We have developed a nanowire nanogenerator that is driven by an ultrasonic wave to produce continuous direct-current output. The nanogenerator was fabricated with vertically aligned zinc oxide nanowire arrays that were placed beneath a zigzag metal electrode with a small gap. The wave drives the electrode up and down to bend and/or vibrate the nanowires. A piezoelectric-semiconducting coupling process converts mechanical energy into electricity. The zigzag electrode acts as an array of parallel integrated metal tips that simultaneously and continuously create, collect, and output electricity from all of the nanowires. The approach presents an adaptable, mobile, and cost-effective technology for harvesting energy from the environment, and it offers a potential solution for powering nanodevices and nanosystems.

The all-solid-state lithium batteries using solid electrolytes are considered to be the new generation of devices for energy storage. Recent advances in this kind of rechargeable batteries have brought them much closer to a commercial reality.However, several challenges such as insufficient room temperature ionic conductivity (10 -5~1 0 -3 S cm -1 ) when compared to those of conventional organic liquid electrolytes (10 -2 S cm -1 ), the difficulty in informing an effective electrode-electrolyte interface and insufficient fundamental understanding of the interfacial process after charge/discharge, hindering the reality of such devices. To accelerate the research and development, the overall picture about the current state of all solid-state lithium batteries was reviewed in this article with major focus on the material aspects, including inorganic ceramic and organic solid polymer electrolyte materials. In particular, the importance of the electrolytes and their associated interfaces with electrodes as well as their effects on the battery performance are emphasized by in-depth discussion and data analysis. To overcome the challenges, several possible research directions are also suggested for facilitating further improvement on the battery performance. Key words: all-solid-state lithium batteries, solid electrolyte; electrode-electrolyte interface; electrolyte thin film Power Solution, Seeo, Sakti3, Front Edge Technology Inc., Quantum Scape, Bolloré, etc. Overall, in this review we describe the advances in all-solid-state Li batteries and the remaining challenges, and also propose several possible research directions for circumventing the challenges. 2. Fundamentals of solid electrolytes in all-solid-state Li batteries 2.

Synchronizing rhythms of behavior and metabolic processes is important for cardiovascular health and preventing metabolic diseases. The nuclear receptors REV-ERBα and REV-ERBβ play an integral role in regulating the expression of core clock proteins driving rhythms in activity and metabolism. Here we describe the identification of potent synthetic REV-ERB agonists with in vivo activity. Administration of synthetic REV-ERB ligands alters circadian behavior and the circadian pattern of core clock gene expression in the hypothalami of mice. The circadian pattern of expression of an array of metabolic genes in the liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue was also altered resulting in increased energy expenditure. Treatment of diet-induced obese mice with a REV-ERB agonist decreased obesity by reducing fat mass and markedly improving dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia. These results suggest that synthetic REV-ERB ligands that pharmacologically target the circadian rhythm may hold utility in the treatment of sleep disorders as well as metabolic diseases.

Summary Monitoring neuronal electrical activity using fluorescent protein-based voltage sensors has been limited by small response magnitudes and slow kinetics of existing probes. Here we report the development of a novel fluorescent protein voltage sensor, named ArcLight, and derivative probes that exhibit large changes in fluorescence intensity in response to voltage changes. ArcLight consists of the voltage-sensing domain of Ciona intestinalis voltage-sensitive phosphatase and super ecliptic pHluorin that carries the point mutation A227D. The fluorescence intensity of ArcLight A242 decreases 35% in response to +100mV depolarization when measured in HEK 293 cells, which is more than five times larger than the signals from previously reported fluorescent protein voltage sensors. We show that the combination of signal size and response speed of these new probes, for the first time, allows the reliable detection of single action potentials and excitatory potentials in individual neurons and dendrites.

Sodium plays a key role in determining the basal excitability of the nervous systems through the resting "leak" Na(+) permeabilities, but the molecular identities of the TTX- and Cs(+)-resistant Na(+) leak conductance are totally unknown. Here we show that this conductance is formed by the protein NALCN, a substantially uncharacterized member of the sodium/calcium channel family. Unlike any of the other 20 family members, NALCN forms a voltage-independent, nonselective cation channel. NALCN mutant mice have a severely disrupted respiratory rhythm and die within 24 hours of birth. Brain stem-spinal cord recordings reveal reduced neuronal firing. The TTX- and Cs(+)-resistant background Na(+) leak current is absent in the mutant hippocampal neurons. The resting membrane potentials of the mutant neurons are relatively insensitive to changes in extracellular Na(+) concentration. Thus, NALCN, a nonselective cation channel, forms the background Na(+) leak conductance and controls neuronal excitability.