Fabrication of A Multi-functional Separator Incorporating Crown ether- Polyoxometalate Supramolecular Compound for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Recently, research on polyoxometalates (POMs) has gained significant momentum. Owing to their properties as electronic sponges, POMs catalyst harbor substantial potential in lithium-sulfur battery research. However, POMs undergo a transformation into reduced heteropoly blue (HPB) during electrochemical reactions, which then dissolve into the electrolyte, resulting in catalyst loss. In this research, we amalgamated 18-crown-6 (CR6) with K3PW12O40, (KPW), synthesized a novel POM-based supramolecular compound, and integrated it with graphene oxide (GO) to fabricate a multi-functional composite polypropylene (PP) separator KPW-CR6/GO/PP. The crown ether array was employed to immobilize POM and construct ion transport channels, thereby enhancing the Li+ migration rate and capturing polysulfides. Subsequently, leveraging the stable structure and redox properties of POM, the polysulfide is catalyzed to transform and inhibit the shuttle effect, thereby protecting the Li anode. The lithium-sulfur batteries with the Crown ether-POM supramolecular compound separators, exhibit enhanced capacity and stability (1073.3 mAh g-1 at 1.0 C, and 81.5% retention rate after 250 cycles). The battery (S loading: 3.2 mg cm-2) presents an initial specific discharge capacity of 543.4 mAh g-1 at 0.5 C, with 89.8% of the capacity retained after 160 cycles. This underlines the practical application potential of Crown ether-POM supramolecular materials in Li-S batteries.

Exosome-based WTAP siRNA delivery ameliorates myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury is the primary cause of postischemicheartfailure. The increased expression of Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) has been implicated in MI/R injury, although the detailed mechanism remains incompletely understood. In the present study, we observed the up-regulation of the m6A mRNA methylation complex component Wilms' tumor 1-associating protein (WTAP) in MI/R mice, which led to the m6A modification of TXNIP mRNA and an increase in mRNA abundance. Knock-down of WTAP resulted in a significant reduction in the m6A level of TXNIP mRNA and down-regulated TXNIP expression. Moreover, exosomes engineered with ischemic myocardium-targeting peptide (IMTP) were able to deliver WTAP siRNA into ischemic myocardial tissues, resulting in a specific gene knockdown and myocardial protection. In summary, our findings demonstrate that the WTAP-TXNIP regulatory axis plays a significant role in postischemicheartfailure, and the use of engineered exosomes targeting the ischemic heart shows promise as a strategy for siRNA therapy to protect the heart from injury.

Digital light 4D printing of bioresorbable shape memory elastomers for personalized biomedical implantation.

Four-dimensional (4D) printing unlocks new potentials for personalized biomedical implantation, but still with hurdles of lacking suitable materials. Herein, we demonstrate a bioresorbable shape memory elastomer (SME) with high elasticity at both below and above its phase transition temperature (Ttrans). This SME can be digital light 3D printed by co-polymerizing glycerol dodecanoate acrylate prepolymer (pre-PGDA) with acrylic acid monomer to form crosslinked Poly(glycerol dodecanoate acrylate) (PGDA)-Polyacrylic acid (PAA), or PGDA-PAA network. The printed complex, free-standing 3D structures with high-resolution features exhibit shape programming properties at a physiological temperature. By tuning the pre-PGDA weight ratios between 55 wt% and 70 wt%, Ttrans varies between 39.2 and 47.2 ℃ while Young's moduli (E) range 40-170 MPa below Ttrans with fractural strain (εf) of 170 %-200 %. Above Ttrans, E drops to 1-1.82 MPa which is close to those of soft tissue. Strikingly, εf of 130-180 % is still maintained. In vitro biocompatibility test on the material shows > 90 % cell proliferation and great cell attachment. In vivo vascular grafting trials underline the geometrical and mechanical adaptability of these 4D printed constructs in regenerating the aorta tissue. Biodegradation of the implants shows the possibility of their full replacement by natural tissue over time. To highlight its potential for personalized medicine, a patient-specific left atrial appendage (LAA) occluder was printed and implanted endovascularly into an in vitro heart model. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: 4D printed shape-memory elastomer (SME) implants particularly designed and manufactured for a patient are greatly sought-after in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Traditional shape-memory polymers used in these implants often suffer from issues like unsuitable transition temperatures, poor biocompatibility, limited 3D design complexity, and low toughness, making them unsuitable for MIS. Our new SME, with an adjustable transition temperature and enhanced toughness, is both biocompatible and naturally degradable, particularly in cardiovascular contexts. This allows implants, like biomedical scaffolds, to be programmed at room temperature and then adapt to the body's physiological conditions post-implantation. Our studies, including in vivo vascular grafts and in vitro device implantation, highlight the SME's effectiveness in aortic tissue regeneration and its promising applications in MIS.

