The global demographic is witnessing an unprecedented surge in aging, precipitating a dramatic rise in geriatric diseases and related health complications. Although probiotics have been extensively shown to maintain microbiome stability and confer health benefits, their potential role in decelerating the aging process remains largely unexplored. The study identified a beneficial gut microbe from human intestinal tract, Enterococcus faecalis SI-FC-01, which was proved to be biosafe and found to enhance the average lifespan of C. elegans by 33.55%. More interestingly, the E. faecalis SI-FC-01 also enhanced the motor ability, memory and learning ability and anti-oxidative stress ability of C. elegans. Moreover, it exhibited neuroprotective effects in the worm models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease. Through screening various aging-associated mutants of C. elegans, we discovered that E. faecalis SI-FC-01 modulates DAF-16/FOXO signaling via the activation of AKT pathway. This activation subsequently triggers stress resistance and immune-related genes downstream of daf-16, thereby promoting healthspan and neuroprotection. In summary, our research indicates that E. faecalis SI-FC-01 holds significant potential as a dietary supplement for delaying host aging. Furthermore, it provides novel insights for potentially mitigating the progression of age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

AbstractNanoporous metals, a class of free‐standing, high specific‐area materials, evolve from interface‐controlled self‐organization in a selective dissolution (e.g., dealloying). The process creates randomly oriented pores, in which slow mass transport has limited the functional applications of nanoporous metals. Here the control of the pore orientation is demonstrated with a dealloying analogy, reduction‐induced decomposition, achieved in flow cells. Via forced convection, the self‐organization is placed under the control of sufficiently rapid mass transport to suppress pore branching and align 100 nm‐wide ligaments and pores along the direction of reaction propagation, boosting the permeability by an order of magnitude while retaining the large surface area. The pore orientation can be further manipulated with a flow field for an orientation pattern akin to the expected fluid pattern, enabling a nanoporous silver electrode to deliver a peak power of 0.3 W cm−2 in a redox‐flow battery, outperforming commercial carbon electrodes.

A new species, Eleusis huanglongensis Lü, is described from Songpan County, Sichuan, China. The new species is readily distinguished from E. humilis Erichson, 1840 by distinct morphological characters of the head and temples, as well as the presence of a bi-lamellar internal prominence within the aedeagus. It differs from E. terminata in overall coloration, the degree of ocular prominence in males, and the eye-to-temple ratio in females. In comparison to E. pusilla, E. persimilis, and E. xizangensis, our new species is obviously different in body size and exhibits diagnostic differences in mandibular structure and eye-to-temple ratio. Notably, this represents the first documented occurrence of Eleusis species within the inland provinces of China. A detailed morphological description and diagnostic illustrations of the new species are provided to facilitate identification and comparative assessment.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of multimodal three-dimensional materials that have been applied as luminescent sensors for ions and molecules existing in water bodies. Herein, a new Cd(II)-based MOF, [H(2)bpd](2)[Cd-3(L)(2)] (1) (bpd = bis(pyridin-4-ylmethyl)propane-1,3-diamine; H5L = 3,5-di(2 ',4 '-dicarboxylphenyl)benzoic acid), was synthesized and characterized. Single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that 1 is anionic in nature and exhibits a flu-type topology with the point symbol (4(12)6(12)8(4))(4(6))(2). This MOF was used as a turn-off photoluminescent sensor to detect Fe3+ and CrO42- by forming 1@Fe3+ and 1@CrO42- complexes, respectively. In the case of the Fe3+ cation, 1 displayed a K-SV of 0.01763 and limit of detection (LOD) of 5.315 ppm, while for the chromate anion, it exhibited a K-SV of 0.07338 and limit of detection of 1.277 ppm. Interestingly, the emissive response of 1 was restored upon the addition of hydroquinone (hyd) and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (hyd acid) (turn-on) due to the competitive formation of hyd@Fe3+ or hyd acid@CrO42-, respectively, with the concomitant release of 1. The sensing properties of 1 and the recovery of its emission response in the presence of hyd and hyd acid were evaluated with the help of Hirshfeld surface and density functional theory analyses, respectively. The recovery of the emission property of 1 on the addition of hyd and hyd acid over other antioxidants arises because of their larger E-HOMO and relatively less steric hindrance than those of the other oxidants employed in this study.

