High-performance soy protein-based films from cellulose nanofibers and graphene oxide constructed synergistically via hydrogen and chemical bonding

Soybean protein isolate (SPI) shows a broad application prospect in the food and packaging industry. However, its inferior mechanical properties and water resistance limit its application. In this work, a series of SPI-based composite films were prepared by combining with cellulose nanofiber (CNF), graphene oxide (GO), GO/CNF, ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EDGE) or GO/CNF/EGDE. The results show that by adding a small amount of reinforced materials (3%), the water resistance, hydrophilicity, mechanical properties and thermal stability of composite films were improved. The filling effect and hydrogen bonding of the reinforcing materials contribute to the formation of film structure. EGDE cross-link SPI with CNF and GO build a chemical network to improve the properties of the film. In addition, they could make a synergistic effect to better enhance the performance of a protein film. Therefore, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the SGCE film reached 469.21% and 367.58%, respectively.

Soybean protein isolate (SPI) shows a broad application prospect in the food and packaging industry.     

Dual-wavelength visible photodetector based on vertical (In,Ga)N nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Due to the wide applications of blue and red photodetectors, dual-wavelength (blue/red) photodetectors are promising for future markets. In this work, a dual-wavelength photodetector based on vertical (In,Ga)N nanowires and graphene has been fabricated successfully. By using the transparent graphene, both blue and red responses can be clearly detected. The rise time of response can reach 3.5 ms. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism of double responses has also been analyzed. The main reason contributing to the dual-wavelength response could be the different diameters of nanowires, leading to different In components within (In,Ga)N sections.

A dual-wavelength (blue/red) photodetector based on vertical (In,Ga)N nanowires and graphene has been fabricated successfully, which is promising for wide applications. The rise time of the response can reach 3.5 ms.     

Correction: Roles of water in the formation and preparation of graphene oxide

Correction for ‘Roles of water in the formation and preparation of graphene oxide’ by Qiang Zhang et al., RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 15808–15816, DOI: 10.1039/D0RA10026A.

The authors regret that there was an error in the author affiliations in the original article. The correct affiliations are given here.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.     

The role and its mechanism of intermittent fasting in tumors:friend or foe?

Intermittent fasting(IF)is becoming a prevailing topic worldwide,as it can cause changes in the body’s energy metabolism processes,improve health,and affect the progression of many diseases,particularly in the circumstance of oncology.Recent research has shown that IF can alter the energy metabolism of tumor cells,thereby inhibiting tumor growth and improving antitumor immune responses.Furthermore,IF can increase cancer sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and reduce the side effects of these traditional anticancer treatments.IF is therefore emerging as a promising approach to clinical cancer treatment.However,the balance between long-term benefits of IF compared with the harm from insufficient caloric intake is not well understood.In this article,we review the role of IF in tumorigenesis and tumor therapy,and discuss some scientific problems that remain to be clarified,which might provide some assistance in the application of IF in clinical tumor therapy.     

Polyvinylpyrrolidone-assisted synthesis of highly water-stable cadmium-based metal–organic framework nanosheets for the detection of metronidazole

Recently, much effort has been dedicated to ultra-thin two-dimensional metal–organic framework (2D MOF) nanosheets due to their outstanding properties, such as ultra-thin morphology, large specific surface area, abundant modifiable active sites, etc. However, the preparation of high-quality 2D MOF nanosheets in good yields still remains a huge challenge. Herein, we report 2D cadmium-based metal–organic framework (Cd-MOF) nanosheets prepared in a one-pot polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-assisted synthesis method with high yield. The Cd-MOF nanosheets were characterized with good stability and dispersion in aqueous systems, and were highly selective and sensitive to the antibiotic metronidazole (MNZ) with low limit of detection (LOD: 0.10 μM), thus providing a new and promising fluorescent sensor for rapid detection of MNZ in aqueous solution.

Except PVP was added for Cd-MOF nanosheets, the preparation process of bulk and Cd-MOF nanosheets was similar.     

Polypyrrole nanoparticles embedded nitrogen-doped graphene composites as novel cathode for long life cycles and high-power zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors

The well-designed network structure of synthetic polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles embedded on a nitrogen-doped graphene (N-rGO) surface was utilized as a cathode for aqueous zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors. Owing to the combination of the redox surface of PPy and the two-dimensional network structure of N-rGO, the PPy/N-rGO cathode affords rapid transport channels for Zn²⁺ ion adsorption/desorption and a faradaic reaction toward the synergistic composite materials. Subsequently, the constructed zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors with the optimized PPy/N-rGO cathode composites deliver the highest capacity of 145.32 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ and the maximum energy density of 232.50 W h kg⁻¹ at a power density of 160 W kg⁻¹. Besides this, excellent cycling stability of 85% retention after 10 000 charge–discharge cycles at 7.0 A g⁻¹ was achieved. The high-rate capabilities with long life cycle performance of these novel zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors could find practical use in a wide range of applications, ranging from next-generation electronic devices to large-scale stationary energy storage.

