Palladium (Pd) nanostructures are highly active non‐platinum anodic electrocatalysts in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells (ADMFCs) and their electrocatalytic performance relies highly on their ...morphology and composition. Herein, a facile high‐temperature pyrolysis method to synthesize high‐quality Pd‐palladium oxide (PdO) porous nanotubes (PNTs) by using Pd(II)‐dimethylglyoxime complex (Pd(II)‐DMG) nanorods as a self‐template is reported. The chemical component of pyrolysis products highly correlates with pyrolysis temperature. The electrochemical measurements and density functional theory calculations show the existence of PdO enhances the electroactivity of metallic Pd for both methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and carbon monoxide oxidation reaction in alkaline media. Benefiting from its one‐dimensionally porous architecture and evident synergistic effect between PdO and Pd (e.g., electronic effect and bifunctional mechanism), Pd‐PdO PNTs achieve a 3.7‐fold mass activity enhancement and improved durability for MOR compared to commercial Pd nanocrystals. Considering the simple synthesis, excellent activity, and long‐term stability, Pd‐PdO PNTs may be highly promising anodic electrocatalysts in ADMFCs.
High‐quality porous palladium (Pd)‐palladium oxide (PdO) nanotubes are synthesized via a facial Pd(II)‐dimethylglyoxime complex nanorods‐induced self‐template method. Benefiting from the one‐dimensionally porous architecture and evident synergistic effect between PdO and Pd, the Pd‐PdO nanotubes achieve a 3.7‐fold mass activity enhancement and improved durability for methanol oxidation reaction compared to commercial Pd nanocrystals, revealing a highly promising robust anodic electrocatalyst in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells.
Silver screen: The AgNO3‐catalyzed carbon phosphorylation of alkenes occurs by an alkene addition/cyclization cascade. Ag+ reacts with Ph2P(O)H to form the crucial active intermediate 1, which ...promotes the reaction. This method requires a cheap, nontoxic silver salt as the catalyst and substrates for the transformation are simple and readily accessible.
The development of an efficient catalyst for formic acid electrocatalytic oxidation reaction (FAEOR) is of great significance to accelerate the commercial application of direct formic acid fuel cells ...(DFAFC). Herein, palladium phosphide (PdxPy) porous nanotubes (PNTs) with different phosphide content (i.e., Pd3P and Pd5P2) are prepared by combining the self‐template reduction method of dimethylglyoxime‐Pd(II) complex nanorods and succedent phosphating treatment. During the reduction process, the self‐removal of the template and the continual inside–outside Ostwald ripening phenomenon are responsible for the generation of the one‐dimensional hollow and porous architecture. On the basis of the unique synthetic procedure and structural advantages, Pd3P PNTs with optimized phosphide content show outstanding electroactivity and stability for FAEOR. Importantly, the strong electronic effect between Pd and P promotes the direct pathway of FAEOR and inhibits the occurrence of the formic acid decomposition reaction, which effectively enhances the FAEOR electroactivity of Pd3P PNTs. In view of the facial synthesis, excellent electroactivity, high stability, and unordinary selectivity, Pd3P PNTs have the potential to be an efficient anode electrocatalyst for DFAFC.
Efficient formic acid oxidation reaction (FAEOR) electrocatalyst Pd3P porous nanotubes (PNTs) are synthesized by simple self‐template pyrolysis and phosphating treatment. Benefiting from the abundant defect atoms and excellent self‐stability, Pd3P PNTs reveal outstanding electroactivity and durability for FAEOR. The introduction of phosphorus could effectively improve the FAEOR electroactivity of Pd nanomaterials and simultaneously inhibit FADR, highlighting an efficient strategy for designing a DFAFC anode electrocatalyst.
