Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of carboxylic-phosphoric anhydrides via C-O bond cleavage.

A robust palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura reaction of carboxylic-phosphoric anhydrides via highly selective C(O)-O bond cleavage under inorganic base-free conditions has been reported. Carboxylic-phosphoric anhydrides, generated through activating carboxylic acids using phosphates by esterification or direct dehydrogenative reaction with phosphites, have been employed as highly reactive electrophiles for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. Broad substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance have been demonstrated to be a general and practical approach for the synthesis of highly valuable ketones.

Similarities of SNARC, cognitive Simon, and visuomotor Simon effects in terms of response time distributions, hand-stimulus proximity, and temporal dynamics.

The spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) and Simon effects are attributed to the same type of conflict according to dimensional overlap (DO) theory: the congruency of task-irrelevant spatial information and the selected response (e.g., left or right). However, previous studies have yielded inconsistent results regarding the relationship between the two effects, with some studies reporting an interaction while others did not. This discrepancy may be attributed to the use of different types of Simon effects (visuomotor and cognitive Simon effects) in these studies, as the spatial codes associated with these two types of Simon effects are distinct (exogenous and endogenous, respectively). The aim of this study was to address these inconsistencies and gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences in spatial representations generated by spatial location, semantic information, and numerical information. We attempted to classify the relationships among the SNARC and Simon effects. Specifically, the visuomotor Simon, cognitive Simon, and SNARC effects were compared from three perspectives: the response time (RT) distribution, hand-stimulus proximity, and temporal dynamics (with the drift diffusion model; DDM). Regarding RTs, the results showed that the visuomotor Simon effect decreased with increased values of RT bins, while the cognitive Simon and SNARC effects increased. Additionally, the visuomotor Simon effect was the only effect influenced by hand-stimulus proximity, with a stronger effect observed in the hand-proximal condition than in the hand-distal condition. Regarding the DDM results, only the visuomotor Simon effect exhibited a higher drift rate and longer non-decision time in the incompatible condition than in the compatible condition. Conversely, both the SNARC and cognitive Simon effects exhibited an inverse pattern regarding the drift rate and no significant difference in non-decision time between the two conditions. These findings suggest that the SNARC effect is more similar to the cognitive Simon effect than the visuomotor Simon effect, indicating that the endogenous spatial-numerical representation of the SNARC effect might share an underlying processing mechanism with the endogenous spatial-semantic representation of the cognitive Simon effect but not with the exogenous location representation of the visuomotor Simon effect. Our results further demonstrate that the origin of spatial information could impact the classification of conflicts and supplement DO theory.

Halogenated Zn2+ Solvation Structure for Reversible Zn Metal Batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn metal batteries have become promising candidates for large-scale electrochemical energy storage owing to their high safety and affordable low cost. However, Zn metal anode suffers from dendritic growth and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), deteriorating the electrochemical performance. Here, we demonstrate that these challenges can be conquered by introducing a halogen ion into the Zn2+ solvation structure. By designing an electrolyte composed of zinc acetate and ammonium halide, the electron-donating anion I- can coordinate with Zn2+ and transform the traditional Zn(H2O)62+ to ZnI(H2O)5+, in which I- could transfer electrons into H2O and thus suppress HER. The dynamic electrostatic shielding layer formed by concomitant NH4+ can restrict the dendritic growth. As a result, the halogenated electrolyte achieves a high initial coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.3% in the Zn plating/stripping process and remains at an average of ∼99.8% with uniform Zn deposition. Moreover, Zn-I batteries are constructed by using dissociative I- as the cathode and carbon felt-polyaniline as the conductive and adsorptive layer, exhibiting an average CE of 98.6% without capacity decay after 300 cycles. This work provides insights into the halogenated Zn2+ solvation structure and offers a general electrolyte design strategy for achieving a highly reversible Zn metal anode and batteries.

Transition-Metal-Free Radical-Triggered Hydrosulfonylation and Disulfonylation Reaction of Substituted Maleimides with Sulfonyl Hydrazides.

A convenient and practical hydrosulfonylation and disulfonylation of substituted maleimides was realized using sulfonyl hydrazides as the sulfur reagent and tert-butyl hydroperoxide as the oxidant. The advantages of the reactions include mild and transition-metal-free reaction conditions, good functional group tolerance, and readily available starting materials. The radical species-induced pathway is also demonstrated by mechanistic studies.

Surface structure of mass-selected niobium oxide nanoclusters on Au(111).

