Water dissociation at the water-rutile TiO2(110) interface from ab initio-based deep neural network simulations.

The interaction of water with TiO2 surfaces is of crucial importance in various scientific fields and applications, from photocatalysis for hydrogen production and the photooxidation of organic pollutants to self-cleaning surfaces and bio-medical devices. In particular, the equilibrium fraction of water dissociation at the TiO2-water interface has a critical role in the surface chemistry of TiO2, but is difficult to determine both experimentally and computationally. Among TiO2 surfaces, rutile TiO2(110) is of special interest as the most abundant surface of TiO2's stable rutile phase. While surface-science studies have provided detailed information on the interaction of rutile TiO2(110) with gas-phase water, much less is known about the TiO2(110)-water interface, which is more relevant to many applications. In this work, we characterize the structure of the aqueous TiO2(110) interface using nanosecond timescale molecular dynamics simulations with ab initio-based deep neural network potentials that accurately describe water/TiO2(110) interactions over a wide range of water coverages. Simulations on TiO2(110) slab models of increasing thickness provide insight into the dynamic equilibrium between molecular and dissociated adsorbed water at the interface and allow us to obtain a reliable estimate of the equilibrium fraction of water dissociation. We find a dissociation fraction of 22 ± 6% with an associated average hydroxyl lifetime of 7.6 ± 1.8 ns. These quantities are both much larger than corresponding estimates for the aqueous anatase TiO2(101) interface, consistent with the higher water photooxidation activity that is observed for rutile relative to anatase.

Efficient C-N coupling in the direct synthesis of urea from CO2 and N2 by amorphous SbxBi1-xOy clusters.

Although direct generation of high-value complex molecules and feedstock by coupling of ubiquitous small molecules such as CO2 and N2 holds great appeal as a potential alternative to current fossil-fuel technologies, suitable scalable and efficient catalysts to this end are not currently available as yet to be designed and developed. To this end, here we prepare and characterize SbxBi1-xOy clusters for direct urea synthesis from CO2 and N2 via C-N coupling. The introduction of Sb in the amorphous BiOx clusters changes the adsorption geometry of CO2 on the catalyst from O-connected to C-connected, creating the possibility for the formation of complex products such as urea. The modulated Bi(II) sites can effectively inject electrons into N2, promoting C-N coupling by advantageous modification of the symmetry for the frontier orbitals of CO2 and N2 involved in the rate-determining catalytic step. Compared with BiOx, SbxBi1-xOy clusters result in a lower reaction potential of only -0.3 V vs. RHE, an increased production yield of 307.97 µg h-1 mg-1cat, and a higher Faraday efficiency (10.9%), pointing to the present system as one of the best catalysts for urea synthesis in aqueous systems among those reported so far. Beyond the urea synthesis, the present results introduce and demonstrate unique strategies to modulate the electronic states of main group p-metals toward their use as effective catalysts for multistep electroreduction reactions requiring C-N coupling.

Recent Progress of Amorphous Nanomaterials.

Amorphous materials are metastable solids with only short-range order at the atomic scale, which results from local intermolecular chemical bonding. The lack of long-range order typical of crystals endows amorphous nanomaterials with unconventional and intriguing structural features, such as isotropic atomic environments, abundant surface dangling bonds, highly unsaturated coordination, etc. Because of these features and the ensuing modulation in electronic properties, amorphous nanomaterials display potential for practical applications in different areas. Motivated by these elements, here we provide an overview of the unique structural features, the general synthetic methods, and the potential for applications covered by contemporary research in amorphous nanomaterials. Furthermore, we discussed the possible theoretical mechanism for amorphous nanomaterials, examining how the unique structural properties and electronic configurations contribute to their exceptional performance. In particular, the structural benefits of amorphous nanomaterials as well as their enhanced electrocatalytic, optical, and mechanical properties, thereby clarifying the structure-function relationships, are highlighted. Finally, a perspective on the preparation and utilization of amorphous nanomaterials to establish mature systems with a superior hierarchy for various applications is introduced, and an outlook for future challenges and opportunities at the frontiers of this rapidly advancing field is proposed.

Amorphous Bismuth-Tin Oxide Nanosheets with Optimized C-N Coupling for Efficient Urea Synthesis.

