Circulating cytokines and alcoholic liver disease: a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Increased inflammation in the liver during ethanol exposure is a major feature of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). An important contributing component to the development of ALD is the inflammatory response brought on by immunological response, however the connection between individual circulating cytokines and ALD is still unclear. To ascertain the causation, we conducted a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization research. METHODS: We extracted 41 cytokines and growth factors of 8293 Europeans and ALD cases of the same ethnicity (1416 cases and 217,376 controls) from the Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) database for two-sample bidirectional MR analysis. RESULTS: Our analyses suggest that higher interleukin-7 (IL-7) levels are associated with an increased risk of ALD (p = 0.028, OR = 1.191,95% CI = 1.019-1.392), while tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a protective factor for ALD (p = 0.032, OR = 0.863, 95% CI = 0.754-0.988) which can reduce the risk of disease occurrence. In addition, genetically predicted ALD does not affect the expression of circulating cytokines regulators. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports that cytokines play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of ALD. To determine the mechanisms and pathways of action of these biomarkers, further basic research is required to ensure their clinical suitability for preventing and treating ALD.

Remarkably enhanced photovoltaic effects and first-principles calculations in neodymium doped BiFeO3.

Remarkably enhanced photovoltaic effects have been observed in the heterostructures of p-type A-site Nd3+-doped BiFeO3 (Bi0.9375Nd0.0625)FeO3 (or BFONd) polycrystalline ceramics and the n-type ITO thin film. The maximum power conversion is ~0.82%, which is larger than 0.015% in BiFeO3 (BFO) under blue-ultraviolet irradiation of wavelength λ = 405 nm. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve suggests a p-n junction interface between the ITO thin film and BFO (or BFONd) ceramics. The band gaps calculated from first-principles for BFO and BFONd are respectively 2.25 eV and 2.23 eV, which are consistent with the experimental direct band gaps of 2.24 eV and 2.20 eV measured by optical transmission spectra. The reduction of the band gap in BFONd can be explained by the lower electronic Fermi level due to acceptor states revealed by first-principles calculations. The optical calculations show a larger absorption coefficient in BFONd than in BFO.