Boosting rate performance of layered lithium-rich cathode materials by oxygen vacancy induced surface multicomponent integration

The rapid development of electric vehicles and portable energy storage systems demands improvements in the energy density and cost-effectiveness of lithium-ion batteries,a domain in which Lithium-rich layered cathode(LLO)materials inherently excel.However,these materials face practical challenges,such as low initial Coulombic efficiency,inferior cycle/rate performance,and voltage decline during cycling,which limit practical application.Our study introduces a surface multi-component integration strategy that incorporates oxygen vacancies into the pristine LLO material Li1.2Mn_(0.6)Ni_(0.2)O_(2).This process involves a brief citric acid treatment followed by calcination,aiming to explore rate-dependent degradation behavior.The induced surface oxygen vacancies can reduce surface oxygen partial pressure and diminish the generation of O_(2)and other highly reactive oxygen species on the surface,thereby facilitating the activation of Li ions trapped in tetrahedral sites while overcoming transport barriers.Additionally,the formation of a spinel-like phase with 3D Li+diffusion channels significantly improves Li^(+)diffusion kinetics and stabilizes the surface structure.The optimally modified sample boasts a discharge capacity of 299.5 mA h g^(-1)at a 0.1 C and 251.6 mA h g^(-1)at a 1 C during the initial activation cycle,with an impressive capacity of 222.1 mA h g^(-1)at a 5 C.Most notably,it retained nearly 70%of its capacity after 300 cycles at this elevated rate.This straightforward,effective,and highly viable modification strategy provides a crucial resolution for overcoming challenges associated with LLO materials,making them more suitable for practical application.

Reversible cationic-anionic redox in disordered rocksalt cathodes enabled by fluorination-induced integrated structure design

Cation-disordered rocksalt oxides(DRX)have been identified as promising cathode materials for high energy density applications owing to their variable elemental composition and cationic-anionic redox activity.However,their practical implementation has been impeded by unwanted phenomena such as irrepressible transition metal migration/dissolution and O_(2)/CO_(2)evolution,which arise due to parasitic reactions and densification-degradation mechanisms during extended cycling.To address these issues,a micron-sized DRX cathode Li_(1.2)Ni_(1/3)Ti_(1/3)W_(2/15)O_(1.85)F_(0.15)(SLNTWOF)with F substitution and ultrathin LiF coating layer is developed by alcohols assisted sol-gel method.Within this fluorination-induced integrated structure design(FISD)strategy,in-situ F substitution modifies the activity/reversibility of the cationic-anionic redox reaction,while the ultrathin LiF coating and single-crystal structure synergistically mitigate the cathode/electrolyte parasitic reaction and densification-degradation mechanism.Attributed to the multiple modifications and size effect in the FISD strategy,the SLNTWOF sample exhibits reversible cationic-anionic redox chemistry with a meliorated reversible capacity of 290.3 mA h g^(-1)at 0.05C(1C=200 mA g^(-1)),improved cycling stability of 78.5%capacity retention after 50 cycles at 0.5 C,and modified rate capability of 102.8 mA h g^(-1)at 2 C.This work reveals that the synergistic effects between bulk structure modification,surface regulation,and engineering particle size can effectively modulate the distribution and evolution of cationic-anionic redox activities in DRX cathodes.

Development of high-resolution chloroplast markers for intraspecific phylogeographic studies of Phaeocystis globosa

Phaeocystis globosa is an important harmful algal bloom causative species distributing widely in temperate and tropical coastal waters in the world.The morphological,physiological,and biochemical characteristics are different among geographic strains,which can not be distinguished with nuclear ribosomal DNA markers at present.Therefore,the genetic distance and phylogeographic relationships of nuclear 28S rDNA D1–D2 and ITS regions,and three chloroplast intergenic spacers(petN-trnS1,trnM1-psbA,and rbcS-rpl27)were analyzed and compared among 13 strains of P.globosa isolated from the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean in this study.In addition,the nucleotide polymorphisms of 28S rDNA D1–D2,ITS,and rbcS-rpl27 regions were evaluated in two P.globosa strains.The various levels of nucleotide polymorphism were in the nuclear 28S rDNA D1–D2 region and ITS region,but no polymorphism was in the chloroplast rbcS-rpl27 intergenic spacer.A reasonable intraspecific phylogeographic relationship was presented by rbcS-rpl27 intergenic spacer,which had the strongest distinction to geographic strains compared to those of 28S rDNA D1–D2 and ITS regions.In the phylogenetic tree of rbcS-rpl27 intergenic spacer,the two strains from the North Sea of the Atlantic Ocean were divided firstly from the species of P.globosa,and then formed an independent clade,while the other Atlantic strains and all of Pacific strains joined up to build the other clade.It was implied that at least two genetically distant populations of P.globosa existed in the Atlantic coastal regions.This study provided a high-resolution chloroplast marker to analyze intraspecific phylogeographic populations of P.globosa,and preliminarily clarified the genetic relationships of the Pacific and Atlantic strains of P.globosa.

