Nido-Hydroborate-Based Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries

Hydroborate-based solid electrolytes have recently been successfully employed in high voltage, room temperature all-solid-state sodium batteries. The transfer to analogous lithium systems has failed up to now due to the lower conductivity of the corresponding lithium compounds and their high cost. Here LiB₁₁H₁₄ nido-hydroborate as a cost-effective building block and its high-purity synthesis is introduced. The crystal structures of anhydrous LiB₁₁H₁₄ as well as of LiB₁₁H₁₄-based mixed-anion solid electrolytes are solved and high ionic conductivities of 1.1 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ for Li₂(B₁₁H₁₄)(CB₁₁H₁₂) and 1.1 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ for Li₃(B₁₁H₁₄)(CB₉H₁₀)₂ are obtained, respectively. LiB₁₁H₁₄ exhibits an oxidative stability limit of 2.6 V versus Li⁺/Li and the proposed decomposition products are discussed based on density functional theory calculations. Strategies are discussed to improve the stability of these compounds by modifying the chemical structure of the nido-hydroborate cage. Galvanostatic cycling in symmetric cells with two lithium metal electrodes shows a small overpotential increase from 22.5 to 30 mV after 620 h (up to 0.5 mAh cm⁻²), demonstrating that the electrolyte is compatible with metallic anodes. Finally, the Li₂(B₁₁H₁₄)(CB₁₁H₁₂)  electrolyte is employed in a proof-of-concept half cell with a TiS₂ cathode with a capacity retention of 82% after 150 cycles at C/5.     

Association of TaD14-4D,a Gene Involved in Strigolactone Signaling,with Yield Contributing Traits in Wheat

Tillering is a crucial agronomic trait of wheat; it determines yield and plant architecture. Strigolactones (SLs) have been reported to inhibit plant branching. D14, a receptor of SLs, has been described to affect tillering in rice, yet it has seldomly been studied in wheat. In this study, three TaD14 homoeologous genes, TaD14-4A, TaD14-4B, and TaD14-4D, were identified. TaD14-4A, TaD14-4B, and TaD14-4D were constitutively expressed, and TaD14-4D had a higher expression level in most tissues. TaD14 proteins were localized in both cytoplasm and nucleus. An SNP and a 22 bp insertion/deletion (Indel) at the exon regions of TaD14-4D were detected, forming three haplotypes, namely 4D-HapI, 4D-HapII, and 4D-HapIII. Due to the frameshift mutation in the coding region of 4D-HapII, the interaction of 4D-HapII with TaMAX2 and TaD53 was blocked, which led to the blocking of SL signal transduction. Based on the two variation sites, two molecular markers, namely dCAPS-250 and Indel-747, were developed. Association analysis suggested that haplotypes of TaD14-4D were associated with effective tillering number (ETN) and thousand kernel weight (TKW) simultaneously in four environments. The favorable haplotype 4D-HapIII underwent positive selection in global wheat breeding. This study provides insights into understanding the function of natural variations of TaD14-4D and develops two useful molecular markers for wheat breeding.     

Benchmark experiment of large-angle scattering reaction cross section of iron at 14 MeV using two shadow bars – Comparison of experimental results with ENDF/B-VIII –

ABSTRACT

It is important to perform neutron transport simulations with accurate nuclear data in the neutronics design of a fusion reactor. However, absolute values of large-angle scattering cross sections vary among nuclear data libraries even for well-examined nuclide of iron. Benchmark experiments focusing on large-angle scattering cross sections were thus performed to confirm the correctness of nuclear data libraries. The series benchmark experiments were performed at a DT neutron source facility, OKTAVIAN of Osaka University, Japan, by the unique experimental system established by the authors’ group, which can extract only the contribution of large-angle scattering reactions. This system consists of two shadow bars, target plate (iron), and neutron detector (niobium). Two types of shadow bars were used and four irradiations were conducted for one experiment, so that contribution of room-return neutrons was effectively removed and only large-angle scattering neutrons were extracted from the measured four Nb reaction rates. The obtained experimental results were compared with calculations for five nuclear data libraries including JENDL-4.0, JEFF.-3.3, FENDL-3.1, ENDF/B- VII, and recently released ENDF/B-VIII. It was found from the comparison that ENDF/B-VIII showed the best result, though ENDF/B-VII showed overestimation and others are in large underestimation at 14 MeV.     

我国中空吹塑行业发展现状及“十四五”期间重点产品、工艺和设备发展方向

从原料、中空成型机和吹塑工艺等方面介绍了我国中空吹塑行业发展现状，并对电子化学品专用超洁净桶、高压储氢四型瓶、全电动中空成型机、微发泡中空成型技术和挤吹聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）容器等在“十四五”期间的重点产品、工艺和设备发展方向进行了展望。     

Small-Molecule Inhibitors of METTL3, the Major Human Epitranscriptomic Writer

The RNA methylase METTL3 catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from the cofactor S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) to the N⁶ atom of adenine. We have screened a library of 4000 analogues and derivatives of the adenosine moiety of SAM by high-throughput docking into METTL3. Two series of adenine derivatives were identified in silico, and the binding mode of six of the predicted inhibitors was validated by protein crystallography. Two compounds, one for each series, show good ligand efficiency. We propose a route for their further development into potent and selective inhibitors of METTL3.     

Identification of factors that accelerate hydrogen production by Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 using casamino acids as a nitrogen source

The ability of Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 to use casamino acids as a nitrogen source was investigated. Strain RAK25832 showed the capacity to utilize different types of carbon sources. With glucose as a carbon source (10 g/L), the preferred final concentration of casamino acids was 26.67 g/L, with a cumulative hydrogen production, production rate, and yield of 2505 mL H₂/L, 160 mL/h, and 1.81 mol H₂/mol glucose, respectively. Eighteen metal elements were screened to identify the most important metals for biohydrogen production, and four elements were optimized. The optimal medium composition was MgCl₂·6H₂O (0.1 g/L), K₂HPO₄·3H₂O (6.67 g/L), NaHCO₃ (2.6 g/L), and FeCl₂·4H₂O (0.002 g/L). Vitamin supplementation of the medium showed no significant effect on hydrogen production. Under the optimized conditions, cumulative hydrogen production reached 3074 mL H₂/L. This is the first study to demonstrate the use of casamino acids as a nitrogen source by C. butyricum.     

Targeting NF-κB-Inducing Kinase (NIK) in Immunity,Inflammation, and Cancer

NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), the essential upstream kinase, which regulates activation of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway, has important roles in regulating immunity and inflammation. In addition, NIK is vital for maintaining cellular health through its control of fundamental cellular processes, including differentiation, growth, and cell survival. As such aberrant expression or regulation of NIK is associated with several disease states. For example, loss of NIK leads to severe immune defects, while the overexpression of NIK is observed in inflammatory diseases, metabolic disorders, and the development and progression of cancer. This review discusses recent studies investigating the therapeutic potential of NIK inhibitors in various diseases.     

微观组织对2A14铝合金轮毂力学性能和腐蚀性能的影响

通过电子背散射衍射(EBSD)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、室温拉伸、浸泡腐蚀、电化学极化等测试分析方法，研究了2A14铝合金轮毂内部不同区域上微观组织的差异及其对力学性能和腐蚀性能的影响。结果表明，2A14铝合金轮毂的芯部和1/4层的晶粒尺寸分别是113和54 μm，再结晶分数分别是16%和36%。1/4层的合金相和时效析出相的含量都大于芯部，其中两种时效析出相(θ’和Q相)的数量密度均为芯部的2倍左右。芯部具有较大的晶粒尺寸和较少的时效析出相，因此具有较低的力学性能。同时，芯部相对于1/4层具有较少的合金相和较大的晶界相间距，因而芯部的电化学腐蚀和晶间腐蚀倾向均低于1/4层。     

On the diffusion of mobile phone innovations for financial inclusion

This article investigates nexuses between innovations in mobile money and financial inclusion. Demand and supply factors that affect the diffusion of mobile services as well as macro-level institutional and economic factors are taken in account. The focus is on 148 countries with data mostly consisting of 2010–2014 averages. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. The study finds that when the empirical analysis is robust to multicollinearity, two main tendencies are apparent: the significant findings of Lashitew et al. (2019) [1] are confirmed and many new significant estimated coefficients emerge. While this study confirms the findings of the underlying research, it also goes further to improve the harmony in narratives between the predictors and the outcome variables. Accordingly, by accounting for multicollinearity, the earlier findings are now more consistent across the set of predictors (i.e. demand and supply factors) and the attendant financial inclusion outcomes (i.e. mobile money accounts, mobile used to send money and mobile used to receive money).     

Ca12Al14O33∶Eu2＋,Nd3＋长余辉发光粉的合成及其发光性能

采用燃烧法合成出Ca12Al14O33∶Eu2＋,Nd3＋靛蓝色长余辉发光粉.利用XRD和FE-SEM对产物的物相结构和形貌进行了表征,用激发光谱、发射光谱和余辉衰减曲线对样品的发光性能进行了分析.通过正交试验设计,以余辉时间为指标,研究了Eu2＋的掺杂量、Nd3＋的掺杂量、H3B03的用量以及尿素的用量对制备条件的影响.研究结果表明：最优化方案制备的Ca12Al14O33∶Eu2＋,Nd3＋长余辉发光粉的发射光谱呈宽发射谱带,波长范围为390～530 nm,发光峰值位于443 nm,余辉时间长达3240 s.