The well-designed network structure of synthetic polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles embedded on a nitrogen-doped graphene (N-rGO) surface was utilized as a cathode for aqueous zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors.     

Effect of porous structural properties on lithium-ion and sodium-ion storage: illustrated by the example of a micro-mesoporous graphene1−x(MoS2)x anode

In this work, we synthesized micro-mesoporous graphene_1−x(MoS₂)_x with different compositional ratios via co-reduction of graphite oxide and exfoliated MoS₂ platelets. We systematically studied the performance of the micro-mesoporous graphene_1−x(MoS₂)_x as anodes in lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries. The results show that the specific surface areas of the composites decrease with introducing MoS₂. The irreversible capacitance, which is related to the formation of solid electrolyte interphases, also decreases. Besides specific surface area, we found that micropores can benefit the lithiation and sodiation. We demonstrated that a specific charge capacity of 1319.02 mA h g⁻¹ can be achieved at the 50th cycle for the graphene_½(MoS₂)_½ anode in lithium-ion batteries. Possible relationships between such a high specific capacity and the micro-mesoporous structure of the graphene_1−x(MoS₂)_x anode are discussed. This work may shed light on a general strategy for the structural design of electrode materials in lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries.

In this work, we systematically studied the effect of porous structural properties on performance of the micro-mesoporous graphene_1−x (MoS₂)_x as anodes in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries.     

Lightweight MWCNT/hollow mesoporous carbon/WPU composite material with excellent electromagnetic shielding performance

With the rapid increase of intelligent communication equipment, electromagnetic pollution is becoming more and more serious, and the research and application of high-performance electromagnetic shielding materials have attracted great attention from the academic and engineering circles. Traditional metal-based electromagnetic shielding materials have high reflection loss, high density, and are difficult to process. Polymer-based materials with carbon materials as fillers have the advantages of flexibility, light weight, corrosion resistance and low processing costs. They have become the most important materials in the field of electromagnetic shielding in recent years. However, the conductivity of conductive polymer materials is not high. Therefore, improving the electromagnetic shielding performance and the proportion of absorption loss under low density conditions have become key issues for polymer-based electromagnetic shielding materials. MWCNT/MCHMs/WPU composites were prepared by a solution mixing method, with 20 wt%, 40 wt%, 60 wt% MWCNTs and 40 wt% MWCNT/10 wt% MCHMs as fillers. By comparing the effects of different MWCNT content and MCHMs on the dielectric properties, electromagnetic shielding properties and mechanical properties of the MWCNT/MCHMs/WPU composites, the relationship between the structure and properties of the composites has been explored. The 0.6 mm WPU/60 wt% MWCNT composite has an electrical conductivity of 95.4 S m⁻¹ and an electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of 40 dB in the X band. Adding 10 wt% MCHMs to the WPU/40 wt% MWCNT composite material can significantly improve the composite. The δ of the material increased from 51.2 S m⁻¹ to 55.4 S m⁻¹, and the SE increased from 30 dB to 33 dB. The research results show that the increase in MWCNT content and MCHMs is beneficial to improving the electrical conductivity and electromagnetic shielding performance of the composite materials.

The interaction between electromagnetic waves and conductive fillers shielding performance.     

艾灸对溃疡性结肠炎大鼠结肠脂多糖/Toll样受体4信号通路的调节作用

目的：观察艾灸对溃疡性结肠炎(UC)大鼠结肠黏膜脂多糖(LPS)/Toll样受体4(TLR4)信号通路的调节作用,探讨艾灸干预UC的作用机制。方法：将36只雄性斯泼累格·多雷(SD)大鼠随机分为正常组、UC模型组、艾灸组和西药组,每组8只(剩余4只用于模型鉴定)。采用4%浓度的葡聚糖硫酸钠(DSS)溶液自由饮用7 d以建立UC大鼠模型。艾灸组取双侧“天枢穴”和“上巨虚穴”进行隔药饼灸,西药组采用美沙拉嗪肠溶片溶液灌胃。采用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)法检测大鼠血清LPS的蛋白含量;采用免疫组织化学法检测大鼠结肠组织脂多糖结合蛋白(LBP)、分化抗原14(CD14)、TLR4、髓样分化因子88(MyD88)、β干扰素TIR结构域衔接蛋白(TRIF)、白细胞介素6(IL-6)和肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)的蛋白表达;采用逆转录PCR(RT-PCR)技术检测大鼠结肠组织中IL-6、TNF-α的信使核糖核酸(mRNA)表达。结果：与正常组相比,UC大鼠外周血清LPS的含量、结肠组织LBP、CD14、TLR4、MyD88、TRIF、IL-6和TNF-α的蛋白表达以及IL-6和TNF-α的mR...