Cancer incidence is rising, and the efficacy of current available anticancer agents is limited by severe dose‐limiting toxicities and drug resistance problems. Nanoparticles are heralded as the next ...frontier in cancer treatment. Here, a pure physical method is used to efficiently fabricate very small silver particles even approaching the Ångstrom (Ång) dimension. Fructose is used as a dispersant and stabilizer to coat the Ång‐scale silver particles (AgÅPs). Functional and mechanistic studies demonstrate that fructose‐coated AgÅPs (F‐AgÅPs) can enter and accumulate in multiple cultured cancer cell lines to induce apoptotic death, whereas most normal cells are resistant to the efficacious dose of F‐AgÅPs; in vivo, intravenous administration of F‐AgÅPs potently inhibits the growth of pancreatic and lung cancer xenografts in nude mice, without inducing notable toxic effects on the healthy tissues. The results suggest the promising potential of F‐AgÅPs as a potent, safe, and broad‐spectrum agent for the cancer treatment.
Physical method‐fabricated fructose‐coated Ångstrom‐scale silver particles (F‐AgÅPs) have the ability to enter multiple cancer cells to induce apoptosis. Intravenous injection of F‐AgÅPs potently inhibits the growth of cancer xenograft models, without inducing notable toxic effects on healthy tissues. These results suggest that F‐AgÅPs have a great potential to be used as a potent, safe, and broad‐spectrum agent for cancer treatment.
Substituting liquid electrolytes with solid electrolytes is considered as an important strategy to solve the problem of flammability and explosion for traditional lithium-ion batteries (LIB). ...However, neither inorganic solid electrolytes (ISE) nor solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) alone can meet the operating requirements for room-temperature (RT) all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMB). Here, we report a three-dimensional (3D) nanofiber framework reinforced polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based composite polymer electrolytes (CPE) through constructing a nanofiber framework combining polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and fast Li-ion conductor Li
0.33
La
0.557
TiO
3
(LLTO) framework by electrospinning method. Meanwhile, the PEO electrolyte filled in the pores of the PAN/LLTO nanofiber framework can effectively isolate the direct contact between the chemically active Ti
4+
in LLTO with lithium metal, thereby avoiding the occurrence of interfacial reactions. Enhanced electrochemical stability makes a wide electrochemical window up to 4.8 V with an ionic conductivity of about 9.87 × 10
–5
S·cm
−1
at RT. Benefiting from the excellent lithium dendrite growth inhibition ability of 3D PAN/LLTO nanofiber framework, especially when the mass of LLTO reaches twice that of the PAN, Li/Li symmetric cell could cycle stably for 1000 h without a short circuit. In addition, under 30 °C, the LiFePO
4
/Li ASSLMB using such CPE delivers large capacities of 156.2 and 140 mAh·g
−1
at 0.2C and 0.5C, respectively. These results provide a new insight for the development of the next generation of safe, high-performance ASSLMBs.
Graphical Abstract
•Self-centering steel joint with phased energy dissipation was proposed.•Dual energy dissipation mechanism in sequence was realized.•Effect of initial tension of PT and bolt pretension were ...evaluated.
To reduce residual deformation in steel moment-resisting frames under seismic actions and facilitate rapid post-earthquake functionality recovery, a self-centering steel structural joint with phased energy dissipation was proposed. This joint achieves self-centering capability through the restorative force provided by prestressing steel strands. Additionally, it employs two energy dissipation mechanisms, namely frictional sliding between the friction plate and the T-stub web and the plastic deformation of the T-stub itself, at different stages to dissipate seismic energy. This approach enables effective phased energy dissipation. Cyclic loading tests were conducted on four full-scale specimens with varying initial prestressing forces of steel strands and bolt pretension. This study obtained seismic performance parameters of the specimens, including hysteretic curves, skeleton curves, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation. Furthermore, the phased energy dissipation mechanisms of these specimens at different loading stages were investigated. It was found that the loading process of the specimens could be divided into three stages: elastic stage, sliding stage, and strengthening stage. During the elastic stage, the specimens remained closed, with all components in an elastic state. As the loading progressed to the sliding stage, the specimens dissipated energy through frictional sliding between the friction plate and the T-stub web. In the strengthening stage, the primary energy dissipation mechanism of the specimens was the plastic deformation of the T-stub. Moreover, the initial prestressing force of the steel strands had significant influence on the bending capacity and self-centering capability, while the bolt pretension mainly affected the energy dissipation capacity and bending capacity of the specimens.
Double skin steel-concrete composite walls could offer high capacity and stiffness while affiliating the construction. The structural behavior of double skin steel-concrete composite walls under ...axial compression is largely dependent on the interface bonding between the steel plate and the concrete core. Weak restraint between these two different materials may lead to early local buckling of the steel plate and thus the separation between the steel and concrete surfaces under large compression. Furthermore, the plate thickness is essential to the axial behavior of composite walls. Thin plate may cause early local buckling and thus reduce the axial load capacity. This paper investigates a new type of double skin composite wall. The steel truss constructed by two angles and kinked rebar is acting as the interface connector. Full-scaled tests were conducted on three specimens with different plate thicknesses. The structural behavior of the walls was comprehensively evaluated in terms of load-displacement curve, buckling stress, axial stiffness, ductility ratio, strength index, load-lateral deflection response, and strain distribution. The influences of plate thickness on the structural performance were discussed in details. The test data was compared with the calculated results based on three modern codes. It was found that Eurocode 4 provides the most conservative results while CECS: 2018 offers the most suitable predictions.
•Large slenderness ratio was designed.•Compressive tests were conducted on full-scaled specimens.•Influence of plate thickness on performance was discussed.
