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Nitric oxide (NO), produced through the denitrification pathway, regulates biofilm dynamics through the quorum sensing system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. NO stimulates P. aeruginosabiofilm dispersal by enhancing phosphodiesterase activity to decrease cyclic di-GMP levels. In a chronic skin wound model containing a mature biofilm, the gene expression of nirS, encoding nitrite reductase to produce NO, was low, leading to reduced intracellular NO levels. Although low-dose NO induces biofilm dispersion, it is unknown whether it influences the formation of P. aeruginosabiofilms in chronic skin wounds. In this study, a P. aeruginosaPAO1 strain with overexpressed nirS was established to investigate NO effects on P. aeruginosabiofilm formation in an ex vivo chronic skin wound model and unravel the underlying molecular mechanisms. Elevated intracellular NO levels altered the biofilm structure in the wound model by inhibiting the expression of quorum sensing–related genes, which was different from an in vitro model. In Caenorhabditis elegansas a slow-killing infection model, elevated intracellular NO levels increased worms’ lifespan by 18%. Worms that fed on the nirS-overexpressed PAO1 strain for 4 h had complete tissue, whereas worms that fed on empty plasmid–containing PAO1 had biofilms on their body, causing severe damage to the head and tail. Thus, elevated intracellular NO levels can inhibit P. aeruginosabiofilm growth in chronic skin wounds and reduce pathogenicity to the host. Targeting NO is a potential approach to control biofilm growth in chronic skin wounds wherein P. aeruginosabiofilms are a persistent problem.

Ni2+/Ni4+and O2–/On2–redoxs endow the Li-rich layered oxide of Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2(LMNO) with a considerable specific capacity and higher voltage. However, during the repeated de-/lithiation, the constant structure degradation initiated from transition metal ion dissolvement and oxygen escape leads to rapid capacity decay, which severely hinders the commercial application of LMNO. Herein, Nb2O5and LiNbO3are fabricated on the outside of the LMNO substrate. With the appropriate ion radius, a small amount of Nb5+enters the substrate, which could enlarge the crystal spacing and facilitate the fast Li+transfer and, more importantly, change the valence state of Mn and induce the formation a Fd3̅mtransition phase on the interface between the coating layer and the interior LMNO. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation has proven that the transition phase could build double-way chemical bonds both inside and outside, and the LiNbO3coated LMNO composite (LMNO@LNO) possesses a more stable and harmonious interface due to the higher bonding strength between LiNbO3and the transition phase. Therefore, LMNO@LNO demonstrates the most outstanding rate capability and long-tern cycling stability (decay rate of 0.041% per cycle during 1000 cycling at 5 C). This work provides a new inspiration for the coating materials selection and the interface stability research for the LMNO cathodes.

Cobalt-free (Co-free) and nickel-rich (Ni-rich) cathode materials have attracted significant attention and undergone extensive studies due to their affordability and superior energy density. However, the commercialization of these Co-free materials is hindered by challenges such as cation disorder, irreversible phase changes, and inadequate high-voltage performance. To overcome these challenges, a Co-free ternary cathode material of Mg/Al double-pillared LiNiO2(NMA) synthesized via a wet-coating and lithiation-sintering technique is proposed. Fundamental studies reveal that Mg and Al have the potential to form a distinctive double-pillar structure within the layered cathode, enhancing its structural stability. To be specific, the strategic placement of Mg and Al in Li and Ni layers, respectively, effectively reduces Li+/Ni2+disorder and prevents irreversible phase transitions. Additionally, the inclusion of Mg and Al refines the primary grains and compacts the secondary grains in the cathode material, reducing stress from cyclic usage and preventing material cracking, thereby mitigating electrolyte erosion. As a result, NMA demonstrates exceptional electrochemical performance under a high charge cutoff voltage of 4.6 V. It maintains 70% of initial specific capacity after 500 cycles at 1 C and exhibits excellent rate performance, with a capacity of 162 mAh g–1at 5 C and 149 mAh g–1at 10 C. As a whole, the produced NMA achieves a high structural stability in cases of excessive delithiation, providing a groundbreaking solution for the development of cost-effective and high-energy-density cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

The intrinsic clustering behavior and kinetically sluggish conversion process of lithium polysulfides seriously limit the electrochemical reversibility of sulfur redox reactions in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Here, we introduce molybdenum pentachloride (MoCl5) into the electrolyte which could coordinate with lithium polysulfides and inhibit their intrinsic clustering behavior, subsequently serving as an improved mediator with the bi-functional catalytic effect for Li2S deposition and activation. Moreover, the coordination bonding and accelerated conversion reaction can also greatly suppress the dissolution and shuttling of polysulfides. Consequently, such polysulfide complexes enable the Li-S coin cell to exhibit good long-term cycling stability with a capacity decay of 0.078% per cycle after 400 cycles at 2 C, and excellent rate performance with a discharge capacity of 589 mAh/g at 4 C. An area capacity of 3.94 mAh/cm2is also achieved with a high sulfur loading of 4.5 mg/cm2at 0.2 C. Even at -20°C, the modified cell maintains standard discharge plateaus with low overpotential, delivering a high capacity of 741 mAh/g at 0.2 C after 80 cycles. The low-cost and convenient MoCl5additive opens a new avenue for the effective regulation of polysulfides and significant enhancement in sulfur redox conversion.

