A novel function of benzoic acid to enhance intestinal barrier defense against PEDV infection in Piglets.

The intestinal barrier of newborn piglets is vulnerable and underdeveloped, making them susceptible to enteric virus infections. Benzoic acid (BA), employed as a growth promoter, exhibits the potential to enhance the gut health of piglets by modulating intestinal morphometry and tight junction dynamics. However, the extent to which BA regulates the intestinal mucus barrier through its impact on stem cells remains inadequately elucidated. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of BA on the intestinal barrier and the differentiation of intestinal stem cells, employing in vivo piglet and in vitro intestinal organoid models. Our investigation revealed a significant increase in the number of goblet cells within the small intestine, as well as the strengthening of the mucus barrier in vivo following oral treatment with BA, providing partial protection against PEDV infection in piglets. Additionally, in vitro cultivation of enteroids with BA led to a notable increase in the number of MUC2+ GCs, indicating the promotion of GC differentiation by BA. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis revealed an upregulation of the number of GCs and the expression of cell vesicle transport-related genes during BA stimulation, accompanied by the downregulation of the Wnt and Notch signaling pathways. Mechanistically, MCT1 facilitated the transport of BA, subsequently activating the MAPK pathway to mediate GC differentiation. Overall, this study highlights a novel function for BA as a feed additive in enhancing the intestinal mucus barrier by promoting intestinal GC differentiation, and further prevents viral infection in piglets.

Temperature-Gradient Solution Deposition Amends Unfavorable Band Structure of Sb2(S,Se)3 Film for Highly Efficient Solar Cells.

Band structure of a semiconducting film critically determines the charge separation and transport efficiency. In antimony selenosulfide (Sb2(S,Se)3) solar cells, the hydrothermal method has achieved control of bandgap width of Sb2(S,Se)3 thin film through tuning the atomic ratio of S/Se, resulting in an efficiency breakthrough towards 10%. However, the obtained band structure exhibits an unfavorable gradient distribution in terms of carrier transport, which seriously impedes the device efficiency improvement. To solve this problem, here we develop a strategy by intentionally regulating hydrothermal temperature to control the chemical reaction kinetics between S and Se sources with Sb source. This approach enables the control over vertical distribution of S/Se atomic ratio in Sb2(S,Se)3 films, forming a favorable band structure which is conducive to carrier transport. Meanwhile, the adjusted element distribution not only ensures the uniformity of grain structure, but also increases the Se content of the films and suppress sulfur vacancy defects. Ultimately, the device delivers a high efficiency of 10.55%, which is among the highest reported efficiency of Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells. This study provides an effective strategy towards manipulating the element distribution in mixed-anion compound films prepared by solution-based method to optimize their optical and electrical properties.

Effect of Energy-driven Molecular Precursor Decomposition on the Crystal Orientation of Antimony Selenide Film and Solar Cell Efficiency.

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) consists of 1D (Sb4Se6)n ribbons, along which the carriers exhibit high transport efficiency. By adjusting the deposition parameters of vacuum-deposited methods, such as evaporation temperature, chamber pressure, and vapor concentration, it is possible to grow the (Sb4Se6)n ribbons vertically or highly inclined towards the substrate, resulting in films with [hk1] orientation. However, the specific mechanisms by which these deposition parameters affect the orientation of thin films require a deeper understanding. Herein, a molecular beam epitaxy technique is developed for the preparation of highly [hk1]-oriented Sb2Se3 films, and the effect of evaporation parameters on the film orientation is investigated. It is found that the evaporation temperature can affect the decomposition degree of Sb2Se3, which in turn determines the vapor composition and film orientation. Additionally, the decomposition of Sb2Se3 related to evaporation temperature leads to significant changes in the elemental composition of the film, thereby passivating deep-level defects under Se-rich conditions. Consequently, the Sb2Se3 films with highly [hk1] orientation achieve a power conversion efficiency of 8.42% for the solar cells. This study provides new insights into the control of orientation in antimony-based chalcogenide films and points out new directions for improving the photovoltaic performance of solar cells.

Critical Review on Crystal Orientation Engineering of Antimony Chalcogenide Thin Film for Solar Cell Applications.

