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We aimed to investigate the species composition of a small mammal community and the prevalence of Echinococcus spp. in a typical endemic area of the Tibetan Plateau. One pika and five rodent species were identified based on the morphological characteristics of 1278 small mammal specimens collected during 2014–2019. Detection of Echinococcus DNA in tissue samples from small mammal specimens revealed that Ochotona curzoniae (pika, total prevalence: 6.02%, 26/432), Neodon fuscus (5.91%, 38/643), N. leucurus (2.50%, 3/120), and Alexandromys limnophilus (21.74%, 10/46) were infected by both E. multilocularis and E. shiquicus; Cricetulus longicaudatus (16.67%, 1/6) was infected by E. shiquicus; and no infection was detected in N. irene (0/15). Neodon fuscus and O. curzoniae were the two most abundant small mammal species. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of pika and the overall rodent species assemblage (6.26%, 53/846); however, the larger rodent populations suggested that more attention should be paid to their role in the transmission of echinococcosis in the wildlife reservoir, which has long been underestimated. Moreover, although DNA barcoding provides a more efficient method than traditional morphological methods for identifying large numbers of small mammal samples, commonly used barcodes failed to distinguish the three Neodon species in this study. The close genetic relationships between these species suggest the need to develop more powerful molecular taxonomic tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium niobate (LN) crystal with anti‐reflective subwavelength structures (ASSs) has great applications in high‐power tunable optical parametric oscillator (OPO) lasers. However, it is still a great challenge to 3D nanofabrication of LN ASSs. Herein, a wet‐etching‐assisted laser polarization domain inversion (WE‐LPDI) technology is proposed to fabricate periodic cone arrays with a period from 200 nm to 4 µm on LN. Based on the optimized structural parameters, large‐area LN ASSs with a period of 1.3 µm and a height of 1.7 µm were fabricated on LN, which exhibits an average transmittance of 3–5 µm increasing from 78% to 85% and a highest transmittance of 88% at 5 µm. It has been demonstrated that the LN ASSs show high stability under high‐temperature and high‐power laser irradiation, which shows potential applications for high‐power mid‐IR lasers. The results indicate that the WE‐LPDI technology provides a novel way for 3D nanofabrication of LN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shape memory effect is the capability of a structure or a material that can be deformed into a certain temporary shape under external stimulus, and the shape will be fixed without the stimulus. The recovery process can be triggered by the same stimulus. The intelligent tunable device based on the shape memory effect has a wide range of applications in many fields. In the optical field, smart diffraction gratings can accomplish in situ optical diffractions according to requirements, meeting the high demand in the next generation of smart optical systems. However, it is essential to construct high‐precision grating structures based on shape memory materials. Here, a smart diffraction grating based on UV‐curable shape memory polymers (SMPs) via two‐beam interference is reported, with nano‐scale precision, excellent deformability and recovery ability, and adjustable spectroscopic performance. More importantly, based on the shape memory effect, grating structures that surpass the precision of the fabrication system can be obtained. The smart grating exhibits rapid deformation and recovery upon heating and long‐term storage capability, which facilitates them to be applied in optics, electronics, and integrated sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue is rich in dietary fiber and a variety of active substances, but its dietary fiber is mainly insoluble dietary fiber, and the content of soluble dietary fiber (SDF) is low. To make full use of R. roxburghii Tratt residue, steam explosion (SE) pretreatment was used to treat the residue to determine its effect on the extraction yield of SDF and the functionality of dietary fiber (DF). Response surface methodology was used to determine the conditions of SE for optimizing the SDF extraction yield in the residue. When R. roxburghii Tratt residue was pretreated by SE at 60 mesh for 97 s, combined with 0.87 MPa, the content of SDF was increased from 9.31 ± 0.07% to 15.82 ± 0.31% in comparison with the control and DF extracted by SE showed the high cholesterol adsorption, glucose adsorption, cation exchange, nitrite adsorption, and hydroxyl radicals inhibition. Practical applications: Due to the rough texture and poor taste, the high content of DF in the Rosa roxburghii Tratt residue is often discarded during the processing of freshly squeezed juice. SE can significantly improve the utilization of DF, which is a more economical modification method. This work provides a theoretical basis for the R. roxburghii Tratt by‐product as a new source of high‐quality dietary fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blazed gratings are widely used in optical detection devices with the unique property of concentration of light energy to a desired diffraction order. However, traditional substrates