Attenuated vaccine PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 effectively protects mice against Pasteurella multocida infection.

Pasteurella multocida type A (PmA) mainly causes respiratory diseases such as pneumonia in bovines, leading to great economic losses to the breeding industry. At present, there is still no effective commercial vaccine against PmA infection. In this study, a mutant strain (PmCQ2Δ4555-4580) with brand-new phenotypes was obtained after serially passaging at 42 °C. Whole genome resequencing and PCR analysis showed that PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 missed six genes, including PmCQ2_004555, PmCQ2_004560, PmCQ2_004565, PmCQ2_004570, PmCQ2_004575, and PmCQ2_004580. Importantly, the virulence of PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 was reduced by approximately 2.8 × 109 times in mice. Notably, live PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 could provide 100%, 100% and 40% protection against PmA, PmB and PmF, respectively; and inactivated PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 could provide 100% and 87.5% protection against PmA and PmB. Interestingly, immune protection-related proteins were significantly upregulated in PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 based on RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis. Meaningfully, by in vitro expression, purification and in vivo immunization, 12 proteins had different degrees of immune protective effects. Among them, PmCQ2_008205, PmCQ2_010435, PmCQ2_008190, and PmCQ2_004170 had the best protective effect, the protection rates against PmA were 50%, 40%, 30%, and 30%, respectively, and the protective rates against PmB were 62.5%, 42.9%, 37.5%, and 28.6%, respectively. Collectively, PmCQ2Δ4555-4580 is a potential vaccine candidate for the prevention of Pasteurellosis involving in high expression of immune protective related proteins.

Isolation and Genomic Characterization of a Chinese Genotype C Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 from Cattle and Its Pathogenicity in C57BL/6 Mice.

Bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV-3), also known as bovine respirovirus 3, is a common respiratory pathogen associated with bovine respiratory disease (BRD). BPIV-3 has currently circulated worldwide; however, data on the prevalence and genetic characteristics of BPIV-3 are still scarce and limited. In this study, the BPIV-3 strain SC was identified and isolated from cattle presenting with clinical signs of BRD in China. Animal experiments indicated that BPIV-3 SC can successfully infect C57BL/6 mice and induce weight loss, lung inflammatory cell infiltration, and inflammatory cytokine expression in mice. In addition, the complete genome of BPIV-3 SC was obtained using next-generation sequencing and was 15,473 bp in length. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that BPIV-3 SC belonged to genotype C, which clustered in the same large clade consisting of a population of Chinese genotype C strains but was found to be different from the other strains upon further differentiation. Compared to other Chinese genotype C strains, the BPIV-3 SC showed 70 unique nucleotide mutations and 13 unique amino acid mutations in the HN, P, and L proteins, suggesting a unique genetic evolution of BPIV-3 SC. In conclusion, we isolated and characterized a differential Chinese genotype C BPIV-3, which contributed to an understanding of the prevalence and evolution of BPIV-3 in China.

Gradient oxygen doping triggered a microscale built-in electric field in CdIn2S4 for photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Construction of a built-in electric field has been identified as an attractive improvement strategy for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting by facilitating the carrier extraction from the inside to the surface. However, the promotion effect of the electric field is still restrained by the confined built-in area. Herein, we construct a microscale built-in electric field via gradient oxygen doping. The octahedral configuration of the synthesized CdIn2S4 (CIS) provides a structural basis, which enables the subsequent oxygen doping to reach a depth of ∼100 nm. Accordingly, the oxygen-doped CIS (OCIS) photoanode exhibits a microscale built-in electric field with band bending. Excellent PEC catalytic activity with a photocurrent density of 3.69 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE is achieved by OCIS, which is 3.1 times higher than that of CIS. Combining the results of thorough characterization and theoretical calculations, accelerating migration and separation of charge carriers have been determined as the reasons for the improvement. Meanwhile, the recombination risk at the doping centers has also been reduced to the minimum via optimal experiments. This work provides a new-generation idea for constructing a built-in electric field from the view point of bulky configuration towards PEC water splitting.

Bio-inspired Double Angstrom-Scale Confinement in Ti-deficient Ti0.87 O2 Nanosheet Membranes for Ultrahigh-performance Osmotic Power Generation.

Osmotic power, a clean energy source, can be harvested from the salinity difference between seawater and river water. However, the output power densities are hampered by the trade-off between ion selectivity and ion permeability. Here we propose an effective strategy of double angstrom-scale confinement (DAC) to design ion-permselective channels with enhanced ion selectivity and permeability simultaneously. The fabricated DAC-Ti0.87 O2 membranes possess both Ti atomic vacancies and an interlayer free spacing of ≈2.2 Å, which not only generates a profitable confinement effect for Na+ ions to enable high ion selectivity but also induces a strong interaction with Na+ ions to benefit high ion permeability. Consequently, when applied to osmotic power generation, the DAC-Ti0.87 O2 membranes achieved an ultrahigh power density of 17.8 W m-2 by mixing 0.5/0.01 M NaCl solution and up to 114.2 W m-2 with a 500-fold salinity gradient, far exceeding all the reported macroscopic-scale membranes. This work highlights the potential of the construction of DAC ion-permselective channels for two-dimensional materials in high-performance nanofluidic energy systems.

Unsaturated Penta-Coordinated Mo5c5+ Sites Enabled Low-Temperature Oxidation of C-H Bonds in Ethers.

Selective oxidation of C-H bonds under mild conditions is one of the most important and challenging issues in utilization of energy-related molecules. Molybdenum oxide nanostructures containing Mo5+ species are effective for these reactions, but the accurate identification of the structure of active Mo5+ species and the catalytic mechanism remain unclear. Herein, unsaturated penta-coordinated Mo5c5+ with a high fraction in MoOx fabricated by the hydrothermal method were identified as the active sites for low-temperature oxidation of dimethyl ether (DME) by the deep correlation of characterizations, density functional theory calculations, and activity results, giving a methyl formate selectivity of 96.3% and DME conversion of 12.5% at unreported 110 °C. Low-temperature electron spin resonance (ESR) and quasi in situ X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) with the designed experiments confirm that the Mo5c5+ species can be formed in situ. Molybdenum located at the pentachronic site is preferable to significantly promote the oxidation of the C-H bond in CH3O* at lower temperatures.

Recent advances in two-dimensional materials for hydrovoltaic energy technology.

Hydrovoltaic energy technology that generates electricity directly from the interaction of materials with water has been regarded as a promising renewable energy harvesting method. With the advantages of high specific surface area, good conductivity, and easily tunable porous nanochannels, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have promising potential in high-performance hydrovoltaic electricity generation applications. Herein, this review summarizes the most recent advances of 2D materials for hydrovoltaic electricity generation, including carbon nanosheets, layered double hydroxide (LDH), and layered transition metal oxides and sulfides. Some strategies were introduced to improve the energy conversion efficiency and the output power of hydrovoltaic electricity generation devices based on 2D materials. The applications of these devices in self-powered electronics, sensors, and low-consumption devices are also discussed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives on this emerging technology are outlined.

Stabilizing Layered Structure in Aqueous Electrolyte via O2-Type Oxygen Stacking.

Despite the high energy density of O3-type layered cathode materials, the short cycle life in aqueous electrolyte hinders their practical applications in aqueous lithium-ion batteries (ALIBs). In this work, it is demonstrated that the structural stability of layered LiCoO2 in aqueous electrolyte can be remarkably improved by altering the oxygen stacking from O3 to O2. As compared to the O3-type LiCoO2 , the O2-type LiCoO2 exhibits significantly improved cycle performance in neutral aqueous electrolyte. It is found that the structural degradation caused by electrophilic attack of proton can be effectively mitigated in O2-type layered structure. With O2 stacking, CoO6 octahedra in LiCoO2 possess stronger CoO bonds while Co migration from Co layer to Li layer is strongly hampered, resulting in enhanced structural stability against proton attack and prolonged cycle life in aqueous electrolyte. The findings in this work reveal that regulating oxygen stacking sequence is an effective strategy to improve the structural stability of layered materials for ALIBs.

pH Stimuli-Responsive, Rapidly Self-healable Coatings Enhanced the Corrosion Resistance and Osteogenic Differentiation of Mg-1Ca Osteoimplant.

Mg-Ca alloys have emerged as a promising research direction for biomedical implants in the orthopedic field. However, their clinical use is deterred by their fast corrosion rate. In this work, a pH stimuli-responsive silk-halloysite (HNT)/phytic acid (PA) self-healing coating (Silk-HNT/PA) is constructed to slow down the corrosion rate of Mg-1Ca alloy and its cell viability and osteogenic differentiation ability are enhanced. The Silk-HNT/PA coating exhibits appealing active corrosion protection, by eliciting pH-triggerable self-healing effects, while simultaneously affording superior biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation ability. Moreover, in vivo studies by histological analysis also demonstrate better osseointegration for the Silk-HNT/PA coated Mg-1Ca alloy. In summary, the Silk-HNT/PA coating in the present study has great potential in enhancing the biomedical utility of Mg alloys.

TLR3 Expression is a Potential Prognosis Biomarker and Shapes the Immune-Active Tumor Microenvironment in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) not only plays a crucial role in innate immune and inflammation but also in anti-cancer immunity. Nevertheless, the clinicopathological outcome of TLR3 in ESCC is still ambiguous. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed to investigate TLR3 expression and its impact on survival in 137 ESCC patients (including paired esophageal tissues with different stages of early lesions from 37 patients). Furthermore, we downloaded ESCC RNA-seq datasets (including phenotype and survival data) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The relationship between TLR3 and prognosis, biological landscape, and immune infiltration was assessed to verify the immunohistochemical results of our tissue samples, explore the possible mechanism of prognostic outcomes, and predict the sensitivity of immunotherapy. RESULTS: TLR3 protein expression displayed an increasing trend in the progression through different grades of cellular atypia, from normal, esophageal simple hyperplasia (ESSH), intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) to ESCC (P < 0.0083). TLR3 protein had a positive association with inflammation level (Rho = 0.341, P < 0.001). TLR3 mRNA expression was significantly higher in comparison to adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.001). Cox regression analysis indicated high TLR3 protein and mRNA expression conferred good prognosis in our samples and TCGA, especially for advanced ESCC patients (TNM stage III and IV). Overexpression of TLR3 resulted in an immune-active microenvironment via the recruitment of immune-active cells including cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTLs), CD8+ T cells, NK cells, dendritic cells, and M1-type macrophages. TLR3 expression was correlated with the pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines relating to anti-tumor immunity. Moreover, GSEA analysis indicated upregulated expression of TLR3 could activate the apoptotic pathway. CONCLUSION: High TLR3 expression in ESCC patients was associated with a more favorable prognosis, immune-active cell infiltration, and an activated apoptotic pathway. TLR3 has potential applications for immunotherapy and immune response prediction in patients with ESCC.

Exploring engineering reduced graphene oxide-titanium dioxide (RGO-TiO2) nanoparticles treatment to effectively enhance lutein biosynthesis with Chlorella sorokiniana F31 under different light intensity.

