In recent years, micrometer‐sized Si‐based anode materials have attracted intensive attention in the pursuit of energy‐storage systems with high energy and low cost. However, the significant volume ...variation during repeated electrochemical (de)alloying processes will seriously damage the bulk structure of SiOx microparticles, resulting in rapid performance fade. This work proposes to address the challenge by preparing in situ magnesium‐doped SiOx (SiMgyOx) microparticles with stable structural evolution against Li uptake/release. The homogeneous distribution of magnesium silicate in SiMgyOx contributes to building a bonding network inside the particle so that it raises the modulus of lithiated state and restrains the internal cracks due to electrochemical agglomeration of nano‐Si. The prepared micrometer‐sized SiMgyOx anode shows high reversible capacities, stable cycling performance, and low electrode expansion at high areal mass loading. A 21700 cylindrical‐type cell based on the SiMgyOx‐graphite anode and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathode demonstrates a 1000‐cycle operation life using industry‐recognized electrochemical test procedures, which meets the practical storage requirements for consumer electronics and electric vehicles. This work provides insights on the reasonable structural design of micrometer‐sized alloying anode materials toward realization of high‐performance Li‐ion batteries.
The in situ element doping approach developed in this research provides not only a promising material (SiMgyOx) as high‐performance Li‐ion battery anodes with superior properties and low industrialization cost for commercial applications, but also insights on the reasonable structural design of micrometer‐sized alloying anode materials for restraining internal cracks and improving electrochemical performance.
We explored whether medical health workers had more psychosocial problems than nonmedical health workers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
An online survey was run from February 19 to March 6, 2020; a ...total of 2,182 Chinese subjects participated. Mental health variables were assessed via the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Symptom Check List-revised (SCL-90-R), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), which included a 2-item anxiety scale and a 2-item depression scale (PHQ-2).
Compared with nonmedical health workers (n = 1,255), medical health workers (n = 927) had a higher prevalence of insomnia (38.4 vs. 30.5%, p < 0.01), anxiety (13.0 vs. 8.5%, p < 0.01), depression (12.2 vs. 9.5%; p< 0.04), somatization (1.6 vs. 0.4%; p < 0.01), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (5.3 vs. 2.2%; p < 0.01). They also had higher total scores of ISI, GAD-2, PHQ-2, and SCL-90-R obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p ≤ 0.01). Among medical health workers, having organic disease was an independent factor for insomnia, anxiety, depression, somatization, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p < 0.05 or 0.01). Living in rural areas, being female, and being at risk of contact with COVID-19 patients were the most common risk factors for insomnia, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and depression (p < 0.01 or 0.05). Among nonmedical health workers, having organic disease was a risk factor for insomnia, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p < 0.01 or 0.05).
During the COVID-19 outbreak, medical health workers had psychosocial problems and risk factors for developing them. They were in need of attention and recovery programs.
1,2,3,5-Tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) is a typical donor-acceptor fluorophore, with carbazolyl as an electron donor and dicyanobenzene as an electron acceptor. It has emerged as ...a powerful organophotocatalyst since 2016. Excellent redox window, good chemical stability and broad applicability make 4CzIPN an attractive metal-free photocatalyst. In this review, the recent advances of the application of 4CzIPN as a photoredox catalyst in the past three years (2016-2018) for various organic reactions are summarized.
In this review, the recent advances of the application of 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) as a photoredox catalyst in the past three years (2016-2018) for various organic reactions are summarized.
Application of the shallow water waves in environmental engineering and hydraulic engineering is seen. In this paper, a (3+1)-dimensional generalized nonlinear evolution equation (gNLEE) for the ...shallow water waves is investigated. The
N
th-order Wronskian, Gramian and Pfaffian solutions are proved, where
N
is a positive integer. Soliton solutions are constructed from the
N
th-order Wronskian, Gramian and Pfaffian solutions. Moreover, we analyze the second-order solitons with the influence of the coefficients in the equation and illustrate them with graphs. Through the Hirota-Riemann method, one-periodic-wave solutions are derived. Relationship between the one-periodic-wave solutions and one-soliton solutions is investigated, which shows that the one-periodic-wave solutions can approach to the one-soliton solutions under certain conditions. We reduce the (3+1)-dimensional gNLEE to a two-dimensional planar dynamic system. Based on the qualitative analysis, we give the phase portraits of the dynamic system.
