Variation in Phenolic Content,Profile, and Antioxidant Activity of Seeds among Different Paeonia ostii Cultivated Populations in China

The purpose of this study was to analyze the phenolic profiles of seeds from fifteen Paeonia ostii cultivated populations in China and identify their relationship with antioxidant activities and associated environmental factors. Thirteen individual phenolic compounds were quantitatively determined by HPLC, and (+)‐catechin was the most abundant phenolic compound in the seeds. Correlation analysis showed that phenolics were the most effective antioxidant compound class by evaluating DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities as well as ferric reducing antioxidant power. Latitude and annual rainfall had significant effects on the contents of many phenolic compounds, and elevation was only significantly correlated with gallic acid content. Within fifteen P. ostii cultivated populations, the seeds of Tongling population exhibited the highest phenolic contents and strongest antioxidant activities. These results suggest that Tongling population has a relatively high utilization value and a potential for sources of natural antioxidants.     

An Ultralong Lifespan and Low‐Temperature Workable Sodium‐Ion Full Battery for Stationary Energy Storage

Presently, commercialization of sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) is still hindered by the relatively poor energy‐storage performance. In addition, low‐temperature (low‐T) Na storage is another principal concern for the wide application of SIBs. Unfortunately, the Na‐transfer kinetics is extremely sluggish at low‐T, as a result, there are few reports on low‐T SIBs. Here, an advanced low‐T sodium‐ion full battery (SIFB) assembled by an anode of 3D Se/graphene composite and a high‐voltage cathode (Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂O₂F) is developed, exhibiting ultralong lifespan (over even 15 000 cycles, the capacity retention is still up to 86.3% at 1 A g^?1), outstanding low‐T energy storage performance (e.g., all values of capacity retention are >75% after 1000 cycles at temperatures from 25 to ?25 °C at 0.4 A g^?1), and high‐energy/power properties. Such ultralong lifespan signifies that the developed sodium‐ion full battery can be used for longer than 60 years, if batteries charge/discharge once a day and 80% capacity retention is the standard of battery life. As a result, the present study not only promotes the practicability and commercialization of SIBs but also points out the new developing directions of next‐generation energy storage for wider range applications.     

Influence of Donor Polymer on the Molecular Ordering of Small Molecular Acceptors in Nonfullerene Polymer Solar Cells

Nonfullerene polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on polymer donors and nonfullerene small molecular acceptors (SMAs) have recently attracted considerable attention. Although much of the progress is driven by the development of novel SMAs, the donor polymer also plays an important role in achieving efficient nonfullerene PSCs. However, it is far from clear how the polymer donor choice influences the morphology and performance of the SMAs and the nonfullerene blends. In addition, it is challenging to carry out quantitative analysis of the morphology of polymer:SMA blends, due to the low material contrast and overlapping scattering features of the π–π stacking between the two organic components. Here, a series of nonfullerene blends is studied based on ITIC‐Th blended with five different donor polymers. Through quantitative morphology analysis, the (010) coherence length of the SMA is characterized and a positive correlation between the coherence length of the SMA and the device fill factor (FF) is established. The study reveals that the donor polymer can significantly change the molecular ordering of the SMA and thus improve the electron mobility and domain purity of the blend, which has an overall positive effect that leads to the enhanced device FF for nonfullerene PSCs.     

Superelastic Hybrid CNT/Graphene Fibers for Wearable Energy Storage

The demands for wearable technologies continue to grow and novel approaches for powering these devices are being enabled by the advent of new electromaterials and novel fabrication strategies. Herein, a novel approach is reported to develop superelastic wet‐spun hybrid carbon nanotube graphene fibers followed by electrodeposition of polyaniline to achieve a high‐performance fiber‐based supercapacitor. It is found that the specific capacitance of hybrid carbon nanotube (CNT)/graphene fiber is enhanced up to ≈39% using a graphene to CNT fiber ratio of 1:3. Fabrication of spring‐like coiled fiber coated with an elastic polymer shows an extraordinary elasticity capable of 800% strain while affording a specific capacitance of ≈138 F g^?1. The elastic rubber coating enables extreme stretchability and enabling cycles with up to 500% strain for thousands of cycles with no significant change in its performance. Multiple supercapacitors can be easily assembled in series or parallel to meet specific energy and power needs.     

