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Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a gaseous intracellular signal transducer, participates in multiple physiological and pathological conditions, including reproductive conditions, and disrupts spermatogenesis. The blood-testis barrier (BTB) plays a vital role in spermatogenesis. However, the effect of H2S on the BTB and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. Herein, we examined the effect of H2S and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) on the BTB and testicular functions. ICR male mice were randomly divided into the following groups: control, H2S exposure, and H2S exposure with ω-3 PUFAs intervention. The sperm parameters (sperm concentration and sperm motility) declined in the H2S group and improved in the ω-3 intervention group. BTB integrity was severely disrupted by H2S, and the BTB-related gene levels (ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin 11) decreased; ω-3 supplementation could alleviate BTB disruption by upregulating BTB-related genes, and TM4 Sertoli cells had a similar trend in vitro. p38 MAPK phosphorylation was upregulated in the Na2S treatment group and downregulated after ω-3 cotreatment. These findings suggest that H2S can impair the BTB and that ω-3 PUFAs supplementation can attenuate H2S toxicity in the male reproductive system. Our study elucidated the relationship between a gasotransmitter (H2S) and the BTB and identified the potential therapeutic effect of ω-3 PUFAs.

With the latest trend of miniaturization of modern portable electronic devices, the development of small-sized, flexible power sources is in great demand. Herein, we report the fabrication of flexible and high-performance planar microsupercapacitors (MSCs) on a poly-ethylene terephthalate substrate as portable energy storage devices. We employed a facile laser printing technology and thermal crosslinking route to fabricate crosslinked polyaniline (PANI) based MSCs, taking advantage of the low processing cost and high cyclic stability. The flexible PANI MSCs after heat treatment in Argon atmosphere exhibited a remarkably high areal capacitance of 54 mF cm−2 at the current density of 0.3 mA cm−2, which is much higher than that of PANI MSCs reported so far elsewhere. 79.8% of the initial capacitance was retained after 1000 cycles, indicating the excellent cyclic stability of the devices. This innovative approach provides a new strategy for the facile fabrication of flexible and high-performance planar energy storage devices.

Background: Electroacupuncture (EA) reduces the inflammatory response and improves vascular permeability in hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) model rats, however, the mechanism still unclear. Methods: OHSS model rats were established and treated with EA, proteomic of ovaries was performed. CD200 was identified and investigated in ovaries of OHSS rat model following EA treatment. The role of CD200 in patient was evaluated in follicular fluid and serum from IVF patients. The in vitro effects of CD200 on inflammation and vascular barrier were examined in KGN and HUVEC cells. Findings: CD200 was significantly highly expressed, meanwhile, the inflammatory pathway was decreased and the vascular barrier function was improved in EA treated rats. The levels of CD200 in follicular fluid were negatively correlated with the number of oocytes retrieved and serum E2 level. In vitro, the inflammatory response in KGN cells was induced by hCG in a concentration-dependent manner, and inhibited when treated with CD200Fc (CD200R agonist). In HUVECs, the vascular barrier was improved when CM (cultural medium from KGN cell) treated with CD200Fc. Interpretations: Our findings showed the role of CD200 in the development of OHSS upon EA treatment. Meanwhile, CD200 might act as a key molecular maker in predicting the occurrence of OHSS in IVF patients. Funding Statement: This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (Grant No.2018YFC1003800), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.81973965 and No.81904043), the Jiangsu Key Research and Development Program (Grant No.BE2018714), the Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation (Grant No.BK20191230 and No.BK20190249), China's Post-doctoral Science Foundation (Grant No.2018M643887), Special Research on Military Family Planning (Grant No.18JS004) and State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine of Nanjing Medical University (Grant No.SKLRM-K201803). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: Samples were collected after obtaining the written informed consent from the patients and ethics board approval from the Nanjing Jinling Hospital (reference number 2018NZGKJ-011). All animal studies (including the rat euthanasia procedure) were done in compliance with the regulations and guidelines of Nanjing Jinling Hospital and were conducted according to the AAALAC and the IACUC guidelines (reference number 20140729).

The last several decades have witnessed the tremendous achievement of energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors in the field of charging portable electronic devices. However, the frequent charging requirement and inconvenient device replacement greatly restrict the further practical application of energy storage devices in self-powered systems for human life. Great efforts have been devoted to integrating TENG with energy storage devices to provide the sustainable power supply for electronic devices. In this review article, the recent progress of flexible TENG-based self-charging power units (SCPUs) was presented. Firstly, the working modes and triboelectric series of TENG were introduced. Next, the working principle, research progress of flexible/wearable SCPUs, and strategies to improve energy conversion efficiency were also demonstrated. Finally, the main challenges that need to be overcome when designing and optimizing TENG-based SCPUs were also highlighted.

The increasing demand of portable electronics requires modern power sources to be flexible, wearable, durable, and waterproof. This work reports a flexible single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator composed of MXene/polydimethylsiloxane film. The effect of (MXene) content (wt%) and compressive force on the output performance of the as-prepared devices are systematically studied. A peak-to-peak open-circuit voltage of 225 V, short-circuit current density of 30 μA cm−2, and a maximum power density of 10 mW cm−2 on a load resistance of 100 MΩ are obtained by periodically hand hammering a 2 × 4 cm2 smart textile-based composite. The high output directly powers 80 green light emitting diodes connected in series without any additional power source. In addition to its application as a triboelectric nanogenerator, the textile-based composite is also implemented as a human motion sensor, detecting various human motions such as finger tapping, hand clapping, and hand hammering. Such lightweight smart textiles provide potential opportunities for multifunctional power sources and hence have promising applications in self-powered wearable electronics.

Photocatalytic water splitting into hydrogen was regarded as one of the key solutions to the energy crisis and environmental pollution. In this work, TiO2/BiYO3 photocatalysts were synthesized by an improved Sol-Gel method and their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution from water splitting was investigated. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of the optimized TiO2/BiYO3 composite exhibited 10 times higher than that of TiO2 and 57 times higher than that of BiYO3, respectively. Such enhanced photocatalytic performance was due to the Type I heterostructure between the TiO2 and BiYO3, which promoted the transfer of photoinduced electrons and the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. This work demonstrates that the TiO2/BiYO3 composites are promising photocatalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen production from water.

We investigated the electrical transport response of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) arrays exposed to ultraviolet (UV) and ozone (O 3 ). Pure UV irradiation induced an increase in resistance due to molecular photodesorption on the nanotubes. The effect of the O 3 treatment on the resistance of SWNT arrays depended on the degree of O 3 due to different dominant mechanisms, including the transduction of molecular adsorption and O 3 doping on nanotubes as well as the creation of defects. The results suggest that the detailed control of UV/O 3 exposure could be useful in manipulating electrical devices using SWNT arrays.