Direct Observation of Z-Scheme Route in Cu31S16/ZnxCd1-xS Heteronanoplates for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.

Although photocatalytic hydrogen production from water holds great potential as a renewable and sustainable energy alternative, the practical application of the technology demands cost-effective, simple photocatalytic systems with high efficiency in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, the synthesis and characterization of Cu31S16/ZnxCd1-xS heterostructured nanoplates (Cu31S16/ZnCdS HNPs) as a high photocatalytic system are reported. The cost-effective, hierarchical structures are easily prepared using the Cu31S16 NPs as the seed by the epitaxial growth of the ZnCdS nanocrystals (NCs). The Cu31S16/ZnCdS without the noble metal cocatalyst exhibits a high HER rate of 61.7 mmol g-1 h-1, which is 8,014 and 17 times higher than that of Cu31S16 and ZnCdS, respectively, under visible light irradiation. The apparent quantum yield (AQY) of Cu31S16/ZnCdS reaches 67.9% at 400 nm with the highest value so far in the reported ZnCdS-based photocatalysts. The excellent activity and stability of the Cu31S16/ZnCdS are attributed to the formation of a strong internal electric field (IEF) and the Z-scheme pathway. The comprehensive experiments and theoretical calculations provide the direct evidences of the Z-scheme route. This work may offer a way for the design and development of efficient photocatalysts to achieve solar-to-chemical energy conversion at a practically useful level.

Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling in blood reveals epigenetic signature of incident acute coronary syndrome.

DNA methylation (DNAm) has been implicated in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but the causality remains unclear in cross-sectional studies. Here, we conduct a prospective epigenome-wide association study of incident ACS in two Chinese cohorts (discovery: 751 nested case-control pairs; replication: 476 nested case-control pairs). We identified and validated 26 differentially methylated positions (DMPs, false discovery rate [FDR] <0.05), including three mapped to known cardiovascular disease genes (PRKCZ, PRDM16, EHBP1L1) and four with causal evidence from Mendelian randomization (PRKCZ, TRIM27, EMC2, EHBP1L1). Two hypomethylated DMPs were negatively correlated with the expression in blood of their mapped genes (PIGG and EHBP1L1), which were further found to overexpress in leukocytes and/or atheroma plaques. Finally, our DMPs could substantially improve the prediction of ACS over traditional risk factors and polygenic scores. These findings demonstrate the importance of DNAm in the pathogenesis of ACS and highlight DNAm as potential predictive biomarkers and treatment targets.

Association of immune cell composition with the risk factors and incidence of acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Although immune cells are involved in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), few studies have explored the association of incident ACS with the relative immune cell proportions. We aimed to investigate the association of immune cell proportions with the incidence and risk factors of ACS in the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort. METHODS: We conducted the analyses with 38,295 subjects from the first follow-up of the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort, including DNA methylation profiles for 1570 individuals. The proportions of immune cell types were observed from routine blood tests or estimated from DNA methylation profiles. For both observed and estimated immune cell proportions, we tested their associations with risk factors of ACS by multivariable linear regression models. In addition, the association of each immune cell proportion with incident ACS was assessed by the Cox regression model and conditional logistic regression model, respectively, adjusting for the risk factors of ACS. FINDINGS: The proportions of lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils showed strong associations with sex, followed by diabetes. Moreover, sex and current smoking were the two factors with strongest association with the proportions of lymphocyte subtypes. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of incident ACS per standard deviation (SD) increase in proportions of lymphocytes and neutrophils were 0.91 (0.85-0.96) and 1.10 (1.03-1.16), respectively. Furthermore, the OR (95% CI) of incident ACS per SD increase in proportions of NK cells, CD4+ T cells, and B cells were 0.88 (0.78-0.99), 1.15 (1.03-1.30), and 1.13 (1.00-1.26), respectively. INTERPRETATION: The proportions of immune cells were associated with several risk factors of ACS, including sex, diabetes, and current smoking. In addition, proportion of neutrophils had a risk effect, while proportion of lymphocytes had a protective effect on the incidence of ACS. The protective effect of lymphocytes was probably driven by NK cells.

Liver and Kidney Function Biomarkers, Blood Cell Traits and Risk of Severe COVID-19: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

The pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed an enormous threat to human health. According to observational studies, abnormal liver and kidney functions and blood cell traits were associated with severe COVID-19, yet the causal risk factors for COVID-19 severity and the underlying mechanism remained elusive. We performed Mendelian randomization analyses to assess the potential causal role of eight liver function biomarkers, one kidney function biomarker, and 14 hematological traits on COVID-19 severity using genetic association summary statistics from Europeans. Our findings showed that albumin, direct bilirubin, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin are casually associated with the risk of severe COVID-19. Notably, lymphocyte count and mean corpuscular hemoglobin had an independent effect on severe COVID-19 risk. These causal evidences provide insights into directions for the risk stratification of individuals with abnormal liver function or blood cell indices and motivate more studies to unveil the roles of these abnormalities in COVID-19 pathogenesis.