High‐Performance and Low‐Temperature Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: Synergism of Thermodynamic and Kinetic Regulation

The intrinsic polysulfides shuttle, resulting from not only concentration‐gradient diffusion but also slow conversion kinetics of polysulfides, bears the primary responsibility for the poor capacity and cycle stability of lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs). Here, it is first presented that enriched edge sites derived from vertical standing and ultrathin 2D layered metal selenides (2DLMS) can simultaneously achieve the thermodynamic and kinetic regulation for polysulfides diffusion, which is systematically elucidated through theoretical calculation, electrochemical characterization, and spectroscopic/microscopic analysis. When employed to fabricate compact coating layer of separator, an ultrahigh capacity of 1338.7 mA h g^?1 is delivered after 100 cycles at 0.2 C, which is the best among the reports. Over 1000 cycles, the cell still maintains the capacity of 546.8 mA h g^?1 at 0.5 C. Moreover, the cell exhibits outstanding capacities of 1106.2 and 865.7 mA h g^?1 after 100 cycles at stern temperature of 0 and ?25 °C. The superior low‐temperature performance is appealing for extended practical application of LSBs. Especially, in view of the economy, the 2DLMS is recycled as an anode of lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion batteries after finishing the test of LSBs. The low‐cost and scalable 2DLMS with enriched egde sites open a new avenue for the perfect regulation of the sulfur electrode.     

A Practicable Li/Na‐Ion Hybrid Full Battery Assembled by a High‐Voltage Cathode and Commercial Graphite Anode: Superior Energy Storage Performance and Working Mechanism

With the rapidly growing demand for low‐cost and safe energy storage, the advanced battery concepts have triggered strong interests beyond the state‐of‐the‐art Li‐ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, a novel hybrid Li/Na‐ion full battery (HLNIB) composed of the high‐energy and lithium‐free Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂O₂F (NVPOF) cathode and commercial graphite anode mesophase carbon micro beads is for the first time designed. The assembled HLNIBs exhibit two high working voltage at about 4.05 and 3.69 V with a specific capacity of 112.7 mA h g^?1. Its energy density can reach up to 328 W h kg^?1 calculated from the total mass of both cathode and anode materials. Moreover, the HLNIBs show outstanding high‐rate capability, long‐term cycle life, and excellent low‐temperature performance. In addition, the reaction kinetics and Li/Na‐insertion/extraction mechanism into/out NVPOF is preliminarily investigated by the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique and ex situ X‐ray diffraction. This work provides a new and profound direction to develop advanced hybrid batteries.     

Comparative digestibility of energy and ileal amino acids in yeast extract and spray-dried porcine plasma fed to pigs

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the digestible (DE) and metabolisable energy (ME), apparent (AID) and standardised ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in yeast extract (YE) and spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP). In Experiment 1, 18 barrows (25.1 ± 1.2 kg body weight [BW]) were randomly allotted to three treatments with six replicates per treatment. The DE and ME of YE was 20.64 and 19.31 MJ/kg, respectively, which were not significantly different with the DE and ME of SDPP (18.74 and 18.05 MJ/kg, respectively). In Experiment 2, six barrows (20.6 ± 2.6 kg BW) fitted with ileal T-cannulas were fed three diets in a repeated 3-period Latin square design. For Met and Glu, the AID tended to be, while the SID was significantly higher (p < 0.05), in YE than in SDPP. The AID of Cys tended to be lower in YE (p = 0.07), while the SID of Phe tended to be higher in YE than in SDPP (p = 0.06). Accordingly, YE could be a potential substitute for SDPP as a superior protein ingredient in diets for pigs in terms of the available energy and AA digestibility.     

Systematic re-evaluation of intraoperative motor-evoked potential suppression in scoliosis surgery

Background

Motor- (MEP) and somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEP) are susceptible to the effects of intraoperative environmental factors.

Methods

Over a 5-year period, 250 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) who underwent corrective surgery with IOM were retrospectively analyzed for MEP suppression (MEPS).

Results

Our results show that four distinct groups of MEPS were encountered over the study period. All 12 patients did not sustain any neurological deficits postoperatively. However, comparison of groups 1 and 2 suggests that neither the duration of anesthesia nor speed of surgical or anesthetic intervention were associated with recovery to a level beyond the criteria for MEPS. For group 3, spontaneous MEPS recovery despite the lack of surgical intervention suggests that anesthetic intervention may play a role in this process. However, spontaneous MEPS recovery was also seen in group 4, suggesting that in certain circumstances, both surgical and anesthetic intervention was not required. In addition, neither the duration of time to the first surgical manoeuver nor the duration of surgical manoeuver to MEPS were related to recovery of MEPS. None of the patients had suppression of SSEPs intraoperatively.

Conclusion

This study suggests that in susceptible individuals, MEPS may rarely occur unpredictably, independent of surgical or anesthetic intervention. However, our findings favor anesthetic before surgical intervention as a proposed protocol. Early recognition of MEPS is important to prevent false positives in the course of IOM for spinal surgery.