Preparation and Reactivity of Core-Shell Al@CL-20 Composites Embedded with Graphene-Based Complexes as Catalysts.

Incomplete combustion of Al in solid propellants can be effectively resolved by coating of an oxidizer at the microscale. In this paper, Al@CL-20 composites with polydopamine as the interfacial layer were prepared using this strategy. The structure, heat of reaction, thermal decomposition properties, and combustion performances of these composites under the effects of graphene oxide (GO) and graphene-based carbohydrazide complexes (GO-CHZ-M, M = Co2+, Ni2+) have been comprehensively investigated. The experimental results show that the heat of reaction of Al@CL-20 is 6482 J g-1, which is 561 J g-1 higher than that of the corresponding mechanical mixture. The presence of GO-CHZ-Co can further increase the heat of reaction of Al@CL-20 to 6729 J g-1 with a decreased activation energy by about 54.8%. Under the synergistic effect of interfacial control and GO-CHZ-M, the ignition delay time of Al@CL-20-Co decreases from 5.1 to 4.2 ms. Besides, the D50 of the combustion condensed products (CCPs) decreased from 5.62 to 4.33 µm, indicating the combustion efficiency of Al is greatly improved.

Molar distalization in orthodontics: a bibliometric analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The study endeavors to undertake a bibliometric analysis on molar distalization, with the objective of illuminating its evolutionary trajectory, current status, and prognosticating future research hotspots and trends. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A comprehensive exploration of the literature on molar distalization was carried out by conducting a search in the Web of Science (WOS) core database of the University of Hong Kong Electronic Library. The search for topic terms employed included "molar distalization," "molar distalisation," "move molar distally," "molar distal movement," and "molar backwards." The search results were subsequently subjected to meticulous analysis using CiteSpace software. This analysis encompassed various facets such as the citation count; the geographical distribution of the countries, institutions, and journals responsible for publishing the articles; the distribution of the authors; the utilization of keywords within the articles; and the analysis of references. RESULTS: A total of 516 articles were included in the analysis. The top 5 countries in terms of the number of published papers were the United States (USA), South Korea, Turkey, Italy, and Germany, and the top 5 institutions in terms of the number of published papers were Kyung Hee University, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and Universidade de Sao Paulo. The top 5 authors in terms of the number of published papers were Park, Kook, Bayome, Janson, and Lee. There was little cooperation overall. The top 3 journals in terms of the most published related articles were all orthodontic-related journals. After molar distalization and anchorage, the most frequently used keywords were distalization, movement, and pendulum appliance. Kinzinger GSM is the most frequently cited author in references, and one of his articles also has the highest centrality score in references. CONCLUSIONS: As the tides of time shift and scholars display an ever-growing dedication to unraveling the intricacies of this therapeutic modality, the realm of molar distalization has undergone notable advancements in technology. Initially, the traditional appliance suffered from aesthetic drawbacks and discomfort. However, contemporary iterations of the appliance have transcended these limitations, boasting enhanced elegance and convenience while concurrently elevating their efficacy. Nevertheless, limitations of current appliances, including their durability and propensity for recurrence post-treatment, continue to necessitate further advancement. Hence, the ongoing scientific inquiry aims to delve deeper into refining treatment modalities and fabricating cutting-edge appliances within this realm. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study holds the potential to significantly enhance the ability of orthodontists to devise treatment protocols and offer state-of-the-art clinical recommendations, thereby empowering them to deliver advanced and refined orthodontic interventions.

Rational Design of Trident Aptamer Scaffold for Rapid and Accurate Monitoring of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Metabolism in Living Cells.

The level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)VD3] in human blood is considered as the best indicator of vitamin D status, and its deficiency or excess can lead to various health problems. Current methods for monitoring 25(OH)VD3 metabolism in living cells have limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity and are often expensive and time-consuming. To address these issues, an innovative trident scaffold-assisted aptasensor (TSA) system has been developed for the online quantitative monitoring of 25(OH)VD3 in complex biological environments. Through the computer-aided design, the TSA system includes an aptamer molecule recognition layer that is uniformly oriented, maximizing binding site availability, and enhancing sensitivity. The TSA system achieved the direct, highly sensitive, and selective detection of 25(OH)VD3 over a wide concentration range (17.4-12,800 nM), with a limit of detection of 17.4 nM. Moreover, we evaluated the efficacy of the system in monitoring the biotransformation of 25(OH)VD3 in human liver cancer cells (HepG2) and normal liver cells (L-02), demonstrating its potential as a platform for drug-drug interaction studies and candidate drug screening.

