A molecular mechanics approach for analyzing tensile nonlinear deformation behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes

In this paper, by capturing the atomic information and reflecting the behaviour governed by the nonlinear potential function, an analytical molecular mechanics approach is proposed. A constitutive relation for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT’s) is established to describe the nonlinear stress-strain curve of SWCNT’s and to predict both the elastic properties and breaking strain of SWCNT’s during tensile deformation. An analysis based on the virtual internal bond (VIB) model proposed by P. Zhang et al. is also presented for comparison. The results indicate that the proposed molecular mechanics approach is indeed an acceptable analytical method for analyzing the mechanical behavior of SWCNT’s. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10121202, 90305015 and 10328203), the Key Grant Project of Chinese Ministry of Education (0306) and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (HKU 7195/04E).     

Three-dimensional architectures based on carbon nanotube bridged Ti2C MXene nanosheets for Li-S batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are promising candidates for high density electrochemical energy storage systems.However,the poor conductivity of S and the shuttl...     

Flow goes forward and cells step backward: endothelial migration

Systemic and pulmonary circulations constitute a complex organ that serves multiple important biological functions. Consequently, any pathological processing affecting the vasculature can have profound systemic ramifications. Endothelial and smooth muscle are the two principal cell types composing blood vessels. Critically, endothelial proliferation and migration are central to the formation and expansion of the vasculature both during embryonic development and in adult tissues. Endothelial populations are quite heterogeneous and are both vasculature type- and organ-specific. There are profound molecular, functional, and phenotypic differences between arterial, venular and capillary endothelial cells and endothelial cells in different organs. Given this endothelial cell population diversity, it has been challenging to determine the origin of endothelial cells responsible for the angiogenic expansion of the vasculature. Recent technical advances, such as precise cell fate mapping, time-lapse imaging, genome editing, and single-cell RNA sequencing, have shed new light on the role of venous endothelial cells in angiogenesis under both normal and pathological conditions. Emerging data indicate that venous endothelial cells are unique in their ability to serve as the primary source of endothelial cellular mass during both developmental and pathological angiogenesis. Here, we review recent studies that have improved our understanding of angiogenesis and suggest an updated model of this process.Subject terms: Cell lineage, Chemotaxis     

用光学多道分析器测定RH的不确定度评定

本文使用光学多道分析器测定了氢原子光谱的计Hα、Hβ、Hγ、Hδ,谱线波长,利用最小二乘法处理测量数据：建立了测量数学模型,得到氢原子光谱里德伯常量RH,按国家计量技术规范JJF1059—1999标准对测量的不确定度进行了分析与评定。     

Luminescence interference-free lifetime nanothermometry pinpoints in vivo temperature

Luminescence nanothermometry makes non-invasive and real-time temperature readings possible in living animals. However,the spectral fluctuation in tissues and fluids, as well as the interaction between fluorophores and environment hinders accuracy of the thermometry. Here, we report a luminescence lifetime-based nanothermometry which specifically addresses this problem. A temporal based calibration(lifetime sensing) in the NIR range, an endogenous thermal response as well as a polymer encapsulation evading environmental factors, altogether help to pinpoint temperature in vivo. Thanks to the highly condensed NdYb ions in a well-protected tiny core-shell nanocrystal(overall 11 nm), a temperature sensitivity about 2.07% K~(-1)(with 5% Yb~(3+) doped nanoparticles) and an accuracy of 0.27 K(with 25% Yb~(3+) doped nanoparticles) in biological fluids are achieved.Hopefully, combining thermally activated energy transfer nanothermometer with anti-interference lifetime thermometry would provide a more accurate temperature measurement for biological and preclinical studies.     

