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The bacterial microenvironment-activated nanocatalytic antibacterial strategy has attracted extensive attention owing to the high specificity to eliminate pathogens, which provides opportunities to solve antibiotic resistance. However, the relatively high pH value and insufficient endogenous H2O2 level in bacterial microenvironment limits the efficiency of Fenton reactions induced by these nanocatalytic agents, leading to unsatisfied antibacterial performance. Herein, bimetallic peroxide was first reported as a high-efficiency antibacterial nanocatalyst with high pH-activated, H2O2 self-supply and synergistic effect-enhanced cascade Fenton chemistry. An isolated spray vial was further developed to achieve in situ gelation at the wound site, adapt to irregular wound surface, and maintain long-term release of nanocatalyst. As a result, wound healing was efficiently promoted corresponding to excellent nanocatalytic antibacterial efficacy. Thus, our in situ sprayed nanocatalytic antibacterial gel provides a promising paradigm for high-efficiency bacterial infection therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myocardial fibrosis post myocardial infarction (MI) is characterized by abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and cardiac dysfunction could finally develop into serious heart disease, like heart failure. Lots of regulating factors involved in this pathological process have been reported while the specific mediators and underlying mechanisms remain to need to be further investigated. As part of the NAP1 family, Nucleosome assembly protein 1 like 1 (NAP1L1) is expressed in a wide variety of tissues. Here, we report that NAP1L1 is a significant regulator of cardiac fibrosis and is upregulated in ischemic cardiomyopathy patient hearts. Enhanced expression of NAP1L1 can promote cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) proliferation, migration, and differentiation into myofibroblasts. In contrast, loss of NAP1L1 decreased fibrosis‐related mRNA and protein levels, inhibited the trans‐differentiation, and blunted migration and proliferation of CFs after Transforming Growth Factorβ1（TGF‐β1）stimulation. In vivo, NAP1L1 knockout mice enhanced cardiac function and reduced fibrosis area in response to MI stimuli. Mechanically, NAP1L1 binding to Yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP1) protein influences its stability, and silencing NAP1L1 can inhibit YAP1 expression by promoting its ubiquitination and degradation in CFs. Collectively, NAP1L1 could potentially be a new therapeutic target for various cardiac disorders, including myocardial fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with unknown etiology and limited therapeutic options. Activation of fibroblasts is a prominent feature of pulmonary fibrosis. Here we report that lncRNA DACH1 (dachshund homolog 1) is downregulated in the lungs of IPF patients and in an experimental mouse model of lung fibrosis. LncDACH1 knockout mice develop spontaneous pulmonary fibrosis, whereas overexpression of LncDACH1 attenuated TGF- β 1-induced aberrant activation, collagen deposition and differentiation of mouse lung fibroblasts. Similarly, forced expression of LncDACH1 not only prevented bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis, but also reversed established lung fibrosis in a BLM model. Mechanistically, LncDACH1 binding to the serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) protein decreases its activity and inhibits the accumulation of Ctnnb1. Enhanced expression of SRSF1 blocked the anti-fibrotic effect of LncDACH1 in lung fibroblasts. Furthermore, loss of LncDACH1 promoted proliferation, differentiation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in mouse lung fibroblasts, whereas such effects were abolished by silencing of Ctnnb1. In addition, a conserved fragment of LncDACH1 alleviated hyperproliferation, ECM deposition and differentiation of MRC-5 cells driven by TGF- β 1. Collectively, LncDACH1 inhibits lung fibrosis by interacting with SRSF1 to suppress CTNNB1 accumulation, suggesting that LncDACH1 might be a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis. LncDACH1 negatively regulates CTNNB1 by binding to SRSF1 and inhibiting SRSF1 protein expression, which inhibits the activation of lung fibroblasts and extracellular matrix deposition, thus alleviating lung fibrosis. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ball mill and the organic modifier were used to modify the powder of hydrated calcium silicate. Then the modified powders were characterization by oil absorption value, IR, SEM etc. Hydrated calcium silicate powders modified before and after were added to the asphalt and the three major indexes of asphalt were tested. The results show that the oil absorption activities of calcium silicate powder decrease obviously, the oil absorption value decreased 80%. IR spectra show that the hydrated calcium silicate powder adsorbed on the surface modifier, the modified powder morphology was changed. With the increase of powder content, the penetration increases, the ductility decreases. The softening point of asphalt mixed with unmodified powder increases with the increase of powder mixed with modified powder asphalt softening point of 4% to reach the maximum, and then began to decrease.