The Chlorella sorokiniana F31 is a promising lutein producer with high lutein content. Herein, different graphene/TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were designed and synthesized by hydrothermal method. Through the UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) analysis, the results showed that RGO-TiO2 NPs can effectively expand visible light absorption compared with TiO2 NPs. Subsequently, the effects of these NPs on light utilization and lutein accumulation of C. sorokiniana F31 were investigated, and the RGO-TiO2 NPs treatment exhibited the higher lutein production and content than that of TiO2 and control group. As the optimal RGO-TiO2 (0.5 wt%) NPs concentration of 50 mg/L and light intensity of 211 µmol/m2/s, the supreme lutein content (15.55 mg/g), production (77.2 mg/L) and productivity (12.87 mg/L/d) were achieved. The performances are higher than most of reported values in previous study, indicated that RGO-TiO2 (0.5 wt%) NPs treatment is a promised strategy to enhance microalgal growth and lutein accumulation.

Recent advances in the heteroatom doping of perovskite oxides for efficient electrocatalytic reactions.

Perovskite-type transition metal oxides have emerged as promising electrocatalysts for various electrocatalytic reactions owing to their low cost, compositional tunability and high stability. However, insufficient electrocatalytic activities of pristine perovskite oxides hinder their pathway towards real-world applications. The incorporation of heteroatoms into perovskite oxide structures has been regarded as an efficient way to improve the electrocatalytic performance. This minireview summarizes the recent advances in the heteroatom doping of perovskite oxides as efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). These heteroatom doping strategies are classified based on various types of doping sites. The mechanisms of improved electrocatalytic activities are discussed in detail within different doping sites and various kinds of dopants. Finally, the remaining challenges and perspectives are outlined for future developments of perovskite oxide-based catalysts.

Novel Silanized Graphene Oxide/TiO2 Multifunctional Nanocomposite Photocatalysts: Simultaneous Removal of Cd2+ and Photodegradation of Phenols under Visible Light Irradiation.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-TiO2 nanocomposites have exhibited effective photocatalytic degradation of various organic pollutants. However, their poor solubility could limit their application in water and other organic solvents. In this study, new graphene-based cross-linked ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-RGO-TiO2 (ERGT) nanocomposites were synthesized for the removal of Cd(II) and photodegradation of phenol from wastewater by surface-functionalized cross-linking heavy metal chelating agent sodium edetate (EDTA) and photocatalyst titanium dioxide. The structural properties of fabricated nanocomposites were characterized using SEM, TEM, XPS, FTIR, XRD, UV-vis, gas sorption, and Raman spectroscopy analyses. Moreover, the adsorption of Cd(II) and the degradation of phenol under different conditions were studied. The experimental results revealed that the optimal catalytic degradation and adsorption performance could be achieved at pH 5.5, and the maximum absorption ratio of cadmium ions and the degradation efficiency of phenol can reach 178.2 mg/g and 90%, respectively. The results suggested that ERGT is a potential material for the removal of threatening pollutants from wastewater.

Mechanism of catalytic ozonation for elimination of methyldopa with Fe3 O4 @SiO2 @CeO2 catalyst.

In this study, a magnetic nanocatalyst (Fe3 O4 @SiO2 @CeO2 ) was prepared and applied in the catalytic ozonation of methyldopa (MD). The effects of operational parameters on catalytic ozonation performance were investigated, including ozone dosage, catalyst dosage, initial MD concentration, and pH. The removal of MD was 45.2% in ozonation, whereas the efficiency was achieved to 83.0% with the addition of Fe3 O4 @SiO2 @CeO2 . The results showed that Fe3 O4 @SiO2 @CeO2 could significantly improve the catalytic ozonation performance. And the enhanced mechanism study showed that it was attributed to promotion of ozone decomposition to generate hydroxyl radical. The reaction model was explored, and the reaction rates were calculated for the MD degradation in catalytic ozonation. A higher degradation efficiency of MD in catalytic ozonation was attributed to the enhanced surface effect of the catalysts, which was confirmed by using TBA, PO4 3- , and p-BQ as scavengers of hydroxyl radical, surface reaction, and superoxide radical. The hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical played an important role in the degradation of MD. The mechanism of catalytic ozonation by Fe3 O4 @SiO2 @CeO2 was discussed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra and experimental data.

Atomic-scale regulation of anionic and cationic migration in alkali metal batteries.

The regulation of anions and cations at the atomic scale is of great significance in membrane-based separation technologies. Ionic transport regulation techniques could also play a crucial role in developing high-performance alkali metal batteries such as alkali metal-sulfur and alkali metal-selenium batteries, which suffer from the non-uniform transport of alkali metal ions (e.g., Li+ or Na+) and detrimental shuttling effect of polysulfide/polyselenide anions. These drawbacks could cause unfavourable growth of alkali metal depositions at the metal electrode and irreversible consumption of cathode active materials, leading to capacity decay and short cycling life. Herein, we propose the use of a polypropylene separator coated with negatively charged Ti0.87O2 nanosheets with Ti atomic vacancies to tackle these issues. In particular, we demonstrate that the electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged Ti0.87O2 nanosheets and polysulfide/polyselenide anions reduce the shuttling effect. Moreover, the Ti0.87O2-coated separator regulates the migration of alkali ions ensuring a homogeneous ion flux and the Ti vacancies, acting as sub-nanometric pores, promote fast alkali-ion diffusion.

Band Engineering and Morphology Control of Oxygen-Incorporated Graphitic Carbon Nitride Porous Nanosheets for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)-based photocatalysts have shown great potential in the splitting of water. However, the intrinsic drawbacks of g-C3N4, such as low surface area, poor diffusion, and charge separation efficiency, remain as the bottleneck to achieve highly efficient hydrogen evolution. Here, a hollow oxygen-incorporated g-C3N4 nanosheet (OCN) with an improved surface area of 148.5 m2 g-1 is fabricated by the multiple thermal treatments under the N2/O2 atmosphere, wherein the C-O bonds are formed through two ways of physical adsorption and doping. The physical characterization and theoretical calculation indicate that the O-adsorption can promote the generation of defects, leading to the formation of hollow morphology, while the O-doping results in reduced band gap of g-C3N4. The optimized OCN shows an excellent photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of 3519.6 µmol g-1 h-1 for ~ 20 h, which is over four times higher than that of g-C3N4 (850.1 µmol g-1 h-1) and outperforms most of the reported g-C3N4 catalysts.

Mussel bioinspired morphosynthesis of substrate anchored core-shell silver self-assemblies with multifunctionality for bioapplications.

Core-shell nanoparticles (CSNs) have numerous intriguing properties for advanced device applications, while it remains challenging to directly grow them from a solid substrate. Here, we report a simple mussel-bioinspired solid chemistry strategy for in-situ synthesis of CSNs that are substrate anchored and morphologically tunable for wide-ranging biotechnological applications. Briefly, silver titanate was hydrothermally grown on template titanium and subjected to reaction with mussel-derived dopamine. The synergistic reactivity between silver titanate and dopamine prompted nanosilver/polydopamine (nAg/PD) CSNs to spontaneously assemble and grow on substrate. These CSNs possessed reaction time-dependent dimensions and morphologies, which were related to differing physiochemical properties and biological behaviors. Specifically, the CSNs-modified substrates demonstrated enhanced protein affinity and durable radical scavenging properties. In addition, they manifested remarkable yet robust release-killing and anti-biofilm activities against pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. More delightedly, the surface-engineered substrates guaranteed the victory of the anti-infective battle of osteoblastic cells during cell/bacteria coculture, promising applications in implantable medical devices. The adaptability of this strategy was demonstrated by modifying complicated 3D-printed macroporous tissue engineering scaffolds. Intriguingly, the CSNs-modified scaffolds exhibited photothermal performances that bode well for phototherapy. To sum, our strategy combines the simplicity of synthesis modality, the controllability of core-shell silver structures, and the versatility of material functions. The resulting assemblies can enrich the library of nAg-based core-shell engineered nanomaterials.

Towards advancing the earthquake forecasting by machine learning of satellite data.

Earthquakes have become one of the leading causes of death from natural hazards in the last fifty years. Continuous efforts have been made to understand the physical characteristics of earthquakes and the interaction between the physical hazards and the environments so that appropriate warnings may be generated before earthquakes strike. However, earthquake forecasting is not trivial at all. Reliable forecastings should include the analysis and the signals indicating the coming of a significant quake. Unfortunately, these signals are rarely evident before earthquakes occur, and therefore it is challenging to detect such precursors in seismic analysis. Among the available technologies for earthquake research, remote sensing has been commonly used due to its unique features such as fast imaging and wide image-acquisition range. Nevertheless, early studies on pre-earthquake and remote-sensing anomalies are mostly oriented towards anomaly identification and analysis of a single physical parameter. Many analyses are based on singular events, which provide a lack of understanding of this complex natural phenomenon because usually, the earthquake signals are hidden in the environmental noise. The universality of such analysis still is not being demonstrated on a worldwide scale. In this paper, we investigate physical and dynamic changes of seismic data and thereby develop a novel machine learning method, namely Inverse Boosting Pruning Trees (IBPT), to issue short-term forecast based on the satellite data of 1371 earthquakes of magnitude six or above due to their impact on the environment. We have analyzed and compared our proposed framework against several states of the art machine learning methods using ten different infrared and hyperspectral measurements collected between 2006 and 2013. Our proposed method outperforms all the six selected baselines and shows a strong capability in improving the likelihood of earthquake forecasting across different earthquake databases.

Two-Dimensional Molecular Sheets of Transition Metal Oxides toward Wearable Energy Storage.

Flexible and wearable electronics have recently sparked intense interest in both academia and industry because they can greatly revolutionize human lives by impacting every aspect of our daily routine. Therefore, developing compatible energy storage devices has become one of the most important research frontiers in this field. Particularly, the development of flexible electrodes is of great significance when considering their essential role in the performance of these devices. Although there is no doubt that transition metal oxide nanomaterials are suitable for providing electrochemical energy storage, individual oxides generally cannot be developed into freestanding electrodes because of their intrinsically low mechanical strength.Two-dimensional sheets with genuine unilamellar thickness are perfect units for the assembly of freestanding and mechanically flexible devices, as they have the advantages of low thickness and good flexibility. Therefore, the development of metal oxide materials into a two-dimensional sheet morphology analogous to graphene is expected to solve the above-mentioned problems. In this Account, we summarize the recent progress on two-dimensional molecular sheets of transition metal oxides for wearable energy storage applications. We start with our understanding of the principle of producing two-dimensional metal oxides from their bulk-layered counterparts. The unique layered structure of the precursors inspired the exploration of their interlayer chemistry, which helps us to understand the processes of swelling and delamination. Rational methods for tuning the chemical composition, size/thickness, and surface chemistry of the obtained nanosheets and how physicochemical properties of the nanosheets can be modulated are then briefly introduced. Subsequently, the orientational alignment of the anisotropic sheets and the origins of their liquid-crystalline characteristics are discussed, which are of vital importance for their subsequent macroscopic assembly. Finally, macroscopic electrodes with geometric diversity ranging from one-dimensional macroscopic fibers to two-dimensional films/papers and three-dimensional monolithic foams are summarized. The intrinsically low mechanical stiffness of metal oxide sheets can be effectively overcome by wisely designing the assembly mode and sheet interfaces to obtain decent mechanical properties integrated with superior electrochemical performance, thereby providing critical advantages for the fabrication of wearable energy storage devices.We expect that this Account will stimulate further efforts toward fundamental research on interface engineering in metal oxide sheet assembly and facilitate wide applications of their designed assemblies in future new-concept energy conversion devices and beyond. In the foreseeable future, we believe that there will be a big explosion in the application of transition metal oxide sheets in flexible electronics.