Permselective Ionic-Shield for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LiSBs) are promising next-generation batteries because of their low cost and high theoretical energy densities. Despite remarkable advances over the decades, polysulfide (PS) shuttling during battery cycling remains a challenge in the development of commercial LiSBs and is accelerated under practical conditions. Herein, we report a permselective ionic shield between the electrodes that blocks PS shuttles and passes Li ions to high-performance LiSBs. This shield is easily built onto the separator by ionic complexation and intermolecular bonding of functional polymers, thereby improving the battery performance and safety. The LiSB with the developed shield delivers a remarkable discharge capacity of 917 mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles at 2 C. In addition, the behavior of LiSBs under practical conditions that can realize a high energy density is investigated to achieve the optimal balance in this system. This study provides new insights into the imminent development of separators for practical LiSBs.

Electropolymerisation Technologies for Next-Generation Lithium-Sulphur Batteries.

Lithium-sulphur batteries (LiSBs) have garnered significant attention as the next-generation energy storage device because of their high theoretical energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the undesirable "shuttle effect" by lithium polysulphides (LPSs) severely inhibits their practical application. To alleviate the shuttle effect, conductive polymers have been used to fabricate LiSBs owing to their improved electrically conducting pathways, flexible mechanical properties, and high affinity to LPSs, which allow the shuttle effect to be controlled. In this study, the applications of various conductive polymers prepared via the simple yet sophisticated electropolymerisation (EP) technology are systematically investigated based on the main components of LiSBs (cathodes, anodes, separators, and electrolytes). Finally, the potential application of EP technology in next-generation batteries is comprehensively discussed.

Medial Branch Radiofrequency Treatment for Low-Back Pain in Cancer Patients: A Case Series.

Cancer patients are increasing in number, with an increased lifespan and advances in cancer treatment. Palliative care physicians often encounter difficulties in caring for patients with pain. In addition to cancer-related pain, patients with cancer may suffer from various musculoskeletal diseases, resulting in significant functional limitations of physical activities of daily living. We present three cases illustrating methods to deal with nonspecific mechanical low-back pain in patients with advanced cancer. We provide our therapeutic experiences, focusing on the usefulness of radiofrequency treatment in palliative care in patients with cancer.

Influence of the amount of skeletal muscle mass on rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of skeletal muscle mass on the rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block. DESIGN: A prospective, double-blinded, observational study. SETTING: A tertiary care university hospital. POPULATION: One hundred one patients aged 18-65 years who were scheduled to undergo major surgery lasting more than 1 h under general anaesthesia. METHODS: All participants underwent body composition analysis before anaesthesia and were allocated into two groups; the muscular and non-muscular group, according to skeletal muscle mass. During anaesthesia induction, rocuronium 1.0 mg kg-1 of total body weight was injected followed by neuromuscular monitoring using train-of-four stimulation every 15 s. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The onset time of rocuronium included the elapsed time from the rocuronium injection until 95% depression of first twitch (T1) and the time to no response to TOF stimulation. The duration was evaluated as the elapsed time from the rocuronium injection to 25% recovery of the final T1 (TDUR25), and the time to the reappearance of T1 (TTOF1) and T4 (TTOF4). These pharmacologic data were compared between two groups. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the onset time of rocuronium between the two groups. However, TDUR25 (min) was significantly shorter in the muscular group than in the non-muscular group (p = 0.035 and p = 0.014 in males and females, respectively). TTOF1 and TTOF4 were also shorter in the muscular group than in the non-muscular group. CONCLUSIONS: Total body weight-based dosing of rocuronium might prolong the neuromuscular relaxation effect in patients with a small amount of skeletal muscle.

Highly Stable Potassium-Ion Battery Enabled by Nanoengineering of an Sb Anode.

