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Airway remodeling and inflammation are considered the main characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cigarette smoke promotes the occurrence of inflammation, oxidative stress, and pyroptosis. Halotherapy has been shown to dilute secretions in the airways and promote drainage, but the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of halotherapy in COPD rats and investigated the underlying mechanism.A COPD rat model was constructed by cigarette smoke and lipopolysaccharide tracheal instillation. A total of 120 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control, model, halotherapy, terbutaline, halotherapy + terbutaline, and Ac-YVAD-CMK (Caspase-1 inhibitor) groups. After modeling and treatment, the pulmonary function of the rats was measured. Pathological changes in the lungs were measured by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4), and nitric oxide (NO) levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the lungs were determined by biochemical tests. The levels of cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4Halotherapy recovered the clinical symptoms of COPD rats, and reduced lung inflammatory cell infiltration and air wall attenuation. It also relieved oxidative stress in the lung tissue of COPD rats, reduced CD4Halotherapy improves lung function by inhibiting the NLRP3/ASC/Caspase-1 signaling pathway to reduce inflammation and pyroptosis in COPD rats, and may be a new option for the prevention and treatment of COPD.

Graphical abstract, Excessive inflammation and the pyroptosis of vascular endothelial cells caused by estrogen deficiency is one cause of atherosclerosis in post-menopausal women. Because autophagy is highly regulated by estrogen, we hypothesized that estrogen can reduce vascular endothelial cell pyroptosis through estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-mediated activation of autophagy to improve atherosclerosis in post-menopausal stage. Aortic samples from pro-menopausal and post-menopausal women with ascending aortic arteriosclerosis were analyzed, and bilateral ovariectomized (OVX) female ApoE-/- mice and homocysteine (Hcy)-treated HUVECs were used to analyze the effect of estrogen supplementation therapy. The aortic endothelium showed a decrease in ERα expression and autophagy, but presented an increase in inflammation and pyroptosis in female post-menopausal patients. Estrogen treatment accelerated autophagy and ameliorated cell pyroptosis in the cardiac aortas of OVX ApoE-/- mice and Hcy-treated HUVECs. Estrogen had therapeutic effect on atherosclerosis and improved the symptoms associated with lipid metabolism disorders in OVX ApoE-/- mice. Inhibition and silencing of ERα led to a reduction in the autophagy promoting ability of estrogen and aggravated pyroptosis. Moreover, the inhibition of autophagy promoted pyroptosis and abolished the protective effect of estrogen, but had no influence on ERα expression. Thus, the results of the present study demonstrated that post-menopausal women present decreased autophagy and ERα expression and excessive damage to the ascending aorta. In addition, in vitro and in vivo assay results demonstrated that estrogen prevents atherosclerosis by upregulating ERα expression and subsequently induces autophagy to reduce inflammation and pyroptosis.

The development of Na-ion full cells (NIFCs) suffers from the issue that the solid electrolyte interphase formation on the carbon anode consumes the limited sodium from cathode and thus incurs the decreased energy density and poor cyclic stability. To address these issues, we herein report that Na2O2 could be used as a sacrificial Na source through spraying its slurry on the surface of cathode, and investigate its stability as well as electrochemical behavior toward NIFCs. The results show that Na2O2 has good chemical and storage stability under a dry atmosphere and has no negative effect on the electrochemical performance of the cathode. Compared with the pristine cathode, the Na2O2-decorated cathode exhibits higher discharge capacity, superior capacity retention, and rate capability in a full cell with a carbon anode. Our cathode Na compensation strategy provides an effective avenue to make up for the irreversible Na+ loss cause by the formation of solid electrolyte interphase on the anode, thereby promoting the electrochemical performance and energy density of NIFCs toward the large-scale application.

Recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries has recently become a critical issue based on environmental concerns and a desire to reutilize resources. Among the existing recycling strategies, direct regeneration is largely encouraged from an economic and environmental perspective. However, current procedures used to separate the active cathode materials from the aluminum foil have some limitations for direct regeneration because they either destroy the structure of the cathode or use too many toxic and expensive reagents. Hence, we conducted comprehensive research on the microstructural evolution of the LiNi1−x−yCoxMnyO2 degraded electrode and then proposed a targeted method to recycle the spent cathode materials based on the increased residual lithium compounds. This separation process involves no other reagents but water, and toxic organic solvents, complicated processes, and waste treatments are unnecessary compared with the existing pretreatment strategies. Moreover, the separated cathodes are suitable for direct regeneration. Satisfactory capacity recovery of the cathode was achieved via simple sintering. Such a recycling process enables a sustainable closed-loop for the spent cathodes and provides new inspiration for the design of LIB recycling.

