Stroke significantly impacts mortality and long-term disability, necessitating effective rehabilitation strategies to enhance recovery. This review examines the roles of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and fastigial nucleus stimulation (FNS) in facilitating ischemic stroke recovery through brain-body interactions. VNS enhances ischemic stroke recovery by reprogramming microglia from proinflammatory (M1) to neuroprotective (M2) phenotypes, reducing neuroinflammation and promoting tissue repair via neurotrophic factors. It has shown promise in clinically improving chronic upper limb deficits when combined with rehabilitation therapies. Conversely, FNS provides cerebellar-mediated neuroprotection by mainly mitigating excitotoxic damage and inflammatory responses independent of cerebral blood flow alterations, as evidenced by preclinical models of middle cerebral artery occlusion. By integrating VNS-driven immunomodulation with FNS-mediated excitotoxicity suppression, this review highlights their synergistic potential to improve rehabilitation outcomes for ischemic stroke survivors. Biomarker-guided protocols: VNS for cortical/subcortical ischemic deficits and FNS for cerebellar network recovery are advocated to address postischemic disability via anti-inflammatory rewiring, neuroplasticity enhancement, and cerebellar-thalamocortical circuit stabilization. Critical gaps remain in hemorrhagic stroke, where FNS’s excitotoxicity suppression may destabilize clots, necessitating subtype-specific safety validations.

It appears that the frontier of neural engineering is rapidly advancing towards seamless integration between biological neural networks and digital systems

The development of metal-ion batteries (MIBs) necessitates advanced thermal management strategies to prevent thermal runaway and ensure safe operation during rapid charging and discharging, particularly under elevated temperatures. While traditional thermal management approaches focus predominantly on optimizing separators and electrolytes, innovative electrode materials can significantly enhance these efforts. This chapter explores the potential of surface-terminated MXenes with exceptional electrical conductivity and low infrared emissivity to improve thermal regulation in MIBs. Recent advances in one-step organic Lewis acid-assisted gas-phase reaction complemented by vacuum filtration to prepare a variety of tailored MXenes have been developed to integrate high-rate capacity with reduced heat generation during ion storage. Typically, Se-terminated Nb₂CSe₂ demonstrates a remarkable 1.5-fold enhancement in Li⁺-storage capacity, achieving ~220 mAh·g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A·g⁻¹ by the fifth cycle. This performance improvement stems from superior electrical conductivity, structural stability, and high mid-infrared permittivity, which contribute to minimized thermal radiation. Additionally, computational analyses highlight that the alignment of enhanced permittivity and conductivity along the z-direction significantly reduces heat radiation from these electrodes. This chapter underscores the potential of tailored terminal groups in various MXenes, emphasizing how engineered surface functionalities can lead to the development of flexible electrodes with intrinsic self-thermal management capabilities for the safe and efficient energy storage of fast-charging MIBs. The insights provided herein illuminate the role of surface-terminated 2D materials in advancing the performance and safety of next-generation energy storage technologies.