H-assisted CO2 dissociation on PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 catalysts: a density functional theory study.

CO2 hydrogenation into valuable chemical compounds can effectively address the issues of greenhouse gas emissions and energy scarcity. The activation and dissociation processes of CO2 are crucial for its reduction reactions, but the effects of *H adatoms on the C-O cleavage are still confusing. This study investigates the H-assisted CO2 dissociation pathways on the PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 (n = 0-4) catalysts via DFT calculation. Initially, the adsorption properties of *H2, *COOH, and *HCOO species are calculated. Then, two H-assisted CO2 dissociation channels, i.e., *CO2 + *H → *COOH → *CO + *OH and *CO2 + *H → *HCOO → *CHO + *O, are studied. Results show that Pt and Pd promote the CO2 hydrogenation and C-O bond cleavage reactions, respectively. In comparison to CO2 direct dissociation, the COOH-mediated and HCOO-mediated channels facilitate and impede the C-O bond cleavage, respectively. Overall, the Pd3Pt/In2O3 constituent is suggested for the H-assisted CO2 dissociation reaction. The electronic effects of the PdnPt(4-n) bimetals adjust the stabilities of the intermediates and barriers of the elementary steps, and the interactions between PdnPt(4-n) and In2O3 provide extra sites for the adsorbates and reaction steps. This study reveals the effects of *H on the C-O bond dissociation processes and provides useful insight into designing PdPt/In2O3 catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation reactions.

Association Between Triglyceride-Glucose Index and Hearing Threshold Shifts of Adults in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015-2016.

Objective: Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SNHL) is a representative human sensory impairment, few studies have paid attention to the correlation between the Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) index and SNHL to date. We conducted this analysis to elucidate the correlation between the TyG index and pure tone hearing thresholds among US adults. Methods: Our analysis included 1226 adults (age range: 20 to 69 years old) from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. TyG index was scored into three quartiles. Weighted univariate analysis, weighted multivariate linear regression analyses as well as smooth curve fittings evaluated the associations between TyG index and pure tone hearing thresholds. Results: In the multiple regression analysis, the second tertile of TyG index was negatively associated with high-frequency hearing thresholds shifts. Furthermore, the non-linear relationships between TyG index and speech-frequency and high-frequency hearing thresholds were identified by smooth curve fittings. After adjusting for potential confounders, the fitted smooth curves were approximately U-shaped, and the two-segment linear regression models were constructed to calculate their inflection points. Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the TyG index was nearly U-shaped association with speech-frequency and high-frequency hearing thresholds. These results may imply the importance of maintaining a balanced TyG index in health management.

SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant patients on TNFα inhibitor: Real-life data with a review of literature.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is involved in the occurrence of negative pregnancy outcomes. The study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the immunosuppressive TNFα inhibitors (TNFαi) in the treatment of patients with a history of recurrent reproductive failure in the context of COVID-19 pandemics. We reviewed 85 patients who received TNFαi (certolizumab pegol) during Mainland China's first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, from 21st Nov 2022-11 th Jan 2023. We also collected corresponding data from 130 pregnant patients who never used TNFαi for comparison. There were no significant differences in the history of previous pregnancy loss, miscarriage, embryo implantation failure, comorbidities and doses of COVID-19 vaccination. 82.2% and 87.7% pregnant patients contracted primary COVID-19 with symptoms in TNFαi group and no-TNFαi group. Duration of symptoms was significantly longer in TNFαi group and the incidences of cough and lethargy was significantly higher in TNFαi group. Both groups reported similar severity to same-aged close contacts, similar rates of other symptoms and hospitalization. No deaths were reported. In the in vitro fertilization (IVF) subgroup, we achieved a biochemical pregnancy loss rate of 17.4%, miscarriage rate of 21.7%, ongoing pregnancy rate and live birth rate of 34.2%. COVID-19 did not influence the live birth rate. We concluded that TNFαi administration in pregnancy was not associated with increased susceptivity to and severity of COVID-19. However, TNFαi users showed more prominent symptoms and longer recovery time. The pregnancy outcomes with TNFαi in such high-risk group for pregnancy loss was satisfactory.