The accumulation of macrophages and cholesterol crystals in atherosclerotic plaques is an important pathological feature of patients with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Decreased estrogen levels and estrogen receptors (ERs) lead to an increase in atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women. Whether estrogen prevents atherosclerosis by promoting macrophage cholesterol crystal metabolism via estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is unknown. The ascending aorta of postmenopausal women decreased the fibrous cap around the plaque, increased the aggregation of CC and macrophages, and reduced the expression of ERα, and transcription factor EB (TFEB). Estrogen supplementation ameliorated atherosclerosis, and reduced CC and macrophages in the cardiac aorta and CC in primary peritoneal macrophages in OVX LDLR−/− mice. Silencing TFEB eliminated the effect of estrogen in enhancing lysosomal function, promoting CC internalization in lysosomes, and promoting reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) through APOA1, but did not affect triglyceride (TG) accumulation or RCT mediated by HDL in macrophages. Inhibition of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) decreased the effect of estrogen in increasing RCT through APOA1 and HDL and decreasing TG in macrophages. Inhibition of ERα weakened the effect of estrogen in reducing CC, TG, total cholesterol(TC), free cholesterol(FC), and cholesterol ester (CE) in macrophages. Silencing ERα eliminated the effect of estrogen in increasing lysosomal function and promoting the expression of TFEB, HSL, ABCA1/ABCG1 and inhibiting the expression of NLRP3 and IL-1β in macrophages. Our results provide evidence that estrogen promotes macrophage CC metabolism, which includes increasing the internalization of CC in lysosomes through rescuing the lysosomal biogenesis program by the ERα-TFEB pathway and promoting RCT via ERα-TFEB and HSL pathways to increase the cholesterol efflux.

The complexity of chemical compounds in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) results in great difficulties in the extraction of multiple transition metals, which have similar physicochemical characteristics. Here, we propose a novel strategy for selective extraction of nickel, cobalt, and manganese from spent LiNi

The capacity degradation mechanism of a spent LiFePO4 (LFP) cathode was investigated systematically and the occurrence of FePO4 in the cathode due to loss of Li+ was found to be mainly responsible for the short cycle life of LFP batteries. Given this, an easy, low-cost, and green cathode regeneration method was proposed. This work provides a new perspective for the recycling of spent batteries.

Background Mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaf tea benefits the control of diabetes in Asian nations. This study was aim to investigate if the flavonoids, which extracts from mulberry leaves, could regulate the metabolism of glycolipid, and to investigate if flavonoids could regulate IRS1/PI3K/AKT pathway signal to affect the expression of FAS and membrane transfer capacity GLUT4 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Results Results revealed that flavonoids decreased the levels of free fatty acid and increased the glucose consumption and the levels of adiponectin and leptin in a dose-dependent manner, and remarkably increased the protein expression levels of p-IRS1, p-PI3K, p-Akt, total GLUT4, and membrane GLUT4, and decreased the protein expression levels of PTEN and FAS in 3T3-L1 adipocytes IR model. On the other hand, wortmannin (2 nM), a selective and irreversible PI3K inhibitor, significantly decreased the glucose consumption and the adiponectin and leptin levels, and increased the free fatty acid level in flavonoids treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes IR model. Furthermore, wortmannin (2 nM) partly eliminated the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling, the suppression of FAS, and the up-regulated membrane transfer capacity of GLUT4 in flavonoids treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes IR model. Conclusion In conclusion, our results illustrated that mulberry leaf extracts flavonoids alleviated the glycolipid metabolic abnormalities in 3T3-L1 adipocytes IR model, and the effect was associated with the activation of IRS1/PI3K/AKT pathway, the suppression of FAS, and the up-regulation of membrane transfer capacity of GLUT4.