Impact of Divalent Metal Ions on Regulation of Trans-Cleavage Activity of CRISPR-Cas13a: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study.

CRISPR-LbuCas13a has emerged as a revolutionary tool for in vitro diagnosis. Similar to other Cas effectors, LbuCas13a requires Mg2+ to maintain its nuclease activity. However, the effect of other divalent metal ions on its trans-cleavage activity remains less explored. Herein, we addressed this issue by combining experimental and molecular dynamics simulation analysis. In vitro studies showed that both Mn2+ and Ca2+ could replace Mg2+ as cofactors of LbuCas13a. In contrast, Ni2+ , Zn2+ , Cu2+ , or Fe2+ inhibits the cis- and trans-cleavage activity, while Pb2+ does not affect it. Importantly, molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that calcium, magnesium, and manganese hydrated ions have a strong affinity to nucleotide bases, thus stabilizing the conformation of crRNA repeat region and enhancing the trans-cleavage activity. Finally, we showed that combination of Mg2+ and Mn2+ can further enhance the trans-cleavage activity to allow amplified RNA detection, revealing its potential advantage for in vitro diagnosis.

Harnessing the CRISPR-Cas13d System for Protein Detection by Dual-Aptamer-Based Transcription Amplification.

CRISPR-based biosensing technology has been emerging as a revolutionary diagnostic tool for many disease-related biomarkers. In particular, RspCas13d, a newly identified RNA-guided Cas13d ribonuclease derived from Ruminococcus sp., has shown great promise for accurate and sensitive detection of RNA due to its RNA sequence-specific recognition and robust collateral trans-cleavage activity. However, its diagnostic utility is limited to detecting nucleic-acid-related biomarkers. To address this limitation, herein we present a proof-of-concept demonstration of a target-responsive CRISPR-Cas13d sensing system for protein biomarkers. This system was rationally designed by integrating a dual-aptamer-based transcription amplification strategy with CRISPR-Cas13d (DATAS-Cas13d), in which the protein binding initiates in-vitro RNA transcription followed by the activation of RspCas13d. Using a short fluorescent ssRNA as the signal reporter and cardiac troponin I (cTnI) as the model analyte, the DATAS-Cas13d system showed a wide linear range, low detection limit, and high specificity for the detection of cTnI in buffer and human serum. Thanks to the facile integration of various bioreceptors into the DATAS-Cas13d system, the method could be adapted to detecting a broad range of clinically relevant protein biomarkers, and thus broaden the medical applications of Cas13d-based diagnostics.

New Insights into Selective Singlet Oxygen Production via the Typical Electroactivation of Oxygen for Water Decontamination.

Selective production of singlet oxygen (1O2) as an electrophilic oxidant is crucial for the precise control of chemical targets in environmental fields. Herein, we proposed a strategy to construct a redox interface on electrodes, which can in situ produce inorganic metal hydroperoxides with appropriate oxidative ability during oxygen activation. Benefiting from atomic Cu sites (CuN4) in a copper-carbon aerogel electrode, almost complete production of 1O2 was achieved, thereby refraining the competitive formation of other reactive oxygen species. The fast electron transfer rate between CuN4 and electrogenerated H2O2 promoted the in situ formation of copper hydroperoxide (N4-Cu-OOH), thereby selectively and efficiently oxidizing intermediate O2•- to 1O2. The optimized production of 1O2 was up to 2583 µmol L-1 without additional chemical reagents. We further considered the high production of 1O2 for efficiently removing electron-rich organic pollutants from a complex water matrix. Fast kinetics was achieved and considered for removing various pollutants with electron-donating substituents in a nonradical oxidation pathway. The BPA degradation efficiency is less susceptible to the coexisting natural organic matter (NOM) and inorganic ions. Specifically, the kinetic constant for BPA removal is 34 times higher than that for a nanoparticle of a copper-carbon electrode while producing a hydroxyl radical. Our findings highlight the innovative interfacial surface engineering of an electrocatalytic O2 activation system to selectively generate 1O2 for future potential applications.

The effect of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser combined casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate for enamel remineralisation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of in vitro studies.