We present the nanoengineering of Sb particles assisted by a conductive and stress-relieving network of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), in the proper design of anode materials with high specific capacity and excellent stability for potassium-ion batteries (KIBs). The nanosized Sb particles are prepared by the CQDs as functional tuners in the morphology and surface, which tune the size to nanolevel and provide fast ionic channels and a soft matrix to relieve the volume changes. As the additional conductive and stress-relieving network layer, PEDOT:PSS offers enhanced electron/ion pathways and maintains the integrity of the Sb@CQD composite electrode. In the KIB, the prepared Sb anode exhibits battery performance with a high specific capacity of 480 mA h g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 and a high-capacity retention of 95.4% over 350 cycles.

ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 as Tuberculosis-Specific Antigen in Interferon Gamma Release Assay.

OBJECTIVE: The ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 antigen (Changzhou Niujin Shisong Biotech [CBI], China) was recently developed using recombinant overlapping peptide (ROP) technology. We used ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 as a tuberculosis (TB)-specific antigen and compared it with existing interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs). METHODS: Healthy volunteers and patients who were diagnosed with TB within a one-year period were enrolled. Samples were tested with QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT; QIAGEN Sciences Inc., USA), T-SPOT.TB (Oxford Immunotec, UK), and ELISpot using ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 as a TB-specific antigen (ROP-TB). For ROP-TB, two concentrations (1 µg and 5 µg) of ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 were used as TB-specific antigens. Agreement between assays was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 35 TB patients and 20 healthy volunteers were evaluated. Agreement between T-SPOT.TB and ROP-TB 1 µg, QFT and ROP-TB 1 µg, and ROP-TB 1 µg and ROP-TB 5 µg/mL were 79.1% (kappa=0.483), 76.7% (kappa=0.557), and 95.3% (kappa=0.894), respectively. The median number of spots between the T-SPOT.TB and ROP-TB assays in the TB patients had no significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: ELISpot using newly developed ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 showed good agreement with T-SPOT.TB and QFT. Since ROP technology can lower the manufacturing cost, ROP-ESAT6-CFP10 might work as a good source of TB-specific antigen for IGRAs.

Binder-Free and High-Loading Cathode Realized by Hierarchical Structure for Potassium-Sulfur Batteries.

Potassium-sulfur batteries have attracted significant research attention owing to the naturally abundant resources of potassium and sulfur, and have promising applications in large-scale energy storage systems. However, the sluggish reaction kinetics of K+ , low reaction activity of sulfur species, shuttling effect of polysulfides, and large volume change impede the development of these batteries. Moreover, the conventional electrode fabrication method with binders and current collectors renders it difficult to improve the areal sulfur loading and energy density. In this study, a binder-free and freestanding sulfur cathode is prepared by phase inversion and sulfurization of polyacrylonitrile. This sulfur cathode, with a hierarchically porous network, enables a high reversible capacity of 1345 mAh g-1 and a stable cycling performance with a capacity decay of 0.15% per cycle. Importantly, areal capacities of 3.1 and 4.2 mAh cm-2 are achieved even at high sulfur loadings of 3 and 7 mg cm-2 , owing to the favorable electron/ion transport in the cathode. The facile preparation method and excellent electrochemical properties reported herein can pave the way for developing high-performance K-S batteries.

Recycling respirator masks to a high-value product: From COVID-19 prevention to highly efficient battery separator.

COVID-19 is a pandemic that has caused serious disruption in almost every day-to-day life around the world, and wearing a mask is essential for human safety from this virus. However, masks are non-recyclable materials, and the accumulation of masks used every day causes serious environmental issues. In this study, we investigate the recycling of mask materials for addressing the environmental problems and transforming as a high value-added material through chemical modification of masks. The recycled mask is applied as a separator for aqueous rechargeable batteries, and shows outstanding safety and electrochemical performance than the existing separator. This approach will lead to an advanced energy technology considering nature after overcoming COVID-19.

IDO1 scavenges reactive oxygen species in myeloid-derived suppressor cells to prevent graft-versus-host disease.

Tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) also has an immunological function to suppress T cell activation in inflammatory circumstances, including graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a fatal complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT). Although the mononuclear cell expression of IDO1 has been associated with improved outcomes in GVHD, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we used IDO-deficient (Ido1-/-) BMT to understand why myeloid IDO limits the severity of GVHD. Hosts with Ido1-/- BM exhibited increased lethality, with enhanced proinflammatory and reduced regulatory T cell responses compared with wild type (WT) allo-BMT controls. Despite the comparable expression of the myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) mediators, arginase-1, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and interleukin 10, Ido1-/- Gr-1+CD11b+ cells from allo-BMT or in vitro BM culture showed compromised immune-suppressive functions and were skewed toward the Ly6ClowLy6Ghi subset, compared with the WT counterparts. Importantly, Ido1-/-Gr-1+CD11b+ cells exhibited elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and neutrophil numbers. These characteristics were rescued by human IDO1 with intact heme-binding and catalytic activities and were recapitulated by the treatment of WT cells with the IDO1 inhibitor L1-methyl tryptophan. ROS scavenging by N-acetylcysteine reverted the Ido1-/-Gr-1+CD11b+ composition and function to an MDSC state, as well as improved the survival of GVHD hosts with Ido1-/- BM. In summary, myeloid-derived IDO1 enhances GVHD survival by regulating ROS levels and limiting the ability of Gr-1+CD11b+ MDSCs to differentiate into proinflammatory neutrophils. Our findings provide a mechanistic insight into the immune-regulatory roles of the metabolic enzyme IDO1.

Fast-Charging Lithium-Sulfur Batteries Enabled via Lean Binder Content.

Next-generation energy storage devices such as lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) face several challenges including fast charging and high-power delivery. Thus, it is necessary to improve the stability of the electrodes with efficient electrochemical system. In this work, a durable sulfur cathode even at high rates is enabled via lean binder content. The binder consists of a chitosan cross-linked with a carboxylated nitrile-butadiene rubber (XNBR), which exhibits high affinity toward lithium polysulfide along with robust mechanical properties because of the synergistic effect of the polar chitosan and the elastomeric XNBR. Despite using extremely small content of binder (3 wt%), the LSB shows a highly stable long-term cycling performance with capacity retention decay values of 0.026% and 0.029% after 500 cycles at 5 and 10 C. Moreover, the cell shows an outstanding specific capacity of 228 mAh g-1 at an ultrahigh charge-discharge rate of 20 C. This approach may significantly improve the design of the sulfur cathode and pave a facile way to fabricate commercially viable next-generation energy storage devices.

Hydrogen-rich water reduces inflammatory responses and prevents apoptosis of peripheral blood cells in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.

The evidence for the beneficial effects of drinking hydrogen-water (HW) is rare. We aimed to investigate the effects of HW consumption on oxidative stress and immune functions in healthy adults using systemic approaches of biochemical, cellular, and molecular nutrition. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, healthy adults (20-59 y) consumed either 1.5 L/d of HW (n = 20) or plain water (PW, n = 18) for 4 weeks. The changes from baseline to the 4th week in serum biological antioxidant potential (BAP), derivatives of reactive oxygen, and 8-Oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine did not differ between groups; however, in those aged ≥ 30 y, BAP increased greater in the HW group than the PW group. Apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was significantly less in the HW group. Flow cytometry analysis of CD4+, CD8+, CD20+, CD14+ and CD11b+ cells showed that the frequency of CD14+ cells decreased in the HW group. RNA-sequencing analysis of PBMCs demonstrated that the transcriptomes of the HW group were clearly distinguished from those of the PW group. Most notably, transcriptional networks of inflammatory responses and NF-κB signaling were significantly down-regulated in the HW group. These finding suggest HW increases antioxidant capacity thereby reducing inflammatory responses in healthy adults.

Author Correction: Solvent-free bulk polymerization of lignin-polycaprolactone (PCL) copolymer and its thermoplastic characteristics.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Gut microorganisms and their metabolites modulate the severity of acute colitis in a tryptophan metabolism-dependent manner.