Organic compounds are promising candidates as battery materials because they can be sourced from sustainable resources, have tunable structures, and are cheap. However, the working voltage of battery cells containing organic compounds as positive electrodes is relatively lower than that of those containing an inorganic counterpart. In this work, a strategy was developed to increase the discharge voltage of battery cells by diluting the electron density of N‐based redox centers in conjugated organic materials. In electron‐rich heterocyclic compounds that utilize N as the redox center, pentatomic rings such as carbazole derivatives exhibited a higher atomic‐dipole‐moment‐corrected Hirshfeld charge population compared with hexatomic rings, which led to a significant increase in the oxidation potential. As a result, polymeric indolocarbazole derivatives showed a high discharge voltage of 3.7–4.3 V vs. Li+/Li and good cycling performance. Such a strategy can be used to design high‐voltage organic electrode materials containing other redox centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redox‐active organics based on a multi‐electron mechanism are of great interest in battery electrode materials as they are capable of delivering high capacity per molecular weight. However, most of such organics shows huge voltage gap that is inherited from their stepwise redox reactions occurring in the same conjugated redox moiety. This study focuses on the voltage tailoring of polymeric dihydrophenazine derivative, which shows high specific capacity as a cathode electrode material and decent cycling stability, but suffers huge voltage gap of ca. 0.8 V. We demonstrate a strategy to modify the voltage gap of dihydrophenazine derivatives through the incorporation of functional groups with different electron affinity near the redox moiety. The as‐designed dihydrophenazine derivatives are further copolymerized to yield a polymeric material with significantly smoothened charge‐discharge profiles and good capacity retention. We further demonstrate through theoretical calculation based on density‐functional theory that the substitute site and types of functional groups are of great importance in voltage tailoring as well as structural stability of the dihydrophenazine derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symmetric batteries received an increasing research interest in the past few years because of their simplified fabrication process and reduced manufacturing cost. In this study, we propose the first dual‐ion organic symmetric cell based on a molecular anion of 4,4′‐(phenazine‐5,10‐diyl)dibenzoate. The alkali salt of 4,4′‐(phenazine‐5,10‐diyl)dibenzoate allows a facile transport of cations and large anions, and remains stable in both oxidized and reduced states. The large potential difference between phenazine and benzoate results in a high cell voltage of 2.5 V and an energy density of 127 Wh kg−1 at a current rate of 1 C. The introduction of bipolar organic materials may further consolidate the development of symmetric batteries that are fabricated from abundant elements and environmentally friendly materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redox-active polymers are promising materials for rechargeable batteries because of their structural diversity and resource sustainability. We present in this work the feasibility of manipulation of the rigidity of polymer chains to alter the ion diffusion behaviour in polymeric materials. The results indicate that the ionic diffusion coefficient is enhanced by orders of magnitude if a proper twisted group is introduced to interrupt the rigid backbone of the polymers. Both greater galvanometric and volumetric power/energy densities have been achieved for the polymer with more flexible chains, regardless of its lower surface area and electrical conductivity compared to the one with a more rigid chain structure. Such a strategy might be useful for the design of polymeric battery materials with high power density without sacrificing the volumetric energy density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient energy storage systems impact profoundly the renewable energy future. The performance of current electrical energy storage technologies falls well short of requirements for using electrical energy efficiently in transportation, commercial, and residential applications. This paper explores the possibility by using transition-metal-based complexes as active materials in a Li-ion battery full cell that synergizes the concept of both lithium-ion batteries and redox flow batteries. A cathode made from transition metal complex, [Fe(bpy)3](BF4)2, exhibits high discharge voltage approaching 4 V (vs Li/Li+). When coupled with a Li4Ti5O12 anode, the Li-ion full battery exhibits a cell voltage exceeding 2.2 V and decent cycling efficiencies with Coulombic efficiency and energy/voltage efficiencies above 99% and 92%/93%, respectively. Such a Li-ion battery full cell offers distinct features such as low cost and flexibility in molecular structure design. The result reveals a generic design route toward iron-based complexes as cathode materials with good electrochemical performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover Feature: Dilution of the Electron Density in the -Conjugated Skeleton of Organic Cathode Materials Improves the Discharge Voltage (ChemSusChem 9/2020) Keywords: aromaticity; electron delocalization; high voltage; indolocarbazole; organic batteries EN aromaticity electron delocalization high voltage indolocarbazole organic batteries 2103 2103 1 05/08/20 20200508 NES 200508 B The Cover Feature b shows that the discharge voltage of conjugated organic battery cathode materials could be increased by diluting the electron density in the -conjugated skeleton. The smoke rings represent the diluted electron density of the molecule, and their size is correlated to the degree of dilution. [Extracted from the article]

