The development of new materials and the understanding of the microstructure formation of electrodes have become increasingly important for improving Li-ion battery performance. In this study, we ...investigate the effect of solid content on the rheological properties of and the microstructures in the cathode slurry prepared from Ni-rich materials. With long-chain structures, PVDF molecules can change their configurations when they come into contact with the solid particles in slurries, and their bridging function can change with the solid content in the slurry. Below the optimum content, particle sedimentation easily takes place. Above the optimum content, excessive yield stress is created in the slurry, and this stress is not conducive to homogeneous distribution of the components. The rheological properties of the slurries vary greatly under different solid contents. We investigated the uniformity and stability of the slurry prepared from Ni-rich materials and found that the most suitable solid content of the slurry lies in the range from 63.9% to 66.3%. Our work might assist in the production of high-performance Li-ion batteries that are made using an electrode slurry.
There are three main situations in which the uniformity and microstructure of the slurry change with the solid content.
RNA silencing functions as an important antiviral defense mechanism in a broad range of eukaryotes. In plants, biogenesis of several classes of endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) requires ...RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase (RDR) activities. Members of the RDR family proteins, including RDR1and RDR6, have also been implicated in antiviral defense, although a direct role for RDRs in viral siRNA biogenesis has yet to be demonstrated. Using a crucifer-infecting strain of Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV-Cg) and Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system, we analyzed the viral small RNA profile in wild-type plants as well as rdr mutants by applying small RNA deep sequencing technology. Over 100,000 TMV-Cg-specific small RNA reads, mostly of 21- (78.4%) and 22-nucleotide (12.9%) in size and originating predominately (79.9%) from the genomic sense RNA strand, were captured at an early infection stage, yielding the first high-resolution small RNA map for a plant virus. The TMV-Cg genome harbored multiple, highly reproducible small RNA-generating hot spots that corresponded to regions with no apparent local hairpin-forming capacity. Significantly, both the rdr1 and rdr6 mutants exhibited globally reduced levels of viral small RNA production as well as reduced strand bias in viral small RNA population, revealing an important role for these host RDRs in viral siRNA biogenesis. In addition, an informatics analysis showed that a large set of host genes could be potentially targeted by TMV-Cg-derived siRNAs for posttranscriptional silencing. Two of such predicted host targets, which encode a cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF30) and an unknown protein similar to translocon-associated protein alpha (TRAP α), respectively, yielded a positive result in cleavage validation by 5'RACE assays. Our data raised the interesting possibility for viral siRNA-mediated virus-host interactions that may contribute to viral pathogenicity and host specificity.
E3 ubiquitin ligases determine the substrate specificity and catalyze the ubiquitination of lysine residues. HUWE1 is a catalytic HECT domain-containing giant E3 ligase that contains a ...substrate-binding ring structure, and mediates the ubiquitination of more than 40 diverse substrates. HUWE1 serves as a central node in cellular stress responses, cell growth and death, signal transduction, etc. The expanding atlas of HUWE1 substrates presents a major challenge for the potential therapeutic application of HUWE1 in a particular disease. In addition, HUWE1 has been demonstrated to play contradictory roles in certain aspects of tumor progression in either an oncogenic or a tumor-suppressive manner. We recently defined novel roles of HUWE1 in promoting the activation of multiple inflammasomes. Inflammasome activation-mediated immune responses might lead to multifunctional effects on tumor therapy, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. In this review, we summarize the known substrates and pleiotropic functions of HUWE1 in different types of cells and models, including its involvement in development, cancer, neuronal disorder and infectious disease. We also discuss the advances in cryo-EM-structural analysis for a functional-mechanistic understanding of HUWE1 in modulating the multitudinous diverse substrates, and introduce the possibility of revisiting the comprehensive roles of HUWE1 in multiple aspects within one microenvironment, which will shed light on the potential therapeutic application of targeting giant E3 ligases like HUWE1.
Hydrophobic thin films have gained significant attention due to their broad applications in self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, anti-icing, medicine, oil-water separation, and other fields. The target ...hydrophobic materials can be deposited onto various surfaces thanks to the scalable and highly reproducible nature of magnetron sputtering, which is comprehensively overviewed in this review. While alternative preparation methods have been extensively analyzed, a systematic understanding of hydrophobic thin films fabricated using magnetron sputtering deposition is still absent. After outlining the fundamental mechanism of hydrophobicity, this review briefly summarizes three types of sputtering-deposited thin films that originate from oxides, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and diamond-like carbon (DLC), respectively, primarily focusing on the recent advances in their preparation, characteristics, and applications. Finally, the future applications, current challenges, and development of hydrophobic thin films are discussed, and a brief perspective on future research directions is provided.