Bifunctional K3PW12O40/Graphene Oxide-Modified Separator for Inhibiting Polysulfide Diffusion and Stabilizing Lithium Anode.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are considered as promising candidates for next-generation batteries due to their high theoretical energy density. However, the practical application of Li-S batteries is still hindered by several challenges, such as the polysulfide shuttle and the growth of lithium dendrites. Herein, we introduce a bifunctional K3PW12O40/graphene oxide-modified polypropylene separator (KPW/GO/PP) as a highly effective solution for mitigating polysulfide diffusion and protecting the lithium anode in Li-S batteries. By incorporating KPW into a densely stacked nanostructured graphene oxide (GO) barrier membrane, we synergistically capture and rapidly convert lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) electrochemically, thus effectively suppressing the shuttling effect. Moreover, the KPW/GO/PP separator can stabilize the lithium metal anode during cycling, suppress dendrite formation, and ensure a smooth and dense lithium metal surface, owing to regulated Li+ flux and uniform Li nucleation. Consequently, the constructed KPW/GO/PP separator delivered a favorable initial specific capacity (1006 mAh g-1) and remarkable cycling performance at 1.0 C (626 mAh g-1 for up to 500 cycles with a decay rate of 0.075% per cycle).

Tensile Performance Mechanism for Bamboo Fiber-Reinforced, Palm Oil-Based Resin Bio-Composites Using Finite Element Simulation and Machine Learning.

Plant fiber-reinforced composites have the advantages of environmental friendliness, sustainability, and high specific strength and modulus. They are widely used as low-carbon emission materials in automobiles, construction, and buildings. The prediction of their mechanical performance is critical for material optimal design and application. However, the variation in the physical structure of plant fibers, the randomness of meso-structures, and the multiple material parameters of composites limit the optimal design of the composite mechanical properties. Based on tensile experiments on bamboo fiber-reinforced, palm oil-based resin composites, finite element simulations were carried out and the effect of material parameters on the tensile performances of the composites was investigated. In addition, machine learning methods were used to predict the tensile properties of the composites. The numerical results showed that the resin type, contact interface, fiber volume fraction, and multi-factor coupling significantly influenced the tensile performance of the composites. The results of the machine learning analysis showed that the gradient boosting decision tree method had the best prediction performance for the tensile strength of the composites (R2 was 0.786) based on numerical simulation data from a small sample size. Furthermore, the machine learning analysis demonstrated that the resin performance and fiber volume fraction were critical parameters for the tensile strength of composites. This study provides an insightful understanding and effective route for investigating the tensile performance of complex bio-composites.

Upregulated Long Non-coding RNA Lnc-MRPL39-2:1 Induces the Growth and Invasion of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Binding to HuR and Stabilizing ß-Catenin mRNA.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been to regulate tumor progression and therapy resistance through various molecular mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the role of lncRNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and the underlying mechanism. Using lncRNA arrays to analyze the lncRNA profiles of the NPC and para-tumor tissues, we detected the novel lnc-MRPL39-2:1, which was validated by in situ hybridization and by the 5' and 3' rapid amplification of the cDNA ends. Further, its role in NPC cell growth and metastasis was verified in vitro and in vivo. The researchers conducted the RNA pull-down assays, mass spectrometry (MS), dual-luciferase reporter assays, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays, and the MS2-RIP assays were then used to identify the lnc-MRPL39-2:1-interacting proteins and miRNAs. We found that lnc-MRPL39-2:1, which was highly expressed in in NPC tissues, was related to a poor prognosis in NPC patients. Furthermore, lnc-MRPL39-2:1 was shown to induce the growth and invasion of NPC by interacting directly with the Hu-antigen R (HuR) to upregulate ß-catenin expression both in vivo and in vitro. Lnc-MRPL39-2:1 expression was also suppressed by microRNA (miR)-329. Thus, these findings indicate that lnc-MRPL39-2:1 is essential in NPC tumorigenesis and metastasis and highlight its potential as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for NPC.

