Oxide-Based Solid-State Batteries: A Perspective on Composite Cathode Architecture

The garnet-type phase Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO) attracts significant attention as an oxide solid electrolyte to enable safe and robust solid-state batteries (SSBs) with potentially high energy density. However, while significant progress has been made in demonstrating compatibility with Li metal, integrating LLZO into composite cathodes remains a challenge. The current perspective focuses on the critical issues that need to be addressed to achieve the ultimate goal of an all-solid-state LLZO-based battery that delivers safety, durability, and pack-level performance characteristics that are unobtainable with state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. This perspective complements existing reviews of solid/solid interfaces with more emphasis on understanding numerous homo- and heteroionic interfaces in a pure oxide-based SSB and the various phenomena that accompany the evolution of the chemical, electrochemical, structural, morphological, and mechanical properties of those interfaces during processing and operation. Finally, the insights gained from a comprehensive literature survey of LLZO–cathode interfaces are used to guide efforts for the development of LLZO-based SSBs.     

Vasoconstriction in active skeletal muscles: a potential role for P2X purinergic receptors?

There is evidence that ATP acts as a neurotransmitter in vascular smooth muscle and is coreleased with norepinephrine from sympathetic nerves. We hypothesized that P2X-receptor stimulation with the selective P2X-receptor agonist alpha,beta-methylene ATP would produce vasoconstriction in resting and exercising skeletal muscle. Six mongrel dogs were instrumented chronically with flow probes on the external iliac arteries of both hindlimbs and a catheter in one femoral artery. The selective P2X agonist alpha,beta-methylene ATP was infused as a bolus into the femoral artery catheter at rest and during mild, moderate, and heavy exercise. Intra-arterial infusions of alpha,beta-methylene ATP elicited reductions in vascular conductance of 54 +/- 5, 49 +/- 8, 39 +/- 8, and 30 +/- 6% at rest, 3 miles/h, 6 miles/h, and 6 miles/h at a 10% grade, respectively. The agonist infusions did not affect blood flow in the contralateral iliac artery. To examine whether nitric oxide is responsible for the attenuated vasoconstrictor response to P2X stimulation, the infusions were repeated in the presence of NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester. After nitric oxide synthase blockade, intra-arterial infusions of alpha,beta-methylene ATP elicited reductions in vascular conductance of 56 +/- 7, 61 +/- 8, 52 +/- 9, and 40 +/- 7% at rest, 3 miles/h, 6 miles/h, and 6 miles/h at a 10% grade, respectively. P2X-receptor responsiveness was attenuated during exercise compared with rest. Blockade of nitric oxide production did not affect the attenuation of P2X-receptor responsiveness during exercise. These data support the hypothesis that P2X purinergic receptors can produce vasoconstriction in exercising skeletal muscle.     

Imagining the Future of the Anthropology of Education if We Take Laura Nader Seriously

The large corpus of scholarship of cultural anthropologist Laura Nader is relevant to the contemporary practice of the anthropology of education. In particular, her work is relevant to contemporary debates about methodology and what constitutes "scientifically based" education research; to the prospect and need for more crossfertilization within the discipline of anthropology; and for the proud assertion of anthropology's distinctive suitability for understanding and responding to many contemporary educational challenges, including how to have anthropologically derived insights more favorably compete in the "marketplace of ideas" against less empirically grounded claims and strategies.     

Isolation and characterization of the thymus-brain antigen (analogous to thy-1 antigen) from human brain.

1. The human thymus-brain antigen, which corresponds to the murine (mouse or rat) Thy-1 antigen complex, was isolated from brain after solubilization in deoxycholate by gel-permeation chromatography, wheat-germ-lectin affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. 2. The isolated antigen is a glycoprotein displaying an apparent molecular weight of 26 000-29 000 in sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. No antigen activity was found with the lipid fraction from human brain. 4. The protein has a tendency for spontaneous self-association (dimerization), leading to aggregates resistant to dissociating and reducing agents on prolonged storage. 5. The antigen is microheterogeneous with respect to size, charge (approximate isoelectric points of the monomer 7.7, 7.0 and 6.5) and to lectin-binding affinity. 6. The antigen can be reconstituted to protein-lipid vesicles. The antigen activity of solubilized antigen is strongly increased by reconstitution and that of membranes decreased by solubilization with detergent.     

Biochemical and genetic characterization of three hamster cell mutants resistant to diphtheria toxin

We describe here three different hamster cell mutants which are resistant to diphtheria toxin and which provide models for investigating some of the functions required by the toxin inactivates elongation factor 2 (EF-2). Cell-free extracts from mutants Dtx(r)-3 was codominant. The evidence suggests that the codominant phenotype is the result of a mutation in a gene coding for EF-2. The recessive phenotype might arise by alteration of an enzyme which modifies the structure of EF-2 so that it becomes a substrate for reaction with the toxin. Another mutant, Dtx(r)-2, contained EF-2 that was sensitive to the toxin and this phenotype was recessive. Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin is known to inactivate EF-2 as does diphtheria toxin and we tested the mutants for cross-resistance to pseudomonas exotoxin. Dtx(r)-1 and Dtx(r)-3 were cross-resistant while Dtx(r)-2 was not. It is known that diphtheria toxin does not penetrate to the cytoplasm of mouse cells and that these cell have a naturally occurring phenotype of diphtheria toxin resistance. We fused each of the mutants with mouse 3T3 cells and measured the resistance. We fused each of the mutants with mouse 3T3 cells and measured the resistance of the hybrid cells to diphtheria toxin. Intraspecies hybrids containing the genome of mutants Dtx(r)-1 and Dtx(r)-3 had some resistance while those formed with Dtx(r)-2 were as sensitive as hybrids derived from fusions between wild-type hamster cells and mouse 3T3 cells.     

Evaluation of Bone Strength During Aflatoxicosis and Ochratoxicosis

Young chickens were fed graded levels of aflatoxin (0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 μg/g of diet) or ochratoxin (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 μg/g of diet), and the breaking strength, displacement before failure, and diameter of their tibias were determined. Breaking strength was decreased at growth inhibitory levels of aflatoxin (2.5 μg/g) and ochratoxin (2 μg/g), whereas a reduction in diameter required higher levels (5.0 and 4.0 μg/g, respectively). Bones from birds with ochratoxicosis selected to have diameters equal to control bones had lower breaking strength. In an attempt to negate mathematically the effect of decreased diameter and bias in any selection process, stress at time of failure of the bones was calculated and found to be decreased by feeding aflatoxin but not ochratoxin. Total displacement of bones before breaking was increased significantly (P < 0.05) by both toxins at the highest levels administered, but this increase was primarily the result of an increase in displacement from the start of failure to complete failure. Increased displacement associated with both toxicoses was equal in bones selected to be of equal diameter or in bones from the same treatment but of different diameters. However, calculation of modulus of elasticity which is corrected for diameter revealed aflatoxin had no effect whereas ochratoxin tripled the effect. These data indicate that the material properties of bones can be altered during mycotoxicoses and suggest yet another way in which mycotoxins are detrimental to animal health.     

Nuclear phosphoinositide regulation of chromatin

Phospholipid signaling has clear connections to a wide array of cellular processes, particularly in gene expression and in controlling the chromatin biology of cells. However, most of the work elucidating how phospholipid signaling pathways contribute to cellular physiology have studied cytoplasmic membranes, while relatively little attention has been paid to the role of phospholipid signaling in the nucleus. Recent work from several labs has shown that nuclear phospholipid signaling can have important roles that are specific to this cellular compartment. This review focuses on the nuclear phospholipid functions and the activities of phospholipid signaling enzymes that regulate metazoan chromatin and gene expression. In particular, we highlight the roles that nuclear phosphoinositides play in several nuclear‐driven physiological processes, such as differentiation, proliferation, and gene expression. Taken together, the recent discovery of several specifically nuclear phospholipid functions could have dramatic impact on our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that enable tight control of cellular physiology.     

荷叶离褶伞子实体化学成分

本文对祁连山野生荷叶离褶伞Lyophyllum decastes子实体的化学成分和生物活性进行研究。采用硅胶色谱、高效液相色谱等多种方法进行分离纯化得到8个化合物,通过MS、NMR和电子圆二色谱 （ECD）等方法确定了化学结构,其中有4个为聚炔类化合物。化合物1作为天然产物系首次报道,其相绝对构型是通过比较ECD的方法确定。对所得聚炔类化合物应用细胞模型进行抗氧化活性（CAA）指标检测,化合物1-4均呈现一定抗氧化活性,其中化合物1的抗氧化活性最强,其EC₅₀为(24.73±6.12)μmol/L。聚炔类化合物1-4为荷叶离褶伞首次报道成分,可作为祁连山野生荷叶离褶伞HPLC-DAD化学表征参考化合物。     

幽门螺杆菌感染与胃癌相关基因的筛选及预后分析

目的通过分析幽门螺杆菌感染胃黏膜组织和胃癌细胞系后的差异基因变化,并在癌症基因组图谱(The Cancer Genome Atlas,TCGA)数据库和肿瘤基因芯片(Oncomine)数据库进行验证,探究幽门螺杆菌导致胃癌发生、发展的分子机制。方法分析基因表达汇编(Gene Expression Omnibus,GEO)数据库幽门螺杆菌感染相关芯片集GSE5081与GSE70394,绘制维恩图查找幽门螺杆菌感染后共同上调的差异基因。对共同上调的差异基因进行功能富集分析。通过TCGA和Oncomine数据库验证差异基因在胃癌中的表达。利用Kaplan-Meier Plotter数据库和GEPIA数据库分析差异基因表达高低与胃癌患者预后是否存在相关性。结果通过差异基因筛选和维恩分析,两个芯片集共有21个共同上调差异基因。GO分析发现共同上调差异基因主要富集在对细菌来源分子的反应、趋化因子CXCR受体结合、中性粒细胞趋化作用等相关的基因功能上;KEGG通路主要富集在癌症通路、TNF信号通路、趋化因子信号通路等。STRING以及PPI数据库分析发现21个基因中PRDM1、IL10、NRP1、BIRC3、GNG13、CXCL1、CXCL2、CXCL3、CXCL8基因存在有网络关系,属于关键枢纽基因。通过TCGA和Oncomine数据库筛选及验证,发现在胃癌组织中NRP1、CXCL1、CXCL8基因明显上调,结果差异有统计学意义(TCGA数据库中,三者P值均小于0.05,Oncomine数据库中,NRP1:t=4.607,P0.01;CXCL1:t=5.854,P0.01;CXCL8:t=5.316,P0.01)。在Kaplan-Meier Plotter数据库(210615-at芯片:P0.01;210510-s-at芯片:P0.01;212298-at芯片:P0.01)以及GEPIA数据库(P0.01)两个数据库中,NRP1的高表达均与胃癌的预后负相关。结论不同的数据库均显示NRP1、CXCL1、CXCL8三个基因与幽门螺杆菌感染相关,同时在胃癌中高表达,并且NRP1的高表达与胃癌的不良预后相关,这些结果为进一步探究幽门螺杆菌导致胃癌发生、发展的分子机制提供了重要基础。