The structures formed by the deposition of mass-selected niobium oxide clusters, Nb3Oy(y = 5, 6, 7), onto Au(111) were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. The as-deposited Nb3O7clusters assemble into large dendritic structures that grow on the terraces as well as extend from the top and bottom of step edges. The Nb3O6cluster also forms dendritic assemblies but they are generally much smaller in size. The assemblies are composed of smaller discrete structures (<1 nm) which are likely to be single clusters. The dendritic assemblies for both the Nb3O7and Nb3O6clusters have fractal dimensions of about 1.7 which is very close to that expected for simple diffusion limited aggregation. Annealing the Nb3O7,6/Au(111) surfaces up to 550 K results in changes in assembly sizes and increases in heights, while heating to 700 results in the disruption of the assemblies into smaller structures. By contrast, the as-deposited Nb3O5/Au(111) surface at RT exhibits compact cluster structures which become 3D nanoparticles when annealed above 550 K. Differences in the observed surface structures and thermal stability are attributed to differences in metal-oxygen stoichiometry which can influence cluster binding energies, mobility and inter-cluster interactions.

Designing Anion-Type Water-Free Zn2+ Solvation Structure for Robust Zn Metal Anode.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn batteries are potential for large-scale electrochemical energy storage due to their low cost and high security. However, Zn metal anode suffers from the dendritic growth and interfacial hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), resulting in the deterioration of electrode/battery performance. Here we propose that both dendrites and HER are related to the water participated Zn2+ solvation structure-Zn(H2 O)6 2+ and thus can be resolved by transforming Zn(H2 O)6 2+ to an anion-type water-free solvation structure-ZnCl4 2- , which is achieved in traditional ZnSO4 aqueous electrolyte after adding chloride salt with a bulky cation (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride). The elimination of cation-water interaction suppresses HER, while the electrostatic repulsion between Zn tips and the anion solvation structure inhibits dendrite formation. As a result, the electrolyte shows uniform Zn deposition with an average Zn plating/stripping Coulombic efficiency of ≈99.9 %, enabling a capacity retention of 78.8 % after 300 cycles in anode-free Zn batteries with pre-zincificated polyaniline as the cathode. This work provides a novel electrolyte design strategy to prevent HER and realize long-lifespan metal anode.

Morphology and reactivity of size-selected titanium oxide nanoclusters on Au(111).

The morphology and reactivity of mass-selected titania clusters, Ti3O6 and Ti3O5, deposited onto Au(111) were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and temperature programmed desorption. Despite differing by only one oxygen atom, the stoichiometric Ti3O6 and the sub-stoichiometric ("reduced") Ti3O5 clusters exhibit very different structures and preferred binding sites. The Ti3O6 clusters bind at step edges and form small assemblies (2-4 clusters) on Au terraces, while the "reduced" Ti3O5 clusters form much larger fractal-like assemblies that can extend across step boundaries. Annealing the Ti3O5,6/Au(111) systems to higher temperatures causes changes in the size-distributions of cluster assemblies, but does not lead to the formation of TiOx nanoislands for temperatures ≤700 K. Reactivity studies show that the reduced Ti3O5 cluster has higher activity than Ti3O6 for 2-propanol dehydration, although both clusters exhibit substantial activity for dehydrogenation to acetone. Calculations using DFT+U suggest that the differences in aggregate morphology and reactivity are associated with the number of undercoordinated Ti3c sites in the supported clusters.

Tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP)-induced reproductive toxicity involved in placental apoptosis, autophagy and oxidative stress in pregnant mice.

Tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP) has been widely used as plasticizers, and reported causing reproductive toxicity in mammals. However, little is known about the toxic effect on the placenta. In this study, dams were orally administered different doses of TOCP to explore the effect of TOCP on placental development. Results showed that TOCP exposure significantly reduced numbers of implanted embryo, caused atrophy and collapse of ectoplacental cone, and decreased total areas of placenta and numbers of PCNA-positive cells. Expression levels of placental development genes were prominently downregulated in the TOCP-treated groups. Moreover, TOCP administration induced placental apoptosis and autophagy by upregulating P53, Bax, Beclin-1, ratio of LC3 II/LC3 I and Atg5 and downregulating Bcl-2 protein. In addition, TOCP exposure markedly inhibited activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase and increased the production of H2 O2 and malondialdehyde. Collectively, these findings suggest that apoptosis, autophagy and oxidative stress may be involved in the TOCP-induced reproductive toxicity.

