Photo-Assisted Rechargeable Metal Batteries: Principles, Progress, and Perspectives.

The utilization of diverse energy storage devices is imperative in the contemporary society. Taking advantage of solar power, a significant environmentally friendly and sustainable energy resource, holds great appeal for future storage of energy because it can solve the dilemma of fossil energy depletion and the resulting environmental problems once and for all. Recently, photo-assisted energy storage devices, especially photo-assisted rechargeable metal batteries, are rapidly developed owing to the ability to efficiently convert and store solar energy and the simple configuration, as well as the fact that conventional Li/Zn-ion batteries are widely commercialized. Considering many puzzles arising from the rapid development of photo-assisted rechargeable metal batteries, this review commences by introducing the fundamental concepts of batteries and photo-electrochemistry, followed by an exploration of the current advancements in photo-assisted rechargeable metal batteries. Specifically, it delves into the elucidation of device components, operating principles, types, and practical applications. Furthermore, this paper categorizes, specifies, and summarizes several detailed examples of photo-assisted energy storage devices. Lastly, it addresses the challenges and bottlenecks faced by these energy storage systems while providing future perspectives to facilitate their transition from laboratory research to industrial implementation.

Activity of ventral hippocampal parvalbumin interneurons during anxiety.

Anxiety plays a key role in guiding behavior in response to potential threats. Anxiety is mediated by the activation of pyramidal neurons in the ventral hippocampus (vH), whose activity is controlled by GABAergic inhibitory interneurons. However, how different vH interneurons might contribute to anxiety-related processes is unclear. Here, we investigate the role of vH parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons while mice transition from safe to more anxiogenic compartments of the elevated plus maze (EPM). We find that vH PV interneurons increase their activity in anxiogenic EPM compartments concomitant with dynamic changes in inhibitory interactions between PV interneurons and pyramidal neurons. By optogenetically inhibiting PV interneurons, we induce an increase in the activity of vH pyramidal neurons and persistent anxiety. Collectively, our results suggest that vH inhibitory microcircuits may act as a trigger for enduring anxiety states.

Plaque vicinity as a hotspot of microglial turnover in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Microglia, the major immune cells of the brain, are functionally heterogeneous but in vivo functional properties of these cells are rarely studied at single-cell resolution. By using microRNA-9 regulated viral vectors for multicolor labeling and longitudinal in vivo monitoring of individual microglia, we followed their fate in the cortex of healthy adult mice and at the onset of amyloidosis in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. In wild-type mice, microglia were rather mobile (16% of the cells migrated at least once in 10-20 days) but had a low turnover as documented by low division and death rates. Half of the migratory events were tightly associated with blood vessels. Surprisingly, basic migration properties of microglia (i.e., fraction of migrating cells, saltatory migration pattern, speed of migration, translocation distance, and strong association with blood vessels) were preserved in amyloid-depositing brains, despite amyloid plaques becoming the major destination of migration. Besides, amyloid deposition significantly increased microglial division and death rates. Moreover, the plaque vicinity became a hotspot of microglial turnover, harboring 33% of all migration, 70% of death and 54% of division events.

Microglia colonize the developing brain by clonal expansion of highly proliferative progenitors, following allometric scaling.

Microglia arise from the yolk sac and enter the brain during early embryogenesis. Upon entry, microglia undergo in situ proliferation and eventually colonize the entire brain by the third postnatal week in mice. However, the intricacies of their developmental expansion remain unclear. Here, we characterize the proliferative dynamics of microglia during embryonic and postnatal development using complementary fate-mapping techniques. We demonstrate that the developmental colonization of the brain is facilitated by clonal expansion of highly proliferative microglial progenitors that occupy spatial niches throughout the brain. Moreover, the spatial distribution of microglia switches from a clustered to a random pattern between embryonic and late postnatal development. Interestingly, the developmental increase in microglial numbers follows the proportional growth of the brain in an allometric manner until a mosaic distribution has been established. Overall, our findings offer insight into how the competition for space may drive microglial colonization by clonal expansion during development.

Endogenous but not sensory-driven activity controls migration, morphogenesis and survival of adult-born juxtaglomerular neurons in the mouse olfactory bulb.

