In overcoming the Li+ desolvation barrier for low‐temperature battery operation, a weakly‐solvated electrolyte based on carboxylate solvent has shown promises. In case of an organic‐anion‐enriched ...primary solvation sheath (PSS), we found that the electrolyte tends to form a highly swollen, unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) that shows a high permeability to the electrolyte components, accounting for quickly declined electrochemical performance of graphite‐based anode. Here we proposed a facile strategy to tune the swelling property of SEI by introducing an inorganic anion switch into the PSS, via LiDFP co‐solute method. By forming a low‐swelling, Li3PO4‐rich SEI, the electrolyte‐consuming parasitic reactions and solvent co‐intercalation at graphite‐electrolyte interface are suppressed, which contributes to efficient Li+ transport, reversible Li+ (de)intercalation and stable structural evolution of graphite anode in high‐energy Li‐ion batteries at a low temperature of −20 °C.
Inclusion of difluorophosphate anion in the primary solvation sheath of a weakly‐solvated electrolyte helps to switch the swelling properties of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on a graphite (Gr) composite anode. By forming a low‐swelling, Li3PO4‐enriched SEI, reversible Li+ (de)intercalation was enabled at a stable Gr‐electrolyte interface, contributing to improved low‐temperature electrochemical performance of a Li‐ion battery.
Multidrug‐resistant bacteria present a major threat to public health that urgently requires new drugs or treatment approaches. Here, we conduct integrated proteomic and metabolomics analyses to ...screen for molecular candidates improving survival of mice infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which indicate that L‐Alanine metabolism and phagocytosis are strongly correlated with mouse survival. We also assess the role of L‐Alanine in improving mouse survival by in vivo bacterial challenge experiments using various bacteria species, including V. parahaemolyticus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Functional studies demonstrate that exogenous L‐Alanine promotes phagocytosis of these multidrug‐resistant pathogen species. We reveal that the underlying mechanism involves two events boosted by L‐Alanine: TLR4 expression and L‐Alanine‐enhanced TLR4 signaling via increased biosynthesis and secretion of fatty acids, including palmitate. Palmitate enhances binding of lipopolysaccharide to TLR4, thereby promoting TLR4 dimer formation and endocytosis for subsequent activation of the PI3K/Akt and NF‐κB pathways and bacteria phagocytosis. Our data suggest that modulation of the metabolic environment is a plausible approach for combating multidrug‐resistant bacteria infection.
Synopsis
L‐Alanine administration prophylactically and therapeutically protects hosts from infection by multidrug‐resistant bacteria. L‐Alanine enhances the phagocytosis of macrophages by boosting TLR4‐PI3K/AKT‐NFκB signaling and toll‐like receptor 4 expression.
L‐Alanine can be used as prophylactic and therapeutic reagents against infection by multidrug‐resistant bacteria.
L‐Alanine promotes macrophage phagocytosis of multidrug‐resistant bacteria by increasing the production of fatty acids.
Fatty acids enhance LPS‐induced TLR4 dimerization and endocytosis to activate PI3K/AKT and NF‐κB signaling.
L‐Alanine upregulates TLR4 expression in macrophages.
L‐Alanine administration prophylactically and therapeutically protects hosts from infection by multidrug‐resistant bacteria. L‐Alanine enhances the phagocytosis of macrophages by boosting TLR4‐PI3K/AKT‐NFκB signaling and toll‐like receptor 4 expression.
•Patients infected with COVID-19 are vulnerable to mental health problems.•The prevalence of depression was 43.1% (95%CI: 39.6%−46.6%) in clinically stable patients with COVID-19. Patients with ...depression had lower QOL than those without.•Regular screening and appropriate treatment of depression are warranted for patients with COVID-19.
High risk of mental health problems is associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study explored the prevalence of depressive symptoms (depression hereafter) and its relationship with quality of life (QOL) in clinically stable patients with COVID-19.
This was an online survey conducted in COVID-19 patients across five designated isolation hospitals for COVID-19 in Hubei province, China. Depression and QOL were assessed with standardized instruments.
A total of 770 participants were included. The prevalence of depression was 43.1% (95%CI: 39.6%-46.6%). Binary logistic regression analysis found that having a family member infected with COVID-19 (OR=1.51, P = 0.01), suffering from severe COVID-19 infection (OR=1.67, P = 0.03), male gender (OR=0.53, P<0.01), and frequent social media use to obtain COVID-19 related information (OR=0.65, P<0.01) were independently associated with depression. Patients with depression had lower QOL than those without.
Depression is highly prevalent in clinically stable patients with COVID-19. Regular screening and appropriate treatment of depression are urgently warranted for this population.
ObjectiveThere is little evidence that adjuvant therapy after radical surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) improves recurrence-free survival (RFS) or overall survival (OS). We ...conducted a multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase IV trial evaluating the benefit of an aqueous extract of Trametes robinophila Murr (Huaier granule) to address this unmet need.Design and resultsA total of 1044 patients were randomised in 2:1 ratio to receive either Huaier or no further treatment (controls) for a maximum of 96 weeks. The primary endpoint was RFS. Secondary endpoints included OS and tumour extrahepatic recurrence rate (ERR). The Huaier (n=686) and control groups (n=316) had a mean RFS of 75.5 weeks and 68.5 weeks, respectively (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.55 to 0.81). The difference in the RFS rate between Huaier and control groups was 62.39% and 49.05% (95% CI 6.74 to 19.94; p=0.0001); this led to an OS rate in the Huaier and control groups of 95.19% and 91.46%, respectively (95% CI 0.26 to 7.21; p=0.0207). The tumour ERR between Huaier and control groups was 8.60% and 13.61% (95% CI −12.59 to −2.50; p=0.0018), respectively.ConclusionsThis is the first nationwide multicentre study, involving 39 centres and 1044 patients, to prove the effectiveness of Huaier granule as adjuvant therapy for HCC after curative liver resection. It demonstrated a significant prolongation of RFS and reduced extrahepatic recurrence in Huaier group.Trial registration NCT01770431; Post-results.