The emerging antimony chalcogenide (Sb2 (Sx Se1-x )3 , 0 ≤ x ≤ 1) semiconductors are featured as quasi-1D structures comprising (Sb4 S(e)6 )n ribbons, this structural characteristic generates facet-dependent properties such as directional charge transfer and trap states. In terms of carrier transport, proper control over the crystal nucleation and growth conditions can promote preferentially oriented growth of favorable crystal planes, thus enabling efficient electron transport along (Sb4 S(e)6 )n ribbons. Furthermore, an in-depth understanding of the origin and impact of the crystal orientation of Sb2 (Sx Se1-x )3 films on the performance of corresponding photovoltaic devices is expected to lead to a breakthrough in power conversion efficiency. In fact, there are many studies on the orientation control of Sb2 (Sx Se1-x )3 colloidal nanomaterials. However, the synthesis of Sb2 (Sx Se1-x )3 thin films with controlled facets has recently been a focus in optoelectronic device applications. This work summarizes methodologies that are applied in the fabrication of preferentially oriented Sb2 (Sx Se1-x )3 films, including treatment strategies developed for crystal orientation engineering in each process. The mechanisms in the orientation control are thoroughly analyzed. An outlook on perspectives for the future development of Sb2 (Sx Se1-x )3 solar cells based on recent research and issues on orientation control is finally provided.

IFITM3 restricts porcine deltacoronavirus infection by targeting its Spike protein.

The discovery of antiviral molecules is crucial for controlling porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV). Previous studies have provided evidence that the IFN-inducible transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3), which is coded by an interferon-stimulated gene, prevents the infections of a number of enveloped viruses. Nevertheless, the involvement of IFITM3 in PDCoV infection remains unexplored. In this study, it was observed that the overexpression of IFITM3 successfully restrictes the infection of PDCoV in cell cultures. Conversely, the suppression of IFITM3 facilitates the infection of PDCoV in IPI-2I and IPEC-J2 cells. Further studies revealed that IFITM3 limits the attachment phase of viral infection by interacting with the S1 subunit of the PDCoV Spike (S) protein. In addition, IFITM3 is verified as a member of the CD225 family, the GxxxG conserved motif of this family is important for it to limit PDCoV infection. In summary, this study reveals the mechanism of IFITM3 as an antiviral molecule to inhibit PDCoV infection, and also provides theoretical supports for screening effective anti-PDCoV drugs.

KCl Treatment of CdS Electron-Transporting Layer for Improved Performance of Sb2(S,Se)3 Solar Cells.

Antimony sulfoselenide (Sb2(S,Se)3) is a promising light absorption material because of its high photoabsorption coefficient, appropriate band gap, superior stability, and abundant elemental storage. As an emerging solar material, hydrothermal deposition of Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells has enabled a 10% efficiency threshold, where cadmium sulfide (CdS) is applied as an electron transport layer (ETL). The high-efficiency Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells largely employ CdS as the ETL. In terms of efficiency improvement, there are two questions regarding the CdS substrate: (1) the high roughness of CdS grown on F-doped tin oxide glass which increases the roughness of the absorber layer and (2) the low conductivity of CdS films because of low purity of CdS film grown by chemical bath deposition. In this study, we demonstrate an effective potassium chloride (KCl) post-treatment to modify the CdS ETL for improving the Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cell efficiency. We found that KCl plays dual roles that reduce roughness and enhance conductivity of the CdS films, thus acquiring a maximum efficiency of 9.98%, which is 9.2% higher than the control device. This study provides a new method for the surface engineering of CdS layer to improve the morphological and electrical properties, which is significant for improving the performance of CdS-based thin-film solar cells.

Hollow Mesoporous Carbon-Based Enzyme Nanoreactor for the Confined and Interfacial Biocatalytic Synthesis of Phytosterol Esters.

Rationally designing carriers to obtain efficient and stable immobilized enzymes for the production of food raw materials is always a challenge. In this work, hollow cube carbon (HMC) as a carrier of Candida rugosa lipase (CRL) was prepared to construct a Pickering interfacial biocatalysis system, which was applied to biphasic biocatalysis. For comparison, the nonporous carbon (HC) and porous MoS2 (HMoS2) were also designed. On these grounds, p-NPP and linolenic acid were selected as the representative substrates for hydrolysis and esterification reactions. Under the optimal conditions, the protein loading amount, specific activity, and expressed activity of CRL immobilized on HMC (HMC@CRL) were 167.2 mg g-1, 5.41 U mg-1, and 32.34 U/mg protein, respectively. In the "oil-water" biphase, the relative hydrolytic activity of HMC@CRL was higher than that of HC@CRL, HMoS2@CRL, and CRL by 50, 68, and 80%, respectively, as well as itself in one phase. Compared to other reports (1.13%), HMC@CRL demonstrated a satisfactory hydrolysis rate (3.02%) and was the fastest among all other biocatalysts in the biphase. Moreover, compared with the free CRL in one-phase system, the Pickering interfacial biphasic biocatalyst, HMC@CRL, exhibited a higher esterification rate (85%, 2.7-fold enhancement). Therefore, the HMC@CRL nanoreactors had more optimal performance in the field of biomanufacturing and food industry.

