Glycoprotein B (gB) of herpes simplex virus type 1 is an envelope protein that is essential for viral growth. We previously reported the isolation of two gB-null viruses, which form gB-free virions in nonpermissive cells. In the present study, these gB-free virions were shown to bind to the cell surface at the same rate as the wild-type virus. They failed, however, to form plaques and to synthesize virus-specific proteins upon infection. Their plating efficiency was significantly enhanced by treatment with polyethylene glycol, a membrane fusion agent. Therefore, gB is required in a stage after viral attachment but before the expression of the virus-specific proteins. A gB-null syncytial virus was isolated, which contained a gB defect and a syncytial mutation in another genetic locus. It caused complete fusion of gB-transformed cells but no fusion on untransformed cells, indicating the essential role of gB in virus-induced cell fusion. Mutations located at two independent sites in the cytoplasmic domain of gB were transferred to viral DNA and shown to confer a syncytial phenotype to the virus. A transient-expression assay was developed to determine the ability of a set of plasmids containing addition and nonsense mutations in the gB gene to complement the cell-fusion defect in the gB-null syncytial virus. Mutations in plasmids, including those located in the extracytoplasmic domain of gB, were identified that reduced the fusion activity of gB. Therefore, gB contains different functional regions responsible for fusion induction and its inhibition.

Hydrogen is a clean and renewable energy carrier for powering future transportation and other applications. Water electrolysis is a promising option for hydrogen production from renewable resources such as wind and solar energy. To date, tremendous efforts have been devoted to the development of electrocatalysts and membranes for water electrolysis technology. In principle, water electrolysis in acidic media has several advantages over that in alkaline media, including favorable reaction kinetics, easy product separation, and low operating pressure. However, acidic water electrolysis poses higher requirements for the catalysts, especially the ones for the oxygen evolution reaction. It is a grand challenge to develop highly active, durable, and cost‐effective catalysts to replace precious metal catalysts for acidic water oxidation. In this article, an overview is presented of the latest developments in design and synthesis of electrocatalysts for acidic water oxidation, emphasizing new strategies for achieving high electrocatalytic activity while maintaining excellent durability at low cost. In particular, the reaction pathways and intermediates are discussed in detail to gain deeper insight into the oxygen evolution reaction mechanism, which is vital to rational design of more efficient electrocatalysts. Further, the remaining scientific challenges and possible strategies to overcome them are outlined, together with perspectives for future‐generation electrocatalysts that exploit nanoscale materials for water electrolysis.

Rechargeable lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have attracted wide attention for future electric vehicles and next‐generation energy storage because of their exceptionally high specific energy density. Recently, the development of electrode materials for LMBs has been extensively discussed and reviewed in the literature, but there have been very few reports that systematically review the status and progress of electrolytes for such applications. Actually, the viability of practical LMBs critically depends on the development of suitable liquid electrolytes due to the high reactivity of Li metals toward most solvents. This paper provides a systematic summary of the background and recent advances of the electrolytes for LMBs with an emphasis on the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities at the interfaces. In addition, the emerging advanced characterization techniques for understanding the electrolyte–electrode interfaces are surveyed. Finally, a perspective for future directions is provided.

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