Closing the carbon and nitrogen cycles by electrochemical methods using renewable energy to convert abundant or harmful feedstocks into high-value C- or N-containing chemicals has the potential to transform the global energy landscape. However, efficient conversion avenues have to date been mostly realized for the independent reduction of CO2 or NO3-. The synthesis of more complex C-N compounds still suffers from low conversion efficiency due to the inability to find effective catalysts. To this end, here we present amorphous bismuth-tin oxide nanosheets, which effectively reduce the energy barrier of the catalytic reaction, facilitating efficient and highly selective urea production. With enhanced CO2 adsorption and activation on the catalyst, a C-N coupling pathway based on *CO2 rather than traditional *CO is realized. The optimized orbital symmetry of the C- (*CO2) and N-containing (*NO2) intermediates promotes a significant increase in the Faraday efficiency of urea production to an outstanding value of 78.36% at -0.4 V vs RHE. In parallel, the nitrogen and carbon selectivity for urea formation is also enhanced to 90.41% and 95.39%, respectively. The present results and insights provide a valuable reference for the further development of new catalysts for efficient synthesis of high-value C-N compounds from CO2.

High-Valence Cu Induced by Photoelectric Reconstruction for Dynamically Stable Oxygen Evolution Sites.

Oxygen vacancies are generally considered to play a crucial role in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the generation of active sites created by oxygen vacancies is inevitably restricted by their condensation and elimination reactions. To overcome this limitation, here, we demonstrate a novel photoelectric reconstruction strategy to incorporate atomically dispersed Cu into ultrathin (about 2-3 molecular) amorphous oxyhydroxide (a-CuM, M = Co, Ni, Fe, or Zn), facilitating deprotonation of the reconstructed oxyhydroxide to generate high-valence Cu. The in situ XAFS results and first-principles calculations reveal that Cu atoms are stabilized at high valence during the OER process due to Jahn-Teller distortion, resulting in para-type double oxygen vacancies as dynamically stable catalytic sites. The optimal a-CuCo catalyst exhibits a record-high mass activity of 3404.7 A g-1 at an overpotential of 300 mV, superior to the benchmarking hydroxide and oxide catalysts. The developed photoelectric reconstruction strategy opens up a new pathway to construct in situ stable oxygen vacancies by high-valence Cu single sites, which extends the design rules for creating dynamically stable active sites.

Restoring the ideal Roussouly sagittal alignment in Lenke 5 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients: a method for decreasing the risk of proximal junctional kyphosis.

PURPOSE: Although the Roussouly classification has been widely used in surgical planning for adult scoliosis patients, little is known about whether it can be used to guide sagittal correction for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the Roussouly classification could be used to help surgeons restore the ideal sagittal alignment for AIS patients to avoid the development of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK). METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, eighty-seven patients with Lenke 5 AIS who underwent surgery from January 2010 to August 2020 were enrolled and divided into two groups: the PJK group and the non-PJK group. All patients were classified into "current types" and "ideal types" according to two versions of the Roussouly classification, and the mismatch rate was evaluated in terms of the consistency between their current type and ideal type. Student's t test, Mann‒Whitney U test, Pearson's Chi-square test, and others were used to compare the two groups regarding patient demographic characteristics (age, sex, Risser sign, etc.) and radiographic parameters (sagittal vertical axis [SVA]; thoracic kyphosis [TK]; thoracolumbar junctional kyphosis [TLK]; lumbar lordosis [LL]; pelvic incidence [PI]; pelvic tilt [PT]; sacral slope [SS]; upper instrumented vertebra [UIV]; lower instrumented vertebra [LIV]; etc.). Multivariate logistic regression with backwards stepwise selection was performed to identify the risk factors for PJK. RESULTS: PJK was observed in 16 out of 87 patients (18.4%) until the final follow-up. The incidence of PJK was significantly higher in the patients not matching their ideal type than in those who did after surgery (60.9% vs. 3.1%, p = 0.000). The patients with ideal Type 1 had the highest incidence of PJK, while the lowest incidence was observed in patients with ideal Type 2 (50.0% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.000). The PJK group had greater TK, LL, and PI-LL than the non-PJK group before and after surgery. The postoperative PJA in the PJK group was also larger than that in the non-PJK group. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that postoperative Roussouly type mismatch was significantly associated with the occurrence of PJK (OR = 64.2, CI = 9.6-407.1, p = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: The Roussouly classification could serve as a prognostic tool for PJK in Lenke 5 AIS patients. Corrective surgery should restore sagittal alignment with respect to the patient's ideal sagittal profile (according to the Roussouly classification based on the PI) to decrease the incidence of PJK in AIS patients.