Fe-based catalysts are promising for electrochemical nitrate reduction, but their selectivity is limited by the multielectron/proton transfer reaction steps. Here, we propose optimizing the e(g)-orbital electron occupancy by regulating the superexchange interaction of the Fe site to improve the NH3 production performance. Our experimental and theoretical prediction results confirmed that Ru-O-Fe sites in double perovskite iron oxides (LaFe0.9Ru0.1O3) have more significant superexchange interactions, mainly manifested by O-anion-mediated electron transfer from Ru to Fe cations. Ru alters Fe's spin configuration through Ru-O-Fe orbital hybridization, transitioning from a high-spin (HS, e(g) approximate to 2) to an intermediate-spin state (e(g) approximate to 1). This transition promotes NO3- adsorption and lowers the hydrogenation energy barrier of the *NO intermediate. Consequently, LaFe0.9Ru0.1O3 could efficiently convert NO3- to NH3, achieving rates of 0.75 mmolh(-1)cm(-2) with a Faraday efficiency of 98.5%. Remarkably, the NH3 selectivity was as high as 90.7%, which represents almost the best catalyst to date.

This study reports on the self-healing behaviour of fly ash and slag engineered geopolymer composites (FA/S-EGC) under external alkaline environments. FA/S-EGC specimens with different pre-damaged strains were subjected to self-healing at different ages and under different healing environments, including air, water, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions of different concentrations and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) solution. The self-healing ability of FA/S-EGC was evaluated by crack characteristics, tensile properties and natural frequency-based damage factor. In addition, micro-characterisation techniques including SEM-EDS, XRD and FT-IR analyses were used to reveal the self-healing mechanism of FA/S-EGC. The results showed that FA/S-EGC retained strain hardening and multi-cracking behaviour after healing in an external alkaline environment. The healing products of FA/S-EGC in air, water and alkaline environments consisted mainly of the C(N)-A-S-H gel and calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and the phase of the healing products did not change despite the different environments. The self-healing ability of FA/S-EGC in saturated Ca(OH)2 and 7% NaOH solutions was significantly improved compared to air and water. This is because the low concentration of the alkaline solution promotes the geopolymerisation of unreacted oxides in the matrix, and the Ca(OH)2 solution also promotes the deposition of CaCO3 at the cracks. However, when the NaOH concentration was increased from 7% to 21%, FA/S-EGC still showed significant self-healing behaviour in the first seven days, but new damage was produced in the matrix as the healing age increased. This is because the high concentration of NaOH solution leads to depolymerisation of C(N)-A-S-H gels. These results provide scientific recommendations for the application of FA/S-EGC in alkaline environments and for the development of novel healing agents.