关于江苏省本科生学习重点方向的调查研究

近年来,随着社会政策和就业形势的变化,大学生在校的学习重点方向越来越趋于多样化。除了专业学习以外,在校本科生学习考证也变成了非常普遍的现象。因此,大学生基于专业学习和考证学习的学习重点方向的多重选择引发了我们的思考和关注。本文以江苏省部分高校的部分学生为抽样总体,通过配额抽样和方便抽样的方式,对院校类型与学习重点方向的相关性进行分析与研究。我们计算出不同学习重点方向的人数总量指标的估计值,数据表明:从整体来看,大多数本科生的学习重点是专业学习。同时,对比其他院校本科生,财经类院校的学生明显对考证学习尤显重视。这表明,院校类型与学习重点方向选择存在一定的相关影响。

抗原改造联合纳米肿瘤疫苗用以克服肿瘤新抗原短缺及在多种肿瘤类型上激起强效抗肿瘤免疫反应

Neoantigen cancer vaccines have been envisioned as one of the most promising means for cancer therapies.However,identifying neoantigens for tumor types with low tumor mutation burdens continues to limit the effectiveness of neoantigen vaccines.Herein,we proposed a "hit-and-run" vaccine strategy which primes T cells to attack tumor cells decorated with exogenous "neo-antigens".This vaccine strategy utilizes a peptide nanovaccine to elicit antigen-specific T cell responses after tumor-specific decoration with a nanocarrier containing the same peptide antigens.We demonstrated that a poly(2-oxazoline)s(POx) conjugated with OVA_(257-264) peptide through a matrix metalloprotease 2(MMP-2) sensitive linker could efficiently and selectively decorate tumor cells with OVA peptides in vivo.Then,a POx-based nanovaccine containing OVA_(257-264) peptides to elicit OVA-specific T cell responses was designed.In combination with this hit-and-run vaccine system,an effective vaccine therapy was demonstrated across tumor types even without OVA antigen expression.This approach provides a promising and uniform vaccine strategy against tumors with a low tumor mutation burden.

Core-antiresonance-based terahertz cavities and applications[Invited]

This work presents a brief review of our recent research on an antiresonant mechanism named core antiresonant reflection(CARR),which leads to a broadband terahertz(THz)spectrum output with periodic dips at resonant frequencies after its transmission along a hollow-core tubular structure(e.g.,a paper tube).The CARR theory relies only on parameters of the tube core(e.g.,the inner diameter)rather than the cladding,thus being distinct from existing principles such as the traditional antiresonant reflection inside optical waveguides(ARROWs).We demonstrate that diverse tubular structures,including cylindrical,polyhedral,spiral,meshy,and notched hollow tubes with either transparent or opaque cladding materials,as well as a thick-walled hole,could indeed become CARR-type resonators.Based on this CARR effect,we also perform various applications,such as pressure sensing with paper-folded THz cavities,force/magnetism-driven chiral polarization modulations,and single-pulse measurements of the angular dispersion of THz beams.In future studies,the proposed CARR method promises to support breakthroughs in multiple fields by means of being extended to more kinds of tubular entities for enhancing their interactions with light waves in an antiresonance manner.

