A nanostructured lithium‐metal anode employing an unstacked graphene “drum” and dual‐salt electrolyte brings about a dendrite‐free lithium depositing morphology. On the one hand, the unstacked ...graphene framework with ultrahigh specific surface area guarantees an ultralow local current density that prevents the growth of lithium dendrites. On the other hand, the stable, flexible, and compact solid electrolyte interphase layer induced by the dual‐salt electrolyte protects the deposited lithium layers.
A cooperative interface constructed by “lithiophilic” nitrogen‐doped graphene frameworks and “sulfiphilic” nickel–iron layered double hydroxides (LDH@NG) is proposed to synergistically afford ...bifunctional Li and S binding to polysulfides, suppression of polysulfide shuttles, and electrocatalytic activity toward formation of lithium sulfides for high‐performance lithium–sulfur batteries. LDH@NG enables high rate capability, long lifespan, and efficient stabilization of both sulfur and lithium electrodes.
Solid/liquid interfaces are ubiquitous in nature and knowledge of their atomic-level structure is essential in elucidating many phenomena in chemistry, physics, materials science and Earth science
. ...In electrochemistry, in particular, the detailed structure of interfacial water, such as the orientation and hydrogen-bonding network in electric double layers under bias potentials, has a significant impact on the electrochemical performances of electrode materials
. To elucidate the structures of electric double layers at electrochemical interfaces, we combine in situ Raman spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics and distinguish two structural transitions of interfacial water at electrified Au single-crystal electrode surfaces. Towards negative potentials, the interfacial water molecules evolve from structurally 'parallel' to 'one-H-down' and then to 'two-H-down'. Concurrently, the number of hydrogen bonds in the interfacial water also undergoes two transitions. Our findings shed light on the fundamental understanding of electric double layers and electrochemical processes at the interfaces.
AgNPs are nanomaterials with many potential biomedical applications. In this study, the two novel yeast strains HX-YS and LPP-12Y capable of producing biological silver nanoparticles were isolated. ...Sequencing of ribosomal DNA-ITS fragments, as well as partial D1/D2 regions of 26S rDNA indicated that the strains are related to species from the genus Metschnikowia. The BioAgNPs produced by HX-YS and LPP-12Y at pH 5.0-6.0 and 26 °C ranged in size from 50 to 500 nm. The antibacterial activities of yeast BioAgNPs against five pathogenic bacteria were determined. The highest antibacterial effect was observed on P. aeruginosa, with additional obvious effects on E. coli ATCC8099 and S. aureus ATCC10231. Additionally, the BioAgNPs showed antiproliferative effects on lung cancer cell lines H1975 and A579, with low toxicity in Beas 2B normal lung cells. Therefore, the AgNPs biosynthesized by HX-YS and LPP-12Y may have potential applications in the treatment of bacterial infections and cancer.
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging micropollutants with environmental persistence. Aquaculture environments are considered as potential reservoirs for ARGs pollution and horizontal gene ...transfer (HGT). This study analyzed water and sediment from eight culture ponds (integrated culture: duck-fish pond; monoculture: duck pond and fish pond) and a control pond (without any aquaculture activity) in Zhongshan, South China. Seventeen types of ARGs were detected in all ponds, which conferring resistance to four classes of antibiotics including tetracycline (tetA, tetB, tetC, tetE, tetG, tetL, tetA-P, tetM, tetO, tetS, tetW and tetX), AmpC beta-lactamase products (EBC and FOX), sulfonamide (sul1 and sul2) and erythromycin (ermA), with class 1 integron (intI1) as motility gene. The total concentrations of detected ARGs in culture pond water were much higher than control (about 1.6–4.0 times). Integrated culture showed lowest absolute abundance of ∑ARGs in water (3.686 × 107 copies mL−1) and the highest in sediment (4.574 × 108 copies g−1). Monoculture ponds showed higher relative abundance of ∑ARGs both in water (fish pond: 0.5149) and sediment (duck pond: 0.4919). As the main contributor to the ARGs abundance and significant correlations with ∑tet, ∑ARGs and intI1 (P < 0.01), tetA was suggested to be a potential indicator for the abundance of tetracycline resistance genes in these classes of aquaculture modes in the Pearl River Delta. This study provides a case for the ARGs abundance in aquaculture and as a reference for the upcoming health risk assessment in aquatic environment.
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•Lower abundance of ARGs was detected in water of integrated culture than monoculture.•AmpC beta-lactamase genes were detected in pond water and sediment.•ARGs accumulated and persisted in sediments even in case of antibiotics undetectable.•TetA could be potential indicator to tetracycline resistance genes in aquaculture.
Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber‐reinforced SiC matrix (SiC/SiC) composites have emerged as a new material candidate for fuel claddings in light water reactors. Recent studies showed that the load ...capacity of SiC/SiC materials exhibits a considerable statistical variation. Therefore, reliability analysis plays a critical role in design of SiC/SiC composite claddings. This paper presents a probabilistic model for the lifetime distribution of SiC/SiC composites. The model is anchored by a multiaxial stress‐based failure criterion and subcritical damage accumulation mechanism. Based on the kinetics of subcritical damage growth, the lifetime distribution of a laboratory test specimen for any given loading history can be calculated. A finite weakest‐link model is used to extrapolate the lifetime distribution of test specimens to full‐length claddings. It is shown that the damage accumulation mechanism has a strong influence on the lifetime distribution of the cladding. This finding highlights the importance of understanding the static fatigue behavior of SiC/SiC composites. The present analysis also demonstrates an intricate length effect on the failure probability of the cladding, which is expected to play a crucial role in design extrapolation.
TP53 is the most frequently mutated gene in cancer, yet these mutations remain therapeutically non-actionable. Major challenges in drugging p53 mutations include heterogeneous mechanisms of ...inactivation and the absence of broadly applicable allosteric sites. Here we report the identification of small molecules, including arsenic trioxide (ATO), an established agent in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia, as cysteine-reactive compounds that rescue structural p53 mutations. Crystal structures of arsenic-bound p53 mutants reveal a cryptic allosteric site involving three arsenic-coordinating cysteines within the DNA-binding domain, distal to the zinc-binding site. Arsenic binding stabilizes the DNA-binding loop-sheet-helix motif alongside the overall β-sandwich fold, endowing p53 mutants with thermostability and transcriptional activity. In cellular and mouse xenograft models, ATO reactivates mutant p53 for tumor suppression. Investigation of the 25 most frequent p53 mutations informs patient stratification for clinical exploration. Our results provide a mechanistic basis for repurposing ATO to target p53 mutations for widely applicable yet personalized cancer therapies.
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•ATO rescues multiple p53 mutants effectively in various assays•The structural mechanism of how mutant p53 function is restored by ATO is described•Most p53 mutants are stabilized structurally but only some are transcriptionally rescued•Widely applicable, yet has individual p53 mutation-based therapeutic potential
Chen et al. show that ATO, an FDA-approved drug, robustly rescues mutant p53, uncover the underlying molecular mechanism, and report the rescue pattern among frequent p53 mutants.
Tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) has neurotoxicity, but its mechanism remains unclear. Evidence recently showed that ferroptosis might be associated with TDCPP-induced neurotoxicity. To ...explore the role and underlying mechanism of ferroptosis in TDCPP-induced neurotoxicity, the occurrence of ferroptosis was examined in mice and PC12 cells upon TDCPP exposure. The mechanism of TDCPP-induced ferroptosis was clarified in vitro combined with the RNA sequencing assay. The in vivo results showed that orally TDCPP exposure (100 mg/kg, 30 d) inhibited the learning and memory ability of mice, reduced hippocampus neurons, induced malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, and decreased glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in the hippocampus. Moreover, TDCPP exposure (100 mg/kg, 30 d) altered the ferroptosis and autophagy-related protein abundances in the hippocampus. The in vitro results showed that TDCPP exposure (0, 5, 20, 50, 100, and 200 μM) for 24 h induced dose-dependent cell death in PC12 cells, and the cell death was ameliorated by the co-treatment with ferrostatin-1 (1 μM, 24 h). Similarly, TDCPP exposure (0, 50, 100, and 200 μM) for 24 h increased the levels of MDA and LPO, but decreased the reduced GSH in PC12 cells. Furthermore, TDCPP exposure (0, 50, 100, and 200 μM) for 24 h altered the ferroptosis and autophagy-related protein abundances in PC12 cells. The RNA-sequencing revealed that TDCPP exposure (100 μM, 24 h) induced mitophagy activation in SH-SY5Y cells. Meanwhile, the in vitro experiments confirmed that TDCPP exposure (0, 50, 100, and 200 μM) for 24 h increased abundances of mitophagy-related protein phosphatase and tensin homolog induced kinase 1(PINK1), Parkinson protein 2 E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase (PARKIN), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (IP3R1), and voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) in PC12 cells. Moreover, TDCPP treatment (100 μM, 24 h) increased the mitochondrial recruitment of PARKIN, decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) level, and increased the Fe2+ level in mitochondria. In addition, decreased ATP levels and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were observed in PC12 cells upon TDCPP exposure (0, 50, 100, and 200 μM) for 24 h. In summary, ferroptosis was associated with TDCPP-induced neurotoxicity, and the mechanism might be related to PINK1/PARKIN-mediated mitophagy initiated by mitochondrial damage.
Organophosphorus flame retardant TDCPP induces neurotoxicity via mitophagy-related ferroptosis in vivo and in vitro (Created with BioRender.com). Display omitted
•Ferroptosis was associated with TDCPP-induced neurotoxicity.•TDCPP-induced ferroptosis might be related to PINK1/PARKIN-mediated mitophagy initiated by mitochondrial damage.•TDCPP induced mitochondrial depolarization via the VDAC channels activation.