Lignin-derived polyphenols with enhanced antioxidant activities by chemical demethylation and their structure-activity relationship.

Lignin valorization to biobased polyphenols antioxidants is increasingly attractive in the modern industry due to their inherent phenolic structures. Herein, lignin-derived polyphenols with enhanced antioxidant activities were prepared from the most available technical lignin including organosolv lignin (OL), alkali lignin (AL), and enzyme lignin (EL) by iodocyclohexane (ICH) chemical demethylation. The structural evolution of lignin indicated that the CAr-OCH3 group and the CAr-O-Calkyl side-chain could be effectively transformed into the CAr-OH group, resulting in a significant increase of the phenolic-OH content and a slight decrease of the molecular weight. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·) scavenging activity was in the order of ICHOL-24 > ICHAL-24 > ICHEL-24 ≈ FA > BHT, and the IC50 value of ICHOL-24 was 0.56 times lower than that of BHT. The structure-activity relationship demonstrated the activities were quasi-linearly related to phenolic-OH contents and could be affected by molecular weights. The H/G/S proportions of lignin could be an indicator for accurate screening of efficient lignin-derived polyphenols antioxidants (LPA). It was preliminarily estimated to have economic feasibility for producing LPA from technical lignin by demethylation compared with synthetic or natural antioxidants. This work will help to develop efficient biobased antioxidants for lignin valorization.

Flame-Retardant and Recyclable Soybean Oil-Based Thermosets Enabled by the Dynamic Phosphate Ester and Tannic Acid.

The demands of safety and sustainability have driven the development of intrinsic flame-retardant biobased polymers from renewable materials. Herein, a mechanically robust, good flame-retardant, and recyclable thermoset was developed from renewable epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) by using 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate phosphate (HEMAP) as the reactive flame retardant and tannic acid (TA) as the charring agent. The flame resistance of the obtained ESO-based thermoset achieved the highest UL-94 of V-0 rating and a limited oxygen index value of 26.7% due to the synergistic flame-retardant effect of phosphate and TA. The flame-retardant mechanisms of the gaseous phase and condensed phase were fully investigated by thermogravimetric infrared, scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectra. It is confirmed that the incorporation of phosphate and TA could effectively promote the formation of dense carbon layers and delay the pyrolysis of long aliphatic chains. The ternary crosslinking of ESO, HEMAP, and TA via free-radical polymerization and epoxy-ring opening reaction resulted in a rigid network with a high crosslink density, bestowing the thermoset with superior tensile strength (20.0 MPa), flexural strength (36.3 MPa), and bonding strength (16.7 MPa on steel). Moreover, the ESO-based thermoset exhibited a fast stress relaxation behavior due to the transesterification of dynamic ß-hydroxyl phosphate esters, which enables the network with thermal-healing ability and recyclability. This study explores a feasible method to prepare an intrinsic flame-retardant polymer from commercially available and renewable vegetable oils and natural polyphenols.

Keggin-type polyoxometalate-based crown ether complex for lithium-sulfur batteries.

A novel supramolecular complex Li3Cl[(HPW12O40)(H24C12O6)3(CH3CN)2] {CR-PW12} was confirmed first to apply as a sulfur host in lithium-sulfur batteries. The {CR-PW12}@S cathode exhibits a reversible capacity of 1120 mA h g-1 at 1.0 C and excellent cycle stability.

Sustainable 3D Printing of Recyclable Biocomposite Empowered by Flash Graphene.