A major challenge in modern rice production is to achieve the dual goals of high yield and good quality with low environmental costs. This study was designed to determine whether optimized nitrogen ...(N) fertilization could fulfill these multiple goals. In two-year experiments, two high yielding 'super' rice cultivars were grown with different N fertilization management regimes, including zero N input, local farmers' practice (LFP) with heavy N inputs, and optimized N fertilization (ONF). In ONF, by reducing N input, increasing planting density, and optimizing the ratio of urea application at different stages, N use efficiency and the physicochemical and textural properties of milled rice were improved at higher yield levels. Compared with LFP, yield and partial factor productivity of applied N (PFP) under ONF were increased (on average) by 1.70 and 13.06％, respectively. ONF increased starch and amylose content, and significantly decreased protein content. The contents of the short chains of A chain (degree of polymerization (DP) 6–12) and B1 chain (DP 13–25) of amylopectin were significantly increased under ONF, which resulted in a decrease in the stability of rice starch crystals. ONF increased viscosity values and improved the thermodynamic properties of starch, which resulted in better eating and cooking quality of the rice. Thus, ONF could substantially compensate the negative effects caused by N fertilizer and achieve the multiple goals of higher grain quality and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) at high yield levels. These results will be useful for applications of high quality rice production at high yield levels.
Hepatocytic ballooning is a key histological feature in the diagnosis of non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and is an essential component of the two most widely used histological scoring systems ...for diagnosing and staging non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) namely, the NAFLD activity score (NAS), and the steatosis, activity and fibrosis (SAF) scoring system. As a result of the increasing incidence of NASH globally, the diagnostic challenges of hepatocytic ballooning are unprecedented. Despite the clear pathological concept of hepatocytic ballooning, there are still challenges in assessing hepatocytic ballooning in ‘real life’ situations. Hepatocytic ballooning can be confused with cellular oedema and microvesicular steatosis. Significant inter‐observer variability does exist in assessing the presence and severity of hepatocytic ballooning. In this review article, we describe the underlying mechanisms associated with hepatocytic ballooning. Specifically, we discuss the increased endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response, as well as the rearrangement of the intermediate filament cytoskeleton, the appearance of Mallory‐Denk bodies and activation of the sonic Hedgehog pathway. We also discuss the use of artificial intelligence in the detection and interpretation of hepatocytic ballooning, which may provide new possibilities for future diagnosis and treatment.
The efficacy of nano-mediated drug delivery has been impeded by multiple biological barriers such as the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS), as well as vascular and interstitial barriers. To overcome ...the abovementioned obstacles, we report a nano-pathogenoid (NPN) system that can in situ hitchhike circulating neutrophils and supplement photothermal therapy (PTT). Cloaked with bacteria-secreted outer membrane vesicles inheriting pathogen-associated molecular patterns of native bacteria, NPNs are effectively recognized and internalized by neutrophils. The neutrophils migrate towards inflamed tumors, extravasate across the blood vessels, and penetrate through the tumors. Then NPNs are rapidly released from neutrophils in response to inflammatory stimuli and subsequently taken up by tumor cells to exert anticancer effects. Strikingly, due to the excellent targeting efficacy, cisplatin-loaded NPNs combined with PTT completely eradicate tumors in all treated mice. Such a nano-platform represents an efficient and generalizable strategy towards in situ cell hitchhiking as well as enhanced tumor targeted delivery.
Ammonia (NH3) is an essential chemical for agricultural production and a promising next‐generation hydrogen‐rich fuel. The electrocatalytic nitrate (NO3−) reduction reaction (NO3RR) to NH3 provides a ...sustainable and low‐energy method to replace industrial NH3 synthesis. However, the NO3− to NH3 conversion is limited by the complex eight‐electron and nine‐proton reduction processes, thus it is highly desirable to develop efficient electrocatalytic materials to overcome the kinetic barrier of NO3RR. Herein, Au nanocrystals (Au‐NCs) modified holey PtTeAu metallene (PtTeAu‐ML) heteronanostructures (Au‐NCs/PtTeAu‐MLs) are designed through phase and interface engineering, which achieve the high NH3 yield (3.499 mg h−1 mgcat−1) and Faradaic efficiency of 96.3% for NO3RR at −0.03 V versus RHE. Detailed investigations reveal that the introduction of Te atoms significantly inhibits the high activity of Pt atoms for hydrogen evolution reaction that competes with NO3RR. Density functional theory results demonstrate that Au atoms further modulate the electronic structure of Pt in PtTe‐MLs, resulting in the upward shifted d band center of Pt and in turn the optimized NO3RR process on PtTeAu‐MLs. Furthermore, Au‐NCs allows the sustainable sunlight energy to accelerate the NO3RR kinetics at PtTeAu‐MLs because of the localized surface plasmon resonance of Au, inducing a higher NH3 yield of 4.684 mg h−1 mgcat−1 under light irradiation condition.