for fabricating blazed gratings are easily damaged with the wear and tear in long-term usage under harsh conditions. Here, we propose the fabrication of blazed gratings on sapphire with high mechanical stability by femtosecond laser lithography combined with subsequent reactive ion etching (RIE). Various sapphire blazed gratings with periods from 2 μm to 10 μm and heights from 260 nm to 2 μm were realized to concentrate light energy (wavelengths of 405 nm, 532 nm and 633 nm) to different diffraction orders (1st, 2nd, and 3rd). The results provide great insights for the construction of micro-optical devices that have potential applications under harsh conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the molecular mechanism of apoptosis and autophagy in prostate epithelial cells under androgen deprivation (AD). BPH‑1 cells were divided into four groups as follows: Control (Cont), AD, autophagy inhibition (AI) and AD + AI groups. Cells in the four groups were treated accordingly, and the level of apoptosis was subsequently measured via flow cytometry. The expression of the microtubule‑associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3 (LC3), caspase‑3, poly (ADP‑ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP‑1) and Beclin‑1 proteins of BPH‑1 cells was detected at different time points following culture in androgen‑deprived medium. Western blotting revealed that the basal levels of the LC3‑II protein were detected at 0 h. At 4 h, LC3‑II was significantly increased compared with 0 h (P<0.05). Beginning at 20 h, the expression level of the LC3‑II protein decreased significantly (P<0.05). Western blotting revealed that beginning at 24 h, the expression level of the PARP‑1 protein decreased significantly (P<0.001) and the cleavage fragments of the PARP‑1 protein appeared. These results further imply that autophagy serves a cell protective function by mutual inhibition with apoptosis in BPH‑1 cells in the removal of androgen conditions. Furthermore, the fragments of the cleaved Beclin‑1 protein appeared as 35 and 37 kDa bands. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that the rate of cell apoptosis in the AD, AI and AD + AI groups was significantly increased compared with the Cont group (P<0.01). Compared with the AD or the AI groups individually, the rate of cell apoptosis in the AD + AI group was significantly increased (P<0.001). These findings suggest that in the early stage of AD, autophagy has a compensatory function in the cell, whereas in the whole process, autophagy and apoptosis share a mutual antagonism. The Beclin‑1‑C protein fragment contributed positive feedback to the process of apoptosis, which may be a potential mechanism of AD therapy. Therefore, AD and AI exhibit a synergistic effect to further improve the level of apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we carried out an analysis of the breakdown characterization method by the investigation on off-state leakage currents and breakdown curves. For conventional breakdown, seven kinds of breakdown curves are summarized and it is found that only two of them can be shown by the conventional three-terminal breakdown characterization method reasonably. For the other five kinds of breakdown curves, the value of the gate leakage current is larger than that of the drain leakage current for a certain drain-bias range. Besides, the source leakage current cannot represent the buffer leakage current, and the values and signs of them are different. These problems contradict the conventional characterization method, indicating that the conventional method should be modified to characterize the breakdown mechanisms correctly. The similar problems also exist for time-dependent breakdown. The buffer and drain-gate leakage currents were obtained by a simple method and the conventional breakdown characterization method was modified by using these two currents. The problems in the conventional breakdown characterization method are solved by using the modified method. Experiments indicate that the modified breakdown characterization method is crucial to investigate the breakdown mechanisms, especially when source-gate leakage current cannot be neglected compared with the buffer leakage current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bone cancer pain (BCP) is one of the most severe complications in cancer patients. However, the pharmacological therapeutic approaches are limited. Luteolin, a major component of flavones, is widely distributed in plants and plays a critical role in the antinociceptive effects, but whether luteolin could alleviate cancer pain and its underlying mechanisms are not known.Hypothesis/purpose: This study investigated the molecular mechanisms by which luteolin reduced BCP.Methods: Behavioral, pharmacological, immunohistochemical, and biochemical approaches were used to investigate the effect of luteolin on BCP.Results: Luteolin treatment ameliorated Lewis lung cancer (LLC)-induced bone pain in mice in a dose-dependent manner. Luteolin treatment could inhibit the activation of neurons, glial cells, and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes in the dorsal spinal cord in the BCP mouse model. Furthermore, phosphorylated p-38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) was suppressed by luteolin treatment that could influence the analgesic and glial inhibition effects of luteolin.Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that luteolin inhibited neuroinflammation by obstructing glial cell and NLRP3 inflammasome activation via modulating p38 MAPK activity in SDH, ultimately improving LLC-induced BCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMSs) are a new class of integrated and miniaturized optical systems that have significant applications in modern optics. However, the integration of micro-optical elements with complex morphologies on existing micro-electromechanical systems is difficult. Herein, we propose a femtosecond-laser-assisted dry etching technology to realize the fabrication of silicon microlenses. The size of the microlens can be controlled by the femtosecond laser pulse energy and the number of pulses. To verify the applicability of this method, multifocal microlens arrays (focal lengths of 7–9 μm) were integrated into a silicon microcantilever using this method. The proposed technology would broaden the application scope of MOEMSs in three-dimensional imaging systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transverse static load, resultant from self-weight, significantly impacts both the response and the nonlinear dynamic behavior of a flexible inclined cantilever with a large lumping tip mass under harmonic base motion. However, the transverse static load was not taken into account and the mode shape of a pure cantilever beam was directly adopted during Galerkin’s procedure in the formulations of a cantilever carrying a large lumping tip mass in many previous studies. In this paper, (1) the static load effect caused by the self-weight in an inclined cantilever is considered by using a coordinate transformation, (2) the efficacy of adopting a pure cantilever beam mode shape to analyze a cantilever beam carrying a large lumping mass is studied and (3) a recently proposed semi-analytical method named parameter-splitting multiple-scales method is extended to analyze the cantilever studied to examine its effectiveness. First, the extended Hamilton’s principle is utilized to formulate the equation of motion of the cantilever studied. After that, the mode shape of a pure cantilever and the exact mode shape of a cantilever carrying a lumping mass are separately adopted in Galerkin’s method to transform the partial differential equation into ordinary differential equations. The frequency-response curves of the discretized nonlinear differential equations obtained by the numerical continuation method and the parameter-splitting multiple-scales method are compared to address ① the transverse static load effect on the frequency-response and nonlinear dynamical behavior of the beam, ② the discrepancies between the resultant frequency-response curves obtained by using two different mode shapes and ③ the efficacy of the parameter-splitting multiple-scales method on solving strongly nonlinear practical problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic nanostructures have wide applications in micro-optics, bionics, and optoelectronics. Here, a laser interference with subsequent etching technology is proposed to fabricate uniform periodic nanostructures with controllable morphologies and smooth surfaces on hard materials. One-dimensional microgratings with controllable periods (1, 2, and 3 μm) and heights, from dozens to hundreds of nanometers, and high surface smoothness are realized on GaAs by the method. The surface roughness of the periodic microstructures is significantly reduced from 120 nm to 40 nm with a subsequent inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching. By using laser interference with angle-multiplexed exposures, two-dimensional square- and hexagonal-patterned microstructures are realized on the surface of GaAs. Compared with samples without etching, the diffraction efficiency can be significantly enhanced for samples with dry etching, due to the improvement of surface quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method of phycocyanin glycation promoted by ultra-high pressure was explored. • Phycocyanin can fully conjugate with dextran 20,000 in composite modification. • Some functions of CM-PC (composite modified phycocyanin) were enhanced. • Functional properties of CM-PC improved after hydroxyl groups being introduced. Phycocyanin (PC), a plant-based protein with interesting biological activity, is rarely directly applied in the food industry because it has structural and functional limitations. This study combined ultra-high-pressure (UHP) treatment with glycation to improve PC functionality and explored resulting structural changes using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and UV–visible spectroscopy. The UHP treatment obviously improved the speed and degree of glycation and the composite-modified PC (CM-PC) showed high solubility and good emulsifying and foaming performance. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the CM-PC surface was loose and fluffy. Gel electrophoresis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and circular dichroism results demonstrated that the content of α-helix decreased from 78.1% in PC to 26.6% in CM-PC, and hydroxyl groups were introduced. UV–visible spectroscopy showed that the mechanism of composite modification involved stretching of the PC and promotion of binding with sugars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A C-band high efficiency and high gain two-stage power amplifier based on AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) is designed and measured in this paper. The input and output impedances for the optimum power-added efficiency (PAE) are determined at the fundamental and 2nd harmonic frequency (f0 and 2f0). The harmonic manipulation networks are designed both in the driver stage and the power stage which manipulate the second harmonic to a very low level within the operating frequency band. Then the inter-stage matching network and the output power combining network are calculated to achieve a low insertion loss. So the PAE and the power gain is greatly improved. In an operation frequency range of 5.4 GHz–5.8 GHz in CW mode, the amplifier delivers a maximum output power of 18.62 W, with a PAE of 55.15% and an associated power gain of 28.7 dB, which is an outstanding performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eriodictyol, a flavonoid present in citrus fruits, has been reported to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, the protective effects of eriodictyol on cisplatin (CP)-induced kidney injury were detected. CP-induced kidney injury model was established by administration of CP (20 mg/kg). The results showed that treatment of eriodictyol inhibited the production of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, MDA, TBARS, reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as the production of TNF-α, and IL-1β in kidney tissues induced by CP. Eriodictyol also up-regulated the activities of SOD, CAT, and GSH-PX decreased by CP. Furthermore, eriodictyol was found to up-regulate the expression of Nrf2/HO-1 and inhibited CP-induced NF-κB activation in kidney tissues. In conclusion, eriodictyol protected against CP-induced kidney injury through activating Nrf2 and inhibiting NF-κB activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects, ancient practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescribe combinations of plant species/animal species and minerals designated "TCM formulae" developed based on TCM theory and clinical experience. TCM formulae have been shown to exert curative effects on complex diseases via immune regulation but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown at present. Considerable progress in the field of immunometabolism, referring to alterations in the intracellular metabolism of immune cells that regulate their function, has been made over the past decade. The core context of immunometabolism is regulation of the allocation of metabolic resources supporting host defense and survival, which provides a critical additional dimension and emerging insights into how the immune system and metabolism influence each other during disease progression. This review summarizes research findings on the significant association between the immune function and metabolic remodeling in health and disease as well as the therapeutic modulatory effects of TCM formulae on immunometabolism. Progressive elucidation of the immunometabolic mechanisms involved during the course of TCM treatment continues to aid in the identification of novel potential targets against pathogenicity. In this report, we have provided a comprehensive overview of the benefits of TCM based on regulation of immunometabolism that are potentially applicable for the treatment of modern diseases. [Display omitted] All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this manuscript and its supplementary information files. • The interrelationships among immunometabolism, disease pathogenesis and TCM formulae are comprehensively discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium-ion layered oxides are one of the most highly regarded sodium-ion cathode materials and are expected to be used in electric vehicles and large-scale grid-level energy storage systems. However, highly air-sensitive issues limit sodium-ion layered oxide cathode materials to maximize cost advantages. Industrial and scientific researchers have been developing cost-effective air sensitivity treatment strategies with little success because the impurity formation mechanism is still unclear. Using density functional theory calculations and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, this work shows that the poor air stability of O3-type NaMn 1/3 Fe 1/3 Ni 1/3 O 2 (NMFNO) may be as follows: (1) low percentage of nonreactive (003) surface; (2) strong surface adsorption capacity and high surface reactivity; and (3) instability of the surface sodium ions. Our physical images point out that the high reactivity of the NMFNO surface originates from the increase in electron loss and unpaired electrons (magnetic moments) of the surface oxygen active site as well as the enhanced metal coactivation effect due to the large radius of the sodium ion. We also found that the hydrolysis reaction requires a higher reactivity of the surface oxygen active site, while the carbon hybridization mode transformation in carbonate formation depends mainly on metal activation and does not even require the involvement of surface oxygen active sites. Based on the calculation results and our proposed physical images, we discuss the feasibility of these treatment strategies (including surface morphology modulation, cation/anion substitution, and surface configuration design) for air-sensitive issues.

Lithium niobate (LN) crystal plays important roles in future integrated photonics, but it is still a great challenge to efficiently fabricate three-dimensional micro-/nanostructures on it. Here, a femtosecond laser direct writing-assisted liquid back-etching technology (FsLDW-LBE) is proposed to achieve the three-dimensional (3D) microfabrication of lithium niobate (LN) with high surface quality (Ra = 0.422 nm). Various 3D structures, such as snowflakes, graphic arrays, criss-cross arrays, and helix arrays, have been successfully fabricated on the surface of LN crystals. As an example, a microcone array was fabricated on LN crystals, which showed a strong second harmonic signal enhancement with up to 12 times bigger than the flat lithium niobate. The results indicate that the method provides a new approach for the microfabrication of lithium niobate crystals for nonlinear optics.

Introduction: Chuanxiong, a traditional Chinese medicine, has been proved to treat a variety of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases by promoting angiogenesis. However, the mechanisms of Chuanxiong's pro-angiogenesis is currently unknown. This study aimed to uncover the effect and mechanisms of Chuanxiong promoting angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro . Methods: First, potential targets were predicted by network pharmacology analysis, and PPI network was established and the pathways were enriched. Then, the chorioallantoic membrane test on quails was applied to assess the proangiogenic effects in vivo . As well, to evaluate the effects in vitro , real-time PCR, western blot analysis, the scratch test, and the tube formation experiment were used. Subsequently, the major metabolic pathways were analyzed using non-targeted metabolomics. Results: As a result of network pharmacological analysis, 51 collective targets of Chuanxiong and angiogenesis were identified, which are mainly associated with PI3K/AKT/Ras/MAPK pathway. And the biological verification results showed that Chuanxiong could increase the vessel numbers and vessel area in qCAM models. Meanwhile, Chuanxiong contributed to HUVEC proliferation, tube formation, migration, by encouraging scratch healing rates and boosting tube branch points. In addition, the levels of VEGFR2, MAPK and PI3K were elevated compared to the control group. The western blot analysis also confirmed Chuanxiong could promote an increase in AKT, FOXO1 and Ras. Furtheremore, metabolomic results showed that the proangiogenic effect of Chuanxiong is associated with glycine, serine and threonine metabolism. Discussion: In conclusion, this study clarified that Chuanxiong could promote angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro via regulating PI3K/AKT/Ras/MAPK pathway., Competing Interests: X-xY was employed by Waters Technology Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Cheng, Yang, Cui, Zhang, Chen, Yang, Jiao, Du, Zhang, Zheng, Xie, Li and Lei.)

Sapphire nanostructures with a high aspect-ratio have broad applications in photoelectronic devices, which are difficult to be fabricated due to the properties of high transparency and hardness, remarkable thermal and chemical stability. Although the phenomenon of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) provides an extraordinary idea for surface nanotexturing, it suffers from the limitation of the small depth of the nanostructures. Here, a high-efficiency self-modulated femtosecond laser hybrid technology was proposed to fabricate nanostructures with high aspect-ratios on the sapphire surface, which was combined backside laser modification and subsequent wet etching. Due to the refractive index mismatch, the focal length of the laser could be elongated when focused inside sapphire. Thus, periodic nanostructures with high-quality aspect ratios of more than 55 were prepared on the sapphire surface by using this hybrid fabrication method. As a proof-of-concept, wafer-scale (∼2 inches) periodic nanostripes with a high aspect-ratio were realized on a sapphire surface, which possesses unique diffractive properties compared to typical shallow gratings. The results indicate that the self-modulated femtosecond laser hybrid technology is an efficient and versatile technique for producing high aspect-ratio nanostructures on hard and transparent materials, which would propel the potential applications in optics and surface engineering, sensing, etc.

Femtosecond laser (fs-laser) is unfavorable in applications for the fabrication of micro-optical devices on hard materials owing to the problems of low fabrication efficiency and high surface roughness. Herein, a hybrid method combining fs-laser scanning, subsequent etching, and annealing was proposed to realize micro-optical devices with low roughness on glass. Compared to traditional laser ablation, the fabrication efficiency in this work was improved by one order of magnitude, and the surface roughness was decreased to 15 nm. Using this method, aspherical convex microlenses and spherical concave microlenses that possess excellent focusing and imaging properties are realized on photosensitive glass. The diameter and height of the microlenses were controlled by adjusting the fabrication parameters. These results indicate that the fs-laser-based hybrid method will open new opportunities for fabricating micro-optical components on hard materials.

N-doped graphene (NDG) was investigated for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and used as air-electrode catalyst for Zn-air batteries. Electrochemical results revealed a slightly lower kinetic activity but a much larger rate capability for the NDG than commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. The maximum power density for a Zn-air cell with NDG air cathode reached up to 218 mW cm -2 , which is nearly 1.5 times that of its counterpart with the Pt/C (155 mW cm -2 ). The equivalent diffusion coefficient (D E ) of oxygen from electrolyte solution to the reactive sites of NDG was evaluated as about 1.5 times the liquid-phase diffusion coefficient (D L ) of oxygen within bulk electrolyte solution. Combined with experiments and ab initio calculations, this seems counterintuitive reverse ORR of NDG versus Pt/C can be rationalized by a spontaneous adsorption and fast solid-state diffusion of O 2 on ultralarge graphene surface of NDG to enhance effective ORR on N-doped-catalytic-centers and to achieve high-rate performance for Zn-air batteries.

Specific capacity and cyclic performance are critically important for the electrode materials of rechargeable batteries. Herein, a capacity boost effect of Li- and Na-ion batteries was presented and clarified by nitrogen-doped graphene sheets. The reversible capacities progressively increased from 637.4 to 1050.4 mAh g -1 (164.8% increase) in Li-ion cell tests from 20 to 185 cycles, and from 187.3 to 247.5 mAh g -1 (132.1% increase) in Na-ion cell tests from 50 to 500 cycles. The mechanism of the capacity boost is proposed as an electrochemical induced cascading evolution of graphitic N to pyridinic and/or pyrrolic N, during which only these graphitic N adjacent pyridinic or pyrrolic structures can be taken precedence. The original and new generated pyridinic and pyrrolic N have strengthened binding energies to Li/Na atoms, thus increased the Li/Na coverage and delivered a progressive capacity boost with cycles until the entire favorable graphitic N transform into pyridinic and pyrrolic N.

Maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanocrystalline microspheres (MNMs) self-assembled with 52 nm nanocrystals bridged with FeOOH around grain boundaries were formed by solvothermal reaction and thermal oxidation. The unique architecture endows the MNMs with the lithium storage behavior of a hybrid battery-supercapacitor electrode: initial charge capacity of 1060 mAh g(-1) at the 100 mA g(-1) rate, stable cyclic capacity of 1077.9 mAh g(-1) at the same rate after 140 cycles, and rate capability of 538.8 mAh g(-1) at 2400 mA g(-1). This outstanding performance was attributed to the nanocrystal superiority, which shortens the Li(+) diffusion paths. The mechanism of this hybrid anode material was investigated with experimental measurements and structural analysis. The results indicate that at the first discharge, the MNM nanocrystal microsphere, whose structure can buffer the volume change that occurs during lithiation/delithiation, goes through four stages: Li(+) insertion in cation vacancies, spinel-to-rocksalt transformation, Li(+) intercalation of Li(1.75+x)Fe2O3 nanocrystals, and interfacial Li storage around nanocrystal boundaries. Only the latter two stages were reversible at and after the second charging/discharging cycle, exhibiting the hybrid behavior of a battery-supercapacitor with superior lithium storage.

Optically pure (S)-betaxolol and (S)-metoprolol were prepared with an extremely facile and practical method using kinetic resolution of beta-amino alcohols employing HCS as chiral auxiliary. High enantiomeric purity (ee > 99%) was achieved and the synthetic strategy is amenable to industrial scale-up., (Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)