PURPOSE: Growing evidence shows that nutrient metabolism affects inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) development. Previously, we showed that deficiency of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (Ido1), a tryptophan-catabolizing enzyme, reduced the severity of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. However, the roles played by intestinal microbiota in generating the differences in disease progression between Ido1+/+ and Ido1-/- mice are unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the interactions between the intestinal microbiome and host IDO1 in governing intestinal inflammatory responses. METHODS: Microbial 16s rRNA sequencing was conducted in Ido1+/+ and Ido1-/- mice after DSS treatment. Bacteria-derived tryptophan metabolites were measured in urine. Transcriptome analysis revealed the effects of the metabolite and IDO1 expression in HCT116 cells. Colitis severity of Ido1+/+ was compared to Ido1-/- mice following fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). RESULTS: Microbiome analysis through 16S-rRNA gene sequencing showed that IDO1 deficiency increased intestinal bacteria that use tryptophan preferentially to produce indolic compounds. Urinary excretion of 3-indoxyl sulfate, a metabolized form of gut bacteria-derived indole, was significantly higher in Ido1-/- than in Ido1+/+ mice. Transcriptome analysis showed that tight junction transcripts were significantly increased by indole treatment in HCT116 cells; however, the effects were diminished by IDO1 overexpression. Using FMT experiments, we demonstrated that bacteria from Ido1-/- mice could directly attenuate the severity of DSS-induced colitis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence that a genetic defect in utilizing tryptophan affects intestinal microbiota profiles, altering microbial metabolites, and colitis development. This suggests that the host and intestinal microbiota communicate through shared nutrient metabolic networks.

Strongly Anchoring Polysulfides by Hierarchical Fe3O4/C3N4 Nanostructures for Advanced Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Li-S batteries have attracted considerable interest as next-generation energy storage devices owing to high energy density and the natural abundance of sulfur. However, the practical applications of Li-S batteries are hampered by the shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides (LPS), which results in low cycle stability. Herein, a functional interlayer has been developed to efficiently regulate the LPS and enhance the sulfur utilization using hierarchical nanostructure of C3N4 (t-C3N4) embedded with Fe3O4 nanospheres. t-C3N4 exhibits high surface area and strong anchoring of LPS, and the Fe3O4/t-C3N4 accelerates the anchoring of LPS and improves the electronic pathways. The combination of these materials leads to remarkable battery performance with 400% improvement in a specific capacity and a low capacity decay per cycle of 0.02% at 2 C over 1000 cycles, and stable cycling at 6.4 mg cm-2 for high-sulfur-loading cathode.

Synthesis of BaTiO3 nanoparticles as shape modified filler for high dielectric constant ceramic-polymer composite.

Coral-like structured barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles were synthesized as filler for a high dielectric elastomer. The nanoparticle size, and shape, and the reactivity of the synthesis were modified according to temperature, time, pH, and precursor materials. Dielectric properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) composites were estimated by volume fractions of BaTiO3 of 5, 10, and 15 vol% for both sphere and coral-like shapes. As a result, coral-like BaTiO3-PDMS composites had the highest dielectric constant of 10.97, which was 64% higher than the spherical BaTiO3-PDMS composites for the 15 vol% fraction. Furthermore, the phase transition process and surface modification were applied to increase the dielectric properties through calcination and improved particle dispersion in the elastomer using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The dispersion of the PVP coated BaTiO3-PDMS composite was improved compared to pristine BaTiO3 as shown by SEM imaging. The coral-like BaTiO3 embedded composite could be used for electronic devices such as piezoelectric devices or electro-adhesive grippers, which require flexible and high dielectric materials.

Point-of-Care Platform for Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease.

We created a cost-benefit analysis and swift point-of-care (PoC) testing for early stage Parkinson's disease (PD) that delivers the possibility of providing sensitive, rapid, and user-friendly analysis in home diagnostics applications. α-Synuclein (α-Syn) is considered a meaningful biomarker for the diagnosis of early stage PD. The PoC platform for diagnosis of PD is simply constructed with a conductive polymer and an aptamer receptor on a screen-printed electrode and exhibits a remarkable low detection limit of 1 × 10-3 fM. The developed PoC platform will offer an opportunity for individuals to conveniently and periodically check the progress of the diseases and success through expansion as a checkup platform for other diseases.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Amyloid-ß Using Cellular Prion Protein on the Highly Conductive Au Nanoparticles-Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene)-Poly(thiophene-3-acetic acid) Composite Electrode.