Optical Wavelength Selective Photoactuation of Nanometal-Doped Liquid Crystalline Elastomers by Using Surface Plasmon Resonance.

Photoactuated liquid crystalline elastomer (LCE) materials are gaining much attention in many application fields, but challenges for the precise modulation of their photoresponses still exist. Researchers have explored various optical parameters, such as polarization, intensity, and wavelength, to obtain differential responses. The development of photoactuated LCE materials with wavelength-selective responsiveness is more versatile and has attracted more interest, but such LCE materials are commonly prepared by incorporating different molecular chromophores or dyes into the LCE matrices. When the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) characteristic of nanometals, which can generate strong photothermal conversion, and the difference of SPR absorption wavelength bands of different nanometals are considered, a strategy of constructing wavelength-selective actuation of LCE materials by using the SPR photothermal effect can be demonstrated, as done herein. The LCE nanocomposites doped by nanogold or nanosilver were fabricated and exhibited good SPR absorption but in different wavelength bands of the visible spectrum range. They had strong actuation under light irradiation with the wavelengths being inside their respective absorption band but could not be effectively actuated by the light beyond their respective absorption band. A smart electronic device, implementing a hierarchical structured LCE nanocomposite doped by nanogold and nanosilver in different domains as the two-switch actuator, was prepared and capable of outputting different signals in response to the different wavelength bands filtered from a light source, which released the actuator from the restriction of light scanning direction or position. Our work provides new insights for the convenient and precise photoactuation of the LCE actuators.

Trans-ethnic genome-wide association study of severe COVID-19.

COVID-19 has caused numerous infections with diverse clinical symptoms. To identify human genetic variants contributing to the clinical development of COVID-19, we genotyped 1457 (598/859 with severe/mild symptoms) and sequenced 1141 (severe/mild: 474/667) patients of Chinese ancestry. We further incorporated 1401 genotyped and 948 sequenced ancestry-matched population controls, and tested genome-wide association on 1072 severe cases versus 3875 mild or population controls, followed by trans-ethnic meta-analysis with summary statistics of 3199 hospitalized cases and 897,488 population controls from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. We identified three significant signals outside the well-established 3p21.31 locus: an intronic variant in FOXP4-AS1 (rs1853837, odds ratio OR = 1.28, P = 2.51 × 10-10, allele frequencies in Chinese/European AF = 0.345/0.105), a frameshift insertion in ABO (rs8176719, OR = 1.19, P = 8.98 × 10-9, AF = 0.422/0.395) and a Chinese-specific intronic variant in MEF2B (rs74490654, OR = 8.73, P = 1.22 × 10-8, AF = 0.004/0). These findings highlight an important role of the adaptive immunity and the ABO blood-group system in protection from developing severe COVID-19.

Modelling the initial epidemic trends of COVID-19 in Italy, Spain, Germany, and France.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has fast spread to over 200 countries and regions worldwide since its outbreak, while in March, Europe became the emerging epicentre. In this study, we aimed to model the epidemic trends and estimate the essential epidemic features of COVID-19 in Italy, Spain, Germany, and France at the initial stage. The numbers of daily confirmed cases and total confirmed cases were extracted from the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation reports of WHO. We applied an extended Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) model to fit the epidemic trend and estimated corresponding epidemic features. The transmission rate estimates were 1.67 (95% credible interval (CrI), 1.64-1.71), 2.83 (2.72-2.85), 1.91 (1.84-1.98), and 1.89 (1.82-1.96) for Italy, Spain, Germany, and France, corresponding to the basic reproduction numbers (R0) 3.44 (3.35-3.54), 6.25 (5.97-6.55), 4.03 (3.84-4.23), and 4.00 (3.82-4.19), respectively. We found Spain had the lowest ascertainment rate of 0.22 (0.19-0.25), followed by France, Germany, and Italy of 0.45 (0.40-0.50), 0.46 (0.40-0.52), and 0.59 (0.55-0.64). The peaks of daily new confirmed cases would reach on April 16, April 5, April 21, and April 19 for Italy, Spain, Germany, and France if no action was taken by the authorities. Given the high transmissibility and high covertness of COVID-19, strict countermeasures, such as national lockdown and social distancing, were essential to be implemented to reduce the spread of the disease.