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis of in vitro studies was to evaluate the effect of the 2780 nm Er,Cr:YSGG laser combined with casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) for enamel remineralisation. The electronic PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched, with no language or date restrictions, up to January 2023. Two reviewers independently performed research information extraction and quality assessment. Continuous variables were analysed by standard mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager (Version 5.4; Rev Man) and Cochrane Collaboration (2020). Finally, four trials were included for meta-analysis. According to the comprehensive results, the effect of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser combined with CPP-ACP on enamel remineralisation was significantly better than that of CPP-ACP alone: surface microhardness (SMD = - 1.83, 95% CI: [- 2.98, - 0.69], P = 0.002); lesion depth (SMD = 6.63, 95% CI: [4.98, 8.28], P < 0.001). Under the limitations of this meta-analysis, the results show that the Er,Cr:YSGG laser combined with CPP-ACP has a better effect on enamel remineralisation than CPP-ACP alone. The combination of the Er,Cr:YSGG laser and CPP-ACP may be a feasible method to prevent and treat enamel demineralisation.

Evolution, current status, and future trends of maxillary skeletal expansion: a bibliometric analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis on maxillary skeletal expansion to elucidate the evolution and current status and predict future research hotspots and trends. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection at the University of Hong Kong's electronic library using the query "(TS = maxillary expansion) AND (TS = skeletal expansion)." The resulting literature data were imported into CiteSpace 6.2.R4 and VOS viewer software to analyze authorship, countries, institutions, keywords, etc. RESULTS: A total of 923 articles were analyzed. The research in this field has shown a steady growth, with a significant increase since 2019. The USA and Italy have played prominent roles in contributing to the publication volume and strengthening collaborative exchanges. Clustering labels provide directions for in-depth analysis of the literature. CONCLUSIONS: (1) MARPE (miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion) and SARME (surgically assisted rapid maxillary expansion) have gained widespread attention and become research hotspots due to their applicability in adults whose growth and development have ceased, while still producing favorable skeletal effects. (2) In addition to widening the maxillary arch, maxillary expansion techniques have shown significant effects on increasing nasal cavity width and volume. However, there is still controversy regarding whether they can effectively improve the deviated nasal septum. (3) Maxillary skeletal expansion techniques have been shown to increase upper airway volume and improve breathing, making them potentially valuable in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study can provide cutting-edge clinical recommendations for healthcare professionals to better formulate clinical strategies.

Advances in the Modification of Silane-Based Sol-Gel Coating to Improve the Corrosion Resistance of Magnesium Alloys.

As the lightest structural materials, magnesium (Mg) alloys play a significant role in vehicle weight reduction, aerospace, military equipment, energy saving, and emission reduction. However, the poor corrosion resistance of Mg alloys has become a bottleneck restricting its wide application. Developing a good surface protective coating can effectively improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloys. The silane-based sol-gel coating technology has been widely used in the corrosion protection of Mg alloys in recent years due to its advantages of simple process, accessible tailoring of film composition and structure, and excellent corrosion resistance. Whereas the synthesis of sol-gel coatings includes the hydrolysis and dehydration process, which may inherently contain micron or nano defects in the coatings, thereby making it detrimental to the anti-corrosion effect. Therefore, in order to enhance their protection against corrosion, the appropriate modification of sol-gel coatings has become a current research hotspot. This review is based on the modification methods of silane-based sol-gels on the surface of Mg alloys, which are divided into four categories: bare sol-gel, nanoparticles, corrosion inhibitors, and sol-gel-based composite coatings. The modification methods and corrosion protection mechanism are discussed respectively, and the application, development, and research strategies of silane-based sol-gel coatings are included.

Physicochemical and Antibacterial Evaluation of TiO2/CNT Mesoporous Nanomaterials Prepared by High-Pressure Hydrothermal Sol-Gel Method under an Ultrasonic Composite Environment.

TiO2 has attracted significant research interest, principally due to its nontoxicity, high stability, and abundance. Carbon-doped TiO2 can improve light absorption efficiency. In order to prepare high-efficiency photocatalysts, carbon-doped composites were prepared by hydrothermal reaction in a high-pressure reactor, and then TiO2/CNT mesoporous composites were prepared by the sol-gel method in an ultrasonic environment. Characterized by SEM and TEM, the composite materials contained TiO2 nanoparticles as well as CNT. After phase analysis, it was the anatase-doped phase. The following infrared light absorption performance and Escherichia coli bactericidal performance tests showed that it had better infrared and visible light absorption performance than pure TiO2. The TiO2/CNT mesoporous nanomaterials synthesized in this work are possible for clean industrial productions.