Integration of eQTL and machine learning to dissect causal genes with pleiotropic effects in genetic regulation networks of seed cotton yield.

The dissection of a gene regulatory network (GRN) that complements the genome-wide association study (GWAS) locus and the crosstalk underlying multiple agronomical traits remains a major challenge. In this study, we generate 558 transcriptional profiles of lint-bearing ovules at one day post-anthesis from a selective core cotton germplasm, from which 12,207 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) are identified. Sixty-six known phenotypic GWAS loci are colocalized with 1,090 eQTLs, forming 38 functional GRNs associated predominantly with seed yield. Of the eGenes, 34 exhibit pleiotropic effects. Combining the eQTLs within the seed yield GRNs significantly increases the portion of narrow-sense heritability. The extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) machine learning approach is applied to predict seed cotton yield phenotypes on the basis of gene expression. Top-ranking eGenes (NF-YB3, FLA2, and GRDP1) derived with pleiotropic effects on yield traits are validated, along with their potential roles by correlation analysis, domestication selection analysis, and transgenic plants.

Salidroside attenuates LPS-induced kidney injury through activation of SIRT1/Nrf2 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Salidroside (SAL) is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, neuroprotective, and renal protective active ingredient extracted from the Chinese herb. Rhodiola Rosea. However, the role of SAL in kidney injury has not yet been elucidated. The study investigates SAL's protective effect and mechanism in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced kidney injury. METHODS: Male C57BL/6 wild-type mice (6-8 weeks old) were intraperitoneally injected with 10 mg/kg LPS for 24 h and SAL (50 mg/kg) 2 h before the LPS injection. Biochemical and TUNNEL staining assay analyses were carried out to assess kidney injury. The Elisa assay analyzed the mRNA expression of NGAL and KIM-1. RT-qPCR and Western blotting measured the mRNA and protein expression of HO-1, NQO1, Beclin1, P62, SIRT1, Nrf2, and PNCA, respectively. RESULTS: Our study found that mice co-treated with SAL had significantly reduced blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) levels in serum of LPS-induced mice. SAL cotreatment potentially decreased the apoptosis rate of kidney tissue and podocytes induced by LPS. SAL significantly reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) in LPS-treated mice. Autophagy-related proteins Beclin-1 increased but decreased P62 protein expression by cotreatment of SAL in LPS-injected mice. SAL enhanced the Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) protein expression in LPS-induced kidney tissues. CONCLUSION: Our results speculate that SAL protects against LPS-induced kidney injury through activation of the SIRT1/Nrf2 pathway.

Salidroside attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in septic encephalopathy mice.

Salidroside (SAL) is a natural bioactive compound with anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties. In the present study, we generate an experimental design to investigate SAL-mediated protective effect and underlying mechanism on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in the septic encephalopathy mice model (SEMM). In SEMM, Open-Field Test (OFT) and Novel Object Recognition Test evaluated LPS-induced cognitive impairment, behavioural phenotypes, and memory impairment (NOR). Cytokines and protein expression were assessed using ELISA assay, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting. Our results showed cognitive dysfunction could be reversed when treated with SAL in SEMM. SAL treatment significantly reduced apoptotic TUNEL-positive cells and related gene expression (BAX and BCL-2) and considerably improved neuronal damage in SEMM. In addition, it markedly reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1ß, and IL-6) and Iba-1-positive cells responsible for microglial activation in mice hippocampus (P < 0.05). The effects of SAL on ROS and oxidative stress markedly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in the hippocampal tissues of mice. Besides, SAL treatment enhanced LPS-induced autophagy in mice's hippocampus and increased autophagy-related protein expression (Beclin-1 and P62). In addition, the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway and its related proteins (NLRP3, ASC, and cleaved caspase-1) were suppressed by SAL treatment. However, SAL activated the SIRT1/Nrf2 pathway and exerts protection by enhanced expression of the proteins (SIRT1 and Nrf2) and downstream genes (HO-1 and NQO1). Our finding demonstrated that SAL employed neuroprotective effects in SEMM by promoting autophagy via activation of the SIRT1 pathway.

Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Small Cell Carcinoma in the Nasopharynx: A Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal small cell carcinoma (SmCC) is a rare histological type of nasopharyngeal cancer, and its prognosis remains poor. This study aimed to determine the clinical characteristics and survival prognostic factors of nasopharyngeal SmCC. METHODS: Detailed clinicopathologic and therapeutic characteristics of a patient diagnosed with nasopharyngeal SmCC were determined. Nasopharyngeal SmCC cases reported previously were reviewed and summarized. Furthermore, a retrospective analysis was performed on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database. Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted to compare survival within groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate prognostic factors. RESULTS: A nasopharyngeal SmCC patient treated with chemoradiotherapy who achieved 46 months long-term survival was reported. In reviewing 16 reported cases with epidemiologic and therapeutic details, we found most of nasopharyngeal SmCC patients were diagnosed with advanced grades and received chemoradiotherapy. In total, 13,993 cases of nasopharyngeal cancer were extracted from the SEER database, from which 57 nasopharyngeal SmCC cases were eventually screened out. The mean age of the patients was 55.70 years, and 64.9% of these cases were either grade III or IV; the median overall survival (OS) was 18 months. Statistically significant differences were observed in the OS values of groups categorized by age (P = .025) or radiotherapy (P = .037). Age (<70 years) and radiotherapy were identified as independent survival and prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Patients with nasopharyngeal SmCC are usually diagnosed with advanced grades and have poor prognoses; nevertheless, they can benefit from radiotherapy with prolonged overall survival.

CO2 activation and dissociation on In2O3(110) supported PdnPt(4-n) (n = 0-4) catalysts: a density functional theory study.

Converting CO2 into valuable chemicals via catalytic reactions can mitigate both the greenhouse effect and energy shortage problems, thus designing efficient catalysts have attracted considerable attention over the past decades. In this work, a density functional theory (DFT) calculation was carried out to investigate the CO2 activation and dissociation processes on various PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 (n = 0-4) catalysts. The PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 models were initially built, and the interface sites of PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 for CO2 adsorption were confirmed among cluster sites and substrate sites. The CO2 adsorption geometries, charger transfer, and projected density of states (PDOS) were analyzed to study the CO2-PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 interactions. From the adsorbed *CO2, the transition states (TSs) for CO2 dissociation to form *CO and *O were gained to reveal the characteristics of the activated CO2δ-. Overall, according to the adsorption energy Eads results, the bimetallic PdPt3/In2O3 and Pd3Pt/In2O3 catalysts showed the strongest and weakest CO2 adsorption stabilities, respectively, while the Pd element addition decreases the barriers for CO2 dissociation with the priority order of Pd4 > Pd3Pt > Pd2Pt2 > PdPt3 > Pt4. The Brønsted-Evans-Polanyi (BEP) relation between activation barriers (Eb) and reaction energies E was obtained for the CO2 dissociation mechanism on PdnPt(4-n)/In2O3 catalysts with the equation of E = 0.20Eb + 0.40. Finally, the optimal Pd2Pt2/In2O3 catalyst for CO2 activation and dissociation was proposed. This study provides useful information for CO2 activation and conversation procedures on bimetal-oxide catalysts, and helps to take the optimal design of PdPt/In2O3 catalysts for the CO2 reaction.

The mitochondrial genome of Diaphanosoma excisum Sars, 1885 (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Cladocera) from Hainan Island, China.

Diaphanosoma excisum is the only Cladoceran in tropical freshwaters and parapatrically occurs with Diaphanosoma dubium in the transition between the tropics and subtropics. Here, we present the complete mitochondrial genome (MG) determined by next-generation sequencing and offer a phylogenetic analysis of D. excisum. The MG of D. excisum is 17,615 bp in size, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA, 23 tRNA, and 2 putative control regions. The MG has a biased A + T of 65.34% for base composition. Compared to D. dubium, the MG of D. excisum has one more tRNA-Met, one unknown extra putative control region and is different in the arrangement of its tRNAs. The MG sequence and tRNA order provide valuable molecular data for understanding the phylogeny and speciation of Diaphanosoma.