Silicon-based electrodes are promising and appealing for futuristic Li-ion batteries because of their high theoretical specific capacity. However, massive volume change of silicon upon lithiation and delithiation, accompanied by continual formation and destruction of the solid-electrolyte interface (SEI), leads to low Coulombic efficiency. Prelithiation of Si-based anode is regarded as an effective way for compensating for the loss of Li+ in the first discharging process. Here, a high-performance lithiated SiOx anode was prepared by using a controllable, efficient, and novel prelithiation strategy. The lithiation of SiOx is homogeneous and efficient in bulk due to well-improved Li+ diffusion in SiOx. Moreover, the in situ formed SEI during the process of prelithiation reduces the irreversible capacity loss in the first cycle and thus improves the initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE). Half-cells and full cells based on the as-prepared lithiated SiOx anode prominently increase the ICE from 79 to 89% and 68 to 87%, respectively. It is worth mentioning that the homogeneously lithiated SiOx anode achieves stable 200 cycles in NCM622//SiOx coin full cells. These exciting results provide applicable prospects of lithiated SiOx anode in the next-generation high-energy-density Li-ion batteries.

BACKGROUND The primary objective of this study was to assess the cumulative incidence of cause-specific mortality (CSM) and other causes of mortality (OCM) for patients with metastatic pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma (mPDAC). The secondary objective was to calculate the probability of CSM and build a competing risk nomogram to predict CSM for mPDAC. MATERIAL AND METHODS We identified patients with mPDAC between 2010 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We assessed the cumulative incidence function (CIF) for cause-specific mortality and other causes of mortality. We used Gray's test to investigate the differences. The Fine and Gray proportional subdistribution hazard model was applied to model CIF. And a competing risk nomogram was built to predict the probability of CSM for mPDAC. RESULTS There were 10 527 eligible patients diagnosed with mPDAC from 2010 to 2015 who were included in our formal analysis. The 6-month cumulative incidence of CSM was 60.3% and 5.9% for other causes. Predictors of SCM for mPDAC included surgery, age, tumor size, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone metastasis, and liver metastasis. The nomogram was proven to be well calibrated, and had good model discriminative ability. CONCLUSIONS We assessed the CIF of CSM and competing risk mortality in patients with mPDAC using the SEER database. The Fine and Gray proportional subdistribution hazard model performance was good, with a concordance index of 0.74, and the competing-risks nomogram was built, which can be a helpful predictive tool for cases with mPDAC. However, a validation sample data set and further verification are still needed to assess a profile for prognostic use in a prospective study.

Background: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) are the most common postoperative complications with few therapeutic options. Salidroside, a plant-derived compound, has gained increased attention as treatment for various neurological diseases and particularly modifier of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation. However, the effect of salidroside on orthopedic surgery-induced cognitive dysfunction and the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown.Methods: The Morris water maze test was used to investigate potential effects of salidroside in the animal model of tibia fracturing with intramedullary fixation. Therapeutic mechanism and related signaling pathways of salidroside in PND were further investigated with animal tissues and microglial cultures in vitro by molecular biology tests.Results: Here we found that salidroside greatly attenuated cognitive impairment in mice after orthopedic surgery. Neuroinflammation in mouse hippocampus were also attenuated by salidroside. Meanwhile, salidroside treatment induced a switch in microglia polarization to the anti-inflammatory phenotype. In vitro, salidroside suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and induced a switch in microglial phenotype to the anti-inflammatory phenotype. Mechanically, molecular docking studies revealed potential AMPK activation activity of salidroside. And salidroside did up-regulated the AMPK pathway proteins. Moreover, AMPK antagonist abolished the effects of salidroside in vivo and in vitro.Conclusions: Taken together, our results demonstrated that salidroside effectively suppressed PND by suppressing microglia-mediated neuroinflammation through activating AMPK pathway, and it might be a novel therapeutic approach for PND.

To evaluate the efficacy of Liuwei Dihuang formula ( LWDHF) on endothelial cells, and to study the mechanism behind the action of modulating expression of estrogen receptors.Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was applied to induce the apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The concentration of nitric oxide (NO), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS) were measured by assay kits. Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to detect the expression of iNOS, eNOS, b-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), estrogen receptor (ER) α and ERβ. Also, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was involved to confirm whether the protective effects of LWDHF was medicated by ERs. In vivo, the female rats were ovariectomized to establish postmenopausal vascular injury model. Then the model rats were divided into three groups and treated with saline, estradiol and LWDHF respectively. The concentration of NO and NOS in serum were measured by assay kits, and the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, ERα and ERβ were detected by western blot and immunohistochemistry.In vitro study, LWDHF significantly protected HUVECs from H2O2-induced apoptosis, with the increase of Bcl-2 and the decrease of Bax. The treatment with LWDHF inhibited concentration of NO and iNOS, and upregulated the expression of eNOS, ERα and ERβ. In addition, ERα siRNA could block the protective effects of LWDHF, while ERβ siRNA showed little influence. In vivo, the treatment with LWDHF suppressed the vascular injury and reduced the level of NO and NOS. LWDHF increased the expression of Bcl-2, ERα and ERβ, as well as inhibiting the Bax expression.LWDHF could improve endothelial function and protect HUVECs from apoptosis via increasing the expression of ERα.