CXCL1/CXCR2 is involved in white matter injury in neonatal rats via the gut-brain axis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate whether CXCL1/CXCR2 mediates intestinal injury or white matter injury by delivering inflammatory mediators through the gut-brain regulation axis. METHODS: Neonatal SD rats, regardless of sex, were administered 3% dextran sulfate sodium via intragastric administration at different time points to construct necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) models. Meanwhile, hypoxia and ischemia were induced in 3 day-old SD rats to construct hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) and NEC + HIBI models, without gender discrimination. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe pathological changes in neonatal rat intestinal and brain tissues. Western blotting detected CXCL1 and CXCR2 expression in NEC, HIBI, and NEC + HIBI rat intestinal and brain tissues. RESULTS: Compared with normal rats, pathological damage to periventricular white matter was observed in the NEC group. In addition to the increased mortality, the histopathological scores also indicated significant increases in brain and intestinal tissue damage in both HIBI and NEC + HIBI rats. Western blotting results suggested that CXCL1 and CXCR2 expression levels were upregulated to varying degrees in the intestinal and brain tissues of NEC, HIBI, and NEC + HIBI neonatal rats compared to that in the normal group. Compared with the HIBI group, the expression of CXCL1 and CXCR2 continued to increase in NEC + HIBI rats at different time points. CONCLUSIONS: CXCL1/CXCR2 may be involved in white matter injury in neonatal rats by delivering intestinal inflammatory mediators through the gut-brain axis.

Fast Generation of Hydroxyl Radicals by Rerouting the Electron Transfer Pathway via Constructed Chemical Channels during the Photo-Electro-Reduction of Oxygen.

A strategy for the fast generation of hydroxyl radicals (HO·) via photo-electro-reduction of oxygen by rerouting the electron transfer pathway was proposed. The rate-determining step of HO· production is the formation of H2O2 and the simultaneous reduction of H2O2. Engineering of F-TiO2 with single atom Pd bonded with four F and two O atoms favored the electrocatalytic 2-electron oxygen reduction to H2O2 with as high as 99% selectivity, while the additional channel bond HO-O···Pd-F-TiO2 facilitates the photogenerated electron transfer from the conduction band to single atom Pd to reduce Pd···O-OH to HO·. The optimized HO· production rate is 9.18 µ mol L-1 min-1, which is 2.6-52.5 times higher than that in traditional advanced oxidation processes. In the application of wastewater treatment, this proposed photoelectrocatalytic oxygen reduction method, respectively, shows fast kinetics of 0.324 and 0.175 min-1 for removing bisphenol A and acetaminophen. Around 93.2% total organic carbon and 99.3% acute toxicity removal were achieved. Additionally, the degradation efficiency was less affected by the water source and pH value because of the evitable usage of metallic active sites. This work represents a fundamental investigation on the generation rate of HO·, which would pave the way for the future development of photoelectrocatalytic technologies for water purification.

The anti-fatigue activity of corn peptides and their effect on gut bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Corn peptides (CPs) are rich in branched-chain amino acids such as leucine and have a variety of biological activities such as antioxidant and improved lipid distribution. In this article, we prepared CPs by enzymatic digestion of corn proteins and evaluated their anti-fatigue activity. RESULTS: We evaluated the anti-fatigue effect of CPs through an exhaustive swimming experiment. The results showed that CPs were able to significantly reduce the rate of body weight gain and prolong the duration of exhaustive swimming. Besides, CPs reduced blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels after exercise, while they significantly increased muscle glycogen and liver glycogen stores. They reduced muscle cell damage from exercise. In addition, CPs were effective in increasing AMPK, PGC-1α and PI3K protein expression levels and promoting Akt phosphorylation. Correlation analysis showed that CPs increased the abundance of probiotics such as Lactobacillus and Akkermansia in the gut microflora. CONCLUSION: CPs, which enhanced exercise performance in mice and could modulate gut microbial composition, had significant anti-fatigue activity. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Accelerated Fe2+ Regeneration in an Effective Electro-Fenton Process by Boosting Internal Electron Transfer to a Nitrogen-Conjugated Fe(III) Complex.