From both environment and health perspectives, sustainable management of ever-growing soil contamination by heavy metal is posing a serious global concern. The potential ecotoxicity of cadmium (Cd) to soil and ecosystem seriously threatens human health. Developing efficient, specific, and long-term remediation technology for Cd-contaminated soil is impending to synchronously minimize the bioavailability and ecotoxicity of Cd. In the present study, zinc oxide/graphene oxide nanocomposite (ZnO/GO) was developed as a novel amendment for remediating Cd-contaminated soil. Our results showed that ZnO/GO effectively decreased the available soil Cd content, and increased pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in both Cd-spiked standard soil and Cd-contaminated mine field soil through the interaction between ZnO/GO and soil organic acids. Using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a model organism for soil safety evaluation, ZnO/GO was further proved to decrease the ecotoxicity of Cd-contaminated soil. Specifically, ZnO/GO promoted Cd excretion and declined Cd storage in C. elegans by increasing the expression of gene ttm-1 and decreasing the level of gene cdf-2, which were responsible for Cd transportation and Cd accumulation, respectively. Moreover, the efficacy of ZnO/GO in remediating the properties and ecotoxicity of Cd-contaminated soil increased gradually with the time gradient, and could maintain a long-term effect after reaching the optimal remediation efficiency. Our findings established a specific and long-term strategy to simultaneously improve soil properties and reduce ecotoxicity of Cd-contaminated soil, which might provide new insights into the potential application of ZnO/GO in soil remediation for both ecosystem and human health.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) emerge as a potential candidate for large-scale energy storage applications, due to their low cost, eco-friendliness, and high safety. However, nowadays, ZIBs still suffer from poor cycling sta-bility, owing largely to the severe dendrite growth, corrosion, and hydrogen evolution at the electrolyte/anode interface. Herein, inspired by the biomolecule-assisted cationic transport mechanism in nature, we apply humic acid (HA, a natural ingredient of soil) on the Zn surface for stabilizing the anode/electrolyte interface. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the tuned interactions between Zn2+ and the segments of HA possibly facilitate the desolvation of Zn2+. The theoretical results are supported by the electrochemical analyses, where the HA-induced interfacial layer promotes the reversible Zn deposition kinetics and suppresses the corrosion and hydrogen evolution. The improved electrochemical performance is validated by Zn/MnO2 coin and pouch cells. These findings not only provide insights into engineering electrolyte/electrode interfaces but also suggest that a broader family of materials, structures, and mechanisms in nature can be leveraged for more sustainable batteries.

A Zn anode can offset the low energy density of a flow battery for a balanced approach toward electricity storage. Yet, when targeting inexpensive, long-duration storage, the battery demands a thick Zn deposit in a porous framework, whose heterogeneity triggers frequent dendrite formation and jeopardizes the stability of the battery. Here, Cu foam is transferred into a hierarchical nanoporous electrode to homogenize the deposition. It begins with alloying the foam with Zn to form Cu5 Zn8 , whose depth is controlled to retain the large pores for a hydraulic permeability ≈10-11  m2 . Dealloying follows to create nanoscale pores and abundant fine pits below 10 nm, where Zn can nucleate preferentially due to the Gibbs-Thomson effect, as supported by a density functional theory simulation. Morphological evolution monitored by in situ microscopy confirms uniform Zn deposition. The electrode delivers 200 h of stable cycles in a Zn-I2 flow battery at 60 mAh cm-2 and 60 mA cm-2 , performance that meets practical demands.

Owing to accelerated urbanization and industrialization, many plastic products have been manufactured and discharged into the environment, causing environmental and public health problems. Plastics in environmental media are further degraded by prolonged exposure to light, heat, mechanical friction, and other factors to form new pollutants called microplastics (MPs). Medical plastics have become a crucial source of plastics in environmental media. However, the release profiles of MPs from medical plastics and their potential ecological and health risks remain unclear. We used optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy to explore the release profiles of eight typical disposable medical devices under high-temperature steam disinfection (HSD). We also evaluated the toxicity of disposable medical devices-derived MPs in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). Our results showed that the changes in the surface morphology and modification of the disposable medical devices were mainly associated with the material. Polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) materials exhibited high aging phenomena (e.g., bumps, depressions, bulges and cracks), and HSD broke their oxygen-containing functional groups and carbon chains. By contrast, minor changes in the chemical and physical properties were observed in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-prepared disposable medical devices under the same conditions. Further physicochemical characterization indicated that the amount of MPs released from PP-prepared disposable medical devices (P4: 1.27 ± 0.34 × 106) was greater than that from PVC-prepared disposable medical devices (P7: 1.08 ± 0.14 × 105). The particle size of the released MPs was the opposite, PVC-prepared disposable medical devices (P7: 11.45 ± 1.79 μm) > PP-prepared disposable medical devices (P4: 7.18 ± 0.52 μm). Toxicity assessment revealed that disposable medical devices-released MPs significantly increased germ cell apoptosisin C. elegans. Moreover, MPs from PP-prepared disposable medical devices disrupted the intestinal barrier of worms, decreasing their lifespan. Our findings provided novel information regarding the profiles and mechanisms of MP release from disposable medical devices and revealed their potential risks to ecological environment.

