The recent discovery of highly conductive solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) has led to tremendous progress in the development of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). Though promising, they still face ...barriers that limit their practical application, such as poor interfacial stability, scalability challenges and production safety. Additionally, efforts to develop sustainable manufacturing of lithium ion batteries are still lacking, with no prevailing strategy developed yet to handle recyclability of ASSBs. To date, most SSE research has been largely focused on the discovery of novel electrolytes. Recent review articles have extensively examined a broad spectrum of these SSEs using evaluation factors such as conductivity and chemical stability. Recognizing this, in this Review we seek to evaluate SSEs beyond conventional factors and offer a perspective on various bulk, interface and nanoscale phenomena that require urgent attention within the scientific community. We provide a realistic assessment of the current state-of-the-art characterization techniques and evaluate future full cell ASSB prototyping strategies. We hope to offer rational solutions to overcome some major fundamental obstacles faced by the ASSB community, as well as potential strategies toward a sustainable ASSB recycling model.
RNA, DNA, and protein molecules are highly organized within three-dimensional (3D) structures in the nucleus. Although RNA has been proposed to play a role in nuclear organization, exploring this has ...been challenging because existing methods cannot measure higher-order RNA and DNA contacts within 3D structures. To address this, we developed RNA & DNA SPRITE (RD-SPRITE) to comprehensively map the spatial organization of RNA and DNA. These maps reveal higher-order RNA-chromatin structures associated with three major classes of nuclear function: RNA processing, heterochromatin assembly, and gene regulation. These data demonstrate that hundreds of ncRNAs form high-concentration territories throughout the nucleus, that specific RNAs are required to recruit various regulators into these territories, and that these RNAs can shape long-range DNA contacts, heterochromatin assembly, and gene expression. These results demonstrate a mechanism where RNAs form high-concentration territories, bind to diffusible regulators, and guide them into compartments to regulate essential nuclear functions.
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•RNA & DNA SPRITE comprehensively maps the spatial organization of RNA and DNA•Hundreds of ncRNAs form high-concentration territories throughout the nucleus•ncRNAs recruit diffusible RNA and protein regulators into precise 3D structures•ncRNA compartments can shape DNA contacts, heterochromatin, and gene expression
Mapping the proximity of RNAs to DNA and to other RNAs elucidates how nuclear non-coding RNAs serve as spatial organizers controlling processes underpinning gene regulation.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a recently identified coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite the urgent ...need, we still do not fully understand the molecular basis of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Here, we comprehensively define the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 proteins and human RNAs. NSP16 binds to the mRNA recognition domains of the U1 and U2 splicing RNAs and acts to suppress global mRNA splicing upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. NSP1 binds to 18S ribosomal RNA in the mRNA entry channel of the ribosome and leads to global inhibition of mRNA translation upon infection. Finally, NSP8 and NSP9 bind to the 7SL RNA in the signal recognition particle and interfere with protein trafficking to the cell membrane upon infection. Disruption of each of these essential cellular functions acts to suppress the interferon response to viral infection. Our results uncover a multipronged strategy utilized by SARS-CoV-2 to antagonize essential cellular processes to suppress host defenses.
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•NSP16 binds mRNA recognition domains of U1/U2 snRNAs and disrupts mRNA splicing•NSP1 binds in the mRNA entry channel of the ribosome to disrupt protein translation•NSP8 and NSP9 bind the signal recognition particle and disrupt protein trafficking•These disruptions of protein production suppress the interferon response to infection
SARS-CoV-2 proteins directly engage host RNAs to dysregulate essential steps of protein production and suppress the interferon response.
Rechargeable solid-state sodium-ion batteries (SSSBs) hold great promise for safer and more energy-dense energy storage. However, the poor electrochemical stability between current sulfide-based ...solid electrolytes and high-voltage oxide cathodes has limited their long-term cycling performance and practicality. Here, we report the discovery of the ion conductor Na
Y
Zr
Cl
(NYZC) that is both electrochemically stable (up to 3.8 V vs. Na/Na
) and chemically compatible with oxide cathodes. Its high ionic conductivity of 6.6 × 10
S cm
at ambient temperature, several orders of magnitude higher than oxide coatings, is attributed to abundant Na vacancies and cooperative MCl
rotation, resulting in an extremely low interfacial impedance. A SSSB comprising a NaCrO
+ NYZC composite cathode, Na
PS
electrolyte, and Na-Sn anode exhibits an exceptional first-cycle Coulombic efficiency of 97.1% at room temperature and can cycle over 1000 cycles with 89.3% capacity retention at 40 °C. These findings highlight the immense potential of halides for SSSB applications.