Ammonia (NH3) is essential for modern agriculture and industry, and, due to its high hydrogen density and no carbon emission, it is also expected to be the next‐generation of “clean” energy carrier. ...Herein, directly from air and water, a plasma‐electrocatalytic reaction system for NH3 production, which combines two steps of plasma‐air‐to‐NOx− and electrochemical NOx− reduction reaction (eNOxRR) with a bifunctional catalyst, is successfully established. Especially, the bifunctional catalyst of CuCo2O4/Ni can simultaneously promote plasma‐air‐to‐NOx− and eNOxRR processes. The easy adsorption and activation of O2 by CuCo2O4/Ni greatly improve the NOx− production rate at the first step. Further, CuCo2O4/Ni can also resolve the overbonding of the key intermediate of *NO, and thus reduce the energy barrier of the second step of eNOxRR. Finally, the “green” NH3 production achieves excellent FENH3 (96.8%) and record‐high NH3 yield rate of 145.8 mg h−1 cm−2 with large partial current density (1384.7 mA cm−2). Moreover, an enlarged self‐made H‐type electrolyzer improves the NH3 yield to 3.6 g h−1, and the obtained NH3 is then rapidly converted to a solid of magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate, which favors the easy storage and transportation of NH3.
A bifunctional catalyst of CuCo2O4/Ni applying to plasma‐electrocatalytic synthesis of NH3 from air and water is proposed, with which a record‐high NH3 yield rate of 145.8 mg h−1 cm−2 and excellent FE of 96.8% can be obtained. Moreover, the reaction system is enlarged and the generated NH3 precipitates into MgNH4PO4·6H2O solid to promote the practical application.
The ability to modulate nanoparticle (NP) assemblies with atomic precision is still lacking, which hinders us from creating hierarchical NP organizations with desired properties. In this work, a ...hierarchical fibrous (1D to 3D) assembly of Au NPs (21-gold atom, Au
) is realized and further modulated with atomic precision via site-specific tailoring of the surface hook (composed of four phenyl-containing ligands with a counteranion). Interestingly, tailoring of the associated counterion significantly changes the electrical transport properties of the NP-assembled solids by two orders of magnitude due to the altered configuration of the interacting π-π pairs of the surface hooks. Overall, our success in atomic-level modulation of the hierarchical NP assembly directly evidences how the NP ligands and associated counterions can function to guide the 1D, 2D, and 3D hierarchical self-assembly of NPs in a delicate manner. This work expands nanochemists' skills in rationally programming the hierarchical NP assemblies with controllable structures and properties.
Pancreatic cancer (PC) represents a relatively rare but severe malignancy worldwide. Accumulated studies have emphasized the potential of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) as therapeutic strategies for ...several human cancers. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether a novel non-coding RNA regulatory circuitry involved in PC. Aberrantly expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were screened out of microarray database. Following the determination of RNA expression, PANC-1 and BxPC-3 PC cells were adopted, after which the expression of miR-330-5p, PAX8 and LINC00958 were subsequently altered. RNA crosstalk was validated by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. In order to detect whether LINC00958 could act as ceRNA to competitively sponge miR-330-5p and regulate PAX8, subcellular location of LINC00958 and interaction between LINC00958 and miR-330-5p were measured by FISH and RNA pull down respectively. The epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, cell invasion, and tumor growth were determined in vitro and in vivo. LINC00958 and PAX8 were up-regulated, while miR-330-5p was down-regulated during PC. LINC00958 mainly expressed in the cytoplasm and LINC00958 competitively sponged miR-330-5p. Upregulated miR-330-5p or downregulated PAX8 inhibited the EMT process as well as the invasion and metastasis ability of the PC cells. Moreover, the results indicated that miR-330-5p negatively targeted PAX8, and LINC00958 ultimately showcasing its ability to bind to miR-330-5p through its interaction with AGO2. Therefore, silencing of LINC00958 may bind to miR-330-5p to inhibit PAX8 in a competitive fashion, thereby preventing the progression of PC.
