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Providing sufficient driving force for charge separation and transfer (CST) is a critical issue in photoelectrochemical (PEC) energy conversion. Normally, the driving force is derived mainly from band bending at the photoelectrode/electrolyte interface but negligible in the bulk. To boost the bulky driving force, we report a rational strategy to create effective electric field via controllable lattice distortion in the bulk of a semiconductor film. This concept is verified by the lithiation of a classic TiO 2 (Li-TiO 2 ) photoelectrode, which leads to significant distortion of the TiO 6 unit cells in the bulk with well-aligned dipole moment. A remarkable internal built-in electric field of ~2.1 × 10 2  V m −1 throughout the Li-TiO 2 film is created to provide strong driving force for bulky CST. The photoelectrode demonstrates an over 750% improvement of photocurrent density and 100 mV negative shift of onset potential upon the lithiation compared to that of pristine TiO 2 film. The driving force for charge transfer in photoelectrochemical systems is typically derived from band bending at a surface-electrolyte interface. In this work, battery-type lithiation of TiO 2 generates a built-in electric field in the bulk material, giving a 750% enhancement in photocurrent density.

In order to solve the problem of the spontaneous combustion of coal gangue, a coal gangue fire-extinguishing material of gel–foam was developed. The foaming agent was screened by the Waring blender method with varying foam amounts, and the superabsorbent foam stabilizer was synthesized by free radical polymerization. Moreover, the gel–foam was used in a spontaneous combustion of coal gangue mountain field practice. The results showed that when the mass fraction of sodium dodecyl sulfonate and coconut oil amide propyl betaine was 0.6% and 4:6, the foaming amount was as high as 1500 mL. When the mass ratio of chitosan to acrylic acid was 1:6, the neutralization degree was 80%, the cross-linking agent was 0.8%, and the initiator was 0.01%, the water absorption of the synthesized superabsorbent foam stabilizer reached 476 mL/g. The synthesized gel–foam was tested in a spontaneous combustion coal gangue hill in a certain area, and no reburning sign was found within one month.

Background For most species, Aging is an inevitable biological process that poses significant challenges to global healthcare due to age-related diseases. Recent advances in peptide therapy have highlighted anti-aging peptides (AAPs) as a promising therapeutic strategy, owing to their low immunogenicity and ease of synthesis. However, the lack of computational tools for AAP identification has hindered systematic research in this field. Results In this study, we provided a benchmark dataset of anti-aging peptides (AAPs) based on their annotated biological functions and AgingBase database. Subsequently, we proposed three novel predictive models, including 1) Antiaging-FL, which integrates feature representation learning with machine learning algorithms; 2) ESM_GAN, which utilizes a generative adversarial network (GAN) for data augmentation to enhance prediction robustness; and 3) ESM_CNN, which combines a data augmentation strategy based on conservative amino acid substitutions with a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture for improved feature extraction. Comprehensive evaluations demonstrated that all three models achieved high predictive performance. Specifically, Antiaging-FL achieved an AUC of 1.00 on the AAP400 dataset and 0.99 on an independent test set, while ESM_GAN yielded AUCs of 0.99 and 0.95, and ESM_CNN obtained AUCs of 0.96 and 0.94, respectively. Conclusions Our study presents three high-performance models for AAP prediction, accelerating the discovery of novel anti-aging peptides. These models not only provide a valuable resource for researchers but also offer insights into the functional mechanisms of AAPs, paving the way for targeted drug development in aging-related therapeutics.

This study introduces a customized mask retainer to improve the fit performance of surgical masks using various advanced digital techniques. The participant’s 3D face scans with and without a surgical mask were taken by using a smartphone. The mask retainer was designed using the 3D face scan data based on the facial anthropometric landmarks. The fitting was inspected and adjusted using the masked face scan data. The retainer was fabricated using a 3D printer. The effectiveness of the retainer on the augmentation of the fit of the surgical mask was tested according to the Chinese Standard (GB 19083–2010). A questionnaire was used to assess the effect of wearing surgical masks with and without retainers and N95 respirators on subjective perception of discomfort. The effectiveness test of the retainer on the augmentation of the fit performance showed a better than 25-fold increase in the overall fit factor, meeting the fit requirement for KN95 respirators in China. The subjective perception of discomfort of wearing N95 was significantly greater than surgical mask with and without retainers. The fit factor results indicated that by using the retainer, the overall fit factors and that of each exercise significantly increased compared to that of the group with the surgical mask alone. And compared with N95, the surgical mask with the retainer significant improved comfort. The surgical mask with the retainer can provide an alternative of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

At the turn of the century, researchers discovered a unique subtype of T helper cells that secretes IL-17 and defined it as Th17. The latest study found that Th17 cells play both positive and negative definitive roles in the regulation of antitumor immune responses. Although the function of Th17 in the tumor microenvironment remains poorly understood, more and more studies have shown that this paradoxical dual role is closely related to the plasticity of Th17 cells in recent decades. Further understanding of the characteristics of Th17 cells in the tumor microenvironment could yield novel and useful therapeutic approaches to treat cancer. In this review, we further present the high plasticity of Th17 cells and the function of Th17-producing IL-17 in tumor immunity.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in the fields of consumer electronics, new energy vehicles, and grid energy storage due to their high energy density and long cycle life. However, how to effectively evaluate the State of Charge (SOC), State of Health (SOH), and overcharging behavior of batteries has become a key issue in improving battery safety and lifespan. Acoustic sensing technology, as an advanced non-destructive monitoring method, achieves real-time monitoring of the internal state of batteries and accurate evaluation of key parameters through ultrasonic testing technology and acoustic emission technology. This article systematically reviews the research progress of acoustic sensing technology in SOC, SOH, and overcharge behavior evaluation of LIBs, analyzes its working principle and application advantages, and explores future optimization directions and industrialization prospects. Acoustic sensing technology provides important support for building efficient and safe battery management systems.