Phenolic Constituents,Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Activities,Enzyme Inhibition Abilities of Five Fractions from Vaccinium dunalianum Wight

The bud of Vaccinium dunalianum Wight has been traditionally consumed as health herbal tea by “Yi” people in Yunnan Province, China, which was locally named “Que Zui tea”. This paper studied the chemical constituents of five fractions from Vaccinium dunalianum, and their enzyme inhibitory effects of α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase, antioxidant activity, and cytoprotective effects on H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage in HepG2 cells. The methanol extract of V. dunalianum was successively partitioned with petroleum ether (PF), chloroform (CF), ethyl acetate (EF), n-butanol (BF), and aqueous (WF) to obtain five fractions. The chemical profiling of the five fractions was analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS), and 18 compounds were tentatively identified. Compared to PF, CF, BF and WF, the EF revealed the highest total phenols (TPC) and total flavonoids (TFC), and displayed the strongest enzyme inhibition ability (α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase) and antioxidant capacity (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP). Furthermore, these five fractions, especially EF, could effectively inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell apoptosis on H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage protection in HepG2 cells. This inhibitory effect might be caused by the up-regulation of intracellular antioxidant enzyme activity (CAT, SOD, and GSH). The flavonoids and phenolic acids of V. dunalianum might be the bioactive substances responsible for enzyme inhibitory, antioxidant, and cytoprotective activities.     

Mesoporous sodium four-coordinate aluminosilicate nanoparticles modulate dendritic cell pyroptosis and activate innate and adaptive immunity

Pyroptosis is a programmed cell death widely studied in cancer cells for tumour inhibition, but rarely in dendritic cell (DC) activation for vaccine development. Here, we report the synthesis of sodium stabilized mesoporous aluminosilicate nanoparticles as DC pyroptosis modulators and antigen carriers. By surface modification of sodium-stabilized four-coordinate aluminium species on dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles, the resultant Na-^IVAl-DMSN significantly activated DC through caspase-1 dependent pyroptosis via pH responsive intracellular ion exchange. The released proinflammatory cellular contents further mediated DC hyperactivation with prolonged cytokine release. In vivo studies showed that Na-^IVAl-DMSN induced enhanced cellular immunity mediated by natural killer (NK) cells, cytotoxic T cells, and memory T cells as well as humoral immune response. Our results provide a new principle for the design of next-generation nanoadjuvants for vaccine applications.

Na-^IVAl-DMSN acts as both antigen carriers and modulators to “hyperactivate” dendritic cells (DCs) via potassium (K⁺) efflux dependent pyroptosis, eventually leading to enhanced adaptive and innate immunity.     

Phenothiazine-based covalent organic frameworks with low exciton binding energies for photocatalysis

Designing delocalized excitons with low binding energy (E_b) in organic semiconductors is urgently required for efficient photochemistry because the excitons in most organic materials are localized with a high E_b of >300 meV. In this work, we report the achievement of a low E_b of ∼50 meV by constructing phenothiazine-based covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with inherent crystallinity, porosity, chemical robustness, and feasibility of bandgap engineering. The low E_b facilitates effective exciton dissociation and thus promotes photocatalysis by using these COFs. As a demonstration, we subject these COFs to photocatalytic polymerization to synthesize polymers with remarkably high molecular weight without any requirement of the metal catalyst. Our results can facilitate the rational design of porous materials with low E_b for efficient photocatalysis.

We report the construction of phenothiazine-based covalent organic frameworks, which exhibited diverse structures, the feasibility of bandgap engineering, and unprecedented ultralow exciton binding energy of ∼50 meV for photocatalytic polymerization.     

Effect of Different Processing Methods on the Chemical Constituents of Scrophulariae Radix as Revealed by 2D NMR-Based Metabolomics

Scrophulariae Radix (SR) is one of the oldest and most frequently used Chinese herbs for oriental medicine in China. Before clinical use, the SR should be processed using different methods after harvest, such as steaming, “sweating”, and traditional fire-drying. In order to investigate the difference in chemical constituents using different processing methods, the two-dimensional (2D) ¹H-¹³C heteronuclear single quantum correlation (¹H-¹³C HSQC)-based metabolomics approach was applied to extensively characterize the difference in the chemical components in the extracts of SR processed using different processing methods. In total, 20 compounds were identified as potential chemical markers that changed significantly with different steaming durations. Seven compounds can be used as potential chemical markers to differentiate processing by sweating, hot-air drying, and steaming for 4 h. These findings could elucidate the change of chemical constituents of the processed SR and provide a guide for the processing. In addition, our protocol may represent a general approach to characterizing chemical compounds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and therefore might be considered as a promising approach to exploring the scientific basis of traditional processing of TCM.