Au nanocrystals modified holey PtTeAu metallene heteronanostructures (Au‐nanocrystals (NCs)/PtTeAu‐MLs) are designed through phase and interface engineering, achieving the high NH3 yield (3.499 mg h−1 mgcat−1) and Faradaic efficiency of 96.3% for nitrate (NO3−) reduction reaction (NO3RR) at −0.03 V. Furthermore, Au‐NCs exhibit particular localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) extinction in the visible spectral range, which enables Au‐NCs/PtTeAu‐MLs to generate plasma‐promoting activity for NO3RR.
Inflammasomes are a class of cytosolic protein complexes. They act as cytosolic innate immune signal receptors to sense pathogens and initiate inflammatory responses under physiological and ...pathological conditions. The NLR-family pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is the most characteristic multimeric protein complex. Its activation triggers the cleavage of pro-interleukin (IL)-1β and pro-IL-18, which are mediated by caspase-1, and secretes mature forms of these mediators from cells to promote the further inflammatory process and oxidative stress. Simultaneously, cells undergo pro-inflammatory programmed cell death, termed pyroptosis. The danger signals for activating NLRP3 inflammasome are very extensive, especially reactive oxygen species (ROS), which act as an intermediate trigger to activate NLRP3 inflammasome, exacerbating subsequent inflammatory cascades and cell damage. Vascular endothelium at the site of inflammation is actively involved in the regulation of inflammation progression with important implications for cardiovascular homeostasis as a dynamically adaptable interface. Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark and predictor for cardiovascular ailments or adverse cardiovascular events, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. The loss of proper endothelial function may lead to tissue swelling, chronic inflammation, and the formation of thrombi. As such, elimination of endothelial cell inflammation or activation is of clinical relevance. In this review, we provided a comprehensive perspective on the pivotal role of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in aggravating oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction and the possible underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we highlighted the contribution of noncoding RNAs to NLRP3 inflammasome activation-associated endothelial dysfunction, and outlined potential clinical drugs targeting NLRP3 inflammasome involved in endothelial dysfunction. Collectively, this summary provides recent developments and perspectives on how NLRP3 inflammasome interferes with endothelial dysfunction and the potential research value of NLRP3 inflammasome as a potential mediator of endothelial dysfunction.
Summary
Clarifying the coordination of leaf hydraulic traits with gas exchange across closely‐related species adapted to varying rainfall can provide insights into plant habitat distribution and ...drought adaptation.
The leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf), stomatal conductance (gs), net assimilation (A), vein embolism and abscisic acid (ABA) concentration during dehydration were quantified, as well as pressure–volume curve traits and vein anatomy in 10 Caragana species adapted to a range of mean annual precipitation (MAP) conditions and growing in a common garden.
We found a positive correlation between Ψleaf at 50% loss of Kleaf (Kleaf P50) and maximum Kleaf (Kleaf‐max) across species. Species from low‐MAP environments exhibited more negative Kleaf P50 and turgor loss point, and higher Kleaf‐max and leaf‐specific capacity at full turgor, along with higher vein density and midrib xylem per leaf area, and a higher ratio of Kleaf‐max : maximum gs. Tighter stomatal control mediated by higher ABA accumulation during dehydration in these species resulted in an increase in hydraulic safety and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) during drought.
Our results suggest that high hydraulic safety and efficiency combined with greater stomatal sensitivity triggered by ABA production and leading to greater WUEi provides drought tolerance in Caragana species adapted to low‐MAP environments.
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