Emissions During and Real-world Frequency of Heavy-duty Diesel Particulate Filter Regeneration.

Recent tightening of particulate matter (PM) emission standards for heavy-duty engines has spurred the widespread adoption of diesel particulate filters (DPFs), which need to be regenerated periodically to remove trapped PM. The total impact of DPFs therefore depends not only on their filtering efficiency during normal operation, but also on the emissions during and the frequency of regeneration events. We performed active (parked and driving) and passive regenerations on two heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs), and report the chemical composition of emissions during these events, as well as the efficiency with which trapped PM is converted to gas-phase products. We also collected activity data from 85 HDDVs to determine how often regeneration occurs during real-world operation. PM emitted during regeneration ranged from 0.2 to 16.3 g, and the average time and distance between real-world active regenerations was 28.0 h and 599 miles. These results indicate that regeneration of real-world DPFs does not substantially offset the reduction of PM by DPFs during normal operation. The broad ranges of regeneration frequency per truck (3-100 h and 23-4078 miles) underscore the challenges in designing engines and associated aftertreatments that reduce emissions for all real-world duty cycles.

Enhancement of CO2 adsorption and separation in basic ionic liquid/ZIF-8 with core-shell structure.

A novel strategy was proposed to improve the performance of gas separation in nano-materials, by fabricating a core-shell structure out of the basic ionic liquid ([Emim]2[IDA]) and zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8). The [Emim]2[IDA]/ZIF-8 exhibits a remarkable CO2 adsorption capacity of 14 cm3 g-1 at 298 K and 20 kPa, the ideal selectivity of CO2/N2 is as high as 104 and CO2/CH4 is 348 at 298 K and 100 kPa, which are much higher than the CO2 adsorption capacity (4.3 cm3 g-1) and the selectivity (SCO2/N2 = 7.4, SCO2/CH4 = 2.7) of ZIF-8. This work could pave the way for designing advanced nanostructures tailored for gas separation.

[Response of radial growth of different timberline species to climate change in Yading Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China]. / å››å·äºšä¸è‡ªç„¶ä¿æŠ¤åŒºä¸åŒæž—çº¿æ ‘ç§å¾„å‘ç”Ÿé•¿å¯¹æ°”å€™å˜åŒ–çš„å“åº”.

The radial growth of trees in alpine timberline is particularly sensitive to climate change. We sampled and disposed tree-ring cores of three coniferous tree species including Juniperus saltuaria, Abies forrestii, and Larix potaninii at alpine timberline in Yading Nature Reserve. The standard tree-ring chronology was used to explore the response of radial growth of different timberline species to climate change. The results showed that radial growth of L. potaninii increased after 2000, while that of A. forrestii declined after 2002, and J. saltuaria showed a significant decreasing growth trend in the past 10 years. Such results indicated divergent growth responses to climate factors among the three tree species at alpine timberline. The radial growth of J. saltuaria was sensitive to temperature, and was positively correlated with the minimum temperature from previous October to current August, the mean tempera-ture from previous November to current April and from current July to October, but was negatively associated with the relative humidity from current July to October. The radial growth of A. forrestii showed negative correlation with mean temperature and the maximum temperature from May to June in the current year, while it exhibited positive association with the relative humidity and the Palmer drought severity index from May to June in the current year. L. potaninii radial growth was positively associated with mean temperature and the maximum temperature of November-December in the previous year, the maximum temperature of current March and mean temperature of current August. The temporal stability of climate-growth relationship varied among different timberline species. The positive correlation between radial growth of A. forrestii and J. saltuaria and temperature gradually decreased, while the posi-tive relationship of L. potaninii radial growth and temperature gradually increased. Under the background of climate warming, rapid rise in surface air temperatures may promote the radial growth of L. potaninii, while inhibit that of J. saltuaria and A. forrestii, which may change the position of regional timberline.

Alleviating Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator-induced Hemorrhagic Transformation in Ischemic Stroke via Targeted Delivery of a Ferroptosis Inhibitor.

Intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is the primary treatment for ischemic stroke. However, rtPA treatment can substantially increase blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and susceptibility to hemorrhagic transformation. Herein, the mechanism underlying the side effects of rtPA treatment is investigated and demonstrated that ferroptosis plays an important role. The ferroptosis inhibitor, liproxstatin-1 (Lip) is proposed to alleviate the side effects. A well-designed macrocyclic carrier, glucose-modified azocalix[4]arene (GluAC4A), is prepared to deliver Lip to the ischemic site. GluAC4A bound tightly to Lip and markedly improved its solubility. Glucose, modified at the upper rim of GluAC4A, imparts BBB targeting to the drug delivery system owing to the presence of glucose transporter 1 on the BBB surface. The responsiveness of GluAC4A to hypoxia due to the presence of azo groups enabled the targeted release of Lip at the ischemic site. GluAC4A successfully improved drug accumulation in the brain, and Lip@GluAC4A significantly reduced ferroptosis, BBB leakage, and neurological deficits induced by rtPA in vivo. These findings deepen the understanding of the side effects of rtPA treatment and provide a novel strategy for their effective mitigation, which is of great significance for the treatment and prognosis of patients with ischemic stroke.

QChIPat: a quantitative method to identify distinct binding patterns for two biological ChIP-seq samples in different experimental conditions.

BACKGROUND: Many computational programs have been developed to identify enriched regions for a single biological ChIP-seq sample. Given that many biological questions are often asked to compare the difference between two different conditions, it is important to develop new programs that address the comparison of two biological ChIP-seq samples. Despite several programs designed to address this question, these programs suffer from some drawbacks, such as inability to distinguish whether the identified differential enriched regions are indeed significantly enriched, lack of distinguishing binding patterns, and neglect of the normalization between samples. RESULTS: In this study, we developed a novel quantitative method for comparing two biological ChIP-seq samples, called QChIPat. Our method employs a new global normalization method: nonparametric empirical Bayes (NEB) correction normalization, utilizes pre-defined enriched regions identified from single-sample peak calling programs, uses statistical methods to define differential enriched regions, then defines binding (histone modification) pattern information for those differential enriched regions. Our program was tested on a benchmark data: histone modifications data used by ChIPDiffs. It was then applied on two study cases: one to identify differential histone modification sites for ChIP-seq of H3K27me3 and H3K9me2 data in AKT1-transfected MCF10A cells; the other to identify differential binding sites for ChIP-seq of TCF7L2 data in MCF7 and PANC1 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Several advantages of our program include: 1) it considers a control (or input) experiment; 2) it incorporates a novel global normalization strategy: nonparametric empirical Bayes correction normalization; 3) it provides the binding pattern information among different enriched regions. QChIPat is implemented in R, Perl and C++, and has been tested under Linux. The R package is available at http://motif.bmi.ohio-state.edu/QChIPat.

Immunological characterization of stroke-heart syndrome and identification of inflammatory therapeutic targets.

Acute cardiac dysfunction caused by stroke-heart syndrome (SHS) is the second leading cause of stroke-related death. The inflammatory response plays a significant role in the pathophysiological process of cardiac damage. However, the mechanisms underlying the brain-heart interaction are poorly understood. Therefore, we aimed to analysis the immunological characterization and identify inflammation therapeutic targets of SHS. We analyzed gene expression data of heart tissue 24 hours after induction of ischemia stoke by MCAO or sham surgery in a publicly available dataset (GSE102558) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Bioinformatics analysis revealed 138 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in myocardium of MCAO-treated compared with sham-treated mice, among which, immune and inflammatory pathways were enriched. Analysis of the immune cells infiltration showed that the natural killer cell populations were significantly different between the two groups. We identified five DIREGs, Aplnr, Ccrl2, Cdkn1a, Irak2, and Serpine1 and found that their expression correlated with specific populations of infiltrating immune cells in the cardiac tissue. RT-qPCR and Western blot methods confirmed significant changes in the expression levels of Aplnr, Cdkn1a, Irak2, and Serpine1 after MCAO, which may serve as therapeutic targets to prevent cardiovascular complications after stroke.

Blood lactate levels are associated with an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in type 2 diabetes: a real-world study.

Aim: To investigate the association between blood lactate levels and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: 4628 Chinese T2DM patients were divided into quartiles according to blood lactate levels in this real-world study. Abdominal ultrasonography was used to diagnosis MAFLD. The associations of blood lactate levels and quartiles with MAFLD were analyzed by logistic regression. Results: There were a significantly increased trend in both MAFLD prevalence (28.9%, 36.5%, 43.5%, and 54.7%) and HOMA2-IR value (1.31(0.80-2.03), 1.44(0.87-2.20), 1.59(0.99-2.36), 1.82(1.15-2.59)) across the blood lactate quartiles in T2DM patients after adjustment for age, sex, diabetic duration, and metformin use (all p<0.001 for trend). After correcting for other confounding factors, not only increased blood lactate levels were obviously associated with MAFLD presence in the patients with (OR=1.378, 95%CI: 1.210-1.569, p<0.001) and without taking metformin (OR=1.181, 95%CI: 1.010-1.381, p=0.037), but also blood lactate quartiles were independently correlated to the increased risk of MAFLD in T2DM patients (p<0.001 for trend). Compared with the subjects in the lowest blood lactate quartiles, the risk of MAFLD increased to 1.436-, 1.473-, and 2.055-fold, respectively, in those from the second to the highest lactate quartiles. Conclusions: The blood lactate levels in T2DM subjects were independently associated with an increased risk of MAFLD, which was not affected by metformin-taking and might closely related to insulin resistance. Blood lactate levels might be used as a practical indicator for assessing the risk of MAFLD in T2DM patients.