Additional file 1. Effect of SF on Th1 and Th2 cells in the spleen of CIA mice.

The present review aimed to outline different types of RNAs in cancer diagnostics and treatment, and to provide novel insights into their clinical applications. RNAs, including mRNA, long non-coding (lnc)RNA, circular (circ)RNA and micro (mi)RNA, are now increasingly utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers. Each aforementioned type of RNA possess their own unique characteristics and could be aberrantly expressed as diagnostic markers or therapeutic targets in different cancers. In addition to mRNAs, which have become a promising alternative in cancer diagnostics and therapy, the uses of lncRNA, circRNA and miRNA in predictive tumor diagnostics and therapy has rapidly increased in recent years. In the present review, the mechanisms of mRNA, lncRNA, circRNA and miRNA in regulating and participating in the development of different cancers were determined, and their potential capacity in cancer diagnostics and therapy were investigated. In addition, the present review analyzed the assoaciations between different RNAs and their subsequent potential in cancer prediction and treatment.

Atherosclerosis can be regarded as a chronic disease derived from the interaction between disordered lipoproteins and an unsuitable immune response. The evolution of foam cells is not only a significant pathological change in the early stage of atherosclerosis but also a key stage in the occurrence and development of atherosclerosis. The formation of foam cells is mainly caused by the imbalance among lipids uptake, lipids treatment, and reverse cholesterol transport. Although a large number of studies have summarized the source of foam cells and the mechanism of foam cells formation, we propose a new idea about foam cells in atherosclerosis. Rather than an isolated microenvironment, the macrophage multiple lipid uptake pathways, lipid internalization, lysosome, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, neutral cholesterol ester hydrolase (NCEH), acyl-coenzyme A-cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT), and reverse cholesterol transport are mutually influential, and form a dynamic process under multi-factor regulation. The macrophage takes on different uptake lipid statuses depending on multiple uptake pathways and intracellular lipids, lipid metabolites versus pro-inflammatory factors. Except for NCEH and ACAT, the lipid internalization of macrophages also depends on multicellular organelles including the lysosome, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum, which are associated with each other. A dynamic balance between esterification and hydrolysis of cholesterol for macrophages is essential for physiology and pathology. Therefore, we propose that the foam cell in the process of atherosclerosis may be dynamic under multi-factor regulation, and collate this study to provide a holistic and dynamic idea of the foam cell.

The military decision support knowledge graphs (KGs) have been widely used in helping the commanders to understand the complicated, changefully battlefield situation. Not only combat action entities and their relations are embraced in the KGs, but also the military rules with numbers which are established by the army are encompassed. Proposed in the paer is the knowledge reasoning method mixing rule and graph neural networks learning together, called context-surrounding graph neural networks with numbers (CS-GNN-N). The rule learning, rule injection and graph neural networks learning are iteratively done in the CS-GNN-N. The two graph smoothness metrics, feature smoothness and label smoothness, are applied to measure the quantity and quality of neighborhood information of nodes respectively. Finally, the effectiveness of the CS-GNN-N on link prediction tasks is compared with four datasets and competitive reasoning methods. The results show that not only the military rules and relative numbers can be learned in the CS-GNN-N, but also the reasoning ability of the CS-GNN-N can be enhanced.

Smart and wearable electronics have aroused substantial demand for flexible portable power sources, but it remains a large challenge to realize scalable production of wearable batteries/supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance and remarkable flexibility simultaneously. Here, a scalable approach is developed to prepare wearable solid-state lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) with superior performance enabled by synergetic engineering from materials to device architecture. Nitrogen-doped hierarchical carbon (HC) composed of 1D carbon nanofibers welded with 2D carbon nanosheets is synthesized via a unique self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) technique, which exhibits superior electrochemical performance. Subsequently, inspired by origami, here, wave-shaped LIC punch-cells based on the above materials are designed by employing a compatible and scalable post-imprint technology. Finite elemental analysis (FEA) confirms that the bending stress of the punch-cell can be offset effectively, benefiting from the wave architecture. The wearable solid-state LIC punch-cell exhibits large energy density, long cyclic stability, and superior flexibility. This study demonstrates great promise for scalable fabrication of wearable energy-storage systems.