•This study explores the effects of LINC00958 on PC via the miR-330-5p/PAX8 axis.•LINC00958 and PAX8 are highly expressed, yet miR-330-5p down-regulated in PC cells.•PAX8 is a target gene of miR-330-5p.•LINC00958 promotes PAX8 by binding with miR-330-5p in PC.•Down-regulated LINC00958 inhibits EMT, invasion, and metastasis of PC cells.
Scope: The proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells (ISCs) are the basis of intestinal renewal and regeneration, and gut microbiota plays an important role in it. Dietary nutrition ...has the effect of regulating the activity of ISCs; however, the regulation effect of α‐linolenic acid (ALA) has seldom been reported.
Methods and Results: After intervening mice with different doses of ALA for 30 days, it is found that ALA (0.5 g kg−1) promotes small intestinal and villus growth by activating the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway to stimulate the proliferation of ISCs. Furthermore, ALA administration increases the abundance of the Ruminococcaceae and Prevotellaceae, and promotes the production of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Subsequent fecal transplantation and antibiotic experiments demonstrate that ALA on the proliferation of ISCs are gut microbiota dependent, among them, the functional microorganism may be derived from Ruminococcaceae. Administration of isobutyrate shows a similar effect to ALA in terms of promoting ISCs proliferation. Furthermore, ALA mitigates 5‐fluorouracil‐induced intestinal mucosal damage by promoting ISCs proliferation.
Conclusion: These results indicate that SCFAs produced by Ruminococcaceae mediate ALA promote ISCs proliferation by activating the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway, and suggest the possibility of ALA as a prebiotic agent for the prevention and treatment of intestinal mucositis.
In this work, it is shown that short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by Ruminococcaceae mediate α‐linolenic acid (ALA) promote intestinal stem cells (ISCs) proliferation by activating the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway, and suggest the possibility of ALA as a prebiotic agent for the prevention and treatment of intestinal mucositis.
Ambient electrochemical ammonia (NH3) synthesis is one promising alternative to the energy‐intensive Haber–Bosch route. However, the industrial requirement for the electrochemical NH3 production with ...amperes current densities or gram‐level NH3 yield remains a grand challenge. Herein, we report the high‐rate NH3 production via NO2− reduction using the Cu activated Co electrode in a bipolar membrane (BPM) assemble electrolyser, wherein BPM maintains the ion balance and the liquid level of electrolyte. Benefited from the abundant Co sites and optimal structure, the target modified Co foam electrode delivers a current density of 2.64 A cm−2 with the Faradaic efficiency of 96.45 % and the high NH3 yield rate of 279.44 mg h−1 cm−2 in H‐type cell using alkaline electrolyte. Combined with in situ experiments and theoretical calculations, we found that Cu optimizes the adsorption behavior of NO2− and facilitates the hydrogenation steps on Co sites toward a rapid NO2− reduction process. Importantly, this activated Co electrode affords a large NH3 production up to 4.11 g h−1 in a homemade reactor, highlighting its large‐scale practical feasibility.
A high‐efficiency electrochemical ammonia (NH3) synthesis from NOx on a Cu‐activated Co foam electrode was developed as a promising alternative for the Haber–Bosch process. The new synthesis can convert pollutants into elevated value‐added NH3 applicable for agriculture, energy storage, etc., imposing a sustainable nitrogen cycle.
Fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) are a new class of lipid mediators with promising anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties. Comprehensive screening and identification of ...FAHFAs in biological samples would be beneficial to the discovery of new FAHFAs and enable greater understanding of their biological functions. Here, we report the comprehensive screening of FAHFAs in rice and Arabidopsis thaliana by chemical isotope labeling-assisted liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (CIL-LC–MS). Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used for screening of FAHFAs. With the proposed method, we detected 49 potential FAHFA families, including 262 regioisomers, in tissues of rice and Arabidopsis thaliana, which greatly extends our knowledge of known FAHFAs. In addition, we proposed a strategy to identify FAHFA regioisomers based on their retention on a reversed-phase LC column. Using the proposed identification strategy, we identified 71 regioisomers from 11 FAHFA families based on commercial standards and characteristic chromatographic retention behaviors. The screening technique could allow for the discovery of new FAHFAs in biological samples. The new FAHFAs identified in this work will contribute to the in-depth study of the functions of FAHFAs.
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