A highly sensitive electrochemical impedance sensor for amyloid beta oligomer (AßO) was fabricated using a cellular prion protein (PrPC) bioreceptor linked with poly(thiophene-3-acetic acid) transducer. An additional thin layer of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) embedded with gold nanoparticles was employed to provide high electrical conductivity and a large surface area. The sensing performace was investigated in terms of sensitivity and detection range. The fabricated sensor exhibited extremely low detection limit at a subfemtomolar level with a wide detection range from 10-8 to 104 nM and its utility was established in mice infected with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The developed AßO sensor could be utilized for early diagnosis of AD.

Solvent-free bulk polymerization of lignin-polycaprolactone (PCL) copolymer and its thermoplastic characteristics.

The pristine lignin molecules contain multiple reactive hydroxyl [OH] groups, some of which undergo limited polymerization depending on their configuration (aromatic or aliphatic) or conformation. The key issue in lignin-polymerization is to quantify the number of hydroxyl groups in the pristine molecules for subsequent activation to specific lignin-polymer chain lengths or degree of grafting. In this study, using ε-caprolactone (CL) as a reactive solvent, we successfully polymerized CL on the [OH] sites in the kraft lignin macromonomers (LM, Mw = 1,520 g mol-1), which resulted in a thermoplastic lignin-polycaprolactone (PCL) grafted copolymer. We found that the average number of [OH] groups in the LM was 15.3 groups mol-1, and further detected 40-71% of the [OH] groups in the CL bulk polymerization. The degree of polymerization of PCL grown on each [OH] site ranged between 7 and 26 depending on the reaction conditions ([CL]/[OH] and reaction-time) corresponding to 4,780 and 32,600 g mol-1 of PCL chains per a LM. The thermoplastic characteristics of the synthesized lignin-PCL copolymers were established by the melt viscosity exhibiting a shear-thinning behavior, e.g., 921 Pa.s at 180 °C. The thermal stability was remarkable providing a Tid (2% of weight loss) of 230 °C of the copolymers, compared with 69 °C for the pristine lignin.

Ferrocene-Encapsulated Zn Zeolitic Imidazole Framework (ZIF-8) for Optical and Electrochemical Sensing of Amyloid-ß Oligomers and for the Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

In this work, the ferrocene-encapsulated Zn zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF-8) was prepared by the self-assembly of Zn ions and 2-methylimidazole and used for the dual detection of amyloid-beta oligomers (AßO), which is the main neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Ferrocene is an optically and electrochemically active signal which was successfully encapsulated inside of the ZIF-8 and released by the competitive coordination between Zn ions and AßO after being treated with AßO. The released ferrocene content was monitored by ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry and cyclic voltammetry. The dual determination of AßO played a synergetic role in the quick qualitative and precise quantitative analyses in a wide detection range of 10-5 to 102 µM and good feasibility in artificial cerebrospinal fluid.

Bioinspired Adhesive Architectures: From Skin Patch to Integrated Bioelectronics.

The attachment phenomena of various hierarchical architectures found in nature have extensively drawn attention for developing highly biocompatible adhesive on skin or wet inner organs without any chemical glue. Structural adhesive systems have become important to address the issues of human-machine interactions by smart outer/inner organ-attachable devices for diagnosis and therapy. Here, advances in designs of biologically inspired adhesive architectures are reviewed in terms of distinct structural properties, attachment mechanisms to biosurfaces by physical interactions, and noteworthy fabrication methods. Recent demonstrations of bioinspired adhesive architectures as adhesive layers for medical applications from skin patches to multifunctional bioelectronics are presented. To conclude, current challenges and prospects on potential applications are also briefly discussed.