Energy Harvesting from Breeze Wind (0.7–6 m s−1) Using Ultra‐Stretchable Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Wind is one of the most important sources of green energy, but the current technology for harvesting wind energy is only effective when the wind speed is beyond 3.5–4.0 m s^?1. This is mainly due to the limitation that the electromagnetic generator works best at high frequency. This means that light breezes cannot reach the wind velocity threshold of current wind turbines. Here, a high‐performance triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) for efficiently harvesting energy from an ambient gentle wind, especially for speeds below 3 m s^?1 is reported, by taking advantage of the relative high efficiency of TENGs at low‐frequency. Attributed to the multiplied‐frequency vibration of ultra‐stretchable and perforated electrodes, an average output of 20 mW m^?3 can be achieved with inlet wind speed of 0.7 m s^?1, while an average energy conversion efficiency of 7.8% at wind speed of 2.5 m s^?1 is reached. A self‐charging power package is developed and the applicability of the TENG in various light breezes is demonstrated. This work demonstrates the advantages of TENG technology for breeze energy exploitation and proposes an effective supplementary approach for current employed wind turbines and micro energy structure.     

Robust Swing‐Structured Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Efficient Blue Energy Harvesting

Ocean wave energy is a promising renewable energy source, but harvesting such irregular, “random,” and mostly ultra‐low frequency energies is rather challenging due to technological limitations. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provide a potential efficient technology for scavenging ocean wave energy. Here, a robust swing‐structured triboelectric nanogenerator (SS‐TENG) with high energy conversion efficiency for ultra‐low frequency water wave energy harvesting is reported. The swing structure inside the cylindrical TENG greatly elongates its operation time, accompanied with multiplied output frequency. The design of the air gap and flexible dielectric brushes enable mininized frictional resistance and sustainable triboelectric charges, leading to enhanced robustness and durability. The TENG performance is controlled by external triggering conditions, with a long swing time of 88 s and a high energy conversion efficiency, as well as undiminished performance after continuous triggering for 4 00 000 cycles. Furthermore, the SS‐TENG is demonstrated to effectively harvest water wave energy. Portable electronic devices are successfully powered for self‐powered sensing and environment monitoring. Due to the excellent performance of the distinctive mechanism and structure, the SS‐TENG in this work provides a good candidate for harvesting blue energy on a large scale.     

Double the Capacity of Manganese Spinel for Lithium‐Ion Storage by Suppression of Cooperative Jahn–Teller Distortion

The relatively low capacity and capacity fade of spinel LiMn₂O₄ (LMO) limit its application as a cathode material for lithium‐ion batteries. Extending the potential window of LMO below 3 V to access double capacity would be fantastic but hard to be realized, as it will lead to fast capacity loss due to the serious Jahn–Teller distortion. Here using experiments combined with extensive ab initio calculations, it is proved that there is a cooperative effect among individual Jahn–Teller distortions of Mn³⁺O₆ octahedrons in LMO, named as cooperative Jahn–Teller distortion (CJTD) in the text, which is the difficulty to access the capacity beyond one lithium intercalation. It is further proposed that the cationic disordering (excess Li at Mn sites and Li/Mn exchange) can intrinsically suppress the CJTD of Mn³⁺O₆ octahedrons. The cationic disordering can break the symmetry of Mn³⁺ arrangements to disrupt the correlation of distortions arising from individual JT centers and prevent the Mn³⁺? O bonds distorting along one direction. Interestingly, with the suppressed CJTD, the original octahedral vacancies in spinel LMO are activated and can serve as extra Li‐ion storage sites to access the double capacity with good reversible cycling stability in microsized LMO.     

加味八珍汤联合PFNA术治疗老年股骨转子间骨折患者的临床效果及对血液流变学指标的影响

目的:研究加味八珍汤联合股骨近端防旋髓内钉(Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation,PFNA)对老年股骨转子间骨折患者的临床效果及对术后隐性失血和血液流变学的影响。方法:选择2014年3月至2017年3月我院收治的68例接受PFNA治疗的转子间骨折者,将其随机平均分为观察组(34例,术后口服加味八珍汤颗粒7天)、对照组(34例)。对比两组总失血量、隐性失血量、隐性失血比例、血液流变学指标(血浆粘度及全血黏度低、中、高切)、不良反应等。结果:⑴两组各剔除2例,94.12%(64/68)的受试者完成研究。⑵两组总失血量相当,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);与对照组相比,观察组隐性失血量及隐性失血发生率均显著降低(P0.05)。⑶治疗前,两组血浆粘度及低、中、高切全血黏度比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05);治疗后,两组血浆粘度及低、中、高切全血黏度均显著低于本组治疗前(P0.05),且观察组以上指标均明显低于对照组(P0.05)。⑷观察组发生肌间静脉血栓1例,无药物过敏及毒副反应;对照组发生1例深静脉血栓、4例肌间静脉血栓。观察组不良反应率为3.125%,显著低于对照组(15.625%,P0.05)。结论:加味八珍汤既可显著减少老年股骨转子间骨折患者PFNA术后隐性失血,又能改善血流动力学、减少并发症。     

Correction to: Development of a Novel Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

Virologica Sinica - The corrected legend is given below.     

Long-Term Existence of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 Patients: Host Immunity,Viral Virulence,and Transmissibility

Virologica Sinica - COVID-19 patients can recover with a median SARS-CoV-2 clearance of 20 days post initial symptoms (PIS). However, we observed some COVID-19 patients with existing...     

DNA framework-engineered electrochemical biosensors

Self-assembled DNA nanostructures have shown remarkable potential in the engineering of biosensing interfaces, which can improve the performance of various biosensors. In particular, by exploiting the structural rigidity and programmability of the framework nucleic acids with high precision, molecular recognition on the electrochemical biosensing interface has been significantly enhanced, leading to the development of highly sensitive and specific biosensors for nucleic acids, small molecules,proteins, and cells. In this review, we summarize recent advances in DNA framework-engineered biosensing interfaces and the application of corresponding electrochemical biosensors.     

A Cu-only superoxide dismutase from stripe rust fungi functions as a virulence factor deployed for counter defense against host-derived oxidative stress

Plants quickly accumulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) to resist against pathogen invasion, while pathogens strive to escape host immune surveillance by degrading ROS. However, the nature of the strategies that fungal pathogens adopt to counteract host-derived oxidative stress is manifold and requires deep investigation. In this study, a superoxide dismutase (SOD) from Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) PsSOD2 with a signal peptide (SP) and the glycophosphatidyl inositol (GPI) anchor, strongly induced during infection, was analysed for its biological characteristics and potential role in wheat–Pst interactions. The results showed that PsSOD2 encodes a Cu-only SOD and responded to ROS treatment. Heterologous complementation assays in Saccharomyces cerevisiae suggest that the SP of PsSOD2 is functional for its secretion. Transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves revealed that PsSOD2 is localized to the plasma membrane. In addition, knockdown of PsSOD2 by host-induced gene silencing reduced Pst virulence and resulted in restricted hyphal development and increased ROS accumulation. In contrast, heterologous transient assays of PsSOD2 suppressed flg22-elicited ROS production. Taken together, our data indicate that PsSOD2, as a virulence factor, was induced and localized to the plasma membrane where it may function to scavenge host-derived ROS for promoting fungal infection.