Sustainability of 3D printing can be reflected in three main aspects: deployment of renewable inks, recycling of printed products, and applications for energy- and materials- savings. In this work, we demonstrated sustainable vat-photopolymerization (VPP)-based 3D printing in a whole life-cycle process by developing a renewable ink made of soybean oil and natural polyphenols and recycling the ink for reprinting or converting printed biocomposite to flash graphene (FG) as reinforcing nanofillers in the biocomposite. We also realized its applications in fabricating lightweight, materials-saving 3D structures, acoustic metamaterials, and disposable microreactors for time-saving and efficiency-improving synthesis of metal-organic framework nanostructures. In addition to enhancing the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the biopolymers by 42% and 232% with only 0.6 wt % FG nanofillers, respectively, FG improved the printability of the ink in forming 3D tubular structures, which are usually very hard to be achieved in transparent resin. Success of this work will inspire further development for sustainability in 3D printing.

[Multimodal high-grade glioma semantic segmentation network with multi-scale and multi-attention fusion mechanism].

Glioma is a primary brain tumor with high incidence rate. High-grade gliomas (HGG) are those with the highest degree of malignancy and the lowest degree of survival. Surgical resection and postoperative adjuvant chemoradiotherapy are often used in clinical treatment, so accurate segmentation of tumor-related areas is of great significance for the treatment of patients. In order to improve the segmentation accuracy of HGG, this paper proposes a multi-modal glioma semantic segmentation network with multi-scale feature extraction and multi-attention fusion mechanism. The main contributions are, (1) Multi-scale residual structures were used to extract features from multi-modal gliomas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); (2) Two types of attention modules were used for features aggregating in channel and spatial; (3) In order to improve the segmentation performance of the whole network, the branch classifier was constructed using ensemble learning strategy to adjust and correct the classification results of the backbone classifier. The experimental results showed that the Dice coefficient values of the proposed segmentation method in this article were 0.909 7, 0.877 3 and 0.839 6 for whole tumor, tumor core and enhanced tumor respectively, and the segmentation results had good boundary continuity in the three-dimensional direction. Therefore, the proposed semantic segmentation network has good segmentation performance for high-grade gliomas lesions.

[Iodine Nutritional Status and Prevalence of Thyroid Disorders among Adults in Chengdu].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of thyroid disorders, iodine nutritional status and relevant risk factors among adults in Chengdu city on the basis of two population-based surveys, one conducted between 2016 and 2017 and the other, between 2019 and 2020, and to provide references for making health-related administrative decisions. Methods: Two population-based sampling surveys were conducted. The first one was done between October 2016 and December 2017, using stratified cluster random sampling to select subjects from 2 urban and 2 rural communities in Chengdu. Then, between December 2019 and February 2020, sequential cluster sampling was used to select subjects from communities in the peripheral regions of Longquanyi District, Chengdu. Both surveys covered natural populations of people who were 18 or older and who met the inclusion criteria. In the first survey, questionnaires, physical examination, thyroid ultrasound, and examinations of serum thyroid biochemical markers and urine iodine were performed, while in the second survey, only questionnaire concerning thyroid disorders and physical examination were performed. Statistical analysis of the nutritional status of iodine, the prevalence of thyroid disorders, and potential risk factor was conducted. Results: A total of 1859 subjects were enrolled for the first survey and 16152 for the second. According to the results of the first survey, the median urine iodine concentration was 172.10 µg/L, and the group with adequate or more than adequate iodine accounted for more than 60% of the surveyed population. The prevalence of thyroid disorders was found to be 0.48% for overt hyperthyroidism, 0.43% for subclinical hyperthyroidism, 0.43% for Grave's disease, 1.34% for overt hypothyroidism, 16.62% for subclinical hypothyroidism, 16.73% for positive thyroid antibody, 12.96% for TPOAb positive, 10.06% for TGAb positive, 0.81% for goiter, 14.85% for single nodule, 14.42% for multi-nodules, and 29.26% for thyroid nodules. Excess iodine is a risk factor for subclinical hypothyroidism ( OR=1.50, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.07-2.10, P<0.05), and iodine deficiency is a risk factor for multiple thyroid nodules ( OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.02-2.05, P<0.05). The total prevalence of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the two surveys was 6.58% and 5.95%, respectively, showing no significant difference. The second survey lacked accurate data on thyroid nodules. Conclusion: The iodine nutritional status of adults in Chengdu in recent years was appropriate. The total prevalence of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis remained stable, while that of thyroid nodule increased in recent years. We should continue with the implementation of the universal salt iodization policy and reinforce efforts in monitoring. Furthermore, we should make an active effort to look into the etiology of thyroid nodules.