In recent years, You Only Look Once (YOLO) models have gradually been applied to medical image object detection tasks due to their good scalability and excellent generalization performance, bringing new perspectives and approaches to this field. However, existing models overlook the impact of numerous consecutive convolutions and the sampling blur caused by bilinear interpolation, resulting in excessive computational costs and insufficient precision in object detection. To address these problems, we propose a YOLOv8-based model using Efficient modulation and dynamic upsampling (YOLO-ED) to detect lung cancer in CT images. Specifically, we incorporate two innovative modules, the Efficient Modulation module and the DySample module, into the YOLOv8 model. The Efficient Modulation module employs a weighted fusion strategy to extract features from input CT images, effectively reducing model parameters and computational overhead. Furthermore, the DySample module is designed to replace the conventional upsampling component in YOLO, thereby mitigating information loss when expanding feature maps. The dynamic bilinear interpolation introduced by this module increases random bias, which helps minimize errors in feature extraction. To validate the effectiveness of YOLO-ED, we compared it with baselines on the LUNG-PET-CT-DX lung cancer diagnosis dataset and the LUNA16 lung nodule dataset. The results show that YOLO-ED significantly improves precision and reduces computational cost on these two datasets, demonstrating its superiority in the detection of medical images.

Summary Heterologous expression of the biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) is important for studying the microbial natural products (NPs), especially for those kept in silent or poorly expressed in their original strains. Here, we cloned the spinosad BGC through the Cas9‐Assisted Targeting of Chromosome segments and amplified it to five copies through a ZouA‐dependent DNA amplification system in Streptomyces coelicolor M1146. The resulting strain produced 1253.9 ± 78.2 μg l−1 of spinosad, which was about 224‐fold compared with that of the parent strain carrying only one copy of the spinosad BGC. Moreover, we further increased spinosad to 1958.9 ± 73.5 μg l−1 by the dynamic regulation of intracellular triacylglycerol degradation. Our study indicates that tandem amplification of the targeted gene cluster is particularly suitable to enhance the heterologous production of valuable NPs with efficiency and simplicity. The heterologous production of spinosad has been significantly enhanced through tandem amplification of the spinosad BGC and dynamic regulation of the precursors. Our study indicates that tandem amplification of the targeted gene cluster is particularly suitable to enhance the heterologous production of valuable natural products with efficiency and simplicity.

This study introduces a customized mask retainer to improve the fit performance of surgical masks using various advanced digital techniques. The participant’s 3D face scans with and without a surgical mask were taken by using a smartphone. The mask retainer was designed using the 3D face scan data based on the facial anthropometric landmarks. The fitting was inspected and adjusted using the masked face scan data. The retainer was fabricated using a 3D printer. The effectiveness of the retainer on the augmentation of the fit of the surgical mask was tested according to the Chinese Standard (GB 19083–2010). A questionnaire was used to assess the effect of wearing surgical masks with and without retainers and N95 respirators on subjective perception of discomfort. The effectiveness test of the retainer on the augmentation of the fit performance showed a better than 25-fold increase in the overall fit factor, meeting the fit requirement for KN95 respirators in China. The subjective perception of discomfort of wearing N95 was significantly greater than surgical mask with and without retainers. The fit factor results indicated that by using the retainer, the overall fit factors and that of each exercise significantly increased compared to that of the group with the surgical mask alone. And compared with N95, the surgical mask with the retainer significant improved comfort. The surgical mask with the retainer can provide an alternative of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers.

Monolayer (ML) Tl2O, as a newly discovered metal-shrouded two-dimensional semiconductor with an appropriate bandgap and high carrier mobility, is a promising candidate as the channel materials for the next-generation field-effect transistors (FETs). Using ab initio electronic structure calculation and quantum transport simulation, the contact properties of ML Tl2O–metal interfaces based on FET are comprehensively investigated with Au, Sc, Tl, Ni, graphene, Ti2C, Ti2CF2, and Ti2C(OH)2 electrodes. ML Tl2O undergoes metallization with Au, Sc, Tl, Ni, and Ti2C, while it forms van der Waals-type contact with graphene, Ti2CF2, and Ti2C(OH)2. An n-type lateral Schottky contact is formed with Ni, Au, Sc, and Ti2C electrodes with the electron Schottky barrier height (SBH) of 0.25, 0.27, 0.27, and 0.36 eV, respectively, while a p-type lateral Schottky contact is formed with graphene electrode with the hole SBH of 0.10 eV. Surprisingly, a desired n-type Ohmic contact arises with Tl and Ti2C(OH)2 electrodes and a desired p-type Ohmic contact arises with Ti2CF2 electrode. The study not only provides a deep understanding of the interfacial properties of the ML Tl2O FETs but also reveals a versatile approach to realize both n- and p-type Ohmic contact for the ML Tl2O FETs.