Decade Milestone Advancement of Defect-Engineered g-C_(3)N_(4) for Solar Catalytic Applications

Over the past decade, graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4)) has emerged as a universal photocatalyst toward various sustainable carbo-neutral technologies. Despite solar applications discrepancy, g-C_(3)N_(4) is still confronted with a general fatal issue of insufficient supply of thermodynamically active photocarriers due to its inferior solar harvesting ability and sluggish charge transfer dynamics. Fortunately, this could be significantly alleviated by the “all-in-one” defect engineering strategy, which enables a simultaneous amelioration of both textural uniqueness and intrinsic electronic band structures. To this end, we have summarized an unprecedently comprehensive discussion on defect controls including the vacancy/non-metallic dopant creation with optimized electronic band structure and electronic density, metallic doping with ultraactive coordinated environment(M–N_(x), M–C_(2)N_(2), M–O bonding), functional group grafting with optimized band structure, and promoted crystallinity with extended conjugation π system with weakened interlayered van der Waals interaction. Among them, the defect states induced by various defect types such as N vacancy, P/S/halogen dopants, and cyano group in boosting solar harvesting and accelerating photocarrier transfer have also been emphasized. More importantly, the shallow defect traps identified by femtosecond transient absorption spectra(fs-TAS) have also been highlighted. It is believed that this review would pave the way for future readers with a unique insight into a more precise defective g-C_(3)N_(4) “customization”, motivating more profound thinking and flourishing research outputs on g-C_(3)N_(4)-based photocatalysis.

Fabrication of biomaterial/TiO2 composite photocatalysts for the selective removal of trace environmental pollutants

Trace environmental pollutants have become a serious problem with special attention on the hazardous heavy metals, refractory organics, and pathogenic microorganisms. With coupling biosorption and photocatalysis to develop biomaterial/TiO2 composite photocatalysts is a promising method to remove these trace pollutants because of the synergistic effect. Biomaterials provide multiple function groups which can selectively and efficiently enrich trace pollutants onto the surface of the photocatalysts, thus facilitating the following transformation mediated by TiO2 photocatalysis. Biomaterials can also help the dispersion and recovery of TiO2, or even modify the band structure of TiO2. The fabrication of chitosan/TiO2, cellulose/TiO2, as well as other biomaterial/TiO2 composite photocatalysts is discussed in detail in this review. The application significance of these composite photocatalysts for the selective removal of trace pollutants is also addressed. Several problems should be solved before the realistic applications can be achieved as discussed in the final section.

Construction of N-doped carbon frames anchored with Co single atoms and Co nanoparticles as robust electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution in the entire pH range

The development of low-cost, efficient, and high atomic economy electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) in the entire p H range for sustainable hydrogen production is of great importance but still challenging. Herein, we synthesize a highly dispersed N-doped carbon frames(NCFs) anchored with Co single atoms(SAs) and Co nanoparticles(NPs) catalyst by a doping-adsorption-pyrolysis strategy for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The Co SAs-Co NPs/NCFs catalyst exhibits an excellent HER activity with small overpotential, low Tafel slope, high turnover frequency as well as remarkable stability. It also exhibits a superior HER performance in the entire p H range. Combining with experimental and theoretical calculation, we find that Co SAs with Co-N_(3) coordination structure and Co NPs have a strong interaction for promoting synergistic HER electrocatalytic process. The H_(2)O molecule is easily activated and dissociated on Co NPs, while the generated H^(*) is easily adsorbed on Co SAs for HER, which makes the Co SAs-Co NPs/NCFs catalyst exhibit more suitable H adsorption strength and more conducive to the activation and dissociation of H_(2)O molecules. This work not only proposes a novel idea for constructing coupling catalyst with atomic-level precision, but also provides strong reference for the development of high-efficiency HER electrocatalysts for practical application.

Supercontinuum manipulation based on the influence of chirp on soliton spectral tunneling

The soliton spectral tunneling（SST） effect, as a soliton spectral switching phenomenon, enables a soliton to tunnel through a spectrally limited regime of normal dispersion in the fiber with multiple zero dispersion wavelengths（ZDWs）.Since initial chirp can affect the behavior of pulse evolution, we numerically study the influence of chirp on the SST in the process of supercontinuum（SC） occurring in a photonic crystal fiber（PCF） with three ZDWs. The linear chirp is imposed by a phase modulation of input pulse while maintaining a constant pulse duration. Interestingly, it is found that the spectral range and flatness can be flexibly tuned by adjusting the initial chirp value. More specifically, positive chirp facilitates soliton self-frequency shifting（SSFS）, making the soliton quickly transfer from one anomalous dispersion regime to another accompanied by the generation of dispersive waves（DWs）. In this case, the SST effect further expands the spectral range by enhancing both the red-shift of the fundamental soliton and the blue-shift of DWs, thus generating a broader SC. However, negative chirp suppresses the SST effect, resulting in a smoother SC at the expense of bandwidth.Therefore, the findings in this work provide interesting results relating to the influence of initial chirp on the SST to generate a considerably smoother and broader SC, which is extremely useful in many applications, such as wavelength conversion and SC generation.