Thermally Driven Point Defect Transformation in Antimony Selenosulfide Photovoltaic Materials.

Thermal treatment of inorganic thin films is a general and necessary step to facilitate crystallization and, in particular, to regulate the formation of point defects. Understanding the dependence of the defect formation mechanism on the annealing process is a critical challenge in terms of designing material synthesis approaches for obtaining desired optoelectronic properties. Herein, a mechanistic understanding of the evolution of defects in emerging Sb2 (S,Se)3 solar cell films is presented. A top-efficiency Sb2 (S,Se)3 solar-cell film is adopted in this study to consolidate this investigation. This study reveals that, under hydrothermal conditions, the as-deposited Sb2 (S,Se)3 film generates defects with a high formation energy, demonstrating kinetically favorable defect formation characteristics. Annealing at elevated temperatures leads to a two-step defect transformation process: 1) formation of sulfur and selenium vacancy defects, followed by 2) migration of antimony ions to fill the vacancy defects. This process finally results in the generation of cation-anion antisite defects, which exhibit low formation energy, suggesting a thermodynamically favorable defect formation feature. This study establishes a new strategy for the fundamental investigation of the evolution of deep-level defects in metal chalcogenide films and provides guidance for designing material synthesis strategies in terms of defect control.

Efficient In Situ Sulfuration Process in Hydrothermally Deposited Sb2S3 Absorber Layers.

Sulfuration plays a decisive role in enhancing crystal growth and passivate defects in the fabrication of high-efficiency metal-sulfide solar cells. However, the traditional sulfuration process always suffers from high-price professional equipment, tedious processes, low activity of S, or high toxicity of H2S. Here, we develop a desired in situ sulfuration by introducing tartaric acid additive into the hydrothermal deposition process of Sb2S3. Tartaric acid, sodium thiosulfate, and potassium antimony tartaric can form Sb2Sx-contained (x > 3) as-prepared films. Encouragingly, the annealing becomes an inspiring in situ sulfuration process, which can obtain a more compact absorber layer. In addition, the crystallinity and defect property of the Sb2S3 film are also improved significantly. Finally, we achieve a high-performance Sb2S3 solar cell with a power conversion efficiency of 6.31%, which shows an encouraging enhancement of ∼15% compared with the traditional hydrothermal process. This study provides an innovative way to prepare high-efficiency Sb2S3 solar cells and provides a desirable guide to realize the in situ sulfuration process.

A Novel Multi-Sulfur Source Collaborative Chemical Bath Deposition Technology Enables 8%-Efficiency Sb2 S3 Planar Solar Cells.

Sb2 S3 as a light-harvesting material has attracted great attention for applications in both single-junction and tandem solar cells. Such solar cell has been faced with current challenge of low power conversion efficiency (PCE), which has stagnated for 8 years. It has been recognized that the synthesis of high-quality absorber film plays a critical role in efficiency improvement. Here, using fresh precursor materials for antimony (antimony potassium tartrate) and combined sulfur (sodium thiosulfate and thioacetamide), a unique chemical bath deposition procedure is created. Due to the complexation of sodium thiosulfate and the advantageous hydrolysis cooperation between these two sulfur sources, the heterogeneous nucleation and the S2- releasing processes are boosted. As a result, there are noticeable improvements in the deposition rate, film morphology, crystallinity, and preferred orientations. Additionally, the improved film quality efficiently lowers charge trapping capacity, suppresses carrier recombination, and prolongs carrier lifetimes, leading to significantly improved photoelectric properties. Ultimately, the PCE exceeds 8% for the first time since 2014, representing the highest efficiency in all kinds of Sb2 S3 solar cells to date. This study is expected to shed new light on the fabrication of high-quality Sb2 S3 film and further efficiency improvement in Sb2 S3 solar cells.

Post-Treatment of TiO2 Film Enables High-Quality Sb2Se3 Film Deposition for Solar Cell Applications.

The TiO2 thin film is considered as a promising wide band gap electron-transporting material. However, due to the strong Ti-O bond, it displays an inert surface characteristic causing difficulty in the adsorption and deposition of metal chalcogenide films such as Sb2Se3. In this study, a simple CdCl2 post-treatment is conducted to functionalize the TiO2 thin film, enabling the induction of nucleation sites and growth of high-quality Sb2Se3. The interfacial treatment optimizes the conduction band offset of TiO2/Sb2Se3 and leads to an essentially improved TiO2/Sb2Se3 heterojunction. With this convenient interface functionalization, the power conversion efficiency of the Sb2Se3 solar cell is remarkably improved from 2.02 to 6.06%. This study opens up a new avenue for the application of TiO2 as a wide band gap electron-transporting material in antimony chalcogenide solar cells.

