Deciphering the Impact of Polysulfide Solvation Structure on Electrical Double Layer Chemistry in Sodium-Sulfur Batteries.

Room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries are garnering attention for large-scale energy storage. However, their practical application is hindered by challenges, such as the shuttle effect of sodium polysulfides (NaPS) and dendrite growth. The high solubility of NaPS in the electrolyte is particularly problematic.

Long-term outcomes of mesenchymal stem cell therapy in severe COVID-19 patients: 3-year follow-up of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Background: The long-term effects and outcomes of human mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the extended safety and efficacy of MSC treatment in severe patients with COVID-19 who participated in our earlier randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, with follow-up conducted over 3 years.

Methods: One hundred patients with severe COVID-19 were randomized to receive either an MSC infusion (n = 65, 4 × 10 cells/dose, on days 0, 3, and 6) or a placebo, with both groups receiving the standard of care.

Spatial heterogeneity of keyhole imagery coverage in China and imagery dataset cost estimation.

Keyhole imagery documented global surface from 1960 to 1980s and has contributed to earth surface change research, while evaluation of its' coverage spatial heterogeneity is rare. In this work the boundary vectors with attributes of all freely Keyhole images within China were obtained from USGS website to automatically investigate the spatial coverage characteristics using the ArcPy library in Python. Images were categorized into meter-level (C1), five-meter-level (C2), and ten-meter-level (C3).

Rechargeable Metal-Sulfur Batteries: Key Materials to Mechanisms.

Rechargeable metal-sulfur batteries are considered promising candidates for energy storage due to their high energy density along with high natural abundance and low cost of raw materials. However, they could not yet be practically implemented due to several key challenges: (i) poor conductivity of sulfur and the discharge product metal sulfide, causing sluggish redox kinetics, (ii) polysulfide shuttling, and (iii) parasitic side reactions between the electrolyte and the metal anode. To overcome these obstacles, numerous strategies have been explored, including modifications to the cathode, anode, electrolyte, and binder.

Dissecting the contributions of organic nitrogen aerosols to global atmospheric nitrogen deposition and implications for ecosystems.

Atmospheric deposition of particulate organic nitrogen (ON) is a significant process in the global nitrogen cycle and may be pivotally important for N-limited ecosystems. However, past models largely overlooked the spatial and chemical inhomogeneity of atmospheric ON and were thus deficient in assessing global ON impacts. We constructed a comprehensive global model of atmospheric gaseous and particulate organic nitrogen (ON), including the latest knowledge on emissions and secondary formations.

Ag/microcrystalline-CuO composite film as an interfacial regulator for highly reversible lithium metal anode.

Lithium (Li) metal is a promising anode material for high-energy-density batteries, yet its low average Coulombic efficiency (CE) results in poor cycling stability. Although significant progress has been made in addressing these issues, the stability of Li metal anode at high rates and large capacities falls short of meeting the practical application requirements. Herein, we develop a microcrystalline (MC)-CuO/Ag composite film on Cu current collector to regulate the interfacial properties for achieving even and dense Li deposition.

Meta-analysis on last ten years of clinical injection of bone marrow-derived and umbilical cord MSC to reverse cirrhosis or rescue patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure.

Background: Recent studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has potential therapeutic effects for patients with end-stage liver diseases. However, a consensus on the efficacy and safety of MSCs has not been reached.

Methods: A systemic literature review was conducted by searching the Cochrane Library and PubMed databases for articles that evaluated the impact of MSC therapy on the outcomes among patients with end-stage liver disease.

Immune and cytokine alterations and RNA-sequencing analysis in gestational tissues from pregnant women after recovery from COVID-19.

Background: COVID-19 is a global pandemic. Understanding the immune responses in pregnant women recovering from COVID-19 may suggest new therapeutic approaches.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study between March 1, 2020, and September 1, 2020.

Assessing micrometer-scale contamination from organic materials in serpentinite analysis.

Serpentinization of peridotite provides a significant source of energy for the subseafloor biosphere and abiotic organic synthesis. The presence of diverse micrometer-scale organic matter in serpentinites offers insights into deep carbon cycling and the origin of life on Earth. It is critical to maintain stringent lab protocols in analyzing serpentinite samples, limiting the contact with organic materials that could contaminate serpentinites and cause misinterpretations.

Treatment of cytokine release syndrome-induced vascular endothelial injury using mesenchymal stem cells.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is an acute systemic inflammatory reaction in which hyperactivated immune cells suddenly release a large amount of cytokines, leading to exaggerated inflammatory responses, multiple organ dysfunction, and even death. Although palliative treatment strategies have significantly reduced the overall mortality, novel targeted treatment regimens with superior therapy efficacy are urgently needed. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are important target cells of systemic inflammation, and their destruction is considered to be the initiating event underlying many serious complications of CRS.

TGF-β blocking combined with photothermal therapy promote tumor targeted migration and long-term antitumor activity of CAR-T cells.