Tuning Octahedral Tilting by Doping to Prevent Detrimental Phase Transition and Extend Carrier Lifetime in Organometallic Perovskites.

As one of the most promising materials for next-generation solar cells, organometallic perovskites have attracted substantial fundamental and applied interest. Using first-principles quantum dynamics calculations, we show that octahedral tilting plays an important role in stabilizing perovskite structures and extending carrier lifetimes. Doping the material with (K, Rb, Cs) ions at the A-site enhances octahedral tilting and the stability of the system relative to unfavorable phases. The stability of doped perovskites is maximized for uniform distribution of the dopants. Conversely, aggregation of dopants in the system inhibits octahedral tilting and the associated stabilization. The simulations also indicate that with enhanced octahedral tilting, the fundamental band gap increases, the coherence time and nonadiabatic coupling decrease, and the carrier lifetimes are thus extended. Our theoretical work uncovers and quantifies the heteroatom-doping stabilization mechanisms, opening up new avenues to enhancing the optical performance of organometallic perovskites.

Parallel Nanosheet Arrays for Industrial Oxygen Production.

According to the traditional nucleation theory, crystals in solution nucleate under thermal fluctuations with random crystal orientation. Thus, nanosheet arrays grown on a substrate always exhibit disordered arrangements, which impede mass transfer during catalysis. To overcome this limitation, here, we demonstrate stress-induced, oriented nucleation and growth of nanosheet arrays. A regularly self-growing parallel nanosheet array is realized on a curved growth substrate. During electrochemical oxygen production, the ordered array maintains a steady flow of liquids in the microchannels, suppressing the detrimental production of flow-blocking oxygen bubbles typical of randomly oriented nanosheet arrays. Controllable parallel arrays, fully covered fluffy-like ultrathin nanosheets, and amorphous disordered structures altogether enable full-scale design of hierarchical interfaces from the micro- to the atomic scale, significantly improving the otherwise sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution toward industrial ultrafast production. Record-high ultrafast oxygen production of 135 L·min-1·m-2 with high working current of 4000 mA·cm-2 is steadily achieved at a competitively low cell voltage of 2.862 V. These results and related insights lay the basis for further developments in oriented nucleation and growth of crystals beyond classical nucleation approaches, with benefits for large-scale, industrial electrochemical processes as shown here for ultrafast oxygen production.

Sodium-Directed Photon-Induced Assembly Strategy for Preparing Multisite Catalysts with High Atomic Utilization Efficiency.

Integrating different reaction sites offers new prospects to address the difficulties in single-atom catalysis, but the precise regulation of active sites at the atomic level remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate a sodium-directed photon-induced assembly (SPA) strategy for boosting the atomic utilization efficiency of single-atom catalysts (SACs) by constructing multifarious Au sites on TiO2 substrate. Na+ was employed as the crucial cement to direct Au single atoms onto TiO2, while the light-induced electron transfer from excited TiO2 to Au(Na+) ensembles contributed to the self-assembly formation of Au nanoclusters. The synergism between plasmonic near-field and Schottky junction enabled the cascade electron transfer for charge separation, which was further enhanced by oxygen vacancies in TiO2. Our dual-site photocatalysts exhibited a nearly 2 orders of magnitude improvement in the hydrogen evolution activity under simulated solar light, with a striking turnover frequency (TOF) value of 1533 h-1 that exceeded other Au/TiO2-based photocatalysts reported. Our SPA strategy can be easily extended to prepare a wide range of metal-coupled nanostructures with enhanced performance for diverse catalytic reactions. Thus, this study provides a well-defined platform to extend the boundaries of SACs for multisite catalysis through harnessing metal-support interactions.

Hybrid Lamellar Superlattices with Monoatomic Platinum Layers and Programmable Organic Ligands.

Compared with layered materials such as graphite and transitional metal dichalcogenides with highly anisotropic in-plane covalent bonds, freestanding metallic two-dimensional (2D) films with atomic thickness are intrinsically more difficult to achieve. The omnidirectional nature of typical metallic bonds prevents the formation of highly anisotropic atomically thin metallic layers. Herein, we report a ligand regulation strategy to stabilize monoatomic platinum layers by forming a unique lamellar superlattice structure with self-assembled organic ligand layers. We show that the interlayer spacings and coordination environments could be systematically tuned by varying programmable molecular ligands with the designed length and structural motifs, which further modulate the electronic states and catalytic performances. The strategy can be extended for preparing lamellar superlattices with monoatomic metallic layers from silver and gold. Such general and delicate synthetic control provides an exciting model system for systematic investigation of the intriguing structure-property correlation of monoatomic layers and promises a molecular design pathway for heterogeneous catalysts.

Generalized Rapid Synthesis of Supported Nanocluster Catalyst for Mild Hydrogenation of Phenol toward KA Oil.

Homogeneous and nanometric metal clusters with unique electronic structures are promising for catalysis, however, common synthesis techniques for metal clusters suffer from large size and even metal nanocrystals attributing to their high surface energy and unsaturated configurations. Herein, a generalized rapid annealing strategy for synthesizing a series of supported metal clusters as superior catalysts is developed. Remarkably, TiO2 supported platinum nanoclusters (Pt NC/TiO2 ) exhibits the excellent catalytic activity to realize phenol hydrogenation under mild conditions. The complete phenol conversion rate and 100% selectivity toward KA oil are achieved in aqueous solution at room temperature and normal pressure. Semi-continuous scale up production of KA oil is successfully performed under mild conditions. Such excellent performance mainly originates from the partial reconstruction of Pt NC/TiO2 in aqueous phenol solution. Considering that the phenol can be produced from lignin, this study underpins a facile, sustainable, and economical route to synthesize nylon from biomass.

Early humoral and cellular responses after bivalent SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273.214 vaccination in long-term care and retirement home residents in Ontario, Canada: An observational cohort study.

Immunogenicity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) bivalent mRNA-1273.214 vaccine (Original/Omicron B.1.1.529 [BA.1]) is underreported in vulnerable older adults in congregate care settings. In residents of 26 long-term care and retirement homes in Ontario, Canada, humoral (i.e., serum anti-spike and anti-receptor binding domain [anti-RBD]) IgG and IgA antibodies and live SARS-CoV-2 neutralization) and cellular (i.e., CD4+ and CD8+ activation-induced marker spike-specific T cell memory) responses were assessed 7-120 days postvaccination with four monovalent mRNA vaccines (n = 494) or subsequent bivalent mRNA-1273.214 vaccination (fifth vaccine) (n = 557). Within 4 months, anti-spike and anti-RBD antibody levels were similar after monovalent and bivalent vaccination in infection-naïve individuals. Hybrid immunity (i.e., vaccination and natural infection) generally increased humoral responses. After bivalent vaccination, compared to monovalent vaccination, residents with hybrid immunity had elevated anti-spike and anti-RBD IgG and IgA antibodies. Omicron BA.1 antibody-mediated neutralization, and CD8+ T cell memory responses to the Omicron BA.1 spike protein, were also higher after bivalent vaccination. Humoral and cellular responses were, therefore, noninferior within 4 months of bivalent mRNA-1273.214 vaccination compared to monovalent mRNA vaccination. Waning of humoral but not cellular immunity was particularly evident in individuals without hybrid immunity. Continued monitoring of vaccine-associated and hybrid immunity against emerging Omicron variants of concern is necessary to assess longevity of protection.

Achieving delafossite analog by in situ electrochemical self-reconstruction as an oxygen-evolving catalyst.

Development of novel and robust oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with well-modulated atomic and electronic structure remains a challenge. Compared to the well-known metal hydroxides or (oxyhydr)oxides with lamellar structure, delafossites (ABO2) are characterized by alternating layers of A cations and edge-sharing BO2 octahedra, but are rarely used in OER due to their poor electron conductivity and intrinsic activity. Here, we propose a delafossite analog by mutation of metal oxyhydroxide and delafossite based on first-principles calculations. Modulation on the electronic structure due to distortion of the original crystal field of the BO2 layers is calculated to enhance electron conductivity and catalytic activity. Inspired by the theoretical design, we have experimentally realized the delafossite analog by electrochemical self-reconstruction (ECSR). Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy and other experimental techniques reveal the formation of delafossite analog with Ag intercalated into bimetallic cobalt-iron (oxyhydr)oxide layers from a metastable precursor through amorphization. Benefitting from the featured local electronic and geometric structures, the delafossite analog shows superior OER activity, affording a current density of 10 mA⋅cm-2 at an overpotential of 187 mV and an excellent stability (300 h) in alkaline conditions.

Activating Bi p-orbitals in Dispersed Clusters of Amorphous BiOx for Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction.