Zn0.52 V2 O5-a ⋠1.8 H2 O Cathode Stabilized by In Situ Phase Transformation for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries with Ultra-Long Cyclability.

Developing cathode materials integrating good rate performance and sufficient cycle life is the key to commercialization of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. The hyperstable Zn0.52 V2 O5-a ⋅1.8 H2 O (ZVOH) cathode with excellent rate performance has been successfully developed via an in situ self-transformation from zinc-rich Zn3 V3 O8 (ZVO) in this study. Different from the common synthetic method of additional Zn2+ pre-insertion, ZVOH is obtained from the insertion of structural H2 O and the removal of excess Zn2+ in ZVO, ensuring the lattice structure of ZVOH remains relatively intact during the phase transition and rendering good structural stabilities. The ZVOH delivers a reversible capacity of 286.2 mAh g-1 at 0.2 A g-1 and of 161.5 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1 over 18 000 cycles with a retention of 95.4 %, demonstrating excellent rate performance and cyclic stability. We also provide new insights on the structural self-optimization of Znx (CF3 SO3 )y (OH)2x-y ⋅n H2 O byproducts and the effect on the mobility of Zn2+ by theoretical calculations and experimental evidence.

Large-Area and Efficient Sky-Blue Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes via Blade-Coating.

Large-area fabrication of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) through mass-production techniques has attracted growing attention due to their potential applications in lighting. Several breakthroughs are made for red/infrared and green emissions. Nevertheless, large-area blue/sky-blue PeLEDs, a requisite color for lighting, have not yet been reported. Here, efficient and large-area sky-blue PeLEDs are fabricated through blade-coating supersaturated precursors. The volume ratio of dimethyl sulfoxide to dimethylformamide is tuned to obtain a supersaturated CsPb(Br0.84 Cl0.16 )3 solution. Blade-coating this supersaturated precursor results in nucleation in the solution phase with much higher nucleation sites, and a faster crystallization rate. The uniform films formed by this approach exhibit smaller grain size, lower trap density, and higher radiative recombination rate. The peak external quantum efficiency of the blade-coated PeLEDs reaches 10.3% with sky-blue emission (489 nm). Benefitting from the robustness of this blade-coating technique, large-area sky-blue PeLEDs with a device area of 28 cm2 are also achieved with uniform emission. This work represents a significant step forward toward flat-panel lighting and full-color display for the PeLEDs.

Distinctive Deep-Level Defects in Non-Stoichiometric Sb2 Se3 Photovoltaic Materials.

Characterizing defect levels and identifying the compositional elements in semiconducting materials are important research subject for understanding the mechanism of photogenerated carrier recombination and reducing energy loss during solar energy conversion. Here it shows that deep-level defect in antimony triselenide (Sb2 Se3 ) is sensitively dependent on the stoichiometry. For the first time it experimentally observes the formation of amphoteric SbSe defect in Sb-rich Sb2 Se3 . This amphoteric defect possesses equivalent capability of trapping electron and hole, which plays critical role in charge recombination and device performance. In comparative investigation, it also uncovers the reason why Se-rich Sb2 Se3 is able to deliver high device performance from the defect formation perspective. This study demonstrates the crucial defect types in Sb2 Se3 and provides a guidance toward the fabrication of efficient Sb2 Se3 photovoltaic device and relevant optoelectronic devices.

Porcine deltacoronavirus infection is inhibited by Griffithsin in cell culture.

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging porcine enteric coronavirus that causes severe diarrhea in piglets and results in serious economic losses. There are no effective vaccines and antiviral drugs to prevent and treat PDCoV infection currently. Griffithsin (GRFT) is a lectin with potent antiviral activity against enveloped viruses because of its ability to specifically bind N-linked high-mannose oligosaccharides. GRFT has been reported to possess antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Here, we first confirmed the antiviral activity of GRFT against PDCoV in vitro. The infected cells (%) and virus titers were significantly decreased at concentration 1 µg/mL or above of GRFT. Time-course experiments revealed that GRFT inhibits PDCoV infection at the adsorption and penetration step. GRFT binding to PDCoV spike (S) protein on the surface wraps the virus and blocks its entry. The outstanding antiviral potency indicates that GRFT has the potential value as a candidate drug for the prevention and treatment of PDCoV infection.