Pathogenic viral infections represent a major challenge to human health. Host immune responses to respiratory viruses are closely associated with microbiome and metabolism via the gut-lung axis. It ...has been known that host defense against influenza A virus (IAV) involves activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, however, mechanisms behind the protective function of NLRP3 are not fully known. Here we show that an isolated bacterial strain, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum NjM1, enriched in the gut microbiota of Nlrp3
mice, protects wild-type but not Nlrp3 deficient mice against IAV infection. This effect depends on the enhanced production of type I interferon (IFN-I) mediated by NjM1-derived acetate. Application of exogenous acetate reproduces the protective effect of NjM1. Mechanistically, NLRP3 bridges GPR43 and MAVS, and promotes the oligomerization and signalling of MAVS; while acetate enhances MAVS aggregation upon GPR43 engagement, leading to elevated IFN-I production. Thus, our data support a model of NLRP3 mediating enhanced induction of IFN-I via acetate-producing bacterium and suggest that the acetate-GPR43-NLRP3-MAVS-IFN-I signalling axis is a potential therapeutic target against respiratory viral infections.
High-specific-capacity materials are crucial for the high-energy-density lithium-ion secondary batteries as the automakers and customers are both eager to extend the cruising range of electric ...vehicles. The current commercial silicon/carbon composites are based on the mechanical mixture of silicon and graphite, but this weak combination is not suitable for the higher-capacity materials. Here, low-cost raw materials are used for the preparation of a graphite/silicon@carbon composite negative electrode material, which synergizes ball milling, molten salts electrolysis and carbon coating. Silica is in situ electrochemically reduced to silicon on the flaky graphite serving as the conducting substrate during the electrolysis process. It is found that ball milling increases the active sites on the basal plane of graphite, which is beneficial for the nucleation and growth of the silicon, and enhances the bonding of silicon particles and graphite. As for the electrochemical results of coin-type cells, this graphite/silicon@carbon composite material exhibits a better cycle performance than the commercial Si/C 650 silicon-based composite material.
The commercial transfection reagent Lipofectamine has been widely used for cytoplasmic delivery of nucleic acids and for cytosolic engagement with intracellular innate immune sensors to trigger type ...I interferon (IFN) production. However, the effect of Lipofectamine alone on type I IFN response has not been studied in detail. Here, we show that Lipofectamine induced type I IFN signaling in both RAW 264.7 macrophage‐like cells and primary bone marrow‐derived macrophages. Type I IFN induction was dependent on interferon regulatory factor (IRF)3 and IRF7 and partially required the toll/interleukin‐1 receptor‐domain‐containing adapter‐inducing interferon‐β. In contrast, the transfection reagent Xfect did not activate type I IFN signaling. Our study highlights the potential confounding experimental interpretation when using Lipofectamine‐based transfection for delivering intracellular ligands and provides important insights into lipid signaling in innate immune responses.
We found that the transfection reagent Lipofectamine can induce type I interferon signaling in macrophages.
Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, a common pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections, is the main cause for outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, meningitis, and ...bacteremia, especially among critically ill patients. Epidemic A. baumannii is a growing public health concern as it is resistant to all existing antimicrobial agents, thereby necessitating the development of new therapeutic approaches to mount an effective immune response against this bacterial pathogen. In this study, we identified a critical role for type I interferon (IFN) in epigenetic regulation during A. baumannii infection and established a central role for it in multiple cell death pathways. A. baumannii infection induced mixed cell death constituted of apoptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis. Mechanically, A. baumannii triggered TRIF-dependent type I IFN production, which in turn induced the expression of genes Zbp1, Mlkl, caspase-11, and Gsdmd via KAT2B-mediated and P300-mediated H3K27ac modification, leading to NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and potentially contributed to GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis and MLKL-dependent necroptosis. Our study offers novel insights into the mechanisms of type I IFN and provides potential therapeutic targets for infectious and inflammatory diseases.
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•15 metal dimers constructed by 5 3d metals (Fe-Zn) are systematically studied.•The OH group as a ligand significantly improves oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity.•Ligand OH ...weakens the scaling relationship of adsorption free energies of oxygenated species.•The volcanic plot predicts that the optimal overpotential is 0.29 V.
Various experimental investigation had proved that metal dimers possess excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity compared to single metal atom catalysts, due to the synergistic effect exerted by two metal atoms. However, it is still unclear how the electrocatalytic activity is enhanced in a fundamental aspect. In this study, we systematically investigated five 3d transition metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) by density functional theory (DFT) to explore the ability of metal dimers to catalyze the ORR. It is found that different combinations of different metal atoms have different adsorption strengths to oxygenated intermediates, which helps to screen suitable catalyst materials. The scaling relationship of the free energy of adsorption of oxygen-containing species was calculated for various metal-dimer systems. The classical volcanic diagram is derived, and it is found that the CoZnOH embedded nitrogen-doped graphene (the overpotential is 0.61 V) shows the best catalytic properties, and it is predicted that when the adsorption free energy of OH is equal to 0.95 eV, the optimal overpotential is 0.29 V. Electronic structure calculations show that the pairing of different metal atoms alters the d-band center which in turn change the adsorption properties and hence ORR catalytic performance.