N,N-dimethylformamide tailors solvent effect to boost Zn anode reversibility in aqueous electrolyte.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn batteries are considered as promising energy-storage devices because of their high capacity, environmental friendliness and low cost. However, the hydrogen evolution reaction and growth of dendritic Zn in common aqueous electrolytes severely restrict the application of Zn batteries. Here, we develop a simple strategy to suppress side reactions and boost the reversibility of the Zn electrode. By introducing 30% (volume fractions) N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to the 2 M Zn(CF3SO3)2-H2O electrolyte (ZHD30), the preferential hydrogen-bonding effect between DMF and H2O effectively reduces the water activity and hinders deprotonation of the electrolyte. The ZHD30 electrolyte improves the Zn plating/stripping coulombic efficiency from ∼95.3% to ∼99.4% and enhances the cycles from 65 to 300. The Zn-polyaniline full battery employing the ZHD30 electrolyte can operate over a wide temperature range from -40°C to +25°C and deliver capacities of 161.6, 127.4 and 65.8 mAh g-1 at 25, -20 and -40°C, respectively. This work provides insights into the role of tuning solvent effects in designing low-cost and effective aqueous electrolytes.

GA/HbA1c ratio is a simple and practical indicator to evaluate the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in type 2 diabetes: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: It is still debatable whether glycated albumin/glycated hemoglobin A1C (GA/HbA1C) ratio is associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and few studies have been conducted in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between GA/HbA1C ratio and MAFLD and to evaluate whether GA/HbA1C ratio can be used an indicator of MAFLD in Chinese patients with T2DM. METHODS: This cross-sectional study consisted of 7117 T2DM patients including 3296 men and 3821 women from real-world settings. Abdominal ultrasonography was performed to diagnose MAFLD. In addition to comparing the clinical characteristics among the GA/HbA1C ratio quartile groups, we also investigated the associations of GA/HbA1C ratio and quartiles with MAFLD in T2DM subjects. RESULTS: There was a significantly decreased trend in the MAFLD prevalence across the GA/HbA1C ratio quartiles (56.3%, 47.4%, 37.8%, and 35.6% for the first, second, third, and fourth quartile, respectively, P < 0.001 for trend) after adjusting for gender, age, and diabetes duration. Fully adjusted Binary logistic regression indicated that both GA/HbA1C ratio (OR: 0.575, 95% CI: 0.471 to 0.702, P < 0.001) and quartiles (P < 0.001 for trend) were inversely associated with the presence of MAFLD among T2DM patients. Additionally, HOMA2-IR values were clearly increased in the T2DM subjects with MAFLD compared with those without MAFLD (P < 0.001), and markedly increased from the highest to the lowest GA/HbA1C ratio quartile (P < 0.001 for trend). CONCLUSIONS: GA/HbA1C ratio is closely and negatively associated with MAFLD in T2DM subjects, which may attribute to that GA/HbA1C ratio reflects the degree of insulin resistance. GA/HbA1C ratio may act as a simple and practical indicator to evaluate the risk of MAFLD in T2DM.

Decreased Serum Osteocalcin is an Independent Risk Factor for Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease in Type 2 Diabetes.

