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In contrast to conventional batteries, anode-free configurations can extend cell-level energy densities closer to the theoretical limit. However, realizing alkali metal plating/stripping on a bare current collector with high reversibility is challenging, especially at low temperature, as an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase and uncontrolled dendrite growth occur more easily. Here, a low-temperature anode-free potassium (K) metal non-aqueous battery is reported. By introducing Si-O-based additives, namely polydimethylsiloxane, in a weak-solvation low-concentration electrolyte of 0.4 M potassium hexafluorophosphate in 1,2-dimethoxyethane, the in situ formed potassiophilic interface enables uniform K deposition, and offers K||Cu cells with an average K plating/stripping Coulombic efficiency of 99.80% at −40 °C. Consequently, anode-free Cu||prepotassiated 3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylicacid-dianhydride full batteries achieve stable cycling with a high specific energy of 152 Wh kg −1 based on the total mass of the negative and positive electrodes at 0.2 C (26 mA g −1 ) charge/discharge and −40 °C. Low temperature operation of anode-free batteries is limited by poor reversibility of metal plating/stripping. Here, via electrolyte engineering, authors enable −40 °C operation of an anode-free K metal battery by tailoring a weakly solvating electrolyte with a silicone polymer additive.

Background Plant health and growth are negatively affected by pathogen invasion; however, plants can dynamically modulate their rhizosphere microbiome and adapt to such biotic stresses. Although plant-recruited protective microbes can be assembled into synthetic communities for application in the control of plant disease, rhizosphere microbial communities commonly contain some taxa at low abundance. The roles of low-abundance microbes in synthetic communities remain unclear; it is also unclear whether all the microbes enriched by plants can enhance host adaptation to the environment. Here, we assembled a synthetic community with a disease resistance function based on differential analysis of root-associated bacterial community composition. We further simplified the synthetic community and investigated the roles of low-abundance bacteria in the control of Astragalus mongholicus root rot disease by a simple synthetic community. Results Fusarium oxysporum infection reduced bacterial Shannon diversity and significantly affected the bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere and roots of Astragalus mongholicus . Under fungal pathogen challenge, Astragalus mongholicus recruited some beneficial bacteria such as Stenotrophomonas , Achromobacter , Pseudomonas , and Flavobacterium to the rhizosphere and roots. We constructed a disease-resistant bacterial community containing 10 high- and three low-abundance bacteria enriched in diseased roots. After the joint selection of plants and pathogens, the complex synthetic community was further simplified into a four-species community composed of three high-abundance bacteria ( Stenotrophomonas sp., Rhizobium sp., Ochrobactrum sp.) and one low-abundance bacterium ( Advenella sp.). Notably, a simple community containing these four strains and a thirteen-species community had similar effects on the control root rot disease. Furthermore, the simple community protected plants via a synergistic effect of highly abundant bacteria inhibiting fungal pathogen growth and less abundant bacteria activating plant-induced systemic resistance. Conclusions Our findings suggest that bacteria with low abundance play an important role in synthetic communities and that only a few bacterial taxa enriched in diseased roots are associated with disease resistance. Therefore, the construction and simplification of synthetic communities found in the present study could be a strategy employed by plants to adapt to environmental stress. -VujMZjCpFzTumqS8Rf9nH Video abstract

Background A pandemic is a very stressful event, especially for highly vulnerable people (e.g., older adults). The purpose of the current study was to investigate the main and interactive relationships of social support and resilience on individual mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic across three age groups: emerging adults, adults, and older adults. Methods A survey was conducted with 23,192 participants aged 18–85. Respondents completed a questionnaire, including items on the COVID-19-related support they perceived from different sources, the abbreviated version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Mental Health Inventory. Results Latent profile analysis identified five profiles of social support, and the patterns of potential profiles were similar in all groups. However, category distribution in the five profiles was significantly different among the age groups. Furthermore, analysis using the BCH command showed significant differences in mental health among these profiles. Lastly, interactive analyses indicated resilience had a positive relationship with mental health, and social support served as a buffer against the negative impact of low resilience on mental health. Conclusions This study provides quantitative evidence for socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) and enables several practical implications for helping different age groups protecting mental health during pandemic.

ObjectiveThe significance of the liver-microbiome axis has been increasingly recognised as a major modulator of autoimmunity. The aim of this study was to take advantage of a large well-defined corticosteroids treatment-naïve group of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) to rigorously characterise gut dysbiosis compared with healthy controls.DesignWe performed a cross-sectional study of individuals with AIH (n=91) and matched healthy controls (n=98) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. An independent cohort of 28 patients and 34 controls was analysed to validate the results. All the patients were collected before corticosteroids therapy.ResultsThe gut microbiome of steroid treatment-naïve AIH was characterised with lower alpha-diversity (Shannon and observed operational taxonomic units, both p<0.01) and distinct overall microbial composition compared with healthy controls (p=0.002). Depletion of obligate anaerobes and expansion of potential pathobionts including Veillonella were associated with disease status. Of note, Veillonella dispar, the most strongly disease-associated taxa (p=8.85E–8), positively correlated with serum level of aspartate aminotransferase and liver inflammation. Furthermore, the combination of four patients with AIH-associated genera distinguished AIH from controls with an area under curves of approximately 0.8 in both exploration and validation cohorts. In addition, multiple predicted functional modules were altered in the AIH gut microbiome, including lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis as well as metabolism of amino acids that can be processed by bacteria to produce immunomodulatory metabolites.ConclusionOur study establishes compositional and functional alterations of gut microbiome in AIH and suggests the potential for using gut microbiota as non-invasive biomarkers to assess disease activity.

Cold temperatures can be detrimental to crop survival and productivity. Breeding progress can be improved by understanding the molecular basis of low temperature tolerance. We investigated the key routes and critical metabolites related to low temperature resistance in cold-tolerant and -sensitive common bean cultivars 120 and 093, respectively. Many potential genes and metabolites implicated in major metabolic pathways during the chilling stress response were identified through transcriptomics and metabolomics research. Under chilling stress, the expression of many genes involved in lipid, amino acid, and flavonoid metabolism, as well as metabolite accumulation increased in the two bean types. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content was lower in 120 than in 093. Regarding amino acid metabolism, 120 had a higher concentration of acidic amino acids than 093, whereas 093 had a higher concentration of basic amino acids. Methionine accumulation was clearly higher in 120 than in 093. In addition, 120 had a higher concentration of many types of flavonoids than 093. Flavonoids, methionine and malondialdehyde could be used as biomarkers of plant chilling injury. Transcriptome analysis of hormone metabolism revealed considerably greater, expression of abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellin (GA), and jasmonic acid (JA) in 093 than in 120 during chilling stress, indicating that hormone regulation modes in 093 and 120 were different. Thus, chilling stress tolerance is different between 093 and 120 possibly due to transcriptional and metabolic regulation.

Pathogenic α-synuclein (α-syn) is a prion-like protein that drives the pathogenesis of Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). To target pathogenic α-syn preformed fibrils (PFF), here we designed extracellular disulfide bond-free synthetic nanobody libraries in yeast. Following selection, we identified a nanobody, PFFNB2, that can specifically recognize α-syn PFF over α-syn monomers. PFFNB2 cannot inhibit the aggregation of α-syn monomer, but can significantly dissociate α-syn fibrils. Furthermore, adeno-associated virus (AAV)-encoding EGFP fused to PFFNB2 (AAV-EGFP-PFFNB2) can inhibit PFF-induced α-syn serine 129 phosphorylation (pS129) in mouse primary cortical neurons, and prevent α-syn pathology spreading to the cortex in the transgenic mice expressing human wild type (WT) α-syn by intrastriatal-PFF injection. The pS129 immunoreactivity is negatively correlated with the expression of AAV-EGFP-PFFNB2. In conclusion, PFFNB2 holds a promise for mechanistic exploration and therapeutic development in α-syn-related pathogenesis. Butler et al. selected disulfide bond-free nanobodies to target α-synuclein fibrils. Nanobody PFFNB2 was shown to disaggregate α-synuclein fibrils in vitro and inhibit α-synuclein pathology development in neuron cultures and mouse models.