ABSTRACTMonoclonal antibody (mAb)-based blockade of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or its ligand to enable antitumor T-cell immunity has been successful in treating multiple tumors. However, the structural basis of the binding mechanisms of the mAbs and PD-1 and the effects of glycosylation of PD-1 on mAb interaction are not well understood. Here, we report the complex structure of PD-1 with toripalimab, a mAb that is approved by China National Medical Products Administration as a second-line treatment for melanoma and is under multiple Phase 1-Phase 3 clinical trials in both China and the US. Our analysis reveals that toripalimab mainly binds to the FG loop of PD-1 with an unconventionally long complementarity-determining region 3 loop of the heavy chain, which is distinct from the known binding epitopes of anti-PD-1 mAbs with structural evidences. The glycan modifications of PD-1 could be observed in three potential N-linked glycosylation sites, while no substantial influences were detected to the binding of toripalimab. These findings benefit our understanding of the binding mechanisms of toripalimab to PD-1 and shed light for future development of biologics targeting PD-1. Atomic coordinates have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank under accession code 6JBT.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which can either help to prevent accidents or reduce their negative consequences by intervening in a wide variety of ways, are the solution of choice for considerably greater safety in traffic and comfortable driving. Further, they can be used to perform various improvements such as optimizing fuel consumption or emissions. In conjunction with the driver, they form human machine systems (HMS) with varying degrees of complexity and automation. In order to pass the numerous checks and meet certain standards, ADAS must recognize the surrounding traffic as quickly and accurately as possible in order to act upon it. As a result, rapid and accurate identification methods are required to ensure this. Available approaches still have a lot of potential for optimization in terms of speed and accuracy and in the present work we are aiming to improve the elastic template matching algorithm developed by the authors in a previous study. We extend the approach with a training-free continuous and simultaneous detection of several maneuvers by means of the so-called Nearest Neighbour Algorithm, which in our case transforms into Nearest Centroid Classifier. Moreover, the approach can be easily used for multi-vehicle scenarios; though by treating each vehicle as a separate object without taking into account their interactions.

This paper focuses on systematical evaluation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and Automated Driving Functions. To overcome the curse of dimensionality we propose to use a test case catalogue, which is proven to have a good coverage of critical traffic situation. Secondly, a method for assessment of safety performance is introduced. It is based on evaluating the performance limit of automated vehicle in a given test case and relating it to its overall exposure rate in real world traffic situations. Through a case study, the parametrization and generation of test scenarios and evaluation for an ADAS(ACC) system is presented.

The wettability of oil reservoir rock will affect the oil recovery efficiency by reducing the capillary force. A Gemini cationic surfactant containing double dodecyl chains and two quaternary ammonium headgroups was synthetized and used as a new wetting alteration agent. This paper focuses on the wettability alteration of Gemini cationic surfactants on oil-aged mica mineral surface. The results of contact angle data show that Gemini cationic surfactant have great wettability to alter oil-aged mica surfaces to mid-wetting even weakly water-wet. The adsorption morphology by atomic force microscopy shows that the degree of wettability alteration is mainly dependent on the coverage areas of surfactant molecules. Gemini surfactant formed monolayer on oil-aged mica surface and the monolayer has the trend to from a compact film with increasing concentration. Compared with the single chain surfactant, Gemini surfactant has stronger ability to alter oil-aged surfaces. Considering the flooding experiment in lab results, this Gemini surfactant might be a good choice to be used in chemical flooding.

Nanoscopic particles of oxovanadium phthalocyanine (VOPc, phase-II) with different particle sizes are prepared by aggregation of VOPc molecules in the presence of surfactants for the first time. A size effect in the region of nanoscale was observed in the UV–visible spectra. The photoconductivity of the nanoscopic VOPc is much higher than that of bulk VOPc.

1:4 and 1:3 complexes of a conformationally stabilized calix[6]arene with NaI and KI were detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the first time.

The photoinduced coloured form(B) of inclusion complex formed between a long-chain photochromic spiropyran and α-, β- or γ-cyclodextrins can assemble into dimer (B2), which can in turn stabilize the coloured form.