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Despite centuries of advancement, the synthesis of carbon materials remains heavily reliant on energy-intensive thermal processes. Conventional methods require external heating for prolonged periods to overcome high energy barriers, posing challenges for sustainable large-scale production. Here we show an energy-autonomous synthesis pathway that utilizes the intrinsic chemical energy stored within a polyaniline-HClO 4 composite. Triggered by mild thermal, microwave, or mechanical stimulation, the precursor undergoes a rapid exothermic self-propagation driven by the explosive decomposition of perchlorate species. This single-step process, completed in ≈0.4 s, simultaneously generates intense localized heat and a massive volume of gas, which forcibly exfoliates and carbonizes the polymer into interconnected 2D amorphous carbon nanosheets. We demonstrate that this energy-efficient method achieves carbon conversion efficiencies comparable to traditional pyrolysis. Furthermore, the reaction intensity is precisely tunable via the precursor water content, ensuring potential for safe industrial scale-up. This approach also enables the atomic-level incorporation of transition metals, creating a versatile platform for the design of catalysts for oxygen and carbon dioxide reduction reactions. This work provides a scalable, energy-autonomous pathway for carbon synthesis and offers a platform for the precise construction of catalytic architectures. Conventional carbon synthesis is energy intensive. Here, the authors introduce an energy-autonomous pathway using polyaniline-HClO 4 composites. This rapid reaction yields carbon nanosheets with tunable active sites for electrocatalysis.

Up to now, all tested Ebola virus vaccines have been based on the virus strain from the Zaire outbreak in 1976. We aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a novel recombinant adenovirus type-5 vector-based Ebola vaccine expressing the glycoprotein of the 2014 epidemic strain. We did this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 clinical trial at one site in Taizhou County, Jiangsu Province, China. Healthy adults (aged 18–60 years) were sequentially enrolled and randomly assigned (2:1), by computer-generated block randomisation (block size of six), to receive placebo, low-dose adenovirus type-5 vector-based Ebola vaccine, or high-dose vaccine. Randomisation was pre-stratified by dose group. All participants, investigators, and laboratory staff were masked to treatment allocation. The primary safety endpoint was occurrence of solicited adverse reactions within 7 days of vaccination. The primary immunogenicity endpoints were glycoprotein-specific antibody titres and T-cell responses at day 28 after the vaccination. Analysis was by intention to treat. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02326194. Between Dec 28, 2014, and Jan 9, 2015, 120 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive placebo (n=40), low-dose vaccine (n=40), or high-dose vaccine. Participants were followed up for 28 days. Overall, 82 (68%) participants reported at least one solicited adverse reaction within 7 days of vaccination (n=19 in the placebo group vs n=27 in the low-dose group vs n=36 in the high-dose group; p=0·0002). The most common reaction was mild pain at the injection site, which was reported in eight (20%) participants in the placebo group, 14 (35%) participants in the low-dose group, and 29 (73%) participants in the high-dose vaccine group (p<0·0001). We recorded no statistical differences in other adverse reactions and laboratory tests across groups. Glycoprotein-specific antibody titres were significantly increased in participants in the low-dose and high-dose vaccine groups at both day 14 (geometric mean titre 421·4 [95% CI 249·7–711·3] and 820·5 [598·9–1124·0], respectively; p<0·0001) and day 28 (682·7 [424·3–1098·5] and 1305·7 [970·1–1757·2], respectively; p<0·0001). T-cell responses peaked at day 14 at a median of 465·0 spot-forming cells (IQR 180·0–1202·5) in participants in the low-dose group and 765·0 cells (400·0–1460·0) in those in the high-dose group. 21 (18%) participants had mild fever (n=9 in the placebo group, n=6 in the low-dose group, and n=6 in the high-dose group). No serious adverse events were recorded. Our findings show that the high-dose vaccine is safe and robustly immunogenic. One shot of the high-dose vaccine could mount glycoprotein-specific humoral and T-cell response against Ebola virus in 14 days. China National Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, and Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is of importance in cancer treatment and widely used in advanced gastric cancer (GC). However, its clinical usage is limited due to its resistance, and the regulatory mechanism of CDDP resistance in GC has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we first conducted a comprehensive study to investigate the role of MFAP2 through bioinformatics analysis. The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases were applied to downloadgene expression data and clinicopathologic data, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were further analyzed. Then, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis and survival analysis were conducted. Furthermore, according to the clinicopathological characteristics of TCGA, clinical correlation analysis was conducted, and a receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted. We revealed that , and were good diagnostic factors of GC. However, the mechanism of MFAP2 in GC remains elusive, especially in the aspect of chemotherapy resistance. We developed the CDDP-resistant cell line, and found that MFAP2 was upregulated in CDDP-resistant cells, and MFAP2-knockdown improved CDDP sensitivity. Finally, we found that MFAP2 enhanced CDDP resistance by inducing autophagy in drug-resistant cell lines. The above results suggested that MFAP2 could affect the chemotherapy resistance by altering the level of autophagy in GC patients as a potential therapeutic target.