The regeneration rate of Fe2+ from Fe3+ dictates the performance of the electro-Fenton (EF) process, represented by the amount of produced hydroxyl radicals (·OH). Current strategies for the acceleration of Fe2+ regeneration normally require additional chemical reagents, to vary the redox potential of Fe2+/Fe3+. Here, we report an attempt at using the intrinsic property of the electrode to our advantage, i.e., nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel (NDCA), as a reducing agent for the regeneration of Fe2+ without using foreign reagents. Moreover, the pyrrolic N in NDCA provides unpaired electrons through the carbon framework to reduce Fe3+, while the graphitic and pyridinic N coordinate with Fe3+ to form a C-O-Fe-N2 bond, facilitating electron transfer from both the external circuit and pyrrolic N to Fe3+. Our Fe2+/NDCA-EF system exhibits a 5.8 ± 0.3 times higher performance, in terms of the amount of generated ·OH, than a traditional Fenton system using the same Fe2+ concentration. In the subsequent reaction, the Fe2+/NDCA-EF system demonstrates 100.0% removal of dimethyl phthalate, 3-chlorophenol, bisphenol A, and sulfamethoxazole with a low specific energy consumption of 0.17-0.36 kW·h·g-1. Furthermore, 90.1 ± 0.6% removal of dissolved organic carbon and 83.3 ± 0.9% removal of NH3-N are achieved in the treatment of domestic sewage. The purpose of this work is to present a novel strategy for the regeneration of Fe2+ in the EF process and also to elucidate the role of different N species of the carbonaceous electrode in contributing to the redox cycle of Fe2+/Fe3+.

Accelerating Strain-Promoted Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition Using Micellar Catalysis.

Bioorthogonal conjugation reactions such as strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) have become increasingly popular in recent years, as they enable site-specific labeling of complex biomolecules. However, despite a number of improvements to cyclooctyne design, reaction rates for SPAAC remain significantly lower than those of the related copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Here we explore micellar catalysis as a means to increase reaction rate between a cyclooctyne and hydrophobic azide. We find that anionic and cationic surfactants provide the most efficient catalysis, with rate enhancements of up to 179-fold for reaction of benzyl azide with DIBAC cyclooctyne. Additionally, we find that the presence of surfactant can provide up to 51-fold selectivity for reaction with a hydrophobic over hydrophilic azide. A more modest, but still substantial, 11-fold rate enhancement is observed for micellar catalysis of the reaction between benzyl azide and a DIBAC-functionalized DNA sequence, demonstrating that micellar catalysis can be successfully applied to hydrophilic biomolecules. Together, these results demonstrate that micellar catalysis can provide higher conjugation yields in reduced time when using hydrophobic SPAAC reagents.

Carbon-based photoelectrochemical sensors: recent developments and future prospects.

Owing to the considerable potential of photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors, they have gained significant attention in the analysis of biological, environmental, and food markers. However, the limited charge mass transfer efficiency and rapid recombination of electron hole pairs have become obstacles in the development of PEC sensors. In this case, considering the unique advantages of carbon-based materials, they can be used as photosensitizers, supporting materials and conductive substrates and coupled with semiconductors to prepare composite materials, solving the above problems. In addition, there are many types of carbon materials, which can have semiconductor properties and form heterojunctions after coupling with semiconductors, effectively promoting the separation of electron hole pairs. Herein, we aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of reports on carbon-based PEC sensors by introducing their research and application status and discussing future development trends in this field. In particular, the types and performance improvement strategies of carbon-based electrodes and the working principles of carbon-based PEC sensors are explained. Furthermore, the applications of carbon-based photoelectric sensors in environmental monitoring, biomedicine, and food detection are highlighted. Finally, the current limitations in the research on carbon-based PEC sensors are emphasized and the need to enhance the sensitivity and selectivity through material modification, structural design, improved device performance, and other strategies are emphasized.

Effect of Er:YAG Laser Irradiation on Preventing Enamel Caries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Caries is a global health problem, and its prevention has become a main goal of modern dentistry. Laser irradiation is believed to have potential in preventing dental caries. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate whether Er:YAG laser irradiation has the potential to prevent enamel caries. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched; 2 reviewers independently used these search strategies to review titles and abstracts, with no language or date restrictions, up to June 2023. For the quantitative analysis, continuous variables were analysed by standard mean difference (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager and Cochrane Collaboration (2020). A total of 51 potentially eligible studies were identified, of which 16 in vitro studies were eventually included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Three studies showed a low risk of bias, and 13 studies a medium risk of bias. In general, there was no significant difference between the calcium ions released under acidic conditions after laser irradiation. The final results indicated that after Er:YAG laser irradiation, enamel could maintain higher surface microhardness in acidic environments, as well as smaller lesion depth and less mineral loss, revealing its potential in preventing enamel caries. However, the effect of laser irradiation on the release of calcium ions in acidic solutions and the surface microhardness of demineralised enamel was not significant. Therefore, more in vitro and clinical trials are needed in to evaluate whether Er:YAG laser irradiation can effectively prevent enamel caries in clinical settings.