To study the impact of the promotion of electric vehicles on carbon emissions in China, the full life carbon emissions of electric vehicles are studied on the basis of considering such factors as vehicle weight and grid mix composition, and fuel vehicles are added for comparison. In this paper, we collect data for 34 domestic electric vehicles, and linear regression analysis is used to model the relationship between vehicle weight and energy consumption. Then, a Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment method is used to establish the life cycle carbon emission calculation model for electric vehicles and fuel vehicles. Finally, the life cycle carbon emissions of electric vehicles and fuel vehicles under different electrical energy structures are discussed using scenario analysis. The results show that under the current grid mix composition in China, the carbon emissions of electric vehicles of the same vehicle weight class are 24% to 31% higher than that of fuel vehicles. As the proportion of clean energy in the grid mix composition increases, the advantages of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions will gradually emerge.

ObjectiveA close relationship between gut microbiota and some chronic liver disorders has recently been described. Herein, we systematically performed a comparative analysis of the gut microbiome in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and healthy controls.DesignWe first conducted a cross-sectional study of 60 ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment-naïve patients with PBC and 80 matched healthy controls. Second, an independent cohort composed of 19 treatment-naïve patients and 34 controls was used to validate the results. Finally, a prospective study was performed in a subgroup of 37 patients with PBC who underwent analysis before and after 6 months of UDCA treatment. Faecal samples were collected, and microbiomes were analysed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing.ResultsA significant reduction of within-individual microbial diversity was noted in PBC (p=0.03). A signature defined by decreased abundance of four genera and increased abundance of eight genera strongly correlated with PBC (area under curve=0.86, 0.84 in exploration and validation data, respectively). Notably, the abundance of six PBC-associated genera was reversed after 6 months of UDCA treatment. In particular, Faecalibacterium, enriched in controls, was further decreased in gp210-positive than gp210-negative patients (p=0.002). Of interest was the finding that the increased capacity for the inferred pathway, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells in PBC, highly correlated with the abundance of bacteria belonging to Enterobacteriaceae.ConclusionsThis study presents a comprehensive landscape of gut microbiota in PBC. Dysbiosis was found in the gut microbiome in PBC and partially relieved by UDCA. Our study suggests that gut microbiota is a potential therapeutic target and diagnostic biomarker for PBC.

Background Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a common type of lymphoma. These vary geographically and within specific areas. A comprehensive and precise assessment of the global burden of NHL is important for the forward-looking planning and implementation of health policies. Methods This study used data from the 2021 Global Disease Burden (GBD) study. We examined trends in disease burden in non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients using indicators including the incidence, prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted years of life (DALY), as well as the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR), age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR). Temporal trends in NHL risk factors from 1990 to 2021 were analyzed. Joinpoint regression was used to determine the average annual percentage change (AAPC) in the age-standardized rate. The Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) model was used to predict the age-standardized mortality and DALY rates by 2040. Results In 2021, the NHL’s global age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) was 7.1 per 100,000 people. From 1999 to 2021, there was a downward trend in ASMR and ASDR of NHL (AAPC = -0.6 and -0.8, respectively), but ASIR and ASPR of NHL showed an upward trend (AAPC = 0.3 and 1.2, respectively). According to the socio-demographic index (SDI), the ASIP and ASPR of NHL were higher in regions and countries with higher SDI. The study also found an increase in ASMR and ASDR associated with high body mass index (BMI) in NHL. In addition, it is predicted that the global ASIR and ASPR will continue to show a slow upward trend in the next 2040, whereas ASMR and ASDR will gradually decline. Conclusion Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) remains a formidable public health challenge; however, different regions and socioeconomic statuses have different trends. A more aggressive, individualized intervention strategy is needed based on dynamic changes. Simultaneously, close international collaboration is essential to advance improvements in NHL management, including strengthening diagnostic and treatment strategies, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, expanding access to high-quality healthcare services, and strengthening public health education.

The increasing concern about the environmental issue and its serious adverse effects on human health has made China’s industrial green transformation being a matter of public concern. In this study, a network slack-based measure (NSBM) was applied to explore China’s industrial green development level from the perspective of environmental welfare efficiency (EWE), considering not only the impact of industrial development on environment and economy, but also the impact on human well-being. Based on the data of 30 provincial administrative regions in China from 2004 to 2017, the comprehensive efficiency (CE) of China’s industrial sector was measured and decomposed. The results show that the industrial production efficiency (IPE) is much higher than the EWE, and the improvement of the EWE will be the key to realize the green transformation of China’s industry. On this basis, considering the effects of spatial interaction, the spatial Durbin model was established to analyze the driving factors of EWE. Finally, this research puts forward promotion path of industrial green development.