Tough, Freeze-Resistant, Pressure-Response Gel Polymer Electrolytes with Redox Pairs for Flexible Supercapacitors.

Gel polymer electrolytes are an indispensable part of flexible supercapacitors, since their various characteristics determine the device performance. Here, a composite gel electrolyte (FLPS) mainly consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium alginate (SA), K3Fe(CN)6/K4Fe(CN)6, and LiCl is rationally designed, in which PVA and SA form a robust three-dimensional network, the redox pair of K3Fe(CN)6/K4Fe(CN)6 serves as a cross-linking agent with SA and even donates the oxidation-reduction reaction from the Fe3+/Fe2+ couple with additional capacitance for the device, and LiCl functions as an ion carrier and a water-retaining salt to improve the long-term stability of FLPS. Thus, the FLPS-based supercapacitor exhibits superior electrochemical characteristics, displaying impressive pseudocapacitance across all current densities and excellent cycling stability (∼99.07% of capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles). Moreover, the FLPS-based supercapacitor demonstrates great low-temperature working ability and pressure responsiveness, suggesting its freeze-resistance, flexibility, and pressure sensing potential. This work provides a promising strategy for preparing tough gel polymer electrolytes with both ion transfer and charge storage ability.

High-Entropy Mn/Fe-Based Layered Cathode with Suppressed P2-P'2 Transition and Low-Strain for Fast and Stable Sodium Ion Storage.

Mn/Fe-based layered oxides are deemed to be a highly suitable cathode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high capacity and abundant Mn/Fe resources, but they still suffer from a complicated phase transition and large volume variation. To conquer these problems, high-entropy Mn/Fe-based layered oxide P2-Na0.67Mn0.5Fe0.334Cu0.045Mg0.014Ti0.014Al0.014Zr0.014Sn0.014O2 (Mn-Fe-HEO) is rationally designed and fabricated. When used as a cathode for SIB, high-entropy Mn-Fe-HEO exhibits much higher reversible capacity and better rate capability than low-entropy Na0.67Mn0.5Fe0.334Cu0.164O2 (Mn-Fe-LEO) within a wide voltage range of 1.5-4.3 V. Ex situ X-ray diffraction combined with diffusion kinetics tests and microstructural characterizations demonstrate that high-entropy enhanced structural stability effectively prevents the Jahn-Teller distortion of Mn3+, stabilizes the Na+ diffusion channels, and enables the smooth transfer of more working Na+. These lead to a stable and fast redox electrochemistry in high-entropy Mn-Fe-HEO. This work deepens the understanding of the relationship between high-entropy structure and performance and provides important guidance for the rational design of future high-entropy layered cathodes.

Entropy and crystal-facet modulation of P2-type layered cathodes for long-lasting sodium-based batteries.

P2-type sodium manganese-rich layered oxides are promising cathode candidates for sodium-based batteries because of their appealing cost-effective and capacity features. However, the structural distortion and cationic rearrangement induced by irreversible phase transition and anionic redox reaction at high cell voltage (i.e., >4.0 V) cause sluggish Na-ion kinetics and severe capacity decay. To circumvent these issues, here, we report a strategy to develop P2-type layered cathodes via configurational entropy and ion-diffusion structural tuning. In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction combined with electrochemical kinetic tests and microstructural characterizations reveal that the entropy-tuned Na0.62Mn0.67Ni0.23Cu0.05Mg0.07Ti0.01O2 (CuMgTi-571) cathode possesses more {010} active facet, improved structural and thermal stability and faster anionic redox kinetics compared to Na0.62Mn0.67Ni0.37O2. When tested in combination with a Na metal anode and a non-aqueous NaClO4-based electrolyte solution in coin cell configuration, the CuMgTi-571-based positive electrode enables an 87% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 120 mA g-1 and about 75% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 1.2 A g-1.

Association between X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 Arg194Trp polymorphism and colorectal cancer risk.

The polymorphism of X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) Arg194Trp, a substitution of Arg to Gln at position 194, has been implicated in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a number of case-control studies with contradictory and inconclusive findings. The current meta-analysis of all currently available publications was conducted to assess the gene susceptibility to CRC and improve our understanding of the CRC pathogenesis. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) was calculated by use of fixed-effects model or random-effects model when appropriate. A total of 15 eligible case-control studies with 4,501 cases and 8,038 controls were retrieved after a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Embase, Web of science, and Chinese Biomedicine (CBM) databases up to December 2012. The overall meta-analysis identified a positive but not statistically significant association between the XRCC1 Arg194Trp polymorphism and CRC risk under all genetic contrast models (ORTrp vs. Arg = 1.07, 95 % CI 0.90-1.26, P OR = 0.441; ORTrpTrp vs. ArgArg = 1.28, 95 % CI 0.91-1.81, P OR = 0.163; ORArgTrp vs. ArgArg = 1.00, 95 % CI 0.85-1.19, P OR = 0.956; ORArgTrp + TrpTrp vs. ArgArg = 1.06, 95 % CI 0.90-1.24, P OR = 0.502; ORTrpTrp vs. ArgArg + ArgTrp = 1.11, 95 % CI 0.91-1.34, P OR = 0.306). The genotype TrpTrp carriers among Caucasians were more susceptible to CRC, although lack statistical evidence (ORTrpTrp vs. ArgArg = 2.69, 95 % CI 0.97-7.49, P OR = 0.058; ORTrpTrp vs. ArgArg + ArgTrp = 2.77, 95 % CI 0.99-7.72, P OR = 0.051). Interestingly, the XRCC1 Arg194Trp variant was significantly associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. The present meta-analysis suggests that the XRCC1 Arg194Trp polymorphism may modify the risk for CRC, particularly colon cancer. However, the precise genetic association needs to be further estimated in future studies.

Isoliquiritigenin showed strong inhibitory effects towards multiple UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) isoform-catalyzed 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) glucuronidation.

Isoliquiritigenin, a herbal ingredient with chalcone structure, has been speculated to be able to inhibit one of the most drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibition of isoliquiritigenin towards important UGT isoforms in the liver and intestine, including UGT1A1, 1A3, 1A6, 1A7, 1A8, 1A9 and 1A10. The recombinant UGT-catalyzed 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) glucuronidation was used as probe reactions. The results showed that 100µM of isoliquiritigenin inhibited the activity of UGT1A1, UGT1A3, UGT1A6, UGT1A7, UGT1A8, UGT1A9, and UGT1A10 by 95.2%, 76.1%, 78.9%, 87.2%, 67.2%, 94.8%, and 91.7%, respectively. The data fitting using Dixon plot and Lineweaver-Burk plot showed that the inhibition of UGT1A1, UGT1A9 and UGT1A10 by isoliquiritigenin was all best fit to the competitive inhibition, and the second plot using the slopes from the Lineweaver-Burk plot versus isoliquiritigenin concentrations was used to calculate the inhibition kinetic parameter (K(i)) to be 0.7µM, 0.3µM, and 18.3µM for UGT1A1, UGT1A9, and UGT1A10, respectively. All these results indicated the risk of clinical application of isoliquiritigenin on the drug-drug interaction and other possible diseases induced by the inhibition of isoliquiritigenin towards these UGT isoforms.

[Protective effect of Salvia on ischemia-reperfusion hepatic injury in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expressions of nuclear factor-Kappa B (NF-κB) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury so as to study the protective effect of Salvia in rats. METHODS: The hepatic ischemia-reperfusion rat model was established by the method of Nauta. The rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham operation (S), ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and Salvia preconditioning (P). At 2, 8, 24 h after ischemia-reperfusion, immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the hepatic expressions of NF-κB and ICAM-1. Measurement of hepatic tissue myeloperoxidase (MPO) concentration was used to reflect the neutrophilic infiltration of hepatic tissue. And the injury severity of hepatic tissue was evaluated by the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the examinations of light microscopy and electron microscopy. RESULTS: The NF-κB level at 2 h (0.418 ± 0.039) post-reperfusion was significantly higher in the I/R group. And it decreased gradually at 8 h (0.308 ± 0.028) and 24 h (0.240 ± 0.032). And the ICAM-1 level increased at 2 h (0.367 ± 0.034) post-reperfusion, peaked at 8 h(0.451 ± 0.031)and began to decrease at 24 h (0.293 ± 0.025). The changes of MPO, ALT and AST were similar to ICAM-1. The above-mentioned indicators at different time-points were lower in the P group than those of the I/R group (P < 0.05), but higher than the S group (P < 0.05). The changes in ALT, MPO, NF-κB and ICAM-1 had a positive correlation (P < 0.01). Light and electron microscopy observations showed significant differences in different groups. CONCLUSION: The rat hepatic ischemia-reperfusion increases the expressions of NF-κB and ICAM-1 and they are involved in hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. Salvia significantly reduces the expressions of NF-κB and ICAM-1 in ischemia-reperfusion hepatic tissue and it may effectively protect the injury of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion.