Bismuth Single Atoms Regulated Graphite Felt Electrode Boosting High Power Density Vanadium Flow Batteries.

Vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) are considered one of the most promising candidates for large-scale energy storage. However, VFBs suffer from relatively low power density due to severe electrochemical polarization. Herein, we report Bi single atoms supported by an N-doped carbon-regulated graphite felt electrode (Bi SAs/NC@GF) with high electrocatalytic activity and stability, owing to the greatly improved active sites and optimized Bi-N4 configuration. Electrochemical in situ characterization and theoretical calculations elucidate the desolvation process and specific inner sphere reaction mechanism of [V(H2O)6]3+/[V(H2O)6]2+. As a result, a VFB single cell assembled with Bi SAs/NC@GF achieves a much higher energy efficiency of 81.1% at 240 mA cm-2 than NC@GF (70.5%). Moreover, a 5 kW VFB stack equipped with Bi SAs/NC@GF is assembled for the first time and ran stably for over 400 cycles. This work confirms that a single-atom catalyst is efficient for scalable VFBs with high power density and low cost.

Isotropic resolution plenoptic background oriented schlieren through dual-view acquisition.

The key to uncovering underlying fluid mechanisms lies in high-resolution and large-scale three-dimensional (3D) measurements of flow fields. Currently, the mainstream methods that are capable of volumetric measurements, such as tomographic background oriented schlieren and conventional plenoptic background oriented schlieren (plenoptic BOS), suffer system complexity and low axial resolution, respectively, prohibiting their application in high fidelity 3D flow measurement. This paper proposed an isotropic resolution plenoptic BOS (ISO plenoptic BOS) system that employed a mirror to create a second image view for the region of interest, thereby can achieve isotropic spatial resolution with only one camera. We comprehensively assessed the feasibility of the system by imaging the density field induced by candle flames, heat gun, and the Mach disk produced by the underexpanded jet through the high-pressure nozzle exit. All results proved that the dual-view plenoptic BOS system has higher axial resolution and can provide a more accurate 3D density field than the conventional system. As a BOS system that can achieve high-resolution volumetric imaging without the additional cost of cameras, data acquisition, hardware synchronization, and scanning, our ISO plenoptic BOS can expand the road to large-scale and high-resolution aerodynamic imaging.

Physical exercise ameliorates age-related deterioration of skeletal muscle and mortality by activating Pten-related pathways in Drosophila on a high-salt diet.

The phosphatase and tensin congeners (Pten) gene affects cell growth, cell proliferation, and rearrangement of connections, and it is closely related to cellular senescence, but it remains unclear the role of muscle-Pten gene in exercise against age-related deterioration in skeletal muscle and mortality induced by a high-salt diet (HSD). In here, overexpression and knockdown of muscle Pten gene were constructed by building MhcGAL4 /PtenUAS-overexpression and MhcGAL4 /PtenUAS-RNAi system in flies, and flies were given exercise training and a HSD for 2 weeks. The results showed that muscle Pten knockdown significantly reduced the climbing speed, climbing endurance, GPX activity, and the expression of Pten, Sirt1, PGC-1α genes, and it significantly increased the expression of Akt and ROS level, and impaired myofibril and mitochondria of aged skeletal muscle. Pten knockdown prevented exercise from countering the HSD-induced age-related deterioration of skeletal muscle. Pten overexpression has the opposite effect on skeletal muscle aging when compared to it knockdown, and it promoted exercise against HSD-induced age-related deterioration of skeletal muscle. Pten overexpression significantly increased lifespan, but its knockdown significantly decreased lifespan of flies. Thus, current results confirmed that differential expression of muscle Pten gene played an important role in regulating skeletal muscle aging and lifespan, and it also affected the adaptability of aging skeletal muscle to physical exercise since it determined the activity of muscle Pten/Akt pathway and Pten/Sirt1/PGC-1α pathway.

Cloning, tissue expression and imprinting status analysis of the NDN gene in Dolang sheep.

BACKGROUND: Genomic imprinting refers to expressing parent-specific genes in mammalian diploid cells. The NDN gene is maternally imprinted in humans and mice and correlates with the timing of puberty. This study aimed to investigate its imprinting status and its relationship with the onset of puberty in Dolang sheep. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, cloning and sequencing obtained the NDN gene cDNA sequence of 1082 bp of Dolang sheep, coding for 325 amino acids. Similarity analysis and phylogenetic tree showed that the NDN gene conformed to the law of speciation and was highly conserved among mammals. RT-qPCR results showed the highest expression of NDN mRNA was found in the hypothalamus at puberty, and the expression was significantly increased and then significantly decreased from prepuberty to postpuberty in the hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovary and oviduct. Based on expressed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), the NDN gene was expressed monoallelically in the tissues of adult and neonatal umbilical cords, and the expressed allele was paternally inherited. The NDN promoter region of 3400 bp was obtained by cloning and identified in monoallelic-expressing tissues (hypothalamus, ovary, spleen) as a differentially methylated region (DMR). CONCLUSION: These findings will enrich the number of imprinted genes in sheep and suggest that the NDN gene could be a candidate gene for studying puberty initiation in Dolang sheep.

Causal Association of Golgi Protein 73 With Coronary Artery Disease: Evidence from Proteomics and Mendelian Randomization.

Background: Identification of the unknown pathogenic factor driving atherosclerosis not only enhances the development of disease biomarkers but also facilitates the discovery of new therapeutic targets, thus contributing to the improved management of coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to identify causative protein biomarkers in CAD etiology based on proteomics and 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Methods: Serum samples from 33 first-onset CAD patients and 31 non-CAD controls were collected and detected using protein array. Differentially expressed analyses were used to identify candidate proteins for causal inference. We used 2-sample MR to detect the causal associations between the candidate proteins and CAD. Network MR was performed to explore whether metabolic risk factors for CAD mediated the risk of identified protein. Vascular expression of candidate protein in situ was also detected. Results: Among the differentially expressed proteins identified utilizing proteomics, we found that circulating Golgi protein 73 (GP73) was causally associated with incident CAD and other atherosclerotic events sharing similar etiology. Network MR approach showed low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin serve as mediators in the causal pathway, transmitting 42.1% and 8.7% effects from GP73 to CAD, respectively. Apart from the circulating form of GP73, both mouse model and human specimens imply that vascular GP73 expression was also upregulated in atherosclerotic lesions and concomitant with markers of macrophage and phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Conclusions: Our study supported GP73 as a biomarker and causative for CAD. GP73 may involve in CAD pathogenesis mainly via dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia, which may enrich the etiological information and suggest future research direction on CAD.

The effect of the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant Mito-tempo during sperm ultra-rapid freezing.

During the freeze-thaw process, human spermatozoa are susceptible to oxidative stress, which may cause cryodamage and reduce sperm quality. As a novel mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, Mito-tempo has been used for sperm cryopreservation. However, it is currently unknown what role it will play in the process of sperm ultra-rapid freezing. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Mito-tempo can improve sperm quality during ultra-rapid freezing. In this study, samples with the addition of Mito-tempo (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 µM) to sperm freezing medium were selected to evaluate the changes in sperm quality, antioxidant capacity and ultrastructure after ultra-rapid freezing. After ultra-rapid freezing, the quality and antioxidant function of the spermatozoa were significantly reduced and the spermatozoa ultrastructure was destroyed. The addition of 10 µM Mito-tempo significantly increased post thaw sperm motility, viability, plasma membrane integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential (P < 0.05). Moreover, the DNA fragmentation index (DFI), ROS levels and MDA content were reduced, and the antioxidant enzyme (CAT and SOD) activities were enhanced in the 10 µM Mito-tempo group (P < 0.05). Moreover, Mito-tempo protected sperm ultrastructure from damage. In conclusion, Mito-tempo improved the quality and antioxidant function of sperm after ultra-rapid freezing while reducing freezing-induced ultrastructural damage.

Juvenile hormone regulates the photoperiodic plasticity of elytra coloration in the ladybird Harmonia axyridis.

Many animals, including insects, exhibit plasticity of body colour in response to environmental changes. Varied expression of carotenoids, major cuticle pigments, significantly contributes to body colour flexibility. However, the molecular mechanisms by which environmental cues regulate carotenoid expression remain largely unknown. In this study, we used the ladybird Harmonia axyridis as a model to investigate the photoperiodic-responsive plasticity of elytra coloration and its endocrine regulation. It was found that H. axyridis females under long-day conditions develop elytra that are much redder than those under short-day conditions, resulting from the differential accumulation of carotenoids. Exogenous hormone application and RNAi-mediated gene knockdown indicate that carotenoid deposition was directed through the juvenile hormone (JH) receptor-mediated canonical pathway. Moreover, we characterized an SR-BI/CD36 (SCRB) gene SCRB10 as the carotenoid transporter responding to JH signalling and regulating the elytra coloration plasticity. Taken together, we propose that JH signalling transcriptionally regulates the carotenoid transporter gene for the photoperiodic coloration plasticity of elytra in the beetles, which reveals a novel role of the endocrine system in the regulation of carotenoid-associated animal body coloration under environmental stimuli.

Atropisomers with Axial and Point Chirality: Synthesis and Applications.

Enantiopure atropisomers have become increasingly important in asymmetric synthesis and catalysis, pharmaceutical science, and material science since the discovery of inherent features of axial chirality originating from rotational restriction. Despite the advances made in this field to date, it remains highly desirable to construct structurally diverse atropisomers with potentially useful functions. We propose superposition to match axial and point chirality as a potentially useful strategy to access structurally complex and diverse building blocks for organic synthesis and pharmaceutical science because merging atropisomeric backbones with one or more extra chiral elements can topologically broaden three-dimensional environments to create complex scaffolds with multiple tunable parameters. Over the past decade, we have successfully implemented a strategic design for the superposition of axial and point chirality to develop a series of enantiopure atropisomers and have utilized the synergistic functions of these molecules to enhance chirality transfer in various catalytic asymmetric transformations.In this Account, we present several novel atropisomers with superposed axial and point chirality developed in our laboratory. In our studies, this superposition strategy was used to design and synthesize both biaryl and non-biaryl atropisomers from commercially available chiral sources. Consequently, these atropisomers were used to demonstrate the importance of the synergetic functions of axial and point chirality in specific enantioselective reactions. For example, aromatic amide-derived atropisomers, simplified as Xing-Phos arrays, were broadly employed in Ag-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition by a series of reactions of aldiminoesters with activated alkenes and imines, as well as being used as chiral solvating agents for the discrimination of optically active mandelic acid derivatives. Considering the powerful potential of non-biaryl atropisomers for asymmetric catalysis, we also explored the transition-metal-catalyzed enantioselective construction of a novel backbone of non-biaryl atropisomers (Ar-alkene, Ar-N axis) bearing both axial and point chirality for the design and synthesis of chiral ligands and functional molecules.The studies presented herein are expected to stimulate further research efforts on the development of functional atropisomers by superposition of matching axial and point chirality. In addition to tunable electron and stereohindrance effects, the synergy between matching chiral elements of axial/point chirality and functional groups is proven to be a special function that cannot be ignored for promoting reactivity and chirality-transfer efficiency in enantioselective synthesis. Consequently, our novel types of scaffolds with superposed axial and point chirality that are capable of versatile coordination with various metal catalysts in asymmetric catalysis highlight the power of the superposition of matching axial and point chirality for the construction of synthetically useful atropisomers.

Palladium-catalyzed Heck/aminocarbonylation of alkene-tethered carbamoyl chlorides with nitro compounds for the synthesis of carbamoyl-substituted oxindoles.

A straightforward and efficient approach for the synthesis of carbamoyl-substituted oxindoles has been developed via a palladium-catalyzed Heck cyclization and reductive aminocarbonylation reaction of alkene-tethered carbamoyl chlorides with nitro compounds. The reaction showed good compatibility toward versatile functional groups, and both nitroarenes and nitroalkanes were well tolerated. Using Mo(CO)6 as a solid CO source, without external reductants, a broad range of carbamoyl-substituted oxindoles were obtained in moderate to high yields.

Synthesis of geopolymer using municipal solid waste incineration fly ash and steel slag: Hydration properties and immobilization of heavy metals.

In this study, a novel method for the disposal of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) was proposed. By applying geopolymer technology, steel slag (SS) and MSWIFA were used together as precursors to synthesize a cementitious material with sufficient strength that is useable in construction. The effects of the dosages of SS and alkaline activator on the properties of the geopolymer were investigated. Compressive testing was used to characterize the mechanical properties of the geopolymer. X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were used for microscopic analysis. Leaching tests were performed to assess the immobilization effect of the geopolymer on heavy metals. The results showed that the compressive strength of the geopolymer reached 23.03 MPa at 56 d with 20% SS and 11% Na2O admixture. Highly polymerized hydration products, such as C-(A)-S-H gels and N-A-S-H gels, contributed to the compact microstructure, which provided mechanical strength and limited the migration and leaching of heavy metals in the geopolymer matrix. In terms of the results, this work is significant for the development of MSWIFA management.

2019 Global NAFLD Prevalence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus may lead to increased prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to determine the current and recent trends on the global and regional prevalence of NAFLD. METHODS: Systematic search from inception to March 26, 2020 was performed without language restrictions. Two authors independently performed screening and data extraction. We performed meta-regression to determine trends in NAFLD prevalence. RESULTS: We identified 17,244 articles from literature search and included 245 eligible studies involving 5,399,254 individuals. The pooled global prevalence of NAFLD was 29.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 28.6%-31.1%); of these, 82.5% of included articles used ultrasound to diagnose NAFLD, with prevalence of 30.6% (95% CI, 29.2%-32.0%). South America (3 studies, 5716 individuals) and North America (4 studies, 18,236 individuals) had the highest NAFLD prevalence at 35.7% (95% CI, 34.0%-37.5%) and 35.3% (95% CI, 25.4%-45.9%), respectively. From 1991 to 2019, trend analysis showed NAFLD increased from 21.9% to 37.3% (yearly increase of 0.7%, P < .0001), with South America showing the most rapid change of 2.7% per year, followed by Europe at 1.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite regional variation, the global prevalence of NAFLD is increasing overall. Policy makers must work toward reversing the current trends by increasing awareness of NAFLD and promoting healthy lifestyle environments.

Parental variation in CHG methylation is associated with allelic-specific expression in elite hybrid rice.

Heterosis refers to the superior performance of hybrid lines over inbred parental lines. Besides genetic variation, epigenetic differences between parental lines are suggested to contribute to heterosis. However, the precise nature and extent of differences between the parental epigenomes and the reprograming in hybrids that govern heterotic gene expression remain unclear. In this work, we analyzed DNA methylomes and transcriptomes of the widely cultivated and genetically studied elite hybrid rice (Oryza sativa) SY63, the reciprocal hybrid, and the parental varieties ZS97 and MH63, for which high-quality reference genomic sequences are available. We showed that the parental varieties displayed substantial variation in genic methylation at CG and CHG (H = A, C, or T) sequences. Compared with their parents, the hybrids displayed dynamic methylation variation during development. However, many parental differentially methylated regions (DMRs) at CG and CHG sites were maintained in the hybrid. Only a small fraction of the DMRs displayed non-additive DNA methylation variation, which, however, showed no overall correlation relationship with gene expression variation. In contrast, most of the allelic-specific expression (ASE) genes in the hybrid were associated with DNA methylation, and the ASE negatively associated with allelic-specific methylation (ASM) at CHG. These results revealed a specific DNA methylation reprogramming pattern in the hybrid rice and pointed to a role for parental CHG methylation divergence in ASE, which is associated with phenotype variation and hybrid vigor in several plant species.

Efficacy of canagliflozin versus metformin in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized, open-label, noninferiority trial.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the safety and efficacy of canagliflozin in comparison to metformin in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients with insulin resistance (IR). METHODS: A single-centre, prospective, randomized open-label (ratio 1:1) noninferiority trial was conducted at the Department of Endocrinology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, between July 2019 and April 2021. Women aged 18 to 45 years with PCOS and IR were enrolled and randomly assigned to either 100 mg (n = 33) canagliflozin daily or 1500 to 2000 mg metformin daily (n = 35) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was changes in homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-IR after 12 weeks of treatment. The secondary outcomes included changes in anthropometric measurements, menstrual frequency, sex hormone levels, metabolic variables and body fat distribution. RESULTS: For lowering of HOMA-IR after 12 weeks of treatment, canagliflozin was found to be noninferior to metformin (least-squares mean difference -0.81% [95% confidence interval -2.13 to 0.51]). Both canagliflozin and metformin significantly improved menstrual pattern, reduced body weight and total fat mass, and decreased triglyceride levels. Compared with metformin, canagliflozin had significant advantages in reducing uric acid and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate levels. Pruritus vulvae (9.09%) and gastrointestinal reaction (55.55%) were the main adverse events in the metformin group and canagliflozin group, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that canagliflozin was not inferior to metformin in PCOS patients with IR, which suggests that sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors should be considered as effective drugs in the treatment of PCOS patients with IR.

Thyroid hormone, cortisol, interleukin-2, and procalcitonin regulate postoperative delirium in acute type A aortic dissection patients.

BACKGROUND: We assessed the relationships between levels of preoperative thyroid hormone (TH), cortisol, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and procalcitonin (PCT) and postoperative delirium (POD) in acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) patients receiving modified triple-branched stent-graft (MTBSG) implant surgeries. METHODS: ATAAD patients received MTBSG implant surgeries in our hospital between February 2019 and December 2020 were recruited. We separated them into a POD and non-POD cohort and employed univariable and multivariable regression analysis to establish independent correlations between preoperative THs, cortisol, IL-2, and PCT and POD. In addition, we conducted stratification analyses to examine the link between pre-surgical THs and POD in normal TSH and lower TSH subgroups. RESULTS: POD occurred in 78 of 224 patients (34.8%). POD patients exhibited markedly reduced preoperative free triiodothyronine (FT3) (P = 0.008) and free thyroxine (FT4) (P = 0.023) levels, while remarkably enhanced preoperative cortisol (P < 0.001), IL-2 (P < 0.001), and PCT (P < 0.001) levels. Based on multivariate regression analysis, reduced preoperative FT3 (P = 0.032), as well as augmented preoperative IL-2 (P = 0.001), cortisol (P < 0.001), and PCT (P = 0.016) were strong stand-alone risk factors for POD. Moreover, subgroup analysis found the association between FT3 (P = 0.029), FT4 (P = 0.042) and POD was both significant in patients with normal TSH levels. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced preoperative FT3 and elevated preoperative cortisol, IL-2, and PCT were strong indicators of POD in ATAAD patients. Hence, we recommend that the thyroid function, cortisol, PCT, and IL-2 should be evaluated prior to surgery in ATAAD patients.

Patterns of genome-wide allele-specific expression in hybrid rice and the implications on the genetic basis of heterosis.

Utilization of heterosis has greatly increased the productivity of many crops worldwide. Although tremendous progress has been made in characterizing the genetic basis of heterosis using genomic technologies, molecular mechanisms underlying the genetic components are much less understood. Allele-specific expression (ASE), or imbalance between the expression levels of two parental alleles in the hybrid, has been suggested as a mechanism of heterosis. Here, we performed a genome-wide analysis of ASE by comparing the read ratios of the parental alleles in RNA-sequencing data of an elite rice hybrid and its parents using three tissues from plants grown under four conditions. The analysis identified a total of 3,270 genes showing ASE (ASEGs) in various ways, which can be classified into two patterns: consistent ASEGs such that the ASE was biased toward one parental allele in all tissues/conditions, and inconsistent ASEGs such that ASE was found in some but not all tissues/conditions, including direction-shifting ASEGs in which the ASE was biased toward one parental allele in some tissues/conditions while toward the other parental allele in other tissues/conditions. The results suggested that these patterns may have distinct implications in the genetic basis of heterosis: The consistent ASEGs may cause partial to full dominance effects on the traits that they regulate, and direction-shifting ASEGs may cause overdominance. We also showed that ASEGs were significantly enriched in genomic regions that were differentially selected during rice breeding. These ASEGs provide an index of the genes for future pursuit of the genetic and molecular mechanism of heterosis.

Proteomic Investigation of the Antibacterial Mechanism of trans-Cinnamaldehyde against Escherichia coli.

Trans-Cinnamaldehyde (TC) is a widely used food additive, known for its sterilization, disinfection, and antiseptic properties. However, its antibacterial mechanism is not completely understood. In this study, quantitative proteomics was performed to investigate differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in Escherichia coli in response to TC treatment. Bioinformatics analysis suggested aldehyde toxicity, acid stress, oxidative stress, interference of carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, and protein translation as the bactericidal mechanism. E. coli BW25113ΔyqhD, ΔgldA, ΔbetB, ΔtktB, ΔgadA, ΔgadB, ΔgadC, and Δrmf were used to investigate the functions of DEPs through biochemical methods. The present study revealed that TC exerts its antibacterial effects by inducing the toxicity of its aldehyde group producing acid stress. These findings will contribute to the application of TC in the antibacterial field.

Overexpression of UBE2C in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and molecular analysis.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer is a common malignant tumor and its 5-year survival rate is much lower than 30% due to its invasiveness and pronounced metastasis ability, as well as the difficulty in early diagnosis. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanism of ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2 C (UBE2C) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: In this study, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the UBE2C expression in ESCC by collecting the protein and mRNA expression data (including in-house RNA-seq, in-hosue immunohistochemistry, TCGA-GTEx RNA-seq and tissue microarray) to calculate a combined standardized mean difference (SMD) and summary receiver operating characteristic curve (sROC). Kaplan-Meier (K-M) method was used for survival analysis. We also explored the mechanism of UBE2C in ESCC by combing the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of ESCC, related-genes of UBE2C in ESCC and the putative miRNAs and lncRNAs which may regulate UBE2C. RESULTS: UBE2C protein and mRNA were highly expressed in ESCC tissues (including 772 ESCC tissue samples and 1837 non-cancerous tissue control samples). The pooled SMD of UBE2C expression values was 1.98 (95% CI: 1.51-2.45, p < 0.001), and the the area under the curve (AUC) of the sROC was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.90-0.95). The results of survival analysis suggested that UBE2C is likely to play different roles in different stages of the ESCC. Pathway anaylsis showed that UBE2C mainly influenced the biological function of esophageal cancer by synergistic effects with CDK1, PTTG1 and SKP2. We also constructed a potential UBE2C-related ceRNA network for ESCC (HCP5/has-miR-139-5p/UBE2C). CONCLUSION: UBE2C mRNA and protein level were highly expressed in ESCC and UBE2C was likely to play different roles in different stages of the ESCC.