Maternal and Fetal Outcomes After Interferon Exposure During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.

Interferon (IFN) treatment is widely applied in viral hepatitis and multiple myeloproliferative diseases. However, there is considerable controversy on how to deal with unintended pregnancy during IFN treatment, even selective termination is suggested by hepatologists. To settle this clinical dilemma, we conducted a systematic review to retrieve all published articles involving IFN exposure during pregnancy up until March 31, 2021. Only 8 case reports that were relevant with outcomes of pregnant women with viral hepatitis exposed to IFN-α were retrieved, and 17 studies reporting pregnancy outcomes after exposure to type I IFNs involving 3,543 pregnancies were eligible for meta-analysis. No birth defect was reported in the case reports of pregnant women with viral hepatitis. The meta-analysis showed that risks of pregnancy outcomes and birth defects were not increased after exposure to IFN-α. Further comprehensive meta-analysis concerning the IFN-α and IFN-ß exposure demonstrated that the risks of live birth (OR 0.89, 95% CI: 0.62-1.27), spontaneous abortion (OR 1.09, 95% CI: 0.73-1.63), stillbirth (OR 1.38, 95% CI: 0.51-3.72), preterm delivery (OR 1.24, 95% CI: 0.85-1.81), and maternal complications (OR 0.72, 95% CI: 0.38-1.38) were not increased in patients exposed to IFNs. The pooled estimates of live birth, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and maternal complications were 85.2, 9.4, 0, 7.5, and 6.5%, respectively. Importantly, the risk of birth defects was not increased (OR 0.68, 95% CI: 0.39-1.20) after IFN exposure, with a pooled rate of 0.51%. Therefore, IFN exposure does not increase the prevalence of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and birth defects. Clinical decision should be made after weighing up all the evidence.

Evaluation of the value of diabetes risk scores in screening for undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes: a community-based study in southwestern China.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of existing diabetes risk scores (DRSs) to screen for undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (UDM) and prediabetes (PD) in a community-based southwestern Chinese population. METHODS: Participants in TIDE-Chengdu survey with requisite data and without known diabetes were included. Five Chinese-derived DRSs and six non-Chinese-derived DRSs were included for evaluation. Their performance in detecting UDM and UMD or PD (UDM/PD) was assessed using the C-statistic. The cost-effectiveness of the optimal DRS was compared with that of capillary fasting blood glucose (CFBG). RESULTS: Of the 1,692 TIDE-Chengdu survey participants included, 177 (10.5%) had UDM and 339 (20.0%) had PD. The rural participants (N = 737) were more likely to have UDM (13.4% vs. 8.2%) and PD (24.8% vs. 16.3%) than their urban counterparts (N = 955) (P < 0.0001). In the full population, the included DRSs all showed good discrimination in detecting UDM (C-statistic: 0.699 to 0.762) and UDM/PD (C-statistic: 0.717 to 0.769), but the New Chinese DRS (NCDRS) performed best for both UDM and UDM/PD. The DRSs evaluated all showed better performance in urban participants than rural participants for both UDM (C-statistic: 0.718 to 0.795 vs. 0.642 to 0.720) and UDM/PD (C-statistic: 0.729 to 0.793 vs. 0.682 to 0.726) (all P < 0.05). The mean cost per UDM/PD case identified was lower with NCDRS at score 25 (¥503.3($71.9)) and 27 (¥490.5 ($70.1)) than CFBG at 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, or 5.3 mmol/L (¥631.7 ($90.2), ¥611.8 ($87.4), ¥579.2 ($82.7) and ¥551.9 ($78.8)), whereas the mean costs per UDM case identified was higher with NCDRS at score 25 (¥1379.3 ($197.0)) and 27 (¥1315.1 ($187.9)) than CFBG at 5.3, 5.4, or 5.5 mmol/L (¥1301.7 ($186.0), ¥1247.7 ($178.2) and ¥1173.3 ($167.6)). CONCLUSION: The NCDRS represents a valid and cost-effective tool for use in southwestern China to identify high-risk patients with UDM or PD who need a diagnostic test.