To examine insomnia disorder and its association with sociodemographic factors and poor mental health in 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) inpatients in Wuhan, China.
and Methods: A total of 484 ...COVID-19 inpatients in Wuhan Tongji Hospital were selected and interviewed with standardized assessment tools. Insomnia disorder was measured by the Chinese version of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI-7), a total score of 8 or more was accepted as the threshold for diagnosing insomnia disorder.
The prevalence of insomnia disorder in the whole sample was 42.8%. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender, younger age, and higher fatigue and anxiety severity were more likely to experience insomnia disorder.
Given the high rate of insomnia disorder status among COVID-19 inpatients in Wuhan, China, and its negative effects, follow-up assessments and appropriate psychological interventions for insomnia disorder are needed in this population.
•Insomnia disorder is highly prevalent in COVID-19 inpatients.•Insomnia disorder was associated with increased odds of the female gender, younger age, higher fatigue and anxiety severity.•Follow-up assessments and appropriate psychological interventions for insomnia disorder in COVID-19 patients are needed.
2-Acylimidazoles are widely used as post-transformable carboxylic acid equivalents in chemoselective and enantioselective reactions. Their transformations, however, require pretreatment with highly ...reactive, toxic methylating reagents to facilitate C–C bond cleavage. Here, we demonstrate that such pretreatment can be avoided and the C–C bond cleaved under neutral conditions without the use of additional reagents or catalysts. The scope of the reaction, including the use of products reported in the literature as substrates, and some mechanistic insights are described.
Fiber is effective in restricting cracks and improving the toughness of geopolymer composites, but few studies have focused on the surface crack characteristics of fiber-reinforced geopolymer ...composites. In this paper, after flexural tests of polypropylene fiber-reinforced geopolymer mortar, the surface cracking image was collected by a digital camera and cracking information was extract by deep learning. Finally, the cracking and fractal characteristics were specifically discussed. The semantic segmentation network can accurately extract surface cracks for calculating various parameters. The results showed that the mean intersection over union (mIoU) and mean pixel accuracy (mPA) of the cracks are 0.8451 and 0.9213, respectively. Generally, the crack length, width, area, and fractal dimension of the specimen are all increased with the increase in the fiber volume fraction. These crack parameters grow rapidly when the fiber content is small, and the growth of the crack parameters gradually slows down as the fiber volume fraction increases to approximately 1.5%. The highest crack parameter values were found in the geopolymer mortar, with a 0.48 water–binder ratio and 12 mm fiber length. The variation of the bottom crack length and the side crack fractal dimension can be used to represent the overall crack variation patterns. Meanwhile, the crack parameters increase with the increased fiber factor in a quadratic function. Based on these crack parameters, the critical fiber factor and dense fiber factor of polypropylene fiber-reinforced geopolymer mortar were 200 and 550, respectively. They are greater than those of fiber-reinforced Portland cementitious composites. The influence of various crack parameters on the flexural strength is in the order of the crack area, width, length, and fractal dimension.
Exploring how suitable habitat and population size of Red-crowned crane
Grus japonensis
respond to long-term coastal reclamation plays an important role in species conservation and in related coastal ...management. Here, we combined field data for suitable habitats and wintering population size of
G. japonensis
with GIS-based information to elucidate the influence of long-term coastal reclamation on this species and related conservation efforts. During 1975–2013, the intensity and spatial extent of coastal reclamation exhibited a temporal change, increasing dramatically in 1975–2000 and lessening considerably in 2000–2013. Under the pressure of long-term coastal reclamation, the decline of suitable habitat of
G. japonensis
was affected by increasing levels of human disturbance and decreasing availability of natural habitat. Moreover, the wintering population size of
G. japonensis
exhibited a decreasing trend during 1975–2013 as a result of the decreasing availability of fish ponds, bare tidal flats, and increasing spatial extent of residential areas and
P. australis
habitat, which were indirectly affected by long-term reclamation. Our results highlight the importance of considering the long-term effects of coastal reclamation on both populations and suitable habitat of
G. japonensis
, which should be considered in future plans for coastal management and conservation.
Based on first-principles calculations, we predict five global stable molybdenum phosphorus compounds in the pressure range of 0–300 GPa. All of them display superconductivity with different ...transition temperatures. Meanwhile, we find that a metastable crystal hex-MoP2, crystallized in a noncentrosymmetric structure, is a double-Weyl semimetal and the Weyl point is in the H–K path. The long Fermi arcs and the topological surface states, which can be observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, emerge at the (100) surface below the Fermi level. Furthermore, we find that the superconductivity in hex-MoP2 can be enhanced by carrier doping. Due to the breaking of inversion symmetry, the unconventional spin-triplet pairing coexists with spin-singlet pairing in channel Formula Omitted. Based on our theoretical model, there are the superconducting band gaps in both pairings. Our work provides a new platform of hex-MoP2 for studying both topological double-Weyl semimetal and superconductivity.
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