Inorganic aerogels have been attracting great interest owing to their distinctive structures and properties. However, the practical applications of inorganic aerogels are greatly restricted by their high brittleness and high fabrication cost. Herein, inspired by the cancellous bone, we have developed a novel kind of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanowire-based inorganic aerogel with excellent elasticity, which is highly porous (porosity ≈ 99.7%), ultralight (density 8.54 mg/cm, which is about 0.854% of water density), and highly adiabatic (thermal conductivity 0.0387 W/m·K). Significantly, the as-prepared HAP nanowire aerogel can be used as the highly efficient air filter with high PM filtration efficiency. In addition, the HAP nanowire aerogel is also an ideal candidate for continuous oil-water separation, which can be used as a smart switch to separate oil from water continuously. Compared with organic aerogels, the as-prepared HAP nanowire aerogel is biocompatible, environmentally friendly, and low-cost. Moreover, the synthetic method reported in this work can be scaled up for large-scale production of HAP nanowires, free from the use of organic solvents. Therefore, the as-prepared new kind of HAP nanowire aerogel is promising for the applications in various fields.

Summary Immune cold tumor characterized by low immunogenicity, insufficient and exhausted tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and immunosuppressive microenvironment is the main bottleneck responsible for low patient response rate of immune checkpoint blockade. Here, we developed biosynthetic functional vesicles (BFVs) to convert immune cold into hot through overcoming hypoxia, inducing immunogenic cell death, and immune checkpoint inhibition. The BFVs present PD1 and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) on the surface, whereas load catalase into their inner core. The TRAIL can specifically induce immunogenic death of cancer cells to initiate immune response, which is further synergistically strengthened by blocking PD1/PDL1 checkpoint signal through ectogenic PD1 proteins on BFVs. The catalase can produce O 2 to overcome tumor hypoxia, in turn to increase infiltration of effector T cells while deplete immunosuppressive cells in tumor. The BFVs elicit robust and systematic antitumor immunity, as demonstrated by significant regression of tumor growth, prevention of abscopal tumors, and excellent inhibition of lung metastasis.

Peripheral nerve injuries represent a great challenge for surgeons. The conductive neural scaffold has experienced increasing interest because of its good biocompatibility and similar electrical properties as compared to those of a normal nerve. Herein, nerve conduits made from poly­(d,l-lactide)-co-poly­(ethylene glycol) and polypyrrole (20%, 30%, and 50%) (PELA–PPY) were prepared by electrospinning, and used in regeneration of peripheral nerve defects. The results of an in vitro experiment indicated a high biocompatibility for the as-prepared materials, supporting the attachment and proliferation of a rat pheochromocytoma PC-12 cell. Furthermore, the PELA–PPY nerve conduit implanted in the sciatic nerve defects (10 mm) of the Spraguee–Dawley rats for 12 weeks showed similar results with the autograft, while it demonstrated a better outcome than the PELA nerve conduit in electrophysiological examination, sciatic function index, total amount of regenerated myelinated nerve fibers, axon diameter, myelin thickness, and several immunohistochemistry indices (S-100, laminin, neurofilament, bromodeoxyuridine, and glial fibrillary acidic portein). We supposed that the bioactivity is mainly generated by the PPY in composite nanofibers which could transmit self-originated electrical stimulation between cells. Due to the facile preparation and excellent in vivo performance, the PPY–PELA nerve conduit is promising for use as a bioengineered biomaterial for peripheral nerve regeneration.

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Transparent aluminum oxynitride (AlON) ceramics have been prepared through aqueous gelcasting forming technique starting from the raw materials of single phase AlON powders. The powder was specially treated for anti‐hydrolysis in ethanol before the shaping technique. The surface‐treated AlON powders could then be dispersed in an aqueous‐organic solution to prepare stable slurries containing 35 vol% solids loading. The obtained stable slurries were subsequently casted, calcined, and pressureless sintered at 1950°C for 8 h in nitrogen atmosphere. High transparent AlON ceramics with an average grain size of 112 μm and the in‐line transmittance of 81% at wavelength 1100 nm have been obtained.

In this study, the CERES phenological growth and development functions were implemented into the regional climate model, RegCM3 to give a model denoted as RegCM3_CERES. This model was used to represent interactions between regional climate and crop growth processes. The effects of crop growth and development processes on regional climate were then studied based on two 20-year simulations over the East Asian monsoon area conducted using the original regional climate model Reg-CM3, and the coupled RegCM3_CERES model. The numerical experiments revealed that incorporating the crop growth and development processes into the regional climate model reduced the root mean squared error of the simulated precipitation by 2.2-10.7% over north China, and the simulated temperature by 5.5-30.9% over the monsoon region in eastern China. Comparison of the simulated results obtained using RegCM3_CERES and RegCM3 showed that the most significant changes associated with crop modeling were the changes in leaf area index which in turn modify the aspects of surface energy and water partitions and lead to moderate changes in surface temperature and, to some extent, rainfall. Further analysis revealed that a robust representation of seasonal changes in plant growth and developmental processes in the regional climate model changed the surface heat and moisture fluxes by modifying the vegetation characteristics, and that these differences in simulated surface fluxes resulted in different structures of the boundary layer and ultimately affected the convection. The variations in leaf area index and fractional vegetation cover changed the distribution of evapotranspiration and heat fluxes, which could potentially lead to anomalies in geopotential height, and consequently influenced the overlying atmospheric circulation. These changes would result in redistribution of the water and energy through advection. Nevertheless, there are significant uncertainties in modeling how monsoon dynamics responds to crop modeling and more research is needed.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a life-threatening disease, especially in elderly individuals and those with comorbidities. The predominant clinical manifestation of COVID-19 is respiratory dysfunction, while neurological presentations are increasingly being recognized. SARS-CoV-2 invades host cells primarily via attachment of the spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor expressed on cell membranes. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and prone to severe clinical outcomes. Recent studies have revealed some common risk factors for AD and COVID-19. An understanding of the association between COVID-19 and AD and the potential related mechanisms may lead to the development of novel approaches to treating both diseases. In the present review, we first summarize the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 invades the central nervous system (CNS) and then discuss the associations and potential shared key factors between COVID-19 and AD, with a focus on the ACE2 receptor, apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype, age, and neuroinflammation.