Research review on the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Piper hancei

Traditional Chinese medicine“Shanju”,the dry stem of Piperaceae plant Piper hancei Maxim,is mainly distributed in southern China.Historically,P.hancei has been used as a substitute for the traditional Chinese medicine“Haitengtong”to treat rheumatism,joint pain,and asthma.At present,chemical constituents of it have been reported.In order to review the advances in chemical and pharmacologic studies and discuss the potential prospects for future investigation,the report summarized over 92 compounds isolated from P.hancei,including alkaloids,organic acid,sterol,aglycone,lignans,volatile oil and others.These compounds exhibited a wide range of bioactivities,such as anti-inflammation,inhibition of platelet aggregation,insecticidal effects and bactericidal activity.

Hemodialysis bilayer bionic blood vessels developed by the mechanical stimulation of hepatitis B viral X(HBX)genetransfected hepatic stellate cells

Artificial vascular graft(AVG)fistula is widely used for hemodialysis treatment in patients with renal failure.However,it has poor elasticity and compliance,leading to stenosis and thrombosis.The ideal artificial blood vessel for dialysis should replicate the structure and components of a real artery,which is primarily maintained by collagen in the extracellular matrix(ECM)of arterial cells.Studies have revealed that in hepatitis B virus(HBV)-induced liver fibrosis,hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)become hyperactive and produce excessive ECM fibers.Furthermore,mechanical stimulation can encourage ECM secretion and remodeling of a fiber structure.Based on the above factors,we transfected HSCs with the hepatitis B viral X(HBX)gene for simulating the process of HBV infection.Subsequently,these HBX-HSCs were implanted into a polycaprolactonepolyurethane(PCL-PU)bilayer scaffold in which the inner layer is dense and the outer layer consists of pores,which was mechanically stimulated to promote the secretion of collagen nanofiber from the HBX-HSCs and to facilitate crosslinking with the scaffold.We obtained an ECM-PCL-PU composite bionic blood vessel that could act as access for dialysis after decellularization.Then,the vessel scaffold was implanted into a rabbit’s neck arteriovenous fistula model.It exhibited strong tensile strength and smooth blood flow and formed autologous blood vessels in the rabbit’s body.Our study demonstrates the use of human cells to create biomimetic dialysis blood vessels,providing a novel approach for creating clinical vascular access for dialysis.

A columnar multi-layer sliding triboelectric nanogenerator for water wave energy harvesting independent of wave height and direction

The ocean,with its highly variable and complex meteorological conditions,harbors enormous renewable resources.Triboelectric nanogenerators(TENGs),which possess unique advantages,show exciting prospects in water wave energy collection.How to design and optimize TENGs to cover all characteristic water wave energies and achieve efficient energy utilization is emergent.In this paper,we carefully designed and fabricated a columnar multi-layer sliding TENG(CMLS-TENG)that can harvest water wave energy independent of wave height and direction.Drive rods with a hollow acrylic spherical shell were introduced to deliver wave energy,ensuring that the CMLS-TENG can work in all directions from 0°to 360°.Based on the sliding structure,switching the optimized CMLS-TENG is independent of wave heights.The optimized CMLS-TENG can achieve a total power density of 730 mW/m^(3) at a wave height of only 4.8 cm regardless of wave direction,which can illuminate multiple light-emitting diodes(LEDs)to provide lighting and provide power to a watch and a hygrometer for temperature and humidity monitoring.This work provides new choices and hopes for the effective collection of full-range water wave energy.

声学指数在城市森林鸟类多样性评估中的应用

鸣声是鸟类之间进行沟通和传递信息的重要方式,这为通过声学监测评估鸟类多样性提供了独特的机会。利用声学指数快速评估生物多样性是一种新兴的调查方法,但城市森林中的复杂声环境可能会导致声学指数的指示结果出现偏差。为了解声学指数在城市森林中应用的可行性,本研究在北京市东郊森林公园设置了50个矩阵式调查样点,于2021年4–6月每月进行1次鸟类传统观测和同步鸣声采集,通过比较两种方法的结果来探究声学监测的有效性。采用Spearman相关分析和广义线性混合模型评估6个常用声学指数与鸟类丰富度和多度的关系,并衡量了每个指数的性能。结果表明:(1)本研究共记录到鸟类10目23科35种,通过声学监听识别的总物种数与传统鸟类观测相等,但具体鸟种存在差异;(2)不同月份间声学指数与鸟类丰富度和多度的相关性有明显差别,声学复杂度指数(ACI)和标准化声景差异指数(NDSI)优于其他指数,是评估鸟类多样性的关键变量;(3)声学指数对鸟类多度的预测能力(R2m=0.32,R2c=0.80)要高于丰富度(R2m=0.12,R2c=0.18)。声学指数为快速评估生物多样性提供了有前景的分析手段,但仍需继续探讨改进。随着方法的逐步完善和处理技术的提升,声学监测在城市生物多样性保护和跟踪管理方面的潜力也越来越大。

Heterojunction interface editing in Co/NiCoP nanospheres by oxygen atoms decoration for synergistic accelerating hydrogen and oxygen evolution electrocatalysis

Controllable designing of well-defined heterojunction nanostructures provides an insightful strategy for accelerating the kinetics of the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions(HER/OER),but such task is still challenging.Herein,we proposed a protocol of heterojunction interface editing(HIE)strategy by oxygen atoms decoration for synergistic boosting electrocatalytic HER and OER performances.A novel Co/NiCoP nanospheres(NSs)heterojunction was synthesized by crystal seed template transformation method with Ni_(5)P_(4) microspheres as seeds.The effective oxygen atoms interface editing increased the oxidation state of Co atoms and prolonged the Co-P bond length of Co/NiCoP NSs heterojunction,thus the electron localization on P sites was enhanced,leading to the dramatically elevated HER and OER performances simultaneously.The as-constructed O-Co/NiCoP NSs show excellent electrocatalytic activity with 361 and 430 mV vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)to arrive high current density of 300 mA·cm^(-2)for HER and OER in 1 M KOH as well as good stability.The proposed HIE concept could provide a new perspective on the catalyst design for energy conversion systems.

Current Status of Diabetes Prevention and Control in China and Early-Stage Intervention Strategies

In recent years,the prevalence of diabetes in China has continued to rise,with the adult prevalence expected to reach 12.8%by 2023.To control this trend,the government has introduced several policies and invested substantial funds in the prevention and treatment of diabetes,achieving certain results.Prediabetes is a stage where blood glucose metabolism can still be restored.For individuals in this stage,dietary and exercise intervention programs are recommended to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes,improve quality of life,and reduce the burden of disease on individuals,families,and society.

水相识别分子印迹聚合物在样品预处理中的应用

分子印迹聚合物(MIPs)是模拟抗原-抗体识别机制,人工构筑的对目标物具有专一识别性的材料,构建具有优异水相识别能力的MIPs是分子印迹领域长期面临的挑战。近年来水相识别MIPs以其优异的抗基质干扰和水中识别能力,引起了分析化学家、材料学家和环境学家的广泛关注。本文综述了近年来水相识别MIPs在样品预处理中的应用研究。首先,简要介绍了MIPs的构筑原理、优势及面临水相识别困难的挑战。其次,介绍了样品前处理技术及其重要性。再次,结合各类新兴材料和MIPs制备技术,从样品前处理技术的角度(包括固相萃取、分散固相萃取、磁固相萃取、固相微萃取、管尖固相萃取和搅拌棒吸附萃取)全面总结了水相识别MIPs在含水样品分析中的应用,并结合材料性能和分析参数讨论了各类方法的分析优势。最后,分别从水相识别MIPs构建和预处理两方面提出了该领域面临的挑战和未来的发展趋势。

Mitochondrial transcription factor A plays opposite roles in the initiation and progression of colitis-associated cancer

Background:Mitochondria are key regulators in cell proliferation and apoptosis.Alterations in mitochondrial function are closely associated with inflammation and tumorigenesis.This study aimed to investigate whether mitochondrial transcription factor A(TFAM),a key regulator of mitochondrial DNA transcription and replication,is involved in the initiation and progression of colitis-associated cancer(CAC).Methods:TFAM expression was examined in tissue samples of inflammatory bowel diseases(IBD)and CAC by immunohistochemistry.Intestinal epithelial cell(IEC)-specific TFAM-knockout mice(TFAM^(△IEC))and colorectal cancer(CRC)cells with TFAM knockdown or overexpression were used to evaluate the role of TFAMin colitis and the initiation and progression ofCAC.The underlying mechanisms of TFAMwere also explored by analyzingmitochondrial respiration function and biogenesis.Results:The expression of TFAM was downregulated in active IBD and negatively associated with the disease activity.The downregulation of TFAM in IECs was induced by interleukin-6 in a signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)/miR-23b-dependent manner.In addition,TFAM knockout impaired IECturnover to promote dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced colitis inmice.Of note,TFAMknockout increased the susceptibility of mice to azoxymethane/DSSinduced CAC and TFAM overexpression protected mice from intestinal inflammation and colitis-associated tumorigenesis.By contrast,TFAM expression was upregulated in CAC tissues and contributed to cell growth.Furthermore,it was demonstrated that β-catenin induced the upregulation of TFAM through c-Myc in CRC cells.Mechanistically,TFAMpromoted the proliferation of both IECs and CRC cells by increasing mitochondrial biogenesis and activity.Conclusions:TFAM plays a dual role in the initiation and progression of CAC,providing a novel understanding of CAC pathogenesis.

A high stable pH-temperature dual-sensitive liposome for tuning anticancer drug release

In order to improve the targeting and availability of liposomes to cancer cells,the temperature sensitivity of 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine(DPPC)and the pH sensitivity of PASP in PASP-g-C8 are incorporated in a drug delivery system.A composite pH-temperature dual-sensitive liposomes(CPTLPs)was obtained as an efficient drug delivery system.The bionic bilayer is self-assembled by cholesterol/cationic temperature-sensitive lipids as base layer and pH-sensitive octylamine grafted poly aspartic acid(PASP-g-C8)as anchors coated outside.Cytarabine(CYT)was chosen as a model drug.SEM and DLS were used to observe the morphology characteristics of CPTLPs in different micro environment.The results demonstrated that the CPTLPs remained active in both normal(pH7.4 and 37°C)and tumor tissues(pH 5.0 and 42°C).As a stable colloidal system,the zeta potential of CPTSLs was−41.6 mV.In vitro drug-release experiments,the CTY encapsulated dual-sensitive liposomes,CPTSLs(+),not only have significant pH-temperature sensitivity but have more prolonged release in vitro than control groups.MTT tests results indicated that the cell apoptotic effects induced by CPTSLs(+)were nearly 30%higher than the naked drug CTY in HepG2 cells,and 20%lower apoptotic in vero cells.The CPTSLs(+)sustained a stable emulsion form,less toxic effects on normal cells,and exhibited a good pH-temperature sensitivity,thus expected to be a promising tumor targeting drug delivery.

Single-atomic Mn sites coupled with Fe_(3)C nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon matrixes derived from bimetallic Mn/Fe polyphthalocyanine conjugated polymer networks for accelerating electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

The construction of robust coupling catalysts for accelerating electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)through the modulation of the electronic structure and local atomic configuration is critical but remains challenging.Herein,we report a facile and effective isolation-polymerization-pyrolysis(IPP)strategy for high-precision synthesis of single-atomic Mn sites coupled with Fe_(3)C nanoparticles encapsulated in N-doped porous carbon matrixes(Mn SAs/Fe_(3)C NPs@NPC)catalyst derived from predesigned bimetallic Fe/Mn polyphthalocyanine(FeMn-BPPc)conjugated polymer networks by solid-phase reaction approach.Benefiting from the synergistic effects between the single-atomic Mn-N_(4)sites and Fe_(3)C NPs as well as the confinement effect of NPC,the Mn SAs/Fe_(3)C NPs@NPC catalyst exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability for ORR.The assembled Znair battery displayed larger power density of 186 mW·cm^(−2)than that of Pt/C+Ir/C-based battery.It also exhibits excellent stability without obvious voltage change after 106 cycles with 36 h.Combing in-situ Raman spectra with in-situ attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy(ATR-SEIRAS)characterization results indicated that the Mn-N_(4)site as an active site for the O_(2)adsorption-activation process,which effectively facilitates the generation of key*OOH intermediates and*OH desorption to promote the multielectron reaction kinetics.Theoretical calculation reveals that the excellent electrocatalytic performance originates from the charge redistribution and the d orbital shift resulting from Mn-Fe bond,which buffers the activity of ORR through the electron reservoir capable of electron donation or releasing.This work paves a novel IPP strategy for constructing high-performance coupling electrocatalyst towards the ORR for energy conversion devices.