TGF-β is widely existed in tumor microenvironment, taking part in tumorigenesis process including angiogenesis, cancer associated fibroblast (CAF) proliferation, and immunosuppression. It inhibited the activation, proliferation, migration and differentiation of T cells, in which way caused a limited therapeutic effects of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) towards solid tumor such as lymphoma. To targeted block TGF-β at tumor site, we take advantages of nano-techniques to deliver TGF-β inhibitors LY2157299 (LY) towards the tumor sites, in order to help achieve a improved and long-term functions of CAR-T towards lymphoma.

Recent Progress for Concurrent Realization of Shuttle-Inhibition and Dendrite-Free Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have become one of the most promising new-generation energy storage systems owing to their ultrahigh energy density (2600 Wh kg ), cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. Nevertheless, their practical applications are seriously impeded by the shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), and the uncontrolled dendrite growth of metallic Li, which result in rapid capacity fading and battery safety problems. A systematic and comprehensive review of the cooperative combination effect and tackling the fundamental problems in terms of cathode and anode synchronously is still lacking.

The triple oxygen isotope composition of marine sulfate and 130 million years of microbial control.

The triple oxygen isotope composition (Δ'O) of sulfate minerals is widely used to constrain ancient atmospheric O/CO and rates of gross primary production. The utility of this tool is based on a model that sulfate oxygen carries an isotope fingerprint of tropospheric O incorporated through oxidative weathering of reduced sulfur minerals, particularly pyrite. Work to date has targeted Proterozoic environments (2.

Safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in severe/critical patients with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The present study aims to better understand the efficacy and safety of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in treating severe/critical patients with COVID-19.

Methods: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and the Chinese electronic database CNKI were searched from inception up to Dec 19, 2021. Original comparative studies for MSC treatment + standard treatment for severe/critical patients with COVID-19, with placebo or standard treatment as the control group, were included.

Dynamic Intercalation-Conversion Site Supported Ultrathin 2D Mesoporous SnO/SnSe Hybrid as Bifunctional Polysulfide Immobilizer and Lithium Regulator for Lithium-Sulfur Chemistry.

The practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries is impeded by the polysulfide shuttling and interfacial instability of the metallic lithium anode. In this work, a twinborn ultrathin two-dimensional graphene-based mesoporous SnO/SnSe hybrid (denoted as G-mSnO/SnSe) is constructed as a polysulfide immobilizer and lithium regulator for Li-S chemistry. The as-designed G-mSnO/SnSe hybrid possesses high conductivity, strong chemical affinity (SnO), and a dynamic intercalation-conversion site (LiSnSe), inhibits shuttle behavior, provides rapid Li-intercalative transport kinetics, accelerates LiPS conversion, and decreases the decomposition energy barrier for LiS, which is evidenced by the XAS spectra, Raman, XRD, and DFT calculations.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cell therapy for COVID-19 pneumonia: potential mechanisms, current clinical evidence, and future perspectives.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread into more than 200 countries and infected approximately 203 million people globally. COVID-19 is associated with high mortality and morbidity in some patients, and this disease still does not have effective treatments with reproducibly appreciable outcomes. One of the leading complications associated with COVID-19 is acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); this is an anti-viral host inflammatory response, and it is usually caused by a cytokine storm syndrome which may lead to multi-organ failure and death.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell promotes angiogenesis via integrin β1/ERK1/2/HIF-1α/VEGF-A signaling pathway for off-the-shelf breast tissue engineering.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)-based tissue engineered breast represent the visible future for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. However, autologous MSCs might not be appropriate for the large graft construction due to cell senescence during excessive cell expansion, thus hindering its further off-the-shelf application. The human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have been found to induce low immune response and can be easily stored, making them ideal for off-the-shelf tissue engineering application.

A self-powered photoelectrochemical cathodic molecular imprinting sensor based on Au@TiO nanorods photoanode and CuO photocathode for sensitive detection of sarcosine.

Quantitative determination of sarcosine (SAR) in biological liquids is of great importance, as SAR has been recently suggested as a promising biomarker for prostate cancer diagnostics. Herein, a self-powered photoelectrochemical (PEC) molecular imprinted sensor integrated with photoanode (Au@TiO nanorods) and photocathode (CuO) is proposed for the first time towards the specific and sensitive detection of SAR. With the benefits of strong photocurrent driving force attributed to a large inherent deviation between the Fermi levels of photoanode and photocathode in this system, the photogenerated electrons of Au@TiO can rapidly transferred along the outer circuit and attracted by the holes in the valence band of the photocathode, forming a self-powered PEC system and improve the photocurrent of the cathode.

Rs12976445 polymorphism is associated with the risk of post-SAH re-bleeding by modulating the expression of microRNA-125 and ET-1.

This study aimed to study the association between rs12976445 polymorphism and the incidence of IA re-bleeding. Genotype and allele frequency analysis was performed to study the association between rs12976445 polymorphism and the risk of IA re-bleeding. Western blot, ELISA and real-time RT-PCR were conducted to measure the relative expression of miR-125a, ET1 mRNA and ET1 protein.