Catalytic strategies based on main group metals are significantly less advanced than those of transition metal catalysis, leaving untapped areas of potentially fruitful research. We here demonstrate an effective approach for the modulation of Bi 6p energy levels during the construction of atomically dispersed clusters of amorphous BiOx . Bi oxidation state is proposed to strongly affects the nitrogen fixation activity, with the half-occupied pz orbitals of the Bi2+ ions being highly efficient toward electron injection into the inert N2 molecule. With sufficient catalytic sites to adsorb and activate N2 , the bonding between N2 and catalyst is able to be in situ identified. The catalyst shows an outstanding Faraday efficiency (≈30 %) and high yield (≈113 µg h-1 mg-1 cat ) in NH3 production, outperforming most of the existing catalysts in aqueous solution. These results lay the basis for developing the potential of p-block elements for catalysis of multi-electron reactions.

How Hole Injection Accelerates Both Ion Migration and Nonradiative Recombination in Metal Halide Perovskites.

Ion migration, hole trapping, and electron-hole recombination are common processes in metal halide perovskites. We demonstrate using ab initio non-adiabatic molecular dynamics and time-domain density functional theory that they are intricately related and strongly influence each other. The hole injection accelerates ion migration by decreasing the diffusion barrier and shortening the migration length. The injected hole also promotes the nonradiative charge recombination by strengthening electron-phonon interactions in the low-frequency region and prolonging the quantum coherence time. The synergy stems from the soft perovskite lattice and response of the valence band maximum to the Pb-I lattice distortion induced by the hole. This work provides important insights into the influence of ion mobility and hole injection on the performance of perovskite solar cells and suggests that high concentration of holes should be avoided.

Realizing Two-Electron Transfer in Ni(OH)2 Nanosheets for Energy Storage.

The theoretical capacity of a given electrode material is ultimately determined by the number of electrons transferred in each redox center. The design of multi-electron transfer processes could break through the limitation of one-electron transfer and multiply the total capacity but is difficult to achieve because multiple electron transfer processes are generally thermodynamically and kinetically more complex. Here, we report the discovery of two-electron transfer in monolayer Ni(OH)2 nanosheets, which contrasts with the traditional one-electron transfer found in multilayer materials. First-principles calculations predict that the first oxidation process Ni2+ → Ni3+ occurs easily, whereas the second electron transfer in Ni3+ → Ni4+ is strongly hindered in multilayer materials by both the interlayer hydrogen bonds and the domain H structure induced by the Jahn-Teller distortion of the Ni3+ (t2g6eg1)-centered octahedra. In contrast, the second electron transfer can easily occur in monolayers because all H atoms are fully exposed. Experimentally, the as-prepared monolayer is found to deliver an exceptional redox capacity of ∼576 mA h/g, nearly 2 times the theoretical capacity of one-electron processes. In situ experiments demonstrate that monolayer Ni(OH)2 can transfer two electrons and most Ni ions transform into Ni4+ during the charging process, whereas bulk Ni(OH)2 can only be transformed partially. Our work reveals a new redox reaction mechanism in atomically thin Ni(OH)2 nanosheets and suggests a promising path toward tuning the electron transfer numbers to multiply the capacity of the relevant energy storage materials.

Atomic Replacement of PtNi Nanoalloys within Zn-ZIF-8 for the Fabrication of a Multisite CO2 Reduction Electrocatalyst.

Exploring the transformation/interconversion pathways of catalytic active metal species (single atoms, clusters, nanoparticles) on a support is crucial for the fabrication of high-efficiency catalysts, the investigation of how catalysts are deactivated, and the regeneration of spent catalysts. Sintering and redispersion represent the two main transformation modes for metal active components in heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, we established a novel solid-state atomic replacement transformation for metal catalysts, through which metal atoms exchanged between single atoms and nanoalloys to form a new set of nanoalloys and single atoms. Specifically, we found that the Ni of the PtNi nanoalloy and the Zn of the ZIF-8-derived Zn1 on nitrogen-doped carbon (Zn1-CN) experienced metal interchange to produce PtZn nanocrystals and Ni single atoms (Ni1-CN) at high temperature. The elemental migration and chemical bond evolution during the atomic replacement displayed a Ni and Zn mutual migration feature. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the atomic replacement was realized by endothermically stretching Zn from the CN support into the nanoalloy and exothermically trapping Ni with defects on the CN support. Owing to the synergistic effect of the PtZn nanocrystal and Ni1-CN, the obtained (PtZn)n/Ni1-CN multisite catalyst showed a lower energy barrier of CO2 protonation and CO desorption than that of the reference catalysts in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), resulting in a much enhanced CO2RR catalytic performance. This unique atomic replacement transformation was also applicable to other metal alloys such as PtPd.