Fluorescent probe applications and prospects in gastrointestinal cancer: A bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal tumors, as one of the most common cancers worldwide, pose a significant threat to human health. In this context, the advent of fluorescence probe technology has offered new perspectives and methods for the diagnosis and surgical treatment of gastrointestinal tumors. However, there is currently a lack of systematic bibliometric analysis on the research concerning gastrointestinal cancer and fluorescence probes. METHOD: This study retrieved and comprehensively analyzed 1816 documents from the Web of Science database using the Cite Space tool, exploring the spatiotemporal distribution, author and subject category distribution, research themes, and keywords in this field. RESULTS: As of February 3, 2024, a total of 1816 records were retrieved, encompassing nine document types. Original research papers dominated the dataset, accounting for 89.922 %, followed by review articles at 6.773 %. We conducted a comprehensive analysis from various perspectives including countries, authors, institutions, keywords, journals, and references. Our findings reveal a strengthening trend in research on gastrointestinal cancer and fluorescent probes since 2010, with primary focus on drug delivery, endoscopy techniques, and genomic hybridization. CONCLUSION: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the design, application, and quantitative analysis techniques of fluorescent probes, marking a notable frontier in this field. Our research findings offer fundamental insights and aid in identifying potential collaborators for future endeavors in this area.

Inflammatory proteins mediate male erectile dysfunction via plasma metabolites.

Background: There are no clear conclusions as to whether inflammatory proteins and plasma metabolites influence erectile dysfunction (ED). Aim: In this research, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to discover a causal relationship between inflammatory proteins, plasma metabolites, and ED. Methods: Raw data with ED, inflammatory proteins, and plasma metabolites were obtained from the MRC IEU OpenGWAS and FinnGen database. After a series of screenings, the remaining single nucleotide polymorphisms were selected as instrumental variables or MR analysis to assess the relationship between genetically predicted inflammatory proteins or plasma metabolites and the pathogenesis of ED. Outcomes: The relationship between inflammatory factors and ED was fully analyzed and elaborated. Results: In the inverse variance-weighted method, there exists a significant causal relationship between 4 types of genetically predicted inflammatory proteins and 50 types of plasma metabolites with the incidence of ED. The primary discovery is that 3 inflammatory proteins, fibroblast growth factor 5, interleukin-22 receptor subunit alpha-1, and protein S100-A12, can impact the risk of ED through plasma metabolites. Clinical Implications: ED metabolites and inflammatory proteins are also closely associated with cardiovascular diseases, warranting further exploration. Strengths and Limitations: Our analysis is based on a European population, limiting its generalizability, the genome-wide association study dataset for ED has a relatively small number of cases, and we hope for larger genome-wide association study datasets for future validation. Conclusion: This study has identified that inflammatory proteins can influence ED through plasma metabolites.

Habitat selection drives diatom community assembly and network complexity in sediment-laden riverine environments.

Microbial communities assemble stochastically and deterministically, but how different assembly processes shape diatom community structure across riverine habitats is unclear, especially in sediment-laden environments. In this study, we deciphered the mechanisms of riverine diatom community assembly in the water column and riverbed substrate with varying sediment concentrations. Water and sediment samples were collected from 44 sampling sites along the Yellow River mainstream during two seasons. Diatom communities were characterized based on high-throughput sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA genes coupled with multivariate statistical analyses. A total of 198 diatom species were taxonomically assigned, including 182 free-living and particle-attached species and 184 surface-sediment species. Planktonic communities were structurally different from benthic communities, with Cyclotella being dominant mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the river with higher sediment concentrations. Both stochastic and deterministic processes affected diatom community assembly in different habitats. Species dispersal was more important in the water than in the substrate, and this process was strengthened by increased sediment concentration across habitats. Diatom communities exhibited lower network complexity and enhanced antagonistic or competitive interactions between species in response to higher sediment concentrations compared with lower sediment concentrations mainly in the source region of the river. Differences in the species composition and community diversity of planktonic diatoms were closely correlated with the proportion of bare land area, nitrogen nutrients, precipitation, and sediment concentration. In particular, particle-attached diatoms responded sensitively to environmental factors. These findings provide strong evidence for sediment-mediated assembly and interactions of riverine diatom communities.