The senescence of alveolar type II (AT2) cells impedes self-repair of the lung epithelium and contributes to lung injury in the setting of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is essential for cell growth and organ development; however, the role of YAP1 in AT2 cells during pulmonary fibrosis is still unclear. YAP1 expression was found to be downregulated in the AT2 cells of PF patients. Deletion of YAP1 in AT2 cells resulted in lung injury, exacerbated extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and worsened lung function. In contrast, overexpression of YAP1 in AT2 cells promoted alveolar regeneration, mitigated pulmonary fibrosis, and improved lung function. In addition, overexpression of YAP1 alleviated bleomycin (BLM) -induced senescence of alveolar epithelial cells both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, YAP1 promoted the expression of peroxiredoxin 3 (Prdx3) by directly interacting with TEAD1. Forced expression of Prdx3 inhibited senescence and improved mitochondrial dysfunction in BLM-treated MLE-12 cells, whereas depletion of Prdx3 partially abrogated the protective effect of YAP1. Furthermore, overexpression of Prdx3 facilitated self-repair of the injured lung and reduced ECM deposition, while silencing Prdx3 attenuated the antifibrotic effect of YAP1. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that YAP1 alleviates lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis by regulating Prdx3 expression to improve mitochondrial dysfunction and block senescence in AT2 cells, revealing a potential novel therapeutic strategy for pulmonary fibrosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Recently, nanoparticle-triggered in situ catalytic Fenton/Fenton-like reaction is widely explored for tumor-specific chemodynamic therapy (CDT). However, despite the great potential of CDT in tumor treatment, insensitive response to the relatively high pH of the tumor sites and the insufficient intratumoral H 2 O 2 level leads to limited efficiency of most Fenton/Fenton-like reactions, which greatly imped its clinical conversion. This paper reports the fabrication of Fenton-type bimetallic peroxides for ultrasensitive chemodynamic therapy with high pH-activated, synergistic effect/H 2 O 2 self-supply-mediated cascade Fenton chemistry for the first time. The observations reveal that these bimetallic peroxides exhibit an ultrasensitive acid-activated decomposition-mediated Fenton-like reaction at the relatively high pH of 6.5-7.0, accompanied with highly increased •OH generation efficiency (especially, 40-60-fold increase at pH 7.0) by the metal-mediated synergistic effect-enhanced Fenton chemistry as well as in situ self-generated H 2 O 2 supplement. Moreover, the bimetallic peroxides exhibit high tumor accumulation which along with a high-efficiency tumor catalytic-therapeutic with negligible side effects in vivo. Developing these novel bimetallic peroxides, together with the already demonstrated capacity of the key metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, etc.) for magnetic resonance imaging or photodynamic/immune-enhanced therapy, will propel interest in development of smart high-efficiency nanoplatform for cancer theranostics., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Recently, Mn(II)-based T 1 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs) have been explored widely for cancer diagnosis. However, the "always-on" properties and poor excretability of the conventional Mn(II)-based CAs leads to high background signals and unsatisfactory clearance from the body. Here, we report an " in situ three-dimensional to two-dimensional (3D-to-2D) transformation" method to prepare novel excretable 2D manganese-based layered silicates (Mn-LSNs) with extremely high signal-to-noise for tumor-specific MR imaging for the first time. Our observations combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that 3D metal (Mn, Fe, Co) oxide nanoparticles are initially formed from the molecular precursor solution and then in situ transform into 2D metal (Mn, Fe, Co)-based layered silicates triggered by the addition of tetraethyl orthosilicate, which provides a time-saving and versatile way to prepare novel 2D silicate nanomaterials. The unique ion-exchangeable capacity and high host layer charge density endow Mn-LSNs with an "ON/OFF" pH/GSH stimuli-activatable T 1 relaxivity with superb high signal-to-noise (640-, 1200-fold for slightly acidic and reductive changes, respectively). Further in vivo MR imaging reveals that Mn-LSNs exhibit a continuously rapid T 1 -MRI signal enhancement in tumor tissue and no visible signal enhancement in normal tissue, indicating an excellent tumor-specific imaging. In addition, Mn-LSNs exhibit a rapid excretion from the mouse body in 24 h and invisible organ toxicity, which could help to solve the critical intractable degradation issue of conventional inorganic CAs. Moreover, the tumor microenvironment (pH/GSH/H 2 O 2 ) specific degradability of Mn-LSNs could help to improve the penetration depth of particles into the tumor parenchyma. Developing this novel Mn-LSNs contrast agent, together with the already demonstrated capacity of layered silicates for drug and gene delivery, provides opportunities for future cancer theranostics.