Edwardsiella ictaluri is a highly destructive pathogen in cultured yellow catfish, thus it was very necessary to study the immune response of yellow catfish against bacterial infection. In this study, RNA-Seq technology was used to study the immune response in two distinct tissues of yellow catfish at eight different time points (h) after E. ictaluri infection. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the spleen and liver was low at 3 h and 6 h post-infection, respectively. Afterwards, the most number of DEGs in the spleen was detected at 72 h, while the number of DEGs in the liver maintained a high level from 24 h to 120 h. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of DEGs at different time points uncovered that cytokines were continuously transcribed at 6 h to 120 h; whereas the liver is the main organ that secretes the components of the complement system, and metabolic regulation was activated from 12 h to 120 h. Moreover, an overview of the inflammation response of yellow catfish was exhibited including pattern-recognition receptors, inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, complements, and inflammation-related signal pathways. The similar expression tendency of nine genes by qRT-PCR validated the accuracy of transcriptome analyses. The different transcriptomic profiles obtained from the spleen and liver will help to better understand the dynamic immune response of fish against bacterial infection, and will provide basic information for establishing effective measures to prevent and control diseases in fish.

This study investigates the importance of preconditioning in Pt‐alloy catalysts for oxygen–reduction reactions. Previous research indicated that slower scanning rates during preconditioning initially boost activity, but this is followed by a rapid decline. The study reveals the required number of cycles to achieve the first constant steady state activity in PtNiMo/C catalysts when using slower scanning rates during preconditioning. It also highlights the resulting activity differences. Remarkably, a catalyst preconditioned with 150 slow cycles showed an activity of approximately 1.25 mA cm−2 at 0.90 VRHE, significantly higher than one preconditioned at a fast rate (0.82 mA cm−2). Both ex–situ and in–situ analyses revealed that Pt, along with Ni, was leached during pretreatment. At slower scan rates of 20 mV s−1, the dissolved Pt redeposited as highly active, small‐sized clusters or single atoms. Fast scan rates of of 500 mV s−1, in contrast, resulted in fewer such clusters. Accelerated stress tests up to 1.10 VRHE confirmed the high stability of these clusters, demonstrating a substantial activity increase even after 24,000 cycles. Chances in the preconditioning of Pt alloy catalysts have a huge impact to the specific activity outcome. A slow pretreatment at 20 mV s−1 results in a fast increase, strong drop and reaching nearly steady state activities at high cycle numbers. Alongside a change in the octahedral PtNiMo/C catalyst to Pt clusters is observed.

Electrocatalytic oxidation of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) offers a renewable approach to produce the value‐added platform chemical 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The key for the economic viability of this approach is to develop active and selective electrocatalysts. Nevertheless, a reliable catalyst evaluation protocol is still missing, leading to elusive conclusions on criteria for a high‐performing catalyst. Herein, we demonstrate that besides the catalyst identity, secondary parameters such as materials of conductive substrates for the working electrode, concentration of the supporting electrolyte, and electrolyzer configurations have profound impact on the catalyst performance and thus need to be optimized before assessing the true activity of a catalyst. Moreover, we highlight the importance of those secondary parameters in suppressing side reactions, which has long been overlooked. The protocol is validated by evaluating the performance of free‐standing Cu‐foam, and CuCoO modified with NaPO2H2 and Ni, which were immobilized on boron‐doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. Recommended practices and figure of merits in carefully evaluating the catalyst performance are proposed. Proposal of a measurement protocol for comparison of electrocatalysts for the HMF oxidation with standard evaluation (yield, faradaic efficiency), as well as a new figure of merit (production rate) to compare catalysts independent from setup size. Additionally, the alkaline degradation of HMF is evaluated and taken into account for closing the mass balance in order to assess the true catalyst activity.

In mammals, Interleukin-17 cytokine family plays critical roles in both acute and chronic inflammatory responses. In fish species, three Interleukin-17A/F (IL-17A/F) genes have been identified to be homologous to mammalian IL-17A and IL-17F, but little is known about their functional activity. In this study, Pf _IL-17A/F1, 2 and 3 genes were cloned from yellow catfish ( Pelteobagrus fulvidraco ) and they differed in protein structure and exon length, implying that they may have divergent bioactivity. Real-time quantitative PCR analyses revealed that three Pf _IL-17A/F genes were highly expressed in blood and mucosal tissues (skin+mucus and gill) from healthy adult fish. The mRNA expressions of Pf _IL-17A/F1, 2 and 3 genes were significantly up-regulated in the gill, skin+mucus, head kidney and spleen after challenge with Edwardsiella ictaluri and in the isolated peripheral blood leucocytes (PBLs) of yellow catfish after stimulation with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), peptidoglycan (PGN) and polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C). These results indicate that Pf _IL-17A/F1, 2 and 3 genes may play a vital role in the regulation of immune against pathogens. Additionally, the recombinant (r) Pf _IL-17A/F1, 2 and 3 proteins significantly induced the mRNA expressions of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and antibacterial peptides genes, and the r Pf _IL-17A/F 2 and 3 proteins promoted phagocytosis of PBLs more powerfully than the r Pf _IL-17A/F1. Furthermore, the r Pf _IL-17A/F1, 2 and 3 proteins might activate the NF-κB and MAPK signal pathways by IL-17RA, ACT1, TRAF6, TRAF2, TRAF5 and TAK1, indicating that the three Pf _IL-17A/F proteins may play different roles in promoting inflammatory response.

During preconditioning of PtNiMo/C catalyst metal dissolution and redeposition takes place. At slow scan rates this leads to increased steady activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Furthermore, ionic liquids (IL) influence the activity of Pt‐based catalysts and can alter the leaching of Pt‐alloy catalysts. This study investigates the influence of ILs on the preconditioning of PtNiMo/C catalysts. Therefore, preconditioning parameters as well as the IL employed were varied. ILs with long side chains like [C8fC1][BETI] resulted in a spreading of the activity development during preconditioning over a longer cycle time and with damped amplitude for the activity changes. For shorter side chains like [BMIM][BETI] the development is like the pristine catalyst. Ex‐situ and in‐situ characterization revealed that [BMIM][BETI] leached fast to the electrolyte, which was not observed for the other ILs. Nevertheless, for all ILs a strongly reduced platinum leaching was observed. Even for the leached [BMIM][BETI] a stable wetting layer influencing the leaching seems to remain. Nevertheless, only for the other ILs where an immobilized bulk phase is remaining a difference in catalyst restructuring during the preconditioning is observed and a higher number of small sized Pt clusters and a lower amount of bigger Pt clusters resulted. Ionic liquids (ILs) on a Pt‐alloy catalyst influence strongly the restructuring during preconditioning. A wetting layer is sufficient to reduce metal dissolution. However, a stable bulk IL layer is required to influence the metal redeposition.

Pt‐based alloy catalysts supported on carbon are commonly characterized for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity using the rotating disk electrode technique (RDE). Within this study, we show exemplarily for PtNiMo/C catalysts that the applied pretreatment influences strongly the determined activity. The classically employed descriptor of unchanged cyclic voltammetry response is insufficient to portrait completed surface restructuring, and gives an incorrect impression that stable activity can be determined. This might be one of the reasons for the strongly deviating activities reported in literature. Following the changes in activity during pretreatment also with in‐situ FTIR and online dissolution measurements gives insights to an up to now largely overseen high activity of the trimetallic catalysts. A maximum activity of 0.57 mA cmPt−2 at 0.95 VRHE is reached quickly during the first six cycles and decreases slowly subsequently. The maximum activity and change of activity over the cycle number is affected by the scan rate and electrolyte refreshing, while the gas atmosphere plays only a minor role. This exemplary study might be important for Pt alloy catalysts in general. An up to now unknown activity development is achieved during the pretreatment of alloyed trimetallic PtNiMo/C catalysts. In addition to the recording of steady state CVs under electrochemical cleaning cycles, insight into the unconditioned specific activity of the catalyst reveals a sharp increase during the first five to eight cycles and a further decrease at higher cycle numbers.

Driven by the transition to a CO2‐neutral energy economy, research on polymer electrolyte fuel cells gained much interest during the last decade, with researchers trying to overcome the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) limiting their performance. Modification of existing ORR catalysts with small amounts of ionic liquids (IL) represents an innovative approach to altering the catalytic activity and stability. ILs are supposed to take effect by modifying the local microenvironment at electrochemical interfaces. Nevertheless, a thorough understanding about the local distribution of ILs over solid catalysts is still lacking, hindering the IL modification strategy to be a generic approach to rationally modulating the catalytic performance of a catalyst. In this study we employed STEM‐EDS spectral imaging to locate the IL distribution on the catalyst in presence of NafionTM. To overcome the difficulties associated with low energy STEM‐EDS we setup a sophisticated data processing routine based on machine learning. A sophisticated data processing routine based on machine learning is presented to overcome the difficulties associated with low energy STEM‐EDS mapping of catalysts. The methodology allows to map the distribution of ionic liquid on PtNiCo on carbon catalyst in presence of Nafion.