Theabrownin from Fu Brick tea ameliorates high-fat induced insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, and inflammation in mice by altering the composition and metabolites of gut microbiota.

Fu Brick tea belongs to fermented dark tea, which is one of the six categories of tea. Fu Brick tea has been reported to reduce adiposity and has beneficial effects in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular disease. Theabrownin (TB) is one of the pigments with the most abundant content in Fu Brick tea.

Nanostructured Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Coatings on Functionalized Glass for Energy Storage.

Conducting polymers rise among some of the most promising transparent supercapacitor electrode materials due to high conductivity, environmental stability, light weight, and ease of synthesis. A major challenge for depositing conducting polymers on a glass substrate is the lack of molecular interactions between organic and inorganic moieties resulting in poor adhesion and low cycling stability of the electrode. We present a synthetic approach by covalently linking poly(3,4-ethylyenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and glass through Friedel-Crafts alkylation on a self-assembled diphenyldimethoxysilane monolayer.

Solution-Processable PEDOT Particles for Coatings of Untreated 3D-Printed Thermoplastics.

Lack of solution processability is the main bottleneck in research progression and commercialization of conducting polymers. The current strategy of employing a water-soluble dopant (such as PEDOT:PSS) is not feasible with organic solvents, thus limiting compatibility on hydrophobic surfaces, such as three-dimensional (3D) printable thermoplastics. In this article, we utilize a colloidal dispersion of PEDOT particles to overcome this limitation and formulate an organic paint demonstrating conformal coating on 3D-printed objects.

Engineering a sandwiched Si/I/LNOI structure for 180-GHz-bandwidth electro-optic modulator with fabrication tolerances.

Electro-optical modulators are essential for scalable photonic integrated circuits and are promising for many applications. The convergence of silicon (Si) and lithium niobate (LN) allows for a compact device footprint and large-scale integration of modulators. We propose a sandwiched Si/I/LNOI modulator for broad modulation with CMOS-compatible fabrication tolerances.

Intercalating negatively charged pillars into graphene oxide sheets to enhance sulfonamide pharmaceutical removal from water.

Herein, novel composite materials were prepared by intercalating functional pillars, i.e., pentafluorobenzene (PFB) and sodium 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzoate (PFBS), into graphene oxide (GO) sheets.

The Microstructure Evolution and Electrochemical Corrosion Behavior of 7A46 Aluminum Alloy in Different Quenching Conditions.

The quenching condition of aluminum alloy can affect the mechanical property and corrosion resistance of the profile. This paper is aimed at the low quench sensitivity of aluminum alloys. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to analyze precipitate behaviors of the 7A46 aluminum alloy under different isothermal cooling conditions and microstructure evolutions of quench-induced precipitations.

Single PEDOT Catalyst Boosts CO Photoreduction Efficiency.

Atmospheric pollution demands the development of solar-driven photocatalytic technologies for the conversion of CO into a fuel; state-of-the-art cocatalyst systems demonstrate conversion efficiencies currently unattainable by a single catalyst. Here, we upend the status quo demonstrating that the nanofibrillar conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is a record-breaking single catalyst for the photoreduction of CO to CO. This high catalytic efficiency stems from a highly conductive nanofibrillar structure that significantly enhances surface area, CO adsorption and light absorption.

Microtubular PEDOT-Coated Bricks for Atmospheric Water Harvesting.

Atmospheric water harvesting is a promising technology for alleviating global water scarcity. Current water sorption materials efficiently capture water vapor from ubiquitous air; however, they are difficult to scale up due to high costs, complex device engineering, and intensive energy consumption. Fired red brick, a low-cost masonry construction material, holds the potential for developing large-scale functional architectures.

Solid-State Precursor Impregnation for Enhanced Capacitance in Hierarchical Flexible Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) Supercapacitors.

Increasing capacitance and energy density is a major challenge in developing supercapacitors for flexible portable electronics. A thick electrode with a high mass loading of active electronic material leads to high areal capacitance; however, the higher the loading, the higher the mechanical stiffness and ion diffusion resistance, thereby hampering development of flexible supercapacitors. Here, we show a chemical strategy that leads to a hierarchical electrode structure producing devices with both an exceedingly high areal capacitance and superior flexibility.

Energy storing bricks for stationary PEDOT supercapacitors.

Fired brick is a universal building material, produced by thousand-year-old technology, that throughout history has seldom served any other purpose. Here, we develop a scalable, cost-effective and versatile chemical synthesis using a fired brick to control oxidative radical polymerization and deposition of a nanofibrillar coating of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). A fired brick's open microstructure, mechanical robustness and ~8 wt% α-FeO content afford an ideal substrate for developing electrochemical PEDOT electrodes and stationary supercapacitors that readily stack into modules.

Synthesis of Submicron PEDOT Particles of High Electrical Conductivity via Continuous Aerosol Vapor Polymerization.

Current state-of-the-art synthetic strategies produce conducting polymers suffering from low processability and unstable chemical and/or physical properties stifling research and development. Here, we introduce a platform for synthesizing scalable submicron-sized particles of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). The synthesis is based on a hybrid approach utilizing an aerosol of aqueous oxidant droplets and monomer vapor to engineer a scalable synthetic scheme.

Vapor/liquid polymerization of ultraporous transparent and capacitive polypyrrole nanonets.

Freestanding, contiguous, and translucent polypyrrole nanonets are prepared within 90 minutes at room temperature in Petri dishes by exposing aqueous oxidant to static pyrrole vapor. The nanonets are 150 nm thick, with variable densities depending on polymerization time. The nanonets maintain a low sheet resistance of 29.

Reconstruction and analysis of a genome-scale metabolic model of the vitamin C producing industrial strain Ketogulonicigenium vulgare WSH-001.

Ketogulonicigenium vulgare WSH001 is an industrial strain commonly used in the vitamin C producing industry. In order to acquire a comprehensive understanding of its physiological characteristics, a genome-scale metabolic model of K. vulgare WSH001, iWZ663, including 830 reactions, 649 metabolites, and 663 genes, was reconstructed by genome annotation and literature mining.

Distribution of resveratrol and stilbene synthase in young grape plants (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon) and the effect of UV-C on its accumulation.

Current research indicated that the resveratrol was mainly accumulated in the skin of grape berry, however, little is yet known about the distribution of resveratrol, as well as the regulation mechanism at protein level and the localization of stilbene synthase (malonyl-CoA:4-coumaroyl-CoA malonyltransferase; EC 2.3.1.

Changes of resveratrol and antioxidant enzymes during UV-induced plant defense response in peanut seedlings.

Plants have evolved mechanisms to avoid and repair UV radiation damage, and the free radicals caused by UV tend to be involved in the induction of antioxidant defense systems. In this study, changes in resveratrol and antioxidant enzymes were investigated in relation to UV damage in peanut seedlings. Accumulation of endogenous resveratrol and stilbene synthase mRNA occurred rapidly and significantly in response to UV-C irradiation.

Jasmonic acid is induced in a biphasic manner in response of pea seedlings to wounding.

The role of jasmonic acid (JA) in plant wounding response has been demonstrated. However, the source of JA in wound signaling remains unclear. In the present study, pea seedlings were used as material to investigate the systemic induction of JA and the activation of lipoxygenase (LOX)-dependent octadecanoid pathway upon wounding.

The plasma membrane H+-ATPase is related to the development of salicylic acid-induced thermotolerance in pea leaves.

The plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase (PM H(+)-ATPase, EC.3.6.

Novel interrelationship between salicylic acid, abscisic acid, and PIP2-specific phospholipase C in heat acclimation-induced thermotolerance in pea leaves.

Increasing evidence suggests that heat acclimation and exogenous salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid (ABA) may lead to the enhancement of thermotolerance in plants. In this study, the roles that free SA, conjugated SA, ABA, and phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2))-specific phospholipase C (PLC) play in thermotolerance development induced by heat acclimation (38 degrees C) were investigated. To evaluate their potential functions, three inhibitors of synthesis or activity were infiltrated into pea leaves prior to heat acclimation treatment.