Royal Free Hospital-Nutritional Prioritizing Tool improves the prediction of malnutrition risk outcomes in liver cirrhosis patients compared with Nutritional Risk Screening 2002.

The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) guidelines recommend the Royal Free Hospital-Nutritional Prioritizing Tool (RFH-NPT) to identify malnutrition risk in patients with liver disease. However, little is known about the application of the RFH-NPT to screen for the risk of malnutrition in China, where patients primarily suffer from hepatitis virus-related cirrhosis. A total of 155 cirrhosis patients without liver cancer or uncontrolled co-morbid illness were enrolled in this prospective study. We administered the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002), RFH-NPT, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and Liver Disease Undernutrition Screening Tool (LDUST) to the patients within 24 h after admission and performed follow-up observations for 1·5 years. The RFH-NPT and NRS-2002 had higher sensitivities (64·8 and 52·4 %) and specificities (60 and 70 %) than the other tools with regard to screening for malnutrition risk in cirrhotic patients. The prevalence of nutritional risk was higher under the use of the RFH-NPT against the NRS-2002 (63 v. 51 %). The RFH-NPT tended more easily to detect malnutrition risk in patients with advanced Child-Pugh classes (B and C) and lower Model for End-stage Liver Disease scores (<15) compared with NRS-2002. RFH-NPT score was an independent predictive factor for mortality. Patients identified as being at high malnutrition risk with the RFH-NPT had a higher mortality rate than those at low risk; the same result was not obtained with the NRS-2002. Therefore, we suggest that using the RFH-NPT improves the ability of clinicians to predict malnutrition risk in patients with cirrhosis primarily caused by hepatitis virus infection at an earlier stage.

A Review on Styrene Substitutes in Thermosets and Their Composites.

In recent decades, tremendous interest and technological development have been poured into thermosets and their composites. The thermosets and composites with unsaturated double bonds curing system are especially concerned due to their versatility. To further exploit such resins, reactive diluents (RDs) with unsaturated sites are usually incorporated to improve their processability and mechanical properties. Traditional RD, styrene, is a toxic volatile organic compound and one of the anticipated carcinogens warned by the National Institute of Health, USA. Most efforts have been conducted on reducing the usage of styrene in the production of thermosets and their composites, while very few works have systematically summarized these literatures. Herein, recent developments regarding styrene substitutes in thermosets and their composites are reviewed. Potential styrene alternatives, such as vinyl derivatives of benzene and (methyl)acrylates are discussed in details. Emphasis is focused on the strategies on developing novel RD monomers through grafting unsaturated functional groups on renewable feedstocks such as carbohydrates, lignin, and fatty acids. This review also highlights the development and characteristics of RD monomers and their influence on processability and mechanical performance of the resulting thermosets and composites.

Identification and characterization of sexual dimorphism­linked gene expression profile in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is sexually disparate in humans, with a significantly increased prevalence in males. The molecular mechanisms by which the inhibition or development of liver cancer are facilitated require further investigation with regard to sex factors affecting disease progression. In the present study, functional signatures of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened in female and male tumors via bioinformatics analysis. The following gene chip expression profiles were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus: GSE19665, GSE23342 and GSE9843. They comprised cancerous and non­cancerous tissue from patients with HCC and included critical sex features. Further evaluation of selected DEGs in the two sexual groups was performed via hierarchical clustering analysis. Venn diagram and functional protein­protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were performed. Survival analysis of patients with differences in gene expression levels was subsequently performed using the Kaplan­Meier Plotter database. Certain identified DEGs were common in female and male tumor samples, whereas others exhibited a sexually­biased expression profile. Gene Ontology revealed that the cell cycle module 'biological process' was enriched in tumors derived from both sexes, whereas the metabolic pathways and drug metabolism modules were only significantly enriched in cancer tissues from male subjects. A number of hub DEGs in the cell cycle and p53 signaling pathways were involved in significant protein­protein interaction (PPI) modules, including CDK1 and CCNB1. These DEGs were upregulated in tumors derived from female subjects compared with those derived from male subjects, and could be used as markers of poor prognosis in male patients. Other genes, such as CYP3A4 and SERPINA4, were identified in metabolic pathways, and were downregulated in male compared with female subjects. These genes were associated with a decreased survival rate. The data demonstrated that sex differences in physiology may regulate the levels of gene expression and/or activity, including gene function associated with oncogenesis and the outcomes of liver cancer. Additional surveys are required to explore in detail the molecular mechanisms underlying the differences in gene expression between the two sexes during the development of liver cancer.

