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Copper electrodes have been shown to be selective toward the electroreduction of carbon dioxide to ethylene, carbon monoxide, or formate. However, the underlying causes of their activities, which have been attributed to a rise in local pH near the surface of the electrode, presence of atomic-scale defects, and/or residual oxygen atoms in the catalysts, etc., have not been generally agreed on. Here, we perform a study of carbon dioxide reduction on four copper catalysts from −0.45 to −1.30 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. The selectivities exhibited by 20 previously reported copper catalysts are also analyzed. We demonstrate that the selectivity of carbon dioxide reduction is greatly affected by the applied potentials and currents, regardless of the starting condition of copper catalysts. This study shows that optimization of the current densities at the appropriate potential windows is critical for designing highly selective copper catalysts. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide provides a means to convert environmental carbon into utile products. Product selectivity factors are disputed. Here, authors examine 24 copper catalysts and show that mass transport plus the electrochemical potential window drive selectivity.

Diabetic chronic wounds or amputation, which are complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), are a cause of great suffering for diabetics. In addition to the lack of oxygen, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced vascularization, microbial invasion is also a critical factor that induces non-healing chronic diabetic wounds, ie, wounds still remaining in the stage of inflammation, after which the wound tissue begins to age and becomes necrotic. To clear up the infection, alleviate the inflammation in the wound and prevent necrosis, many kinds of hydrogel have been fabricated to eliminate infections with pathogens. The unique properties of hydrogels make them ideally suited to wound dressings because they provide a moist environment for wound healing and act as a barrier against bacteria. This review article will mainly cover the recent developments and innovations of antibacterial hydrogels for diabetic chronic wound healing.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and due to the widespread and irreversible damage caused, new therapeutic treatments are urgently needed in order to limit the degree of ischaemic damage following MI. Aberrant activation of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway often occurs during cardiovascular diseases including MI, which results in excess production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and further promotes myocardial dysfunction. Huoxin pill (HXP) is a Traditional Chinese Medicine formula that has been widely used in the treatment of coronary heart disease and angina; however, its mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we performed mouse models of MI and examined the effects and mechanisms of HXP in protecting against MI‐induced ischaemic damage. Our study showed that administration with HXP robustly protected against MI‐induced cardiac injuries, decreased infarct size and improved cardiac function. Moreover, HXP attenuated ischaemia‐induced DNA damage occurrence in vivo and H2O2‐induced DNA damage occurrence in vitro, via potent inhibition of adverse Wnt/β‑catenin signalling activation. Our study thus elucidated the role and mechanism of HXP in protecting against MI and oxidative stress‐induced injuries and suggests new therapeutic strategies in ischaemic heart disease via inhibition of Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway.

Developing non-noble catalysts with superior activity and durability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic media is paramount for hydrogen production from water. Still, challenges remain due to the inadequate activity and stability of the OER catalyst. Here, we report a cost-effective and stable manganese oxybromide (Mn 7.5 O 10 Br 3 ) catalyst exhibiting an excellent OER activity in acidic electrolytes, with an overpotential of as low as 295 ± 5 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 . Mn 7.5 O 10 Br 3 maintains good stability under operating conditions for at least 500 h. In situ Raman spectroscopy, X ray absorption near edge spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations confirm that a self-oxidized surface with enhanced electronic transmission capacity forms on Mn 7.5 O 10 Br 3 and is responsible for both the high catalytic activity and long-term stability during catalysis. The development of Mn 7.5 O 10 Br 3 as an OER catalyst provides crucial insights into the design of non-noble metal electrocatalysts for water oxidation. While acidic water splitting offers a renewable means to obtain renewable hydrogen fuel, the catalysts needed to oxidize water often require expensive noble metals. Here, authors show manganese oxyhalides as acidic oxygen evolution electrocatalysts.

Photoelectrochemical water splitting provides a promising solution for harvesting and storing solar energy. As the best-performing oxide photocathode, the Cu 2 O photocathode holds the performance rivaling that of many photovoltaic semiconductor-based photocathodes through continuous research and development. However, the state-of-the-art Cu 2 O photocathode employs gold as the back contact which can lead to considerable electron-hole recombination. Here, we present a Cu 2 O photocathode with overall improved performance, enabled by using solution-processed CuSCN as hole transport material. Two types of CuSCN with different structures are synthesized and carefully compared. Furthermore, detailed characterizations reveal that hole transport between Cu 2 O and CuSCN is assisted by band-tail states. Owing to the multiple advantages of applying CuSCN as the hole transport layer, a standalone solar water splitting tandem cell is built, delivering a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 4.55%. Finally, approaches towards more efficient dual-absorber tandems are discussed. While solar-to-fuel conversion offers a promising technology to produce energy, device components can limit light absorption and reduce performances. Here, authors show copper thiocyanate to assist hole transport in photoelectrodes and enable a 4.55% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency in tandem devices.

