Continuous decoupled redox electrochemical CO capture.

Electrochemical CO capture driven by renewable electricity holds significant potential for efficient decarbonization. However, the widespread adoption of this approach is currently limited by issues such as instability, discontinuity, high energy demand, and challenges in scaling up. In this study, we propose a scalable strategy that addresses these limitations by transforming the conventional single-step electrochemical redox reaction into a stepwise electrochemical-chemical redox process.

Bioinspired origami-based soft prosthetic knees.

Prosthetic knees represent a prevalent solution for above-knee amputation rehabilitation. However, satisfying the ambulation requirements of users while achieving their comfort needs in terms of lightweight, bionic, shock-absorbing, and user-centric, remains out of reach. Soft materials seem to provide alternative solutions as their properties are conducive to the comfort aspect.

Prediction correction modeling of water-conducting fracture zones height due to repeated mining in close distance coal seams.

The height of the water-conducting fracture zones (WCFZ) is crucial for ensuring safe coal mining beneath aquifers, particularly considering the secondary development of the WCFZ in upper seams due to repeated mining in close distance coal seams. Accurately predicting this height is essential for mine safety, groundwater protection, and optimal coal resource use. This study compiles extensive measured data from various mining areas in China to analyze the coupling relationship between the WCFZ development height and six influencing factors: mining thickness, mining depth, coal seam spacing, hard rock lithology ratio, and the slope length of working face.

Stress granules sequester autophagy proteins to facilitate plant recovery from heat stress.

The autophagy pathway regulates the degradation of misfolded proteins caused by heat stress (HS) in the cytoplasm, thereby maintaining cellular homeostasis. Although previous studies have established that autophagy (ATG) genes are transcriptionally upregulated in response to HS, the precise regulation of ATG proteins at the subcellular level remains poorly understood. In this study, we provide compelling evidence for the translocation of key autophagy components, including the ATG1/ATG13 kinase complex (ATG1a, ATG13a), PI3K complex (ATG6, VPS34), and ATG8-PE system (ATG5), to HS-induced stress granules (SGs) in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Substrate transport and drug interaction of human thiamine transporters SLC19A2/A3.

Thiamine and pyridoxine are essential B vitamins that serve as enzymatic cofactors in energy metabolism, protein and nucleic acid biosynthesis, and neurotransmitter production. In humans, thiamine transporters SLC19A2 and SLC19A3 primarily regulate cellular uptake of both vitamins. Genetic mutations in these transporters, which cause thiamine and pyridoxine deficiency, have been implicated in severe neurometabolic diseases.

SEAD reference panel with 22,134 haplotypes boosts rare variant imputation and genome-wide association analysis in Asian populations.

Limited whole genome sequencing (WGS) studies in Asian populations result in a lack of representative reference panels, thus hindering the discovery of ancestry-specific variants. Here, we present the South and East Asian reference Database (SEAD) panel ( https://imputationserver.westlake.

Alleviating batch effects in cell type deconvolution with SCCAF-D.

Cell type deconvolution methods can impute cell proportions from bulk transcriptomics data, revealing changes in disease progression or organ development. But benchmarking studies often use simulated bulk data from the same source as the reference, which limits its application scenarios. This study examines batch effects in deconvolution and introduces SCCAF-D, a computational workflow that ensures a Pearson Correlation Coefficient above 0.

Ultrathin polymer membrane for improved hole extraction and ion blocking in perovskite solar cells.

Highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in the n-i-p structure have demonstrated limited operational lifetimes, primarily due to the layer-to-layer ion diffusion in the perovskite/doped hole-transport layer (HTL) heterojunction, leading to conductivity drop in HTL and component loss in perovskite. Herein, we introduce an ultrathin (~7 nm) p-type polymeric interlayer (D18) with excellent ion-blocking ability between perovskite and HTL to address these issues. The ultrathin D18 interlayer effectively inhibits the layer-to-layer diffusion of lithium, methylammonium, formamidium, and iodide ions.

Trivalent recombinant protein vaccine induces cross-neutralization against XBB lineage and JN.1 subvariants: preclinical and phase 1 clinical trials.

The immune escape capacities of XBB variants necessitate the authorization of vaccines with these antigens. In this study, we produce three recombinant trimeric proteins from the RBD sequences of Delta, BA.5, and XBB.

Polar vortex hidden in twisted bilayers of paraelectric SrTiO.

Polar topologies, such as vortex and skyrmion, have attracted significant interest due to their unique physical properties and promising applications in high-density memory devices. To date, all known polar vortices are present in or induced by ferroelectric materials. In this study, we find polar vortex arrays in paraelectric SrTiO.

DDX18 coordinates nucleolus phase separation and nuclear organization to control the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells.

Pluripotent stem cells possess a unique nuclear architecture characterized by a larger nucleus and more open chromatin, which underpins their ability to self-renew and differentiate. Here, we show that the nucleolus-specific RNA helicase DDX18 is essential for maintaining the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells. Using techniques such as Hi-C, DNA/RNA-FISH, and biomolecular condensate analysis, we demonstrate that DDX18 regulates nucleolus phase separation and nuclear organization by interacting with NPM1 in the granular nucleolar component, driven by specific nucleolar RNAs.

Sub-millimeter fiberscopic robot with integrated maneuvering, imaging, and biomedical operation abilities.

Small-scale continuum robots hold promise for interventional diagnosis and treatment, yet existing models struggle to achieve small size, precise steering, and visualized functional treatment simultaneously, termed an "impossible trinity". This study introduces an optical fiber-based continuum robot integrated imaging, high-precision motion, and multifunctional operation abilities at submillimeter-scale. With a slim profile of 0.

All-polymer piezo-ionic-electric electronics.