The expression characteristics and clinical significance of ACP6, a potential target of nitidine chloride, in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Acid phosphatase type 6 (ACP6) is a mitochondrial lipid phosphate phosphatase that played a role in regulating lipid metabolism and there is still blank in the clinico-pathological significance and functional roles of ACP6 in human cancers. No investigations have been conducted on ACP6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) up to date. METHODS: Herein, we appraised the clinico-pathological significance of ACP6 in HCC via organizing expression profiles from globally multi-center microarrays and RNA-seq datasets. The molecular basis of ACP6 in HCC was explored through multidimensional analysis. We also carried out in vitro and in vivo experiment on nude mice to investigate the effect of knocking down ACP6 expression on biological functions of HCC cells, and to evaluate the expression variance of ACP6 in xenograft of HCC tissues before and after the treatment of NC. RESULTS: ACP6 displayed significant overexpression in HCC samples (standard mean difference (SMD) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.56-0.83) and up-regulated ACP6 performed well in screening HCC samples from non-cancer liver samples. ACP6 expression was also remarkably correlated with clinical progression and worse overall survival of HCC patients. There were close links between ACP6 expression and immune cells including B cells, CD8 + T cells and naive CD4 + T cells. Co-expressed genes of ACP6 mainly participated in pathways including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, glucocorticoid receptor pathway and NABA proteoglycans. The proliferation and migration rate of HCC cells transfected with ACP6 siRNA was significantly suppressed compared with those transfected with negative control siRNA. ACP6 expression was significantly inhibited by nitidine chloride (NC) in xenograft HCC tissues. CONCLUSIONS: ACP6 expression may serve as novel clinical biomarker indicating the clinical development of HCC and ACP6 might be potential target of anti-cancer effect by NC in HCC.

Total extract of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive interstitial lung disease with poor prognosis. Anemarrhenae Rhizoma is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine and has been applied in clinical practice for a long history. Recently, components of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma were reported to possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory features; however, the effect of them on pulmonary fibrosis remains unknown. In this study, we explored the therapeutic effect of total extract of Anemarrhenae Rhizoma (TEAR) on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis rat model was established by a single intratracheal instillation of bleomycin, three doses of TEAR were intragastrically administered for consecutive 28 days. Subsequent to sacrificing of rats, pulmonary fibrosis was observed in rats treated with bleomycin, but administration of TEAR attenuated lung fibrosis, as evidenced by the improved lung histopathological damage and decreased weight loss and lung index. Moreover, TEAR treatment inhibited the inflammatory response in lung fibrosis, which was shown by the reduced nitrogen oxide level and myeloperoxidase activity. Furthermore, TEAR modulated the redox balance in lung tissue by alleviated lipid peroxidation and enhanced enzymatic antioxidants activity. Meanwhile, TEAR protected the rats from fibrosis in a dose-dependent manner, and the anti-fibrotic activity of TEAR may be related to the modulation of TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway. Collectively, TEAR alleviates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, indicating perspectives for development of a potential agent for lung fibrosis therapy.

The impact of age on anxiety in Covid-19 patients in quarantine wardwards.

This study aimed to explore which age group out of the patients in quarantine wards with novel coronavirus pneumonia is the most susceptible to anxiety. The data of 32 Covid-19 patients isolated in the quarantine wards of the second Infectious Diseases Department of Baoding Hospital and 71 Covid-19 patients in Tangshan City Infectious Disease Hospital from January 24th to March 5th, 2020, a total of 103 patients, were analyzed. Among these patients, 97 isolated patients were scored with a self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) score seven days after quarantine, and the correlation between age and score was analyzed. These 97 isolated patients were then divided into three groups according to age: group A (up to 35 years old), group B (36-60 years), and group C (over 60 years). One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the scores among groups. The Q-test was used for pairwise comparison.P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.There was a negative correlation between age and SAS score in isolated Covid-19 patients, and the differences in the score among groups were statistically significant. Patients under 35 years old were more prone to anxiety when they were isolated for seven days. Isolated patients aged up to 35 years old need more attention from quarantine medical staff, communication should be strengthened, and psychological intervention from psychotherapists should be given if necessary.