Fe/Fe 3 C- and N- co-doped carbon nanotubes and NiFe hydroxide cluster was integrated directly as bifunctional catalyst for high efficiency and durable zinc-air batteries.

Visible transparent but infrared reflective materials are ideal candidates for both transparent conductive films and low-emissivity glass, which are highly desired in a broad variety of areas such as touchscreens and displays, photovoltaics, smart windows, and antistatic coatings. Ultrathin Ti3C2Tx MXene films are emerging as promising low-emissivity transparent candidates. However, the fundamental IR properties of Ti3C2Tx has not been revealed experimentally due to daunting challenges in the preparation of continuous, large-area, and ultrathin films of optical quality on flat substrates. Herein, we proposed a tape-free transfer method that can help prepare centimeter-size and ultrathin (down to 8 nm) Ti3C2Tx films on diverse optical substrates. Benefitting from this method, the refractive index and permittivity for Ti3C2Tx were successfully measured. Ti3C2Tx films exhibit large in-plane permittivity in the IR region, yielding maximum IR reflectance of 88% for bulk films. Interestingly, three anomalies were found in ultrathin Ti3C2Tx films: strong dispersion in the permittivity, interlayer space-dependent optical properties, and abnormally high IR absorption for a 15-nm-thick film. These anomalies are important guidelines in the design of Ti3C2Tx-based low-emissivity transparent films and other related devices, and may inspire other intriguing applications such as ultrathin IR absorption coatings and tunable IR optical devices.

The practical application of naturally abundant sodium (Na) metal anodes with high energy densities is hindered by large volume expansion and dendrite formation during battery operation. This work reports the synthesis of tin selenide nanoparticles uniformly grown on highly conductive, porous 3D graphene foam (SnSe@GF) as a stable host for Na metal anodes and the underlying conversion reactions as their energy storage mechanism. The SnSe@GF electrode prepared via hydrogel coating and phase transformation sustains remarkable reversibility after 1500 cycles in asymmetric cells and delivers extraordinary cyclic stability and low overpotentials for 2000 h at 1 mA cm-2 and 1 mAh cm-2 in symmetric cells. The conversion of crystalline SnSe into low-crystallinity Na15Sn4 and Na2Se dual nucleation sites after pre-sodiation is responsible for the outstanding performance according to the in-situ microscopy and density functional theory calculations. The conversion enables the in-situ formation of a unique interface that possesses high Na affinity featured by abundant active sites, contributing to uniform Na nucleation/plating and dendrite suppression, thus give rising to superior stability and electrochemical performance of the SnSe@GF electrode. The rational design of the current 3D architecture can shed new insights into the development of Na hosts for next-generation rechargeable batteries.

Biomass-derived materials have emerged as lightweight and high-efficiency carbon-based microwave absorber for their huge availability and multifarious microstructure. Herein, we synthesize a strawberry petiole derived carbon fiber (SCF) /magnetic CoFe composites (SCF/CoFe) via solvothermal reaction and calcination treatment. CoFe particles are densely and uniformly distributed on the surface of the uniform hollow and porous SCF. After adjusting the calcination temperature, SCF/CoFe sample with filler content of 15 wt% obtains a minimum reflection loss of -40.4 dB and a wide effective absorption bandwidth of 3.5 GHz at a thin thickness of only 2.0 mm. The hollow and porous structure and synergistic effect between conductive SCF and magnetic CoFe simultaneously contribute to the enhanced impedance matching and attenuation ability, which together result in the remarkable microwave absorption properties.

Icing, frosting, and fogging are all natural phenomena in cold climates, which bring a lot of inconvenience and safety problems to our daily life and industry when formed on the infrastructures. Solar-thermal anti-icing, anti-frosting or anti-fogging surfaces have attracted a lot of interest due to their effectiveness and green ecofriendly features in comparison with the conventional mechanical, thermal, and chemical methods. This short review aims at summarizing the recent progress of solar-thermal anti-fogging/anti-icing/anti-frosting surfaces. First of all, both the fundamental of solar-thermal energy conversion and the mechanism of solar-thermal anti-fogging/anti-icing/anti-frosting are introduced. After that, recent advances in solar-thermal anti-fogging surfaces, and superhydrophobic solar-thermal anti-icing/anti-frosting surfaces are summarized according to the categories of photothermal materials. The results of our collaborative research groups in this field are highlighted in this review. In the end, through comparing those reported surfaces, we point out the bottlenecks in the existing researches of this field, and suggest the potential significant research directions in the future.

Three‐dimensional host structures with superior sodiophilicity and low nucleation barriers can help combat the complex failure modes of Na metal anodes originating from accelerated dendrite formation, anodic corrosion, and electrolyte depletion. This work reports the fabrication of a unique super‐sodiophilic, defect‐rich and hierarchically porous skeletal carbon nanofiber (SCNF) host for SCNF@Na anodes using electrospinning of the low‐cost, renewable lignin biopolymer. The uniform nucleation and plating of Na effectuated by the hierarchically porous structure coupled with the defect‐induced formation of a resilient, F‐rich solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer offers excellent protection to the metallic anode. The defect‐rich porous structure plays an important role in mediating dense Na nucleation, planar growth, and electrochemical stability according to the depth profiling experiments and density functional theory calculations. The SCNF@Na composite anode maintains high Coulombic efficiencies (CEs) and electrochemical reversibility in asymmetric and symmetric cells. The full cells prepared by interfacing the SCNF@Na anode with a Na3V2(PO4)2F3 cathode delivers exceptional capacity retention of 106 mAh g–1 for 350 cycles with an average CE of 99.2% at 1C, and 103 mAh g–1 after 200 cycles at 4C. Such rationally designed carbon hosts derived from biopolymers open a new avenue for safe and low‐cost metal batteries.

The exceptional kinetics of VO2+/VO2+ on a hierarchical nitrogen-doped carbon electrode are quantitatively deciphered by diffusion-less cyclic voltammetry and theoretical calculations.

Na metal is a promising candidate as anode material owing to its high theoretical energy density and abundance on earth, but suffers from dendrite growth, extremely large volume change, and poor Coulombic efficiency. Herein, a low-cost and effective strategy is developed to discourage the dendrite growth by in situ formation of an artificial NaF-rich protective layer on Na metal. The protective layer facilitates the formation of highly stable, NaF-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) capable of preventing continuous electrolyte depletion during charge/discharge cycles. The depth profiling experiment confirms functional gradient of SEI through its thickness with wealthier NaF species towards the Na metal. The symmetric cells assembled using the Na anode with a protective layer exhibit excellent cyclic stability with low overpotentials of 8, 50, and 70 mV, at areal currents of 1, 5 and 10 mA cm(-2), respectively, thanks to its high dendrite suppression ability as proven by theoretical calculations. The full battery prepared with a Na3V2(PO4)(3) cathode delivers 99% retention of Coulombic efficiency after 400 and 600 cycles at 1C in ether- and carbonate-based electrolytes, respectively. The SEI layer design strategy presented here can shed some important insights into the development of high-performance dendrite-free Na metal batteries and interface engineering for solid electrolytes.

Since the advent of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), researchers have paid extensive attention to MOFs due to their determined structural composition, controllable pore size, and diverse physical and chemical properties. Photocatalysis, as a significant application of MOFs catalysts, has developed rapidly in recent years and become a research hotspot continuously. Various methods and approaches to construct and modify MOFs and their derivatives can not only affect the structure and morphology, but also largely determine their properties. Herein, we summarize the advanced synthesis of MOFs-based materials in the field of the photocatalytic decomposition of water to produce hydrogen in the recent three years. The main contents include the overview of the novel synthesis strategies in four aspects: internal modification and structure optimization of MOFs materials, MOFs/semiconductor composites, MOFs/COFs-based hybrids, and MOFs-derived materials. In addition, the problems and challenges faced in this direction and the future development goals were also discussed. We hope this review will help deepen the reader’s understanding and promote continued high-quality development in this field.