Conventional steel connections suffer from brittle damages in the structural components such as the beams and the columns. Recently, a new type of self-centering connection was introduced to solve ...this problem. It uses energy dissipation devices to absorb the energy during a strong earthquake and meanwhile, has post-tensioning high strength strands to offer self-centering capability. In this way the damage of the main structures could be avoided. In this paper, the friction T-stubs were proposed to act as the energy dissipation devices. Cyclic tests were conducted on five full-scaled specimens with different initial post-tensioning forces and thicknesses of T-stubs. Test results were analyzed in terms of load-displacement responses, sliding and deformation, energy dissipation ability, and strain distributions. It was found that the initial post-tensioning force mostly affected the moment capacity and sliding, while the thickness of T-stub had great influences on the deformation and energy dissipation ability. Mechanical model was established to predict the yield and ultimate loads. The theoretical results were found to agree well with the test data.
Display omitted
•New self-centering connection with friction T-stub was proposed.•Cyclic behavior was evaluated.•Mechanical model was established to predict the strength.
Summary
Steel bracing is able to improve progressive collapse resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) frames, but the bracing design is typically based on seismic retrofitting or lateral stability. ...There is no approach for design of steel bracing against progressive collapse. To this end, a retrofitting approach with steel braces is proposed based on analysis of macro finite element (FE) models with fiber beam elements. The FE models were initially validated through the experimental results of a braced frame and then used to investigate the effects of pertinent parameters on the progressive collapse resistance of planar frames. The results suggest the braces should be placed at the top story. Thereafter, macro FE models are built to investigate the dynamic responses of the three‐dimensional prototype RC frames under different column removal scenarios (CRS) and show the necessity of retrofitting. Accordingly, the design approach of steel bracing is proposed with incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) and assuming independent contribution of braces and frames to resistance. Finally, the fragility analysis of the frames under a corner‐penultimate‐exterior CRS is conducted through IDA and Monte Carlo simulation, and the results confirm the validity of the proposed design approach for retrofitting RC frames.
As organelles for photosynthesis in green plants, chloroplasts play a vital role in solar energy capture and carbon fixation. The maintenance of normal chloroplast physiological functions is ...essential for plant growth and development. Low temperature is an adverse environmental stress that affects crop productivity. Low temperature severely affects the growth and development of plants, especially photosynthesis. To date, many studies have reported that chloroplasts are not only just organelles of photosynthesis. Chloroplasts can also perceive chilling stress signals via membranes and photoreceptors, and they maintain their homeostasis and promote photosynthesis by regulating the state of lipid membranes, the abundance of photosynthesis-related proteins, the activity of enzymes, the redox state, and the balance of hormones and by releasing retrograde signals, thus improving plant resistance to low temperatures. This review focused on the potential functions of chloroplasts in fine tuning photosynthesis processes under low-temperature stress by perceiving stress signals, modulating the expression of photosynthesis-related genes, and scavenging excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) in chloroplasts to survive the adverse environment.
Carbon nanorings have attracted substantial interest from synthetic chemists due to their unique topological structures and distinct physical properties. An intriguing π-conjugated double-nanoring ...structure, denoted as 8CPP-10cyclacene, was constructed
via
the integration of 8cycloparaphenylene (8CPP) into 10cyclacene. Using the external electric field stimuli-responsiveness of 8CPP-10cyclacene, directional charge transfer can be induced, resulting in the emergence of intriguing properties. The effects of the external electric field in three specific directions were explored, vertically in the 8CPP unit (
F
y
), vertically in the 10cyclacene unit (
F
z
), and horizontally along the double nanorings diameter (
F
x
). Interestingly, the external electric field vertically to the 10cyclacene unit significantly enhanced the first hyperpolarizability (
β
tot
) compared to that vertically to the 8CPP unit. Notably, 8CPP-10cyclacene under
F
x
exhibited significantly larger the
β
tot
values (1.48 × 10
5
a.u.) than those of vertical
F
y
and
F
z
. This work opens up a wide range of nonlinear optics, making it a compelling area to explore in the field of carbon nanomaterials.
An intriguing double-nanoring structure was constructed
via
the integration of 8CPP into 10cyclacene. This work investigates the impact of EEFs in three specific directions. Under
F
x
, 8CPP-10cyclacene exhibits higher first hyperpolarizability than under
F
y
and
F
z
.
Polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) with flexibility, easy processability, low cost and especially strong ability to dissolve lithium salts have been regarded as ...promising alternatives to traditional flammable liquid electrolytes in next-generation high-safety and high-energy-density lithium metal batteries. However, the inferior mechanical strength and thermostability of PEO-based SPEs will raise the lithium dendritic penetration issue, further leading to the short circuit in batteries. In this work, aiming at enhancing the interfacial stability against Li dendrites of PEO-based SPEs, poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) is introduced as a reinforcing phase for the rational design of PEO/PMIA composite electrolyte. Impressively, PMIA chain with meta-type benzene-amide linkages significantly improves the mechanical strength (1.60 MPa), thermal stability (260 °C) and ability to inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites (> 300 h at 0.1 mA·cm
−2
) of SPEs. Meanwhile, all-solid-state LiFePO
4
||PEO/PMIA||Li cell demonstrates superior electrochemical performance in terms of high specific capacity (159.1 mAh·g
−1
), remarkable capacity retention (82.2% after 200 cycles at 0.5C) and excellent safety characteristics. No burning or explosion occurs under pressing, bending and cutting conditions. This work opens a new door in developing high-performance PEO-based electrolytes for advanced all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.
Graphical abstract
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