Heart failure (HF) remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Although various drugs are currently used in the treatment of HF, including angiotensin receptor blockers, angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors and beta blockers, none of these drugs can reverse the physiological remodelling of the heart associated with HF. Therefore, discovering novel drugs that can limit the extent of HF or prevent the structural dysfunction of the heart during HF progression is urgently needed. Baicalin is a natural flavonoid widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for its anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidative effects; however, the role of baicalin in chronic HF, in particular its underlying mechanisms of action, remains largely unelucidated. Murine models of beta‐adrenergic receptor agonist (β‐AR)‐induced HF were induced via chronic induction with isoproterenol (ISO) for 4 weeks. Furthermore, we examined the effects and mechanisms of baicalin in protecting against ISO‐induced cardiac impairment and HF. Daily administrations of baicalin robustly protected against chronic ISO‐induced pathophysiological changes of the heart, including cardiac hypertrophy, reduced ejection fraction, fibrosis and remodelling. Baicalin also strongly inhibited the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the heart by preventing overactivation of the NADPH oxidase NOX2. Hence, the cardioprotective effects of baicalin in preventing chronic β‐AR‐induced HF were due to preventing the overactivation of NOX2 and generation of excessive oxidative stress. Our findings provide new mechanistic insight and suggest the therapeutic potential of baicalin as a novel drug in the treatment of chronic HF.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a well‐known angiogenic factor, however its ability in promoting therapeutic angiogenesis following myocardial infarction (MI) is limited. Here, we aimed to investigate whether dual treatment with insulin‐like growth factor binding protein‐4 (IGFBP‐4), an agent that protects against early oxidative damage, can be effective in enhancing the therapeutic effect of VEGF following MI. Combined treatment with IGFBP‐4 enhanced VEGF‐induced angiogenesis and prevented cell damage via enhancing the expression of a key angiogenic factor angiopoietin‐1. Dual treatment with the two agents synergistically decreased cardiac fibrosis markers collagen‐I and collagen‐III following MI. Importantly, while the protective action of IGFBP‐4 occurs at an early stage of ischemic injury, the action of VEGF occurs at a later stage, at the onset angiogenesis. Our findings demonstrate that VEGF treatment alone is often not enough to protect against oxidative stress and promote post‐ischemic angiogenesis, whereas the combined treatment with IGFBP4 and VEGF can utilize the dual roles of these agents to effectively protect against ischemic and oxidative injury, and promote angiogenesis. These findings provide important insights into the roles of these agents in the clinical setting, and suggest new strategies in the treatment of ischemic heart disease.

Copper catalysts modified with tin have been demonstrated to be selective for the electroreduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. However, such catalysts require the precise control of tin loading amount. Here, we develop a copper/tin-oxide catalyst with dominant tin oxide surface being formed via a spontaneous exchange reaction between sputtered tin and copper oxide. Even though the surface of this catalyst is tin-rich, it achieves an excellent performance towards carbon monoxide production in a flow cell. This contrasts with copper/tin-oxide prepared via atomic layer deposition since it yields selectivity towards carbon monoxide only on a copper-rich surface. Mechanism studies reveal that the tin sites on the tin-rich copper/tin-oxide surface achieve a suitable binding with adsorbed carbon monoxide under the presence of copper. Powered by a triple-junction solar cell, the copper/tin-oxide based electrolyzer sets a new benchmark solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency of 19.9 percent with a Faradaic efficiency of 98.9 percent towards carbon monoxide under simulated standard air mass 1.5 global illumination. Solar-driven carbon dioxide reduction has witnessed a renaissance in the past decades, but the system suffers from low reaction rates. Here the authors develop a copper/tin-oxide electrocatalyst, achieving a new benchmark solar-to-CO energy conversion efficiency in a flow electrolyzer.

Photoelectrochemical cells are widely studied for solar energy conversion. However, they have rarely been used for the synthesis of high added-value organic molecules. Here we describe a strategy to use haematite, an abundant and robust photoanode, for non-directed arene C–H amination. Under illumination, the photogenerated holes in haematite oxidize electron-rich arenes to radical cations, which further react with azoles to give nitrogen heterocycles of medicinal interest. Unusual ortho selectivity was achieved, probably due to a hydrogen-bonding interaction between the substrates and the hexafluoroisopropanol co-solvent. The method exhibits broad scope and is successfully applied for the late-stage functionalization of several pharmaceutical molecules. Photoelectrochemical cells have been widely used for the production of solar fuels, but have seen limited applications in organic synthesis. Here the authors demonstrate photoelectrocatalytic C–H amination of aromatics, using haematite as the photoanode.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Its sustained proliferative signaling poses a major challenge for effective therapeutic intervention. Since CRC originates from aberrantly proliferating crypt cells, limiting proliferation or inducing senescence may offer a promising treatment approach. Lycium barbarum glycopeptide (LbGP), a traditional Chinese medicine component, is known for its immunomodulatory and other beneficial effects. This study aims to examine the anti-tumor effects of LbGP in CRC as well as its underlying mechanisms of action. We used CT26 CRC cells to investigate the effects of LbGP on tumor proliferation both in vitro and in an allograft mouse model. LbGP treatment significantly inhibited CT26 cell proliferation in vitro and suppressed tumor growth in CT26-implanted mice. Furthermore, LbGP treatment significantly upregulated p53/p21 levels both in vitro and in vivo, leading to CT26 cell cycle arrest in the S phase and the induction of tumor cell senescence. These findings demonstrate that LbGP effectively induces CRC cell cycle arrest and senescence via the p53/p21 pathway and may serve as a promising candidate for CRC adjuvant therapy.