Piezoelectric electronics possess great potential in flexible sensing and energy harvesting applications. However, they suffer from low electromechanical performance in all-organic piezoelectric systems due to the disordered and weakly-polarized interfaces. Here, we demonstrated an all-polymer piezo-ionic-electric electronics with PVDF/Nafion/PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride) sandwich structure and regularized ion-electron interfaces.

Oxidative potential and persistent free radicals in dust storm particles and their associations with hospitalization.

Sand and dust storms (SDS) can cause adverse health effects, with the oxidative potential (OP) and environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) inducing oxidative stress. We mapped the OP and EPFRs concentrations at 1735 sites in China during SDS periods using experimental data for 2021-2023 and a random forest model. We examined 855,869 hospitalizations during SDS events for 2015-2022 in Beijing, China.

Turning attention to tumor-host interface and focus on the peritumoral heterogeneity of glioblastoma.

Approximately 90% of glioblastoma recurrences occur in the peritumoral brain zone (PBZ), while the spatial heterogeneity of the PBZ is not well studied. In this study, two PBZ tissues and one tumor tissue sample are obtained from each patient via preoperative imaging. We assess the microenvironment and the characteristics of infiltrating immune/tumor cells using various techniques.

Dual-role ion dynamics in ferroionic CuInPS: revealing the transition from ferroelectric to ionic switching mechanisms.

Due to its "ferroionic" nature, CuInPS combines switchable ferroelectric polarization with highly mobile Cu ions, allowing for multiple resistance states. Its conductive mechanism involves ferroelectric switching, ion migration, and corresponding intercoupling, which are highly sensitive to external electric field. Distinguishing the dominant contribution of either ferroelectric switching or ion migration to dynamic conductivity remains a challenge and the conductive mechanism is not clear yet.

Orthogonal and multiplexable genetic perturbations with an engineered prime editor and a diverse RNA array.

Programmable and modular systems capable of orthogonal genomic and transcriptomic perturbations are crucial for biological research and treating human genetic diseases. Here, we present the minimal versatile genetic perturbation technology (mvGPT), a flexible toolkit designed for simultaneous and orthogonal gene editing, activation, and repression in human cells. The mvGPT combines an engineered compact prime editor (PE), a fusion activator MS2-p65-HSF1 (MPH), and a drive-and-process multiplex array that produces RNAs tailored to different types of genetic perturbation.

Medium-scale flexible integrated circuits based on 2D semiconductors.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, combining remarkable electrical properties and mechanical flexibility, offer fascinating opportunities for flexible integrated circuits (ICs). Despite notable progress, so far the showcased 2D flexible ICs have been constrained to basic logic gates and ring oscillators with a maximum integration scale of a few thin film transistors (TFTs), creating a significant disparity in terms of circuit scale and functionality. Here, we demonstrate medium-scale flexible ICs integrating both combinational and sequential elements based on 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS).

Steering acidic oxygen reduction selectivity of single-atom catalysts through the second sphere effect.

Natural enzymes feature distinctive second spheres near their active sites, leading to exquisite catalytic reactivity. However, incumbent synthetic strategies offer limited versatility in functionalizing the second spheres of heterogeneous catalysts. Here, we prepare an enzyme-mimetic single Co-N atom catalyst with an elaborately configured pendant amine group in the second sphere via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, which switches the oxygen reduction reaction selectivity from the 4e to the 2e pathway under acidic conditions.

Ultrahigh concentration exfoliation and aqueous dispersion of few-layer graphene by excluded volume effect.

Colloidal properties of nanoparticles are intricately linked to their morphology. Traditionally, achieving high-concentration dispersions of two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets has proven challenging as they tend to agglomerate or re-stack under increased surface contact and Van der Waals attraction. Here, we unveil an excluded volume effect enabled by 2D morphology, which can be coupled with electrostatic repulsion to synthesize high-concentration aqueous graphene dispersions.

Grain engineering for efficient near-infrared perovskite light-emitting diodes.

Metal halide perovskites show promise for next-generation light-emitting diodes, particularly in the near-infrared range, where they outperform organic and quantum-dot counterparts. However, they still fall short of costly III-V semiconductor devices, which achieve external quantum efficiencies above 30% with high brightness. Among several factors, controlling grain growth and nanoscale morphology is crucial for further enhancing device performance.

Total syntheses of the parvistemoline alkaloids enabled by stereocontrolled Ir/Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation.

The functionalized polycycle with densely contiguous tertiary stereocenters is a formidable challenge in synthesizing the parvistemoline family of Stemona alkaloids. We herein report their catalytic, asymmetric total syntheses in 13-14 steps from commercially available 2-(methoxycarbonyl)-pyrrole, featuring the development and deployment of an Ir/Pd-synergistically-catalyzed allylation of α-non-substituted keto esters with secondary aryl-substituted alcohols, stereodivergently accessible to four stereoisomers. Using chiral Pd-enolate and Ir π-allyl complex under neutral conditions, no epimerization occurs.

Malate initiates a proton-sensing pathway essential for pH regulation of inflammation.

Metabolites can double as a signaling modality that initiates physiological adaptations. Metabolism, a chemical language encoding biological information, has been recognized as a powerful principle directing inflammatory responses. Cytosolic pH is a regulator of inflammatory response in macrophages.

Efficient removal of Sb(III) from aqueous solution using TiO precipitated onto waste herb-residue biochar.

Increasing antimony (Sb) pollution has become a global concern, but there is still a lack of economically efficient adsorbents for its remediation. In this study, a novel remediation material was developed by precipitating TiO onto waste herb-residue biochar (named TBC). The effectiveness and adsorption mechanisms of the material for Sb(III) removal were investigated through adsorption experiments, and the enhancement pathway of traditional herb decoction on the effectiveness of modified biochar was analyzed.