ozone concentration and ozone yield in oxygen are about 1.8 and 2.5 times higher than those in air, respectively. A very interesting phenomenon is observed： the peak ozone yield occurs at a lower ozone concentration when the inlet gas temperature and gas pressure are higher because of the increasing average gas temperature in the discharge gap as well as the decreasing reduced electric field and electron density in the microdischarge channel. Furthermore, the sensitivity and rate of production analysis based on the specific input energy （SIE） for the four most important species 03, O, O（1D）, and O2（b1∑） are executed to quantitatively understand the effects of every reaction on them, and to determine the contribution of individual reactions to their net production or destruction rates. A reasonable increase in SIE is beneficial to ozone generation. However, excessively high S1E is not favorable for ozone production.

Ozone generation enhanced by silica catalyst in packed-bed DBD reactor

In this paper,three dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)configurations,which were plain DBD with no packing,DBD with packed pure quartz fibers and DBD with packed loaded quartz fibers,were employed to investigate the effect and catalytic mechanism of catalyst materials in a packed-bed ozone generator.From the experimental results,it was clear that the DBD configuration with packed pure fibers and packed loaded fibers promotes ozone generation.For the packed-bed reactor,ozone concentration and ozone yield were enhanced by an increase of electric field in the discharge gap with the packed-bed effect.Meanwhile,the enhancement of ozone concentration and yield for the DBD reactor packed by loaded fibers with silica nanoparticles was due to the catalysis of silica nanoparticles on the fiber surface.The adsorption of silica nanoparticles on the fiber surface can prolong the retention time of active species and enhance surface reactions.

pH-sensitive micelles self-assembled from star-shaped TPGS copolymers with ortho ester linkages for enhanced MDR reversal and chemotherapy

TPGS approved by FDA can be used as a P-gp inhibitor to effectively reverse multi-drug resistance(MDR)and as an anticancer agent for synergistic antitumor effects.However,the comparatively high critical micelle concentration(CMC),low drug loading(DL)and poor tumor target limit its further clinical application.To overcome these drawbacks,the pH-sensitive star-shaped TPGS copolymers were successfully constructed via using pentaerythritol as the initial materials,ortho esters as the pH-triggered linkages and TPGS active-ester as the terminated MDR material.The amphiphilic star-shaped TPGS copolymers could self-assemble into free and doxorubicin(DOX)-loaded micelles at neutral aqueous solutions.The micelles exhibited the lower CMC(8.2×10^(−5) mg/ml),higher DL(10.8%)and long-term storage and circulation stability,and showed enhanced cellular uptake,apoptosis,cytotoxicity,and growth inhibition for in vitro MCF-7/ADR and/or MCF-7/ADR multicellular spheroids and in vivo MCF-7/ADR tumors via efficiently targeted drug release at tumoral intracellular pH(5.0),MDR reversal of TPGS,and synergistic effect of DOX and TPGS.Therefore,the pH-sensitive micelles self-assembled from star-shaped TPGS copolymers with ortho ester linkages are potentially useful to clinically transform for enhanced MDR cancer treatment.

Formatted PVDF in lamellar composite solid electrolyte for solidstate lithium metal battery

Solid polymer electrolytes(SPEs)hold great application potential for solid-state lithium metal battery because of the excellent interfacial contact and processibility,but being hampered by the poor room-temperature conductivity(~10^(−7)S·cm^(−1))and low lithium-ion transference number(tLi+).Here,a lamellar composite solid electrolyte(Vr-NH_(2)@polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)LCSE)withβ-conformation PVDF is fabricated by confining PVDF in the interlayer channel of-NH_(2)modified vermiculite lamellar framework.We demonstrate that the conformation of PVDF can be manipulated by the nanoconfinement effect and the interaction from channel wall.The presence of-NH_(2)groups could induce the formation ofβ-conformation PVDF through electrostatic interaction,which serves as continuous and rapid lithium-ion transfer pathway.As a result,a high room-temperature ionic conductivity of 1.77×10^(−4)S·cm^(−1)is achieved,1-2 orders of magnitude higher than most SPEs.Furthermore,Vr-NH_(2)@PVDF LCSE shows a high tLi+of 0.68 because of the high dielectric constant,~3 times of that of PVDF SPE,and surpassing most of reported SPEs.The LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2)||Li cell assembled by Vr-NH_(2)@PVDF LCSE obtains a discharge specific capacity of 137.1 mAh·g^(−1)after 150 cycles with a capacity retention rate of 93%at 1 C and 25℃.This study may pave a new avenue for high-performance SPEs.

Isolation and characterization of rl_(t), a gene that controls leaf rolling in rice

Moderate leaf rolling is one of the most important morphological traits in rice breeding for plant ideotype.Previous studies have shown that the rl(t)gene has a high breeding potential for developing hybrid-rice varieties with an ideal ideotype,because it leads to an appropriate leaf rolling index(LRI)of about 30%in the heterozygous state,and had a positive effect on grain yield.In this study,we isolated rl(t)and performed a preliminary investigation of its function in regulating leaf rolling in rice.DNA sequencing identified a single base change(G to T)in the finely mapped region(11 kb)containing rl(t),and this is located in 30-untranslated region(30-UTR)of the only predicted gene,Roc5(Rice outermost cell-specific).The expression level of Roc5 is significantly higher in the rl(t)mutant than in the wild-type.Using RNAi and overexpression analysis,we found that the expression level of Roc5 correlated with LRI and leaf bulliform area,and wasalso associated with leaf abaxial or adaxial rolling.These results confirmed that Roc5 controls leaf rolling in a dosage-dependent manner.Bioinformatics analysis revealed a conserved 17-nt sequence(called the GU-rich element)in the 30-UTR of HD-GL2(Homeodomain-Glabra2)family genes including Roc5.Based on the model of this element in regulating mRNA stability in mammals,we speculate that the single nucleotide change in this element accounts for the higher expression level of Roc5 in the rl(t)mutant compared to the wild-type,which ultimately leads to adaxial rolling of the leaf.This discovery further enhances our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying leaf rolling in rice.

Synthesis of gold/rare-earth-vanadate core/shell nanorods for integrating plasmon resonance and fluorescence

The nanoscale core/shell heterostructure is a particularly efficient motif to combine the promising properties of plasmonic materials and rare-earth compounds; however, there remain significant challenges in the synthetic control due to the large interfacial energy between these two intrinsically unmatched materials. Herein, we report a synthetic route to grow rare-earth-vanadate shells on gold nanorod （AuNR） cores. After modifying the AuNR surface with oleate through a surfactant exchange, well-packaged rare-earth oxide （e.g., Gd2O3：Eu） shells are grown on AuNRs as a result of the multiple roles of oleate. Furthermore, the composition of the shell has been altered from oxide to vanadate （GdVO4：Eu） using an anion exchange method. Owing to the carefully designed strategy, the AuNR cores maintain the morphology during the synthesis process; thus, the final Au/GdVO4： Eu core/shell NRs exhibit strong absorption bands and high photothermal efficiency. In addition, the Au/GdVO4：Eu NRs exhibit bright Eu^3＋ fluorescence with quantum yield as high as -17%; bright Sm^3＋ and Dy^3＋ fluorescence can also be obtained by changing the lanthanide doping in the oxide formation. Owing to the attractive integration of the plasmonic and fluorescence properties, such core/shell heterostructures will find particular applications in a wide array of areas, from biomedicine to energy.

Unique capability of NdPO_(4)to activate hydrogen for efficient hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol over Nd-Co-P composites

Efficient and applicable catalysts are highly desirable for advanced biomass transformation industry,here,we fabricated a series of Nd-Co-P catalysts for hydrogenation of furfural(FAL)to furfuryl alcohol(FOH).By comprehensive characterizations,it is demonstrated that the prepared Nd-Co-P samples are structured as(NdPO_(4))_(m)/Co_(2)P nanocomposites with molar ratio(m)in range of 0.24-1.1;by manipulating m,the outstanding catalytic efficiency comparable with the performance of precious metal catalysts,such as turnover frequency(TOF)up to 0,50 s^(-1)(being ten-fold higher than Co_(2)P)and FOH yield up to97%,is achieved on the reusable(NdPO_(4))_(m)/Co_(2)P composites.Te mperature programmed desorption(TPD),in-situ infrared spectroscopy(IR)and kinetic-mechanism studies further disclose that Co_(2)P is decisive for activating FAL,instead,NdPO_(4)possesses unique capability of activating hydrogen which readily facilitate the selective hydrogenation of FAL to FOH through a rapid Langmuir-Hinshelwood process over(NdPO_(4))_(m)/Co_(2)P catalyst.These results indicate that rare-earth phosphates like NdPO_(4)can act as the promising and reliable catalytic component to activate hydrogen,which can be of interest not only for innovating novel and applicable non-metallic catalysts for sustainable biomass transformation analogous to hydrogenation of FAL,but also for expanding material base for other green mass transformation techniques involving hydrogen.

NUMERICAL STUDY ON PROPERTIES OF WEAK INTERLAYER OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE

With assumption of material inhomogeneity on meso level, a three-point bending beam model has been adopted to simulate crack propagation in two dimensional laminated composite and to verify the toughening mechanism of energy dissipation and crack deflection along the weak interlayer. Moreover, the effect of strength, elastic modulus and thickness of the weak interlayer on both strength and toughness of the laminated composite have also been investigated in this paper.