Revealing composition and structure dependent deep-level defect in antimony trisulfide photovoltaics.

Antimony trisulfide (Sb2S3) is a kind of emerging light-harvesting material with excellent stability and abundant elemental storage. Due to the quasi-one-dimensional symmetry, theoretical investigations have pointed out that there exist complicated defect properties. However, there is no experimental verification on the defect property. Here, we conduct optical deep-level transient spectroscopy to investigate defect properties in Sb2S3 and show that there are maximum three kinds of deep-level defects observed, depending on the composition of Sb2S3. We also find that the Sb-interstitial (Sbi) defect does not show critical influence on the carrier lifetime, indicating the high tolerance of the one-dimensional crystal structure where the space of (Sb4S6)n ribbons is able to accommodate impurities to certain extent. This study provides basic understanding on the defect properties of quasi-one-dimensional materials and a guidance for the efficiency improvement of Sb2S3 solar cells.

Direct Hydrothermal Deposition of Antimony Triselenide Films for Efficient Planar Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) has attracted increasing attention in photovoltaic applications due to its unique quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure, suitable optical band gap with a high extinction coefficient, and excellent stability. As a promising light-harvesting material, the available synthetic methods for the fabrication of a high-quality film have been quite limited and seriously impeded both the fundamental study and the efficiency improvement. Here, we developed a facile and low-cost hydrothermal method for in situ deposition of Sb2Se3 films for solar cell applications. In this process, we apply KSbC4H4O7 and Na2SeSO3 as the antimony and selenium sources, respectively, in which thiourea (TU) serves as an additive to suppress the formation of Sb2O3 impurities. As a result, improved phase purity and enhanced crystallinity of the Sb2Se3 film are thus obtained, along with decreased trap states. Finally, the planar heterojunction Sb2Se3 solar cell delivered a power conversion efficiency of 7.9%, which is thus far the highest reported efficiency among solution-processed Sb2Se3 solar cells. This simple procedure and efficiency achievement demonstrate the great potential of the hydrothermal deposition process for the fabrication of high-efficiency Sb2Se3 solar cells.

Sequential Coevaporation and Deposition of Antimony Selenosulfide Thin Film for Efficient Solar Cells.

Antimony selenosulfide (Sb2 (S,Se)3 ) is an emerging low-cost, nontoxic solar material with suitable bandgap and high absorption coefficient. Developing effective methods for fabricating high-quality films would benefit the device efficiency improvement and deepen the fundamental understanding on the optoelectronic properties. Herein, equipment is developed that allows online introduction of precursor vapor during the reaction process, enabling sequential coevaporation of Sb2 Se3 and S powders for the deposition of Sb2 (S,Se)3 thin films. With this unique ability, it is revealed that the deposition sequence manipulates both the interfacial properties and optoelectronic properties of the absorber film. A power conversion efficiency of 8.0% is achieved, which is the largest value in vapor-deposition-derived Sb2 (S,Se)3 solar cells. The research demonstrates that multi-source sequential coevaporation is an efficient technique to fabricate high-efficiency Sb2 (S,Se)3 solar cells.

Aqueous solution processed MoS3 as an eco-friendly hole-transport layer for all-inorganic Sb2Se3 solar cells.

Here we report a solution processed environmentally friendly MoS3 hole-transport material for Sb2Se3 solar cells, where MoS3 exhibits a matched energy level relative to Sb2Se3. In the synthesis, H2S produced by the thermal decomposition of (NH4)2MoS4 is found to efficiently eliminate the antimony oxide impurity formed on the Sb2Se3 surface. Finally, the all-inorganic Sb2Se3 solar cell delivers an efficiency of 6.86% with excellent stability.

Probing the trap states in N-i-P Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells by deep-level transient spectroscopy.

In this study, we provide fundamental understanding on defect properties of the Sb2(S,Se)3 absorber film and the impact on transmission of photo-excited carriers in N-i-P architecture solar cells by both deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and optical deep level transient spectroscopy (ODLTS) characterizations. Through conductance-voltage and temperature-dependent current-voltage characterization under a dark condition, we find that the Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cell demonstrates good rectification and high temperature tolerance. The DLTS results indicates that there are two types of deep level hole traps H1 and H2 with active energy of 0.52 eV and 0.76 eV in the Sb2(S,Se)3 film, and this defect property is further verified by ODLTS. The two traps hinder the transmission of minority carrier (hole) and pinning the Fermi level, which plays a negative role in the improvement of open-circuit voltage for Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells. This research suggests a critical direction toward the efficiency improvement of Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells.