Single cell molecular alterations reveal target cells and pathways of concussive brain injury.

The complex neuropathology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is difficult to dissect, given the convoluted cytoarchitecture of affected brain regions such as the hippocampus. Hippocampal dysfunction during TBI results in cognitive decline that may escalate to other neurological disorders, the molecular basis of which is hidden in the genomic programs of individual cells. Using the unbiased single cell sequencing method Drop-seq, we report that concussive TBI affects previously undefined cell populations, in addition to classical hippocampal cell types. TBI also impacts cell type-specific genes and pathways and alters gene co-expression across cell types, suggesting hidden pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic target pathways. Modulating the thyroid hormone pathway as informed by the T4 transporter transthyretin Ttr mitigates TBI-associated genomic and behavioral abnormalities. Thus, single cell genomics provides unique information about how TBI impacts diverse hippocampal cell types, adding new insights into the pathogenic pathways amenable to therapeutics in TBI and related disorders

General synthesis of transition metal oxide ultrafine nanoparticles embedded in hierarchically porous carbon nanofibers as advanced electrodes for lithium storage

A unique general, large-scale, simple, and cost-effective strategy, i.e., foaming-assisted electrospinning, for fabricating various transition metal oxides into ultrafine nanoparticles (TMOs UNPs) that are uniformly embedded in hierarchically porous carbon nanofibers (HPCNFs) has been developed. Taking advantage of the strong repulsive forces of metal azides as the pore generator during carbonization, the formation of uniform TMOs UNPs with homogeneous distribution and HPCNFs is simultaneously implemented. The combination of uniform ultrasmall TMOs UNPs with homogeneous distribution and hierarchically porous carbon nanofibers with interconnected nanostructure can effectively avoid the aggregation, dissolution, and pulverization of TMOs, promote the rapid 3D transport of both Li ions and electrons throughout the whole electrode, and enhance the electrical conductivity and structural integrity of the electrode. As a result, when evaluated as binder-free anode materials in Li-ion batteries, they displayed extraordinary electrochemical properties with outstanding reversible capacity, excellent capacity retention, high Coulombic efficiency, good rate capability, and superior cycling performance at high rates. More importantly, the present work opens up a wide horizon for the fabrication of a wide range of ultrasmall metal/metal oxides distributed in 1D porous carbon structures, leading to advanced performance and enabling their great potential for promising large-scale applications

Graphene-wrapped reversible reaction for advanced hydrogen storage

Here, we report the fabrication of a graphene-wrapped nanostructured reactive hydride composite, i.e., 2LiBH4-MgH2, made by adopting graphene-supported MgH2 nanoparticles (NPs) as the nanoreactor and heterogeneous nucleation sites. The porous structure, uniform distribution of MgH2 NPs, and the steric confinement by flexible graphene induced a homogeneous distribution of 2LiBH4-MgH2 nanocomposite on graphene with extremely high loading capacity (80 wt%) and energy density. The well-defined structural features, including even distribution, uniform particle size, excellent thermal stability, and robust architecture endow this composite with significant improvements in its hydrogen storage performance. For instance, at a temperature as low as 350 °C, a reversible storage capacity of up to 8.9 wt% H2, without degradation after 25 complete cycles, was achieved for the 2LiBH4-MgH2 anchored on graphene. The design of this three-dimensional architecture can offer a new concept for obtaining high performance materials in the energy storage field

Stabilization of NaZn(BH4)3 via nanoconfinement in SBA-15 towards enhanced hydrogen release

In the present work, the decomposition behaviour of NaZn(BH4)3 nanoconfined in mesoporous SBA-15 has been investigated in detail and compared to bulk NaZn(BH4)3 that was ball milled with SBA-15, but not nanoconfined. The successful incorporation of nanoconfined NaZn(BH4)3 into mesopores of SBA-15 was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, 11B nuclear magnetic resonance, nitrogen absorption/desorption isotherms, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements. It is demonstrated that the dehydrogenation of the space-confined NaZn(BH4)3 is free of emission of boric by-products, and significantly improved hydrogen release kinetics is also achieved, with pure hydrogen release at temperatures ranging from 50 to 150 °C. By the Arrhenius method, the activation energy for the modified NaZn(BH4)3 was calculated to be only 38.9 kJ mol−1, a reduction of 5.3 kJ mol−1 compared to that of bulk NaZn(BH4)3. This work indicates that nanoconfinement within a mesoporous scaffold is a promising approach towards stabilizing unstable metal borohydrides to achieve hydrogen release with high purity

Stabilization of NaZn(BH4)3 via nanoconfinement in SBA-15 towards enhanced hydrogen release

In the present work, the decomposition behaviour of NaZn(BH4)3 nanoconfined in mesoporous SBA-15 has been investigated in detail and compared to bulk NaZn(BH4)3 that was ball milled with SBA-15, but not nanoconfined. The successful incorporation of nanoconfined NaZn(BH4)3 into mesopores of SBA-15 was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, 11B nuclear magnetic resonance, nitrogen absorption/desorption isotherms, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements. It is demonstrated that the dehydrogenation of the space-confined NaZn(BH4)3 is free of emission of boric by-products, and significantly improved hydrogen release kinetics is also achieved, with pure hydrogen release at temperatures ranging from 50 to 150 °C. By the Arrhenius method, the activation energy for the modified NaZn(BH4)3 was calculated to be only 38.9 kJ mol−1, a reduction of 5.3 kJ mol−1 compared to that of bulk NaZn(BH4)3. This work indicates that nanoconfinement within a mesoporous scaffold is a promising approach towards stabilizing unstable metal borohydrides to achieve hydrogen release with high purity

Thyroid hormone T4 mitigates traumatic brain injury in mice by dynamically remodeling cell type specific genes, pathways, and networks in hippocampus and frontal cortex

The complex pathology of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a main contributor to the difficulties in achieving a successful therapeutic regimen. Thyroxine (T4) administration has been shown to prevent the cognitive impairments induced by mTBI in mice but the mechanism is poorly understood. To understand the underlying mechanism, we carried out a single cell transcriptomic study to investigate the spatiotemporal effects of T4 on individual cell types in the hippocampus and frontal cortex at three post-injury stages in a mouse model of mTBI. We found that T4 treatment altered the proportions and transcriptomes of numerous cell types across tissues and timepoints, particularly oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia, which are crucial for injury repair. T4 also reversed the expression of mTBI-affected genes such as Ttr, mt-Rnr2, Ggn12, Malat1, Gnaq, and Myo3a, as well as numerous pathways such as cell/energy/iron metabolism, immune response, nervous system, and cytoskeleton-related pathways. Cell-type specific network modeling revealed that T4 mitigated select mTBI-perturbed dynamic shifts in subnetworks related to cell cycle, stress response, and RNA processing in oligodendrocytes. Cross cell-type ligand-receptor networks revealed the roles of App, Hmgb1, Fn1, and Tnf in mTBI, with the latter two ligands having been previously identified as TBI network hubs. mTBI and/or T4 signature genes were enriched for human genome-wide association study (GWAS) candidate genes for cognitive, psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders related to mTBI. Our systems-level single cell analysis elucidated the temporal and spatial dynamic reprogramming of cell-type specific genes, pathways, and networks, as well as cell-cell communications as the mechanisms through which T4 mitigates cognitive dysfunction induced by mTBI

Overexpression of sphingosine kinase 1 is associated with salivary gland carcinoma progression and might be a novel predictive marker for adjuvant therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Overexpression of sphingosine kinase-1 (SPHK1) has been demonstrated to be associated with the development and progression in various types of human cancers. The current study was to characterize the expression of SPHK1 in salivary gland carcinomas (SGC) and to investigate the association between SPHK1 expression and progression of SGC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of SPHK1 was examined in 2 normal salivary gland tissues, 8 SGC tissues of various clinical stages, and 5 pairs of primary SGC and adjacent salivary gland tissues from the same patient, using real-time PCR and western blot analysis. Furthermore, the SPHK1 protein expression was analyzed in 159 clinicopathologically characterized SGC cases by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the prognostic and diagnostic associations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SPHK1 expression was found to be markedly upregulated in SGC tissues than that in the normal salivary gland tissues and paired adjacent salivary gland tissues, at both mRNA and protein levels. Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation of SPHK1 expression with the clinical stage (<it>P </it>= 0.005), T classification (<it>P </it>= 0.017), N classification (<it>P </it>= 0.009), M classification (<it>P </it>= 0.002), and pathological differentiation (<it>P </it>= 0.013). Patients with higher SPHK1 expression had shorter overall survival time, whereas patients with lower SPHK1 expression had better survival. Importantly, patients in the group without adjuvant therapy who exhibited high SPHK1 expression had significantly lower overall survival rates compared with those with low SPHK1 expression. Moreover, multivariate analysis suggested that SPHK1 expression might be an independent prognostic indicator for the survival of SGC patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that SPHK1 expression is associated with SGC progression, and might represent as a novel and valuable predictor for adjuvant therapy to SGC patients.</p

Light metal hydrides for reversible hydrogen storage applications

Although hydrogen as a fuel has been extensively regarded as one of the best alternatives, because the exhaust gases in hydrogen-powered vehicles mainly contain water, storage of hydrogen in an efficient, safe, and economical method remains an unsolved challenge for its widespread use. Nanoconfinement has been widely verified to be an effective and efficient tool to relieve the high kinetic barriers and thermodynamic stability of various complex hydrides which have high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen capacities.The objective of this thesis is to improve the hydrogen storage performance of certain complex hydrides, such as sodium zinc borohydride, lithium borohydride, lithium nitride, and lithium amidoborane, by taking advantage of nanoconfinement. Based on the special physical and chemical properties of different materials, a series of synthetic methods were designed, and the synergistic effects of space-confinement, nanosize, and morphology towards enhancing hydrogen storage performance have been investigated in detail

The Chemistry of Sustainable Energy Conversion and Storage

The long-term environmental side-effects and finite supply of fossil fuels, which dominate the energy resources in our daily lives, require a transition to renewable and clean energy resources [...

Confined NaAlH4nanoparticles inside CeO2hollow nanotubes towards enhanced hydrogen storage

NaAlH 4 has been widely regarded as a potential hydrogen storage material due to its favorable thermodynamics and high energy density. The high activation energy barrier and high dehydrogenation temperature, however, significantly hinder its practical application. In this paper, CeO 2 hollow nanotubes (HNTs) prepared by a simple electrospinning technique are adopted as functional scaffolds to support NaAlH 4 nanoparticles (NPs) towards advanced hydrogen storage performance. The nanoconfined NaAlH 4 inside CeO 2 HNTs, synthesized via the infiltration of molten NaAlH 4 into the CeO 2 HNTs under high hydrogen pressure, exhibited significantly improved dehydrogenation properties compared with both bulk and ball-milled CeO 2 HNTs-catalyzed NaAlH 4 . The onset dehydrogenation temperature of the NaAlH 4 @CeO 2 composite was reduced to below 100 °C, with only one main dehydrogenation peak appearing at 130 °C, which is 120 °C and 50 °C lower than for its bulk counterpart and for the ball-milled CeO 2 HNTs-catalyzed NaAlH 4 , respectively. Moreover, ∼5.09 wt% hydrogen could be released within 30 min at 180 °C, while only 1.6 wt% hydrogen was desorbed from the ball-milled NaAlH 4 under the same conditions. This significant improvement is mainly attributed to the synergistic effects contributed by the CeO 2 HNTs, which could act as not only a structural scaffold to fabricate and confine the NaAlH 4 NPs, but also as an effective catalyst to enhance the hydrogen storage performance of NaAlH 4