Role of mitophagy regulation by ROS in hepatic stellate cells during acute liver failure.

Liver sinusoids serve as the first line of defense against extrahepatic stimuli from the intestinal tract. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are pericytes residing in the perisinusoidal space that integrate cytokine-mediated inflammatory responses in the sinusoids and relay these signals to the liver parenchyma. Oxidative stress has been shown to promote inflammation during acute liver failure (ALF). Whether and how oxidative stress is involved in HSC inflammation during ALF remains unclear. Level of systemic oxidative stress is reflected by superoxide dismutase (SOD). Thus, ALF patients were recruited to investigate the correlation between plasma SOD levels and clinical features. Liver tissues were collected from chronic hepatitis patients by biopsy and from ALF patients who had undergone liver transplantation. SOD2 expression and HSCs activation were investigated by immunohistochemistry. Inflammation, mitophagy, and apoptosis were investigated by immunoblot analysis and flow cytometry in HSCs treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) donors. The plasma SOD level was significantly increased in patients with ALF compared with those with cirrhosis (444.4 ± 23.58 vs. 170.07 ± 3.52 U/ml, P < 0.01) and was positively correlated with the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Na score ( R2 = 0.4720, P < 0.01). In vivo observations revealed that SOD2 immunostaining was increased in ALF patients and mice models, and in vitro experiments demonstrated that LPS/ROS promoted inflammation via inhibiting mitophagy. Moreover, the regulation of inflammation was apoptosis independent in HSCs. LPS-induced increases in oxidative stress promote inflammation through inhibiting mitophagy in HSCs during the process of ALF, providing a novel strategy for the treatment of patients with ALF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here we demonstrate that the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) level is significantly increased in patients with acute liver failure (ALF), and, correlated with the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Na score, SOD level dropped in the remission stage of ALF. We identify that, in liver tissue from ALF patients and mice models, manganese-dependent SOD was overexpressed, and show lipopolysaccharide/H2O2 inhibits mitophagy via reactive oxygen species in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). We show that inhibited mitophagy promotes inflammation in HSCs, whereas mitophagy inducer rescues HSCs from lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation.

Evaluation of the removal of antiestrogens and antiandrogens via ozone and granular activated carbon using bioassay and fluorescent spectroscopy.

Antiestrogens and antiandrogens are relatively rarely studied endocrine disrupting chemicals which can be found in un/treated wastewaters. Antiestrogens and antiandrogens in the wastewater treatment effluents could contribute to sexual disruption of organisms. In this study, to assess the removal of non-specific antiestrogens and antiandrogens by advanced treatment processes, ozonation and adsorption to granular activated carbon (GAC), the biological activities and excitation emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy of wastewater were evaluated. As the applied ozone dose increased to 12 mg/L, the antiestrogenic activity dramatically decreased to 3.2 µg 4-hydroxytamoxifen equivalent (4HEQ)/L, with a removal efficiency of 84.8%, while the antiandrogenic activity was 23.1 µg flutamide equivalent (FEQ)/L, with a removal efficiency of 75.5%. The removal of antiestrogenic/antiandrogenic activity has high correlation with the removal of fulvic acid-like materials and humic acid-like organics, suggesting that they can be used as surrogates for antiestrogenic/antiandrogenic activity during ozonation. The adsorption kinetics of antiestrogenic activity and antiandrogenic activity were well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics models. The estimated equilibrium concentration of antiestrogenic activity is 7.9 µg 4HEQ/L with an effective removal efficiency of 70.5%, while the equilibrium concentration of antiandrogenic activity is 33.7 µg FEQ/L with a removal efficiency of 67.0%. Biological activity evaluation of wastewater effluents is an attractive way to assess the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals by different treatment processes. Fluorescence spectroscopy can be used as a surrogate measure of bioassays during ozonation.