Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered promising next-generation energy storage devices. However, a lack of appropriate high-performance anode materials has prevented further improvements. Here, a hierarchical porous hybrid nanosheet composed of interconnected uniform TiO nanoparticles and nitrogen-doped graphene layer networks (TiO @NFG HPHNSs) that are synthesized using dual-functional C N nanosheets as both the self-sacrificing template and hybrid carbon source is reported. These HPHNSs deliver high reversible capacities of 146 mA h g at 5 C for 8000 cycles, 129 mA h g at 10 C for 20 000 cycles, and 116 mA h g at 20 C for 10 000 cycles, as well as an ultrahigh rate capability up to 60 C with a capacity of 101 mA h g . These results demonstrate the longest cyclabilities and best rate capability ever reported for TiO -based anode materials for SIBs. The unprecedented sodium storage performance of the TiO @NFG HPHNSs is due to their unique composition and hierarchical porous 2D structure.

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Mesoporous single-crystalline NiCo2O4 superlattice nanoribbons with excellent electrochemical properties have been prepared via a hexamethylenetetramine (HMT)-assisted hydrothermal method applied to Ni–Co precursor nanobelts, followed by annealing in air for the first time.

FeSe thin films were grown on GaAs ͑001͒ substrates using low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that FeSe thin films were in tetragonal structure with ͑002͒ orientation. It was found that the FeSe thin films were ferromagnetic above room temperature, revealing a maximum saturation magnetization about 590 emu/ cc along the in-plane magnetic easy axis. The Hall measurement indicated that the as grown FeSe thin films was of p-type conduction with hole concentration of as high as 10 20 ϳ 10 21 cm −3. The magnetic circular dichroism spectrum was employed to study the electronic structure.

In this paper, we report a simple method for preparing p-type ZnO thin films by thermal oxidization of Zn 3 N 2 thin films. The Zn 3 N 2 films were grown on fused silica substrates by using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from a Zn(C 2 H 5 ) 2 and NH 3 gas mixture. The Zn 3 N 2 film with a cubic antibixbyite structure transformed to ZnO:N with a hexagonal structure as the annealing temperature reached 500°C. When the annealing temperature reached 700°C, a high-quality p-type ZnO film with a carrier density of 4.16 × 10 17 cm −3 was obtained, for which the film showed a strong near-band-edge emission at 3.30 eV without deep-level emission, and the full width at half-maximum of the photoluminescence spectrum was 120 meV at room temperature. The origin of the ultraviolet band was the overlap of free exciton and the bound exciton. The N concentration was as high as 10 21 cm −3 , which could be controlled by adjusting the parameters of the annealing processes.

BackgroundThe discovery of cancer stem cells and tumor heterogeneity prompted the exploration of additional mechanisms aside from genetic mutations for carcinogenesis and cancer progression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of cell fusion between mesenchymal stem cells and the gastric epithelial cells in tumorigenesis.MethodsCell fusion between cord blood mesenchymal stem cells and human gastric epithelial cells was performed in vitro. Cell scratch and transwell assays were performed to determine migration and invasion abilities of the hybrids. The expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins and genes were analyzed by immunocytochemistry and real time quantitative PCR. Tumorigenesis of the hybrids was evaluated through in vivo inoculation in nude mice.ResultsHybrids expressed the phenotypes of both donor cells. Aneuploidy was observed in 84.1% of cells. The hybrids showed increased proliferation, migration and invasion abilities compared with the parental cells. In addition, the expression of N-cadherin and vimentin in the hybrids was significantly higher than that of the epithelial cells, and the mRNA expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes, Twist and Slug, in the hybrids was also increased compared with that of the parental epithelial cells. Furthermore, the hybrids formed masses of epithelial origin with glandular structures in BALB/c nude mice.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that cell fusion between gastric epithelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells may result in epithelial to mesenchymal transition and malignant transformation.

In response to the increasing concern for energy management, molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) has been extensively researched as an attractive anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The proficient cycling durability and good rate performance of SIBs are the two key parameters that determine their potential for practical use. In this study, nature-inspired three-dimensional (3D) MoS 2 ultrathin marigold flower-like microstructures were prepared by a controlled hydrothermal method. These microscale flowers are constructed by arbitrarily arranged but closely interconnected twodimensional ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets. The as-prepared MoS 2 microflowers (MFs) have then been chemically wrapped by layered graphene sheets to form the bonded 3D hybrid MoS 2 -G networks. TEM, SEM, XRD, XPS, and Raman characterizations were used to study the morphology, crystallization, chemical compositions, and wrapping contact between MoS 2 and graphene. The ultrathin nature of MoS 2 in 3D MFs and graphene wrapping provide strong electrical conductive channels and conductive networks in an electrode. Benefitting from the 2 nm ultrathin crystalline MoS 2 sheets, chemically bonded graphene, defect-induced sodium storage active sites, and 3D interstitial spaces, the prepared electrode exhibited an outstanding specific capacity (606 mA h g −1 at 200 mA g −1 ), remarkable rate performance (345 mA h g −1 at 1600 mA g −1 ), and long cycle life (over 100 cycles with tremendous Coulombic efficiencies beyond 100%). The proposed synthesis strategy and 3D design developed in the present study reveal a unique way to fabricate promising anode materials for SIBs.

low-dimensional nanostructure and highdimensional microstructure and provides a highly efficient electrochemical circuit around the primary active nanoparticles, which have been widely employed in the applications of energy storage and conversion. [5][6][7][8] For instance, Yu and co-workers have synthesized various metal-sulfides/ carbon hybrids via an assembly-andannealing method and investigated their attractive structure-dependent properties in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). [9,10] More recently, we have engineered a self-template and recrystallization-self-assembly strategy to prepared core-shell-like CoP nanoparticles immobilized into nitrogen/ phosphorus dual-doped porous carbon sheets and CoO@C dandelions, both of which manifest excellent lithium/potassium storage properties. [11,12] Among many metal oxides, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has attracted enormous attention as a replaceable electrode material to hard carbon anodes for SIBs in recent years because of the advantages in terms of a typical network structure featured with large-sized diffusion channels (0.372 × 0.378 nm 2 ), lower insertion potential (≈0.7 V), and larger theoretical capacity (335 mAh g −1 ). [13][14][15] Recently, different TiO 2 anode materials have been designed, In spite of the satisfactory advancement in preparing TiO 2 -based hybrid structures, most methods rely on additional template-based multistep reactions for engineering the given structure. Herein, a unique self-template and in situ recrystallization strategy is explored to synthesize uniform flowerlike multicompositional structures of nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheet networks immobilizing TiO 2 nanoparticles (TiO 2 ∩NPCSs) via a self-prepared single precursor and subsequent thermal treatment. Depending on the unique coordination ability of 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid with metal ions under alkaline conditions to form a flowerlike network, a self-produced single precursor can be achieved. Careful investigations of the self-prepared precursor reveal a high practicability of the present synthetic scheme. Because of the novel structural and compositional features, these TiO 2 ∩NCSN flowers indicate superior sodium storage properties when evaluated as anodes for sodium-ion batteries. Impressively, the TiO 2 ∩NCSN flowers deliver high reversible capacities of 152 mAh g −1 at 2C for 3000 cycles and 114 mAh g −1 at 10C for 10 000 cycles, as well as an ultrahigh rate capability up to 50C with a capacity of 101 mAh g −1 . The facile method could stimulate further capability in precise construction of complex architectures with complicated compositions for different device applications.