ZnO·2.7Al2O3 nanocomposite with high optical transparency

Here we report a transparent dual-phase ZnO·2.7Al₂O₃ ceramic. The composite is pore-free and consists of thin nanosheets with a spinel phase and a hexagonal phase, while the two phases match closely in both lattice and refractive index. Such features result in excellent optical transmittance (maximum value >80% in the visible spectrum) at comparable phase volume. This work may provide a new thought for the rational structural design of optical nanocomposites.     

柔性纤维结构超级电容器研究进展

为了提高电源器件与人体高曲率表面的适配性，电源器件突破平板结构的限制，衍生出了柔性纤维结构。柔性纤维超级电容器具有高功率密度、超长循环寿命和柔性舒适等特点有望成为最具前景的柔性可穿戴电源之一。因此，本文主要介绍了碳材料、过渡金属氧化物以及复合材料三种功能材料对柔性纤维超级电容器结构和性能的影响。每种材料凭借自身独特的性质在柔性纤维超级电容器器件中发挥着重要作用，并助力可穿戴电源器件的发展。     

Electrochemical performance of in situ LiFePO4 modified by N-doped graphene for Li-ion batteries

LiFePO₄ modified by N-doped graphene (NG) with a three-dimensional conductive network structure was synthesized via a one-step in situ hydrothermal method. The effects of N amount of NG on the phase structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of LiFePO₄ are investigated in this study. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that doping suitable N amounts in NG do not alter the crystal structure of LiFePO_4, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that NG can slightly reduce the particle size of LiFePO₄. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results show that the LiFePO₄ particles are well covered and connected by NG. The electrochemical performance confirms that LiFePO₄ modified by 20% N-doped graphene (named LFP/NG-4) displays a perfect specific capacity of 166.6 mAh·g^?1 at a rate of 0.2C and can reach 125 mAh·g^?1 at a rate of 5 C. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results illustrate that the charge transfer resistance value of the LFP/NG-4 composite is only 58.6 Ω, which is very low compared with LiFePO₄. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests indicate that the addition of 20% N-doped graphene can effectively reduce electrode polarization and improve reversibility. The LFP/NG-4 composite with a three-dimensional conductive network structure can be regarded as a promising cathode material for Li-ion batteries.     

Synthesis of Diamond@SiO2@Ag composite materials for high SERS effect

Among various carbon materials, diamond stands out due to excellent physical and chemical properties. In this work, we designed Dia@SiO₂@Ag composites combining diamond micropowder and Ag nanoparticles by a simple chemical method and obtained stable substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) owing to its high surface-to-volume ratio, low density, as well as close bond between diamond and Ag. As-prepared Dia@SiO₂@Ag presented high activity to detect crystal violet and rhodamine 6G molecules, which was demonstrated by significantly enhanced SERS spectra and high enhancement factor values (10⁸-10⁹). Moreover, Dia@SiO₂@Ag also showed desired sensitivity, which was investigated by detection limit. Therefore, our study provided more theoretical support and broadened the functional applications of diamond, particularly in Raman detection.     

Modification of the wood-plastic composite for enhancement of formaldehyde clearance and the 3D printing application

As the formaldehyde is one of the main indoor pollutants, the purpose of this study is to effectively remove indoor formaldehyde pollution by using environmentally friendly 3D printing ornaments. The wood 3D printing filaments cellulose/polylactic acid composite (Cellu/P) was selected as the starting material, and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) was used for chemical modification to obtain a series of cellulose composite materials with amino groups. The modified composite materials (APTES@Cellu/P) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and mechanical tests, and a formaldehyde removal experiment was performed. The feasibility of 3D printing was evaluated, and the process of 3D printing-functionalized customized ornaments was proposed, and then a school emblem was used for modeling, printing, and surface modification. Compared with the commercially traditional activated carbon, 3D printing-customized ornaments of APTES@Cellu/P material has a better formaldehyde removal effect, and can even avoid the secondary pollution that is common to the activated carbon.     

Adaptation to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Enhances Resistance of Oral Cancer Cells to Cisplatin by Up-Regulating Polymerase η and Increasing DNA Repair Efficiency

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response is an adaptive program to cope with cellular stress that disturbs the function and homeostasis of ER, which commonly occurs during cancer progression to late stage. Late-stage cancers, mostly requiring chemotherapy, often develop treatment resistance. Chemoresistance has been linked to ER stress response; however, most of the evidence has come from studies that correlate the expression of stress markers with poor prognosis or demonstrate proapoptosis by the knockdown of stress-responsive genes. Since ER stress in cancers usually persists and is essentially not induced by genetic manipulations, we used low doses of ER stress inducers at levels that allowed cell adaptation to occur in order to investigate the effect of stress response on chemoresistance. We found that prolonged tolerable ER stress promotes mesenchymal–epithelial transition, slows cell-cycle progression, and delays the S-phase exit. Consequently, cisplatin-induced apoptosis was significantly decreased in stress-adapted cells, implying their acquisition of cisplatin resistance. Molecularly, we found that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) ubiquitination and the expression of polymerase η, the main polymerase responsible for translesion synthesis across cisplatin-DNA damage, were up-regulated in ER stress-adaptive cells, and their enhanced cisplatin resistance was abrogated by the knockout of polymerase η. We also found that a fraction of p53 in stress-adapted cells was translocated to the nucleus, and that these cells exhibited a significant decline in the level of cisplatin-DNA damage. Consistently, we showed that the nuclear p53 coincided with strong positivity of glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78) on immunostaining of clinical biopsies, and the cisplatin-based chemotherapy was less effective for patients with high levels of ER stress. Taken together, this study uncovers that adaptation to ER stress enhances DNA repair and damage tolerance, with which stressed cells gain resistance to chemotherapeutics.     

磷酸铁锂电池电压一致性改善研究

从环境温度和分容方式两方面进行实验,最终确认了环境温度在35℃结合分容放电后以小倍率电流续放电或微补电的方式,对电压一致性的改善有显著作用.     

Antioxidant Activity of Piceatannol in Canola Oil

Piceatannol has shown to be a strong antioxidant in vivo, however, its ability to suppress lipid oxidation in foods has not been examined. The present study is to examine the antioxidant effect of piceatannol on heated canola oil compared with that of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The oxidation of canola oil is conducted at 60, 90, 120, and 150 °C by monitoring the depletion of oxygen, the decrease in unsaturated fatty acids, and the changes of primary and secondary oxidation products. Results demonstrated that piceatannol can suppress lipid oxidation of canola oil in a dose-dependent manner with its effect being more effective than BHT. Practical Applications: Lipid oxidation is a major factor in the deterioration of food quality. Synthetic antioxidants, such as BHT and butylated hydroxyanisole, are used to inhibit oxidation in foods, but their safety has been always concerned. Piceatannol has exhibited a strong antioxidant activity to attenuate lipid oxidation and it should be further explored for use as a natural antioxidant in foods.