The development and survival of adult-born neurons are believed to be driven by sensory signaling. Here, in vivo analyses of motility, morphology and Ca2+ signaling, as well as transcriptome analyses of adult-born juxtaglomerular cells with reduced endogenous excitability (via cell-specific overexpression of either Kv1.2 or Kir2.1 K+ channels), revealed a pronounced impairment of migration, morphogenesis, survival, and functional integration of these cells into the mouse olfactory bulb, accompanied by a reduction in cytosolic Ca2+ fluctuations, phosphorylation of CREB and pCREB-mediated gene expression. Moreover, K+ channel overexpression strongly downregulated genes involved in neuronal migration, differentiation, and morphogenesis and upregulated apoptosis-related genes, thus locking adult-born cells in an immature and vulnerable state. Surprisingly, cells deprived of sensory-driven activity developed normally. Together, the data reveal signaling pathways connecting the endogenous intermittent neuronal activity/Ca2+ fluctuations as well as enhanced Kv1.2/Kir2.1 K+ channel function to migration, maturation, and survival of adult-born neurons.

Spontaneous calcium transients in the immature adult-born neurons of the olfactory bulb.

Spontaneous neuronal activity and concomitant intracellular Ca2+ signaling are abundant during early perinatal development and are well known for their key role in neuronal proliferation, migration, differentiation and wiring. However, much less is known about the in vivo patterns of spontaneous Ca2+ signaling in immature adult-born cells. Here, by using two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we analyzed spontaneous in vivo Ca2+ signaling in adult-born juxtaglomerular cells of the mouse olfactory bulb over the time period of 5 weeks, from the day of their arrival in the glomerular layer till their stable integration into the preexisting neural network. We show that spontaneous Ca2+ transients are ubiquitously present in adult-born cells right after their arrival, require activation of voltage-gated Na+ channels and are little sensitive to isoflurane anesthesia. Interestingly, several parameters of this spontaneous activity, such as the area under the curve, the time spent in the active state as well as the fraction of continuously active cells show a bell-shaped dependence on cell's age, all peaking in 3-4 weeks old cells. This data firmly document the in vivo presence of spontaneous Ca2+ signaling during the layer-specific maturation of adult-born neurons in the olfactory bulb and motivate further analyses of the functional role(s) of this activity.

Comparative digestibility of nutrients and amino acids in high-fiber diets fed to crossbred barrows of Duroc boars crossed with Berkshire×Jiaxing and Landrace×Yorkshire.

OBJECTIVE: This experiment was conducted to determine the differences in the apparent ileal (AID) and total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and indispensable amino acids (IAA) in high-fiber diets with wheat middlings, rice bran or alfalfa meal fed to Duroc×(Landrace× Yorkshire) (DLY) and Duroc× (Berkshire×Jiaxing) (DBJ) growing barrows. METHODS: Eighteen DLY and 18 DBJ growing barrows were randomly allotted to a 2×3 factorial arrangement involving 2 crossbreeds and 3 high-fiber diets. The experiment lasted 15 d with 10 d for diets adaptation, 3 d for feces collection and 2 d for digesta collection. Three diets were based on corn and soybean meal with 25% wheat middlings, rice bran and alfalfa meal respectively. RESULTS: DBJ had a greater (p<0.05) AID of isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine and valine and a lower (p<0.05) AID of methionine than DLY. The hindgut disappearance of acid detergent fiber for DBJ was greater (p<0.05) than DLY. The ATTD of gross energy, dry matter, organic matter, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber in wheat middlings diet were greater (p<0.05) than in rice bran and alfalfa meal diets. The hindgut disappearance of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber in wheat middlings diet or rice bran diet were the highest or lowest (p<0.05), and those of alfalfa meal diet were the middle. Barrows fed rice bran diet had a greater (p<0.05) hindgut disappearance of gross energy, dry matter and organic matter and lower hindgut disappearance of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber than barrows fed alfalfa meal diet. CONCLUSION: DBJ growing barrows showed a significant higher digestibility of fiber in the hindgut and most IAA in the small intestine compared with DLY barrows. The digestibilities of chemical constituents and IAA were affected by the diets formulated with different fiber sources.

A new approach for ratiometric in vivo calcium imaging of microglia.

Microglia, resident immune cells of the brain, react to the presence of pathogens/danger signals with a large repertoire of functional responses including morphological changes, proliferation, chemotaxis, production/release of cytokines, and phagocytosis. In vitro studies suggest that many of these effector functions are Ca2+-dependent, but our knowledge about in vivo Ca2+ signalling in microglia is rudimentary. This is mostly due to technical reasons, as microglia largely resisted all attempts of in vivo labelling with Ca2+ indicators. Here, we introduce a novel approach, utilizing a microglia-specific microRNA-9-regulated viral vector, enabling the expression of a genetically-encoded ratiometric Ca2+ sensor Twitch-2B in microglia. The Twitch-2B-assisted in vivo imaging enables recording of spontaneous and evoked microglial Ca2+ signals and allows for the first time to monitor the steady state intracellular Ca2+ levels in microglia. Intact in vivo microglia show very homogenous and low steady state intracellular Ca2+ levels. However, the levels increase significantly after acute slice preparation and cell culturing along with an increase in the expression of activation markers CD68 and IL-1ß. These data identify the steady state intracellular Ca2+ level as a versatile microglial activation marker, which is highly sensitive to the cell's environment.

Coupled Proliferation and Apoptosis Maintain the Rapid Turnover of Microglia in the Adult Brain.

Microglia play key roles in brain development, homeostasis, and function, and it is widely assumed that the adult population is long lived and maintained by self-renewal. However, the precise temporal and spatial dynamics of the microglial population are unknown. We show in mice and humans that the turnover of microglia is remarkably fast, allowing the whole population to be renewed several times during a lifetime. The number of microglial cells remains steady from late postnatal stages until aging and is maintained by the spatial and temporal coupling of proliferation and apoptosis, as shown by pulse-chase studies, chronic in vivo imaging of microglia, and the use of mouse models of dysregulated apoptosis. Our results reveal that the microglial population is constantly and rapidly remodeled, expanding our understanding of its role in the maintenance of brain homeostasis.

Long-term in vivo single-cell tracking reveals the switch of migration patterns in adult-born juxtaglomerular cells of the mouse olfactory bulb.

The behavior of adult-born cells can be easily monitored in cell culture or in lower model organisms, but longitudinal observation of individual mammalian adult-born cells in their native microenvironment still proves to be a challenge. Here we have established an approach named optical cell positioning system for long-term in vivo single-cell tracking, which integrates red-green-blue cell labeling with repeated angiography. By combining this approach with in vivo two-photon imaging technique, we characterized the in vivo migration patterns of adult-born neurons in the olfactory bulb. In contrast to the traditional view of mere radial migration of adult-born cells within the bulb, we found that juxtaglomerular cells switch from radial migration to long distance lateral migration upon arrival in their destination layer. This unique long-distance lateral migration has characteristic temporal (stop-and-go) and spatial (migratory, unidirectional or multidirectional) patterns, with a clear cell age-dependent decrease in the migration speed. The active migration of adult-born cells coincides with the time period of initial fate determination and is likely to impact on the integration sites of adult-born cells, their odor responsiveness, as well as their survival rate.

NRAGE is a negative regulator of nerve growth factor-stimulated neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells mediated through TrkA-ERK signaling.

NRAGE, also denominated as MAGE-D1 or Dlxin-1, is firstly identified as a molecule interacting with NGF low affinity receptor p75NTR. It facilitates cell cycle arrest and NGF-dependent neuronal apoptosis. Here we report that NRAGE is downregulated while p75NTR is upregulated during the process of NGF-induced neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells. Knockdown of NRAGE by RNA interference accelerates NGF-mediated neurite outgrowth. In addition, in the NRAGE-suppressed cells, NGF-induced ERK activation is increased and this activation is MEK-dependent. Conversely, NRAGE overexpression significantly represses NGF-induced ERK activation. Further studies revealed that NRAGE downregulates TrkA expression through a post-transcriptional manner and thereby blocks NGF-induced TrkA phosphrylation at tyrosine-490. Altogether, these data indicate for the first time that NRAGE is an endogenous inhibitor for NGF-induced neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells by regulating TrkA-ERK signaling.