The safety of our membership is our top priority, and our organization is currently navigating through the aftermath of the cancelled meeting. Despite not being able to facilitate an in-person ...meeting for trainees of all stages of their physician-scientist career development, we are committed to continue to be the student physician-scientist's leading voice for improving educational opportunities, advancing patient-oriented research, and advocating for the future of translational medicine. Perhaps as a result of writing one too many grant applications for the organization over the past six years, I recall citing Dr. Wyngaarden's 1979 statement (and many derivatives thereof) that the physician-scientist is an endangered species (1-5). It is not terribly surprising - the training and career pathway suffers numerous challenges, including extended (and extending) training phases, attrition at almost every step, and lack of diversity, among other limitations (3, 6-9).
The lncRNA Xist forms ∼50 diffraction-limited foci to transcriptionally silence one X chromosome. How this small number of RNA foci and interacting proteins regulate a much larger number of X-linked ...genes is unknown. We show that Xist foci are locally confined, contain ∼2 RNA molecules, and nucleate supramolecular complexes (SMACs) that include many copies of the critical silencing protein SPEN. Aggregation and exchange of SMAC proteins generate local protein gradients that regulate broad, proximal chromatin regions. Partitioning of numerous SPEN molecules into SMACs is mediated by their intrinsically disordered regions and essential for transcriptional repression. Polycomb deposition via SMACs induces chromatin compaction and the increase in SMACs density around genes, which propagates silencing across the X chromosome. Our findings introduce a mechanism for functional nuclear compartmentalization whereby crowding of transcriptional and architectural regulators enables the silencing of many target genes by few RNA molecules.
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•∼50 locally confined Xist foci of ∼2 RNA molecules initiate X-inactivation•Xist foci seed dynamic supramolecular complexes (SMACs) of interacting proteins•IDR-mediated crowding of SPEN within SMACs is required for X-inactivation•Silencing on the X proceeds through chromatin compaction and clustering of SMACs
Instead of spreading across an X chromosome to inactivate it, Xist nucleates dynamic protein complexes, allowing protein expansion across the X to induce higher-order chromatin changes and gene silencing.
Conventional proportional integral derivative (PID) controllers are being used in the industries for control purposes. It is very simple in design and low in cost but it has less capability to ...minimize the low frequency noises of the systems. Therefore, in this study, a low pass filter has been introduced with the derivative input of the PID controller to minimize the noises and to improve the transient stability of the system. This paper focuses upon the stability improvement of a wind-diesel hybrid power system model (HPSM) using a static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) along with a secondary PID controller with derivative filter (PIDF). Under any load disturbances, the reactive power mismatch occurs in the HPSM that affects the system transient stability. STATCOM with PIDF controller is used to provide reactive power support and to improve stability of the HPSM. The controller parameters are also optimized by using soft computing technique for performance improvement. This paper proposes the effectiveness of symbiosis organisms search algorithm for optimization purpose. Binary coded genetic algorithm and gravitational search algorithm are used for the sake of comparison.
Although thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are encoded in mammalian genomes, their mechanisms of action are poorly understood, in part because they are often expressed at lower levels than ...their proposed targets. One such lncRNA is Xist, which mediates chromosome-wide gene silencing on one of the two X chromosomes (X) to achieve gene expression balance between males and females. How a limited number of Xist molecules can mediate robust silencing of a much larger number of target genes while maintaining specificity exclusively to genes on the X within each cell is not well understood. Here, we show that Xist drives non-stoichiometric recruitment of the essential silencing protein SHARP (also known as SPEN) to amplify its abundance across the inactive X, including at regions not directly occupied by Xist. This amplification is achieved through concentration-dependent homotypic assemblies of SHARP on the X and is required for chromosome-wide silencing. Expression of Xist at higher levels leads to increased localization at autosomal regions, demonstrating that low levels of Xist are critical for ensuring its specificity to the X. We show that Xist (through SHARP) acts to suppress production of its own RNA which may act to constrain overall RNA levels and restrict its ability to spread beyond the X. Together, our results demonstrate a spatial amplification mechanism that allows Xist to achieve two essential but countervailing regulatory objectives: chromosome-wide gene silencing and specificity to the X. This suggests a more general mechanism by which other low-abundance lncRNAs could balance specificity to, and robust control of, their regulatory targets.
Lithium metal has been considered an ideal anode for high-energy rechargeable Li batteries, although its nucleation and growth process remains mysterious, especially at the nanoscale. Here, cryogenic ...transmission electron microscopy was used to reveal the evolving nanostructure of Li metal deposits at various transient states in the nucleation and growth process, in which a disorder-order phase transition was observed as a function of current density and deposition time. The atomic interaction over wide spatial and temporal scales was depicted by reactive molecular dynamics simulations to assist in understanding the kinetics. Compared to crystalline Li, glassy Li outperforms in electrochemical reversibility, and it has a desired structure for high-energy rechargeable Li batteries. Our findings correlate the crystallinity of the nuclei with the subsequent growth of the nanostructure and morphology, and provide strategies to control and shape the mesostructure of Li metal to achieve high performance in rechargeable Li batteries.
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