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Paleopalynology evidence and megafossil records indicated that tree fern order Cyatheales, played an important role in Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystem. Few fossil records of the family Thyrsopteridaceae have been reported so far. In the present study, we describe a distinctive fertile pinnule segment of a fern plant preserved in a mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. The well-preserved fertile pinnule is identified as a new species of the extant tree fern genus Thyrsopteris (Thyrsopteridaceae): Thyrsopteris cyathindusia n. sp. It represents the second fossil species of Thyrsopteridaceae found in the mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. The new species shows distinctive characteristics of the sporophyll that are considered paleoecologically/paleobiogeographically significant for evolution of the Thyrsopteridaceae.

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a serious complication associated with antiresorptive and antiangiogenic medications, of which impaired angiogenesis is a key pathological alteration. Since Magnesium (Mg)-based implants possess proangiogenic effects, we hypothesized that the biodegradable Mg implant could alleviate the development of MRONJ via enhancing angiogenesis.MRONJ model was established and divided into the Veh ​+ ​Ti group (Vehicle-treated rat, with Titanium (Ti) implant), BP ​+ ​Ti group (Bisphosphonate (BP)-treated rat, with Ti implant), BP ​+ ​Mg group (BP-treated rat, with Mg implant), BP ​+ ​Mg ​+ ​SU5416 group (BP-treated rat, with Mg implant and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor-2 inhibitor), BP ​+ ​Mg ​+ ​BIBN group (BP-treated rat, with Mg implant and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist), and BP ​+ ​Mg ​+ ​SU5416+BIBN group (BP-treated rat, with Mg implant and VEGF receptor-2 inhibitor and CGRP receptor antagonist). The occurrence of MRONJ, alveolar bone necrosis, new bone formation and vessel formation were assessed by histomorphometry, immunohistochemistry, and micro-CT analysis.Eight weeks after surgery, the BP ​+ ​Mg group had significantly reduced occurrence of MRONJ-like lesion and histological osteonecrosis, increased bone microstructural parameters, and increased expressions of VEGFA and CGRP, than the BP ​+ ​Ti group. By simultaneously blocking VEGF receptor-2 and CGRP receptor, the vessel volume and new bone formation in the BP ​+ ​Mg group were significantly decreased, meanwhile the occurrence of MRONJ-like lesion and histological bone necrosis were significantly increased.Biodegradable Mg implant could alleviate the development of MRONJ-like lesion, possibly via upregulating VEGF- and CGRP-mediated angiogenesis. Mg-based implants have the translational potential to be developed as a novel internal fixation device for patients with the risk of MRONJ.This work reports a biodegradable Mg implant which ameliorates the development of MRONJ-like lesions possibly due to its angiogenic property. Mg-based implants have the potential to be developed as a novel internal fixation device for patients at the risk of MRONJ.

Zn-doped and Zn-Al co-doped La2O3 catalysts were prepared by citric acid sol-gel method and characterized by a series of in situ technologies, to investigate the structure-activity relationship of La2O3-based catalysts in the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM). The in situ XRD results reveal a thermal expansion of the La2O3 crystal along the c-axis at high temperature. The H2-TPR results show two types of oxygen species on the La2O3-based catalysts, viz., the strong-binding oxygen species and weak-binding oxygen species; in addition, the XPS results indicate that the strong-binding oxygen species is probably attributed to anion radical O−. The doping with Zn can significantly increase the number of oxygen vacancies in the Zn-doped La2O3 catalysts, which can promote the activation of oxygen and generate more strong-binding oxygen species; as a result, the Zn-doped La2O3 catalyst shows better performance in OCM in comparison with the unmodified La2O3 catalyst. Moreover, the co-doping with Al can promote the dispersion of Zn in La2O3 and further raise the number of strong-binding oxygen species in the Zn-Al co-doped La2O3 catalysts, which is beneficial to enhance the selectivity to C2+ hydrocarbons in the OCM reaction.

In this work, the synthesized Co3O4/NiCo2O4/CC is a layered structure, which was prepared by a feasible method of hydrothermal reaction, thermal annealing of ZIF-67 template and other thermal treatment. This novel structure is based on carbon cloth, and Co3O4 hollow nanocubes as semiconductor material grow in situ on nanowire arrays. Under the condition of different temperatures and different concentrations of ethanol, the response of the gas sensor based on Co3O4/NiCo2O4 was studied. The result shows high sensitivity, good linear relationship and excellent response-recovery properties. And its high sensitivity is demonstrated with a maximum response up to 35 at 180 °C and 200 ppm. The sensor performs well in gas sensitivity thanks to the structure of the material. Large specific surface area, high porosity and fast electronic transport channel between Co3O4 and CC are all important reasons. Accordingly, this method of preparing the novel hierarchical structure can improve the gas sensitive performance. This work would provide a reference for further research on the application of Co3O4 MOF-derived structure in gas sensitive.

Great progress has been made in the development of cathode materials for Al-metal batteries. However, the in-depth study of Al anodes, especially the battery instability caused by Al dendrite growth, has not received much attention. In this work, we have identified the in-situ formation of Al dendrite growth, which is proved to bottleneck the practical use of Al-metal batteries. The dendrite formation severely affects battery performance, such as voltage and efficiency fluctuations, unstable cycling, etc. To further demonstrate the detailed growing process of dendrites, we make a comprehensive investigation into the interfacial chemistry of Al anode. We have found that the naturally formed Al2O3 surface film is dissolved in the ionic liquid electrolyte during Al plating, accompanied by the formation of solid-electrolyte interphase containing Al-Cl and Al-O like species on the anode surface before dendrite growth. To suppress this dendrite growth, we propose the use of porous Al, which provides a homogeneous ion flux and decreases the local current density. As a result, the porous anode maintains stable cycling over a wide range of current densities and areal capacities. The Al-graphite battery shows stable cycling up to 18000 times without capacity decay. This work suggests the significance of suppressing dendrite growth for the real applications and commercialization of Al-metal batteries and will draw attention to the battery design from the anode side.