Quorum-sensing molecules increase ethanol yield from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

One strategy to increase the yield of desired fermentation products is to redirect substrate carbon from biomass synthesis. Nongenetic approaches to alter metabolism may have advantages of general applicability and simple control. The goal of this study was to identify and evaluate chemicals for their ability to inhibit the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae while allowing ethanol production with higher yields. Eight potential growth-inhibitory chemicals were screened for their ability to reduce cell growth in 24-well plates. Effective chemicals were then evaluated in cultivations to identify those that simultaneously reduced biomass yield and increased ethanol yield. The yeast quorum-sensing molecules 2-phenylethanol, tryptophol and tyrosol were found to increase the ethanol yield of S. cerevisiae JAY 270. These molecules were tested with seven other yeast strains and ethanol yields of up to 15% higher were observed. The effects of 2-phenylethanol and tryptophol were also studied in bioreactor fermentations. These findings demonstrate for the first time that the ethanol yield can be improved by adding yeast quorum-sensing molecules to reduce the cell growth of S. cerevisiae, suggesting a strategy to improve the yield of ethanol and other yeast fermentation products by manipulating native biological control systems.

Novel concept of the smart NIR-light-controlled drug release of black phosphorus nanostructure for cancer therapy.

A biodegradable drug delivery system (DDS) is one the most promising therapeutic strategies for cancer therapy. Here, we propose a unique concept of light activation of black phosphorus (BP) at hydrogel nanostructures for cancer therapy. A photosensitizer converts light into heat that softens and melts drug-loaded hydrogel-based nanostructures. Drug release rates can be accurately controlled by light intensity, exposure duration, BP concentration, and hydrogel composition. Owing to sufficiently deep penetration of near-infrared (NIR) light through tissues, our BP-based system shows high therapeutic efficacy for treatment of s.c. cancers. Importantly, our drug delivery system is completely harmless and degradable in vivo. Together, our work proposes a unique concept for precision cancer therapy by external light excitation to release cancer drugs. If these findings are successfully translated into the clinic, millions of patients with cancer will benefit from our work.

A Modified Approach with Caval Transection for Supracardiac Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection: Comparison Between Conventional and Sutureless Surgery in 173 Patients.

The efficacy of primary sutureless repair for supracardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) needs to be confirmed. This study aimed to compare the long-term outcomes between the conventional surgery and the sutureless technique with a modified approach in superior TAPVC. Between January 2008 and December 2018, 173 patients with supracardiac TAPVC underwent surgery either with the conventional procedure (n = 130) or the sutureless repair (n = 43). Multivariate analysis and competing-risk analysis were used to identify risk factors for early death and postoperative pulmonary venous obstruction (PVO), respectively. Among 173 patients who underwent repair of supracardiac TAPVC, 46 (28%) had preoperative PVO, and 22 (12.7%) had postoperative PVO. The sutureless group had a lower postoperative PVO rate compared with the conventional group (p = 0.027). The risk factors for death were age ≤ 28 days [odds ratio (OR), 11.56; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33-100.47, p = 0.015], weight ≤ 3 kg (OR 9.57; 95% CI 1.58-58.09, p = 0.009), emergency operation (OR 19.24; 95% CI 3.18-116.35, p = 0.002), cardiopulmonary bypass time (OR 2.16; 95% CI 1.36-3.43, p = 0.003), cross-clamp time (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.20-2.50, p = 0.022), and duration of ventilation (OR 1.11; 95% CI 1.02-1.21, p = 0.027). Age ≤ 28 days [Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.92; 95% CI 1.92-11.02, p < 0.001] and preoperative PVO (HR 41.70; 95% CI 8.15-213.5, p < 0.001) were associated with postoperative PVO. The sutureless repair is a reliable technique for supracardiac TAPVC. Age ≤ 28 days is associated with 30-day mortality and postoperative PVO.