Symmetric batteries received an increasing research interest in the past few years because of their simplified fabrication process and reduced manufacturing cost. In this study, we propose the first dual-ion organic symmetric cell based on a molecular anion of 4,4'-(phenazine-5,10-diyl)dibenzoate. The alkali salt of 4,4'-(phenazine-5,10-diyl)dibenzoate allows a facile transport of cations and large anions, and remains stable in both oxidized and reduced states. The large potential difference between phenazine and benzoate results in a high cell voltage of 2.5 V and an energy density of 127 Wh kg -1 at a current rate of 1 C. The introduction of bipolar organic materials may further consolidate the development of symmetric batteries that are fabricated from abundant elements and environmentally friendly materials., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The lithium-sulfur battery is one of the most promising battery technologies with high energy density that exceeds the presently commercialized ones. The shuttle effect caused by the migration of soluble polysulfides to the lithium anode is known as one of the crucial issues that prevent the Li-S batteries from practical application. Modification of the separator is regarded as a convenient yet efficient strategy to alleviate the shuttle effect. In this report, we use a thermally stable and chemically robust metal-organic framework (MOF), UiO-66, as a physical and chemical barrier for soluble polysulfides to functionalize the commercial polypropylene separator. The Li-S cell assembled with such a separator shows a significantly improved cycling stability with an average specific capacity of ca. 720 mA h g -1 at a current rate of 0.5 C for 500 cycles. Experimental and theoretical investigations indicate that the cell performance enhancement results from the physical restriction of the MOF barrier layer and strong chemical interaction between UiO-66 and polysulfides. The excellent thermal stability and chemical robustness (in acid/alkali solutions, conventional organic solvents, and polysulfide electrolytes) of UiO-66 make it highly competitive among various materials developed for separator modification in Li-S batteries., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Understanding the details of thermal transport in graphdiyne and its nanostructures would help to broaden their applications. On the basis of the molecular dynamics simulations and spectrally decomposed heat current analysis, we show that the high-frequency phonons in graphdiyne can be strongly hindered in nanoribbons because of the boundary scattering. The isotropic transport in graphdiyne can be switched to anisotropic along the armchair and zigzag directions. Adding side chains onto the nanoribbon edges further reduces the thermal conductivity (TC) along both armchair and zigzag directions thanks to the reduction of heat current carried by low-frequency modes, a mechanism that arises from the phonon resonances. The uniaxial tensile strain plays a different role in the TC of graphdiyne, armchair nanoribbons, and zigzag nanoribbons. Tensile strain causes the thermal conductivities of graphdiyne, and armchair nanoribbons increase first and then get reduced, whereas for zigzag nanoribbons, the TC decreases with strain first and reaches to a plateau. The different low-frequency phonon response on strain is the main reason for the different TC behavior. For graphdiyne and armchair nanoribbons, the low-frequency heat current is enhanced gradually first and then get reduced with the increase of strain, while that of zigzag nanoribbons decreases with strain and then increases slightly. The current studies could help us understand the phonon transport in graphdiyne and its nanoribbons, which is useful for their TC engineering., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Developing greener batteries with new chemistries is a formidable challenge, and a major focus for years to come. Redox flow batteries are receiving increasing research interest for grid-scale electrochemical energy storage owing to their unique architecture. However, challenges still remain by their low energy density as well as corrosive and/or toxic electrolytes. An anolyte based on aprotic Zn deep-eutectic-solvent, which uses low cost, abundant and environmentally benign materials, exhibits a utilizable concentration of Zn 2+ ca. 1.7 M, resulting in a reversible volumetric capacity of ca. 90 A h·L -1 . Combined with high efficiencies and relatively low redox potential of -1.12 V vs. Ag/AgCl, such an anolyte provides an alternative way to explore a family of anolytes using new chemistries for rechargeable Zn batteries that meet the criteria for grid-scale electrical energy storage.