Purpose: The association between serum osteocalcin (OCN) levels and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is still controversial. Moreover, few studies have explored their relationship in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients so far. The present study aimed to investigate the association of serum OCN levels with MAFLD in Chinese T2DM patients. Methods: This cross-sectional, real-world study included 1889 Chinese T2DM inpatients. MAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography. Participants were divided into four groups according to serum OCN quartiles, among which the clinical characteristics were compared. The association of serum OCN levels with the presence of MAFLD was also analyzed in subjects. Results: After controlling for sex, age, and diabetes duration, the prevalence of MAFLD significantly decreased across the serum OCN quartiles (55.3%, 52.0%, 48.6%, and 42.1% for the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively, P < 0.001 for trend). A fully adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis showed that serum OCN levels were independently and negatively associated with the presence of MAFLD in T2DM patients (odds ratio, 0.832; 95% confidence interval, 0.719-0.962; P = 0.013). Furthermore, there were significant decreases in HOMA-IR (P = 0.001 for trend) and C-reactive protein (P < 0.001 for trend) levels across the serum OCN quartiles after controlling for sex, age, and diabetes duration. Conclusion: Serum OCN levels were independently and negatively associated with the presence of MAFLD in Chinese T2DM patients, partially due to the improvement of insulin resistance and inflammation mediated by OCN. Serum OCN may be used as a biomarker to assess the risk of MAFLD in T2DM patients.

Profiling the Site of Protein CoAlation and Coenzyme A Stabilization Interactions.

Coenzyme A (CoA) is a key cellular metabolite known for its diverse functions in metabolism and regulation of gene expression. CoA was recently shown to play an important antioxidant role under various cellular stress conditions by forming a disulfide bond with proteins, termed CoAlation. Using anti-CoA antibodies and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methodologies, CoAlated proteins were identified from various organisms/tissues/cell-lines under stress conditions. In this study, we integrated currently known CoAlated proteins into mammalian and bacterial datasets (CoAlomes), resulting in a total of 2093 CoAlated proteins (2862 CoAlation sites). Functional classification of these proteins showed that CoAlation is widespread among proteins involved in cellular metabolism, stress response and protein synthesis. Using 35 published CoAlated protein structures, we studied the stabilization interactions of each CoA segment (adenosine diphosphate (ADP) moiety and pantetheine tail) within the microenvironment of the modified cysteines. Alternating polar-non-polar residues, positively charged residues and hydrophobic interactions mainly stabilize the pantetheine tail, phosphate groups and the ADP moiety, respectively. A flexible nature of CoA is observed in examined structures, allowing it to adapt its conformation through interactions with residues surrounding the CoAlation site. Based on these findings, we propose three modes of CoA binding to proteins. Overall, this study summarizes currently available knowledge on CoAlated proteins, their functional distribution and CoA-protein stabilization interactions.

Waist-to-height ratio is a simple and practical alternative to waist circumference to diagnose metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetes.

Background: As an indicator of abdominal obesity, waist circumference (WC) varied with race and gender in diagnosing metabolic syndrome (MetS). Therefore, it is clinically important to find an alternative indicator of abdominal obesity independent of these factors to diagnose MetS. Our aims were to evaluate the association between waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and MetS and further determine whether WHtR could be used as a simple and practical alternative to WC to diagnose MetS in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This cross-sectional, real-world study recruited 8488 hospitalized T2DM patients including 3719 women (43.8%) aged from 18 to 94 years and 4769 men (56.2%) aged from 18 to 91 years. A WHtR cut-off of 0.52 was used to diagnose MetS in both men and women T2DM patients based on our previous study. The association of WHtR with MetS in T2DM patients was analyzed by binary logistic regression. The consistency of two diagnostic criteria for MetS according to WC and WHtR was determined by Kappa test. Results: The prevalence of MetS according to WHtR was 79.4% in women and 68.6% in men T2DM patients, which was very close to the prevalence of MetS according to WC in both women (82.6%) and men (68.3%). The prevalence of MetS diagnosed by WC in both men and women with WHtR ≥ 0.52 was significantly higher than in those with WHtR < 0.52 after adjustment for age and duration of diabetes (89.2 vs. 38.7% for men; 92.8 vs. 57.4% for women; respectively, all p < 0.001). Binary logistic regression analysis displayed that after adjusting for confounding factors, WHtR was significantly associated with the presence of MetS in both men and women (men: OR = 4.821, 95% CI: 3.949-5.885; women: OR = 3.096, 95% CI: 2.484-3.860; respectively, all p < 0.001). Kappa test revealed that there was an excellent consistency between the diagnosis of MetS based on WC and on WHtR in T2DM patients (men: kappa value = 0.929, 95% CI: 0.918-0.940; women: kappa value = 0.874, 95% CI: 0.854-0.894; total: kappa value = 0.911, 95% CI: 0.901-0.921; respectively, all p < 0.001). Conclusion: WHtR is independently associated with the presence of MetS and can be used as a simple and practical alternative to WC to diagnose MetS regardless of gender in T2DM patients.