Background Treating colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to be a clinical challenge. Studies have shown that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical step in tumor progression and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signaling has been shown to play a crucial role in EMT. Here, we investigate the inhibition effect of Ginsenoside Rb2, main bioactive component of ginseng, in human colorectal cancer cells via TGF-β1. Purpose The current study aims to study the inhibitory effect of Ginsenoside Rb2 on HCT116 and SW620 cells and its anti-tumor mechanism. Methods Histomorphological analysis and western blot analysis were performed to evaluate expression of TGF-β1 in human cancerous colon samples and the adjacent normal samples. The docking simulation assay were performed to explore the potential mode of binding of Ginsenoside Rb2 to the TGF-β1 protein. CCK8, adhesion and invasion assay were used to assess the effects of Ginsenoside Rb2 in HCT116 and SW620 cells. RT-PCR, Western blot and Immunohistochemical staining were employed to detect the TGF-β1-related signaling pathways in the colon cancer cells and/or xenograft mice. Results The expression of TGF-β1 in human cancerous colon samples was significantly increased compared with the adjacent normal samples. Ginsenoside Rb2 inhibit the growth, adhesion, EMT and metastasis of human colorectal cancer cells. The docking simulation assay confirmed that Ginsenoside Rb2 bound to the hydrophobic pocket of TGF-β1, which partially overlaps with the binding sites on TGF-β1, and thus disrupted TGF-β1 dimerization. Western Blot analysis further confirmed that Ginsenoside Rb2 could inhibit the expression of TGF-β1 in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, Ginsenoside Rb2 could inhibit the expression of Smad4 and phosphorylated Smad2/3. Conclusion Ginsenoside Rb2 could inhibit EMT of colorectal cancer cells through the TGF-β1/Smad signaling, and might be a potential candidate for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Long-lasting inflammation in the intestinal tract renders individuals susceptible to colitis-associated cancer (CAC). The NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays a key role in the progression of inflammatory bowel disease and CAC. Therefore, identifying effective drugs that prevent CAC by targeting NLRP3 inflammasome is of great interest. Here, we aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), THP-1 cells, and azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium (AOM/DSS)-induced colon cancer mouse model. We also investigated the anti-tumor mechanism of CAPE. We found that CAPE decreased NLRP3 inflammasome activation in BMDMs and THP-1 cells and protected mice from colorectal cancer induced by AOM/DSS. CAPE regulated NLRP3 at the post-transcriptional level by inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. However, CAPE did not affect NLRP3 or IL-1β transcription, but instead enhanced NLRP3 binding to ubiquitin molecules, promoting NLRP3 ubiquitination, and contributing to the anti-tumor effect in the AOM/DSS mouse model. Moreover, CAPE suppressed the interaction between NLRP3 and CSN5 but enhanced that between NLRP3 and Cullin1 both in vivo and in vitro. Altogether, our findings demonstrate that CAPE prevents CAC by post-transcriptionally inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome. Thus, CAPE may be an effective candidate for reducing the risk of CAC in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Phytosterols have been shown to improve blood lipid levels and treat atherosclerosis. This research investigated the effects of phytosterol Alisol B 23-acetate (AB23A) on jejunum lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. The results show that intragastric administration of AB23A can significantly reduce atherosclerotic plaque area and lipid accumulation in the jejunum of ovariectomized ApoE-/- mice fed a high-fat diet and can also improve the lipid mass spectra of the plasma and jejunum. In vitro studies have shown that AB23A can increase cholesterol outflow in Caco-2 cells exposed to high fat concentrations and increase the expression of ATP-binding cassette transfer proteins G5/G8 (ABCG5/G8), the liver X receptor α (LXRα). Furthermore, inhibition of LXRα can significantly eliminate the active effect of AB23A on decreasing intracellular lipid accumulation. We also confirmed that AB23A has a negative effect on Acyl-CoA cholesterol acyltransferase 2 (ACAT2) in Caco-2 cells cultured in the high concentrations of fat, and we found that AB23A further reduces ACAT2 expression in cells treated with the ACAT2 inhibitor pyripyropene or transfected with ACAT2 siRNA. In conclusion, we confirmed that AB23A can reduce the absorption of dietary lipids in the jejunum by affecting the LXRα-ACAT2-ABCG5/G8 pathway and ultimately exert an anti-atherosclerotic effect.