Polymer-based synthetic oncolytic virus-like nanoparticles for cancer immunotherapy

Oncolytic viruses have emerged as new powerful therapeutic agents for cancer therapy by specifically lysing cancer cells while activating innate immune responses at the same time.However,due to the thorny issues of safety concerns and host immune reaction,the clinical application of oncolytic viruses is still limited.Herein,we report a rationally designed oncolytic virus-like nanoparticles(OV-NPs)composed of stimulator of interferon genes(STING)-stimulating polymer loaded with therapeutic genes for cancer immunotherapy.After injection into tumor,the OV-NPs carrying OX40L plasmid could reprogram tumor cells to express OX40L immune checkpoint molecules and activate the STING pathway for cooperatively enhancing antitumor immunity,with a tumor suppression rate of 92.3%in B16F10 tumor model and 78.7%in MC38 tumor model without causing any toxicity.The OV-NPs could be further applied in carrying other plasmids(IL-12)and utilization in gene combination therapy.This study should inspire designing synthetic OV-NPs as alternative strategies for extending oncolytic virus application in cancer immunotherapy.

Advancing application of mesenchymal stem cell-based bone tissue regeneration

Reconstruction of bone defects,especially the critical-sized defects,with mechanical integrity to the skeleton is important for a patient's rehabilitation,however,it still remains challenge.Utilizing biomaterials of human origin bone tissue for therapeutic purposes has provided a facilitated approach that closely mimics the critical aspects of natural bone tissue with regard to its properties.However,not only efficacious and safe but also costeffective and convenient are important for regenerative biomaterials to achieve clinical translation and commercial success.Advances in our understanding of regenerative biomaterials and their roles in new bone formation potentially opened a new frontier in the fast-growing field of regenerative medicine.Taking inspiration from the role and multicomponent construction of native extracellular matrix(ECM)for cell accommodation,the ECM-mimicking biomaterials and the naturally decellularized ECM scaffolds were used to create new tissues for bone restoration.On the other hand,with the going deep in understanding of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs),they have shown great promise to jumpstart and facilitate bone healing even in diseased microenvironments with pharmacology-based endogenous MSCs rescue/mobilization,systemic/local infusion of MSCs for cytotherapy,biomaterials-based approaches,cell-sheets/-aggregates technology and usage of subcellular vesicles of MSCs to achieve scaffolds-free or cell-free delivery system,all of them have been shown can improve MSCsmediated regeneration in preclinical studies and several clinical trials.Here,following an overview discussed autogenous/allogenic and ECM-based bone biomaterials for reconstructive surgery and applications of MSCsmediated bone healing and tissue engineering to further offer principles and effective strategies to optimize MSCs-based bone regeneration.

Clue to a thorough understanding of terahertz pulse generation by femtosecond laser filamentation

In this work, it has been demonstrated that in order to fully understand the terahertz(THz) pulse generation process during femtosecond laser filamentation, the interaction between THz wave and air plasma has to be taken into account. This interaction is mainly associated with the spatial confinement of the THz pulse by the plasma column, which could be described by the one-dimensional negative dielectric(1DND) waveguide model. By combining the 1 DND model with the conventional four-wave mixing(4WM) and photocurrent(PC) models,the variation of THz spectral amplitude and width obtained in experiments could be better understood. Finally, a three-step procedure, with 1DND bridging 4WM and PC processes, has been established for the first time to describe the underlying mechanism of THz radiation from plasma sources.

Identification of a novel PAK1 inhibitor to treat pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers with poor prognosis and a low 5-year survival rate.The family of P21-activated kinases(PAKs)appears to modulate many signaling pathways that contribute to pancreatic carcinogenesis.In this work,we demonstrated that PAK1 is a critical regulator in pancreatic cancer cell growth.PAK1-targeted inhibition is therefore a new potential therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer.Our small molecule screening identified a relatively specific PAK1-targeted inhibitor,CP734.Pharmacological and biochemical studies indicated that CP734 targets residue V342 of PAK1 to inhibit its ATPase activity.Further in vitro and in vivo studies elucidated that CP734 suppresses pancreatic tumor growth through depleting PAK1 kinase activity and its downstream signaling pathways.Little toxicity of CP734 was observed in murine models.Combined with gemcitabine or 5-fluorouracil,CP734 also showed synergistic effects on the anti-proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells.All these favorable results indicated that CP734 is a new potential therapeutic candidate for pancreatic cancer.