Inhibition of the oxidative stress induced by hypoxia and ischemia would be beneficial for reducing neuroinflammation and promoting nerve cell survival. We had previously reported a kind of anthocyanin (pentunidin-3-O-rutinoside (p-coumaroyl)-5-O-glucoside) to reduce the damage to neurovascular unit in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats. However, the neuroprotective mechanism of anthocyanin remains to be elucidated. Neuronal autophagy, after ischemic hypoxia, seems to be part of the pro-survival signal. In the current study, we used oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) to stimulate SH-SY5Y cells, and observed whether anthocyanin could reduce the inflammatory response and apoptosis, and explored the role of autophagy in this process. Anthocyanin significantly increased the autophagic flux, inhibited oxidative stress, and reduced inflammatory response and neuronal apoptosis in OGD exposed SH-SY5Y cells. The autophagy agonist rapamycin enhanced the anti-inflammatory effect of anthocyanin, while the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) forbade its protective effect. Our finding, therefore, suggested the reduction of hypoxia and ischemia induced oxidative stress, along with inflammation and apoptosis, by anthocyanin, to occur via increase of autophagic flux in SH-SY5Y cells.

A novel carbon electrode with high nitrogen content and a hierarchical porous structure has been prepared via a three-step carbonization of a three-dimensional graphene and polyaniline nanoarray composite film. The as-obtained nitrogen-doped electrodes show favorable features for flexible electrochemical energy storage, such as a hierarchical porous structure with interconnected three-dimensional (3D) pores, high flexibility and rich nitrogen-doping (9.71%). With respect to the multiple synergistic effects of these merits, a two-electrode-based supercapacitor has been fabricated. The assembled supercapacitor exhibited a high specific capacitance of 221 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1, and an excellent rate capability with a capacitance retention of 84% when the current density was varied from 3 A g−1 to 50 A g−1, and demonstrated no capacitance reduction even after 20 000 cycles of charging and discharging at 5 A g−1. Moreover, when the electrode was assembled into a flexible device, it exhibited good flexibility with 96% retention of its initial capacitance after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g−1 when the flexible device was bent to 180°. The strategy in this study represents a facile strategy for constructing well-defined 3D structures with a high nitrogen-doping content, which is promising for constructing a flexible energy storage system.

In the recent years, organic electrode materials have attracted tremendous attention and becoming promising electrode candidates for the green and sustainable lithium-ion batteries. A novel hypercrosslinked Poly-Pillar[5]quinone (Poly-P5Q) polymer was prepared and applied as electrode material in Li-ion batteries. Poly-P5Q is the oxidized form of Poly-Dimethoxypillar[5]arene (Poly-DMP5A) which was obtained from the condensation of dimethoxypillar[5]arene and formaldehyde dimethyl acetal using Friedel-Crafts reaction. The prepared materials were characterized by 13 C solid state NMR, FTIR, SEM, EDX and TGA analysis. The Poly-P5Q cathode showed an initial discharge capacity up to 105 mAh g −1 whereas it retained 82.3% of its initial discharge capacity after 100 charge-discharge cycles at a current speed of 100 mA g −1 in the potential window between 1.75 to 3.25 V. In future, research in this direction will provide great insight for the development of novel polymers from various small organic molecules as a stable and high performance electrode materials for green lithium-ion batteries.

In this work, biomass-related fabrics (cotton, cotton–flax, and flax fabrics) were used as precursors to synthesize a series of flexible porous carbon materials through simple carbonization at different temperatures. The porosities of these materials were then studied in detail. Physicochemical and texture properties, such as morphology, elemental composition, degree of structural order, and functional group, were also comprehensively characterized to supply basic information with regard to the utilization of these materials. Furthermore, flexible heteroatom-doped porous carbon materials were obtained through a “dipping and drying” process. Given that these biomass-derived carbon materials are flexible and porous, the applications of these materials as flexible and free-standing electrodes in supercapacitors and gas adsorbents were investigated. Keywords: Flexible, Biomass, Porous carbon, Supercapacitors, Gas adsorption