Interfacial Degradation and Optimization of Li-rich Cathode Materials

High-energy and safe lithium ion batteries(LIBs)are in increasing need as the rapid development of electronic devices,electric vehicles,as well as energy storage station.Li-rich oxides have attracted a lot of attention due to their high capacity and low cost as cathode material for LIBs.However,they still suffer from the vulnerable cathode/electrolyte interface,which presents the huge challenges of surface degradation and gas release,particularly at high state of charge.Some issues of Li-rich cathode materials,such as moderate cycle stability and voltage decay,are in tight connection with electrode-electrolyte interfacial side reactions.Research in the area of interfacial degradation mechanism and optimization strategies is of great significance as for Li-rich cathode,and extensive efforts have been poured.This review aims to understand the degradation mechanism of Li-rich cathode materials,and summarize the corresponding valuable and effective optimization strategies.Based on these considerations,we also have discussed the remaining challenges and the future research direction.

Trinity immune enhancing nanoparticles for boosting antitumor immune responses of immunogenic chemotherapy

Certain chemo drugs have been reported to potentially induce tumor-specific immune recognition by triggering immunogenic cell death(ICD),which provides a promising alternative way for cancer immunotherapy.However,the immunogenic effects of such treatments are still weak and robust systemic antitumor immune responses are rarely seen when these agents were used alone.Herein,we proposed a trinity immune enhancing nanoparticles(TIENs)for boosting antitumor immune responses of chemo agents.The TIENs was constructed with Food and Drug Administration(FDA)approved polylactic acid(PLA),canonical proton-sponging cationic polymer polyethyleneimine(PEI),and Toll-like receptor 9(TLR9)agonist cytosine phosphate guanine oligodeoxynucleotide(CpG-ODN).In in vitro studies,the TIENs was proved to(1)promote antigen capturing,(2)antigen-presenting cells(APCs)activation,and(3)antigen cross-presentation.In in vivo studies,intratumorally injected TIENs greatly enhanced antitumor effect and robust immune responses of oxaliplatin and doxorubicin in murine CT26 and 4T1 tumor models,respectively.Furthermore,after decoration with a detachable shielding,the TIENs was proved to be effective in promoting the antitumor effects of chemo agents after intravenous injection.The combination of TIENs with clinically widely used chemo agents should be meaningful in boosting effective antitumor immune responses and cancer therapy.

The HIF-1A/miR-17-5p/PDCD4 axis contributes to the tumor growth and metastasis of gastric cancer

Dear Editor,Gastric cancer(GC)is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive system and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide1.Despite the gradually declining morbidity and mortality,GC still burdens many countries in East Asia1.Understanding the GC pathological process is vital for the successful diagnosis,treatment and prevention of this disease.

Cold-Induced Reprogramming of Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue Assessed by Single-Cell and Single-Nucleus RNA Sequencing

Adipose browning has demonstrated therapeutic potentials in several diseases.Here,by conducting transcriptomic profiling at the single-cell and single-nucleus resolution,we reconstituted the cellular atlas in mouse inguinal subcutaneous white adipose tissue(iWAT)at thermoneutrality or chronic cold condition.All major nonimmune cells within the iWAT,including adipose stem and progenitor cells(ASPCs),mature adipocytes,endothelial cells,Schwann cells,and smooth muscle cells,were recovered,allowing us to uncover an overall and detailed blueprint for transcriptomes and intercellular cross-talks and the dynamics during white adipose tissue brown remodeling.Our findings also unravel the existence of subpopulations in mature adipocytes,ASPCs,and endothelial cells,as well as new insights on their interconversion and reprogramming in response to cold.The adipocyte subpopulation competent of major histocompatibility complex class Ⅱ(MHCⅡ)antigen presentation is potentiated.Furthermore,a subcluster of ASPC with CD74 expression was identified as the precursor of this MHCⅡ^(+)adipocyte.Beige adipocytes are transdifferented from preexisting lipid generating adipocytes,which exhibit developmental trajectory from de novo differentiation of amphiregulin cells(Aregs).Two distinct immune-like endothelial subpopulations are present in iWAT and are responsive to cold.Our data reveal fundamental changes during cold-evoked adipose browning.

A pruning-then-quantization model compression framework for facial emotion recognition

Facial emotion recognition achieves great success with the help of large neural models but also fails to be applied in practical situations due to the large model size of neural methods.To bridge this gap,in this paper,we combine two mainstream model compression methods(pruning and quantization)together,and propose a pruningthen-quantization framework to compress the neural models for facial emotion recognition tasks.Experiments on three datasets show that our model could achieve a high model compression ratio and maintain the model’s high performance well.Besides,We analyze the layer-wise compression performance of our proposed framework to explore its effect and adaptability in fine-grained modules.