Molecular subtypes based on immunologic and epithelial-mesenchymal transition gene sets reveal tumor immune microenvironment characteristics and implications for immunotherapy of patients with glioma.

The tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) significantly influences cancer progression and treatment. This study sought to uncover novel TIME-related glioma biomarkers to advance antitumor immunotherapies by integrating data from sequencing of bulk RNA as well as scRNA. Immunologic and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characteristics were used to classify glioma patients into two immune subtypes (ISs) and two EMT subtypes (ESs). Patients in IS1 and ES1, characterized by high immune infiltration and low stemness scores, exhibited poor clinical outcomes and limited responsiveness to immunotherapy. A new risk signature was developed using 16 genes and validated in independent glioma cohorts. Among these, HAVCR2, IL18, LAGLS9, and PTPN6 emerged as hub genes, with IL18 identified as a potential independent indicator. The upregulation of IL18 in high-grade gliomas and U-251 MG cells aligned with bioinformatics analysis. These insights deepen the understanding of TIME-related mechanisms in glioma and highlight potential therapeutic targets, offering a theoretical foundation for effective antitumor immunotherapies in glioma.

Hypomethylation in promoters of PGC-1α involved in exercise-driven skeletal muscular alterations in old age.

Exercise training can significantly improve skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and has been proven to be highly relevant to alterations in skeletal muscle DNA methylation. However, it remains unclear whether late-in-life exercise has an effect on promoter methylation of PGC-1α, a key regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. Here we employed two distinct exercise modalities, constant medium intensity exercise training (CMIT) and high-intensity interval exercise training (HIIT), to investigate their impacts on PGC-1α expression and methylation regulation in skeletal muscle of aged mice. The results revealed a notable decrease in PGC-1α expression in skeletal muscle of aged mice, accompanied by elevated methylation levels of the PGC-1α promoter, and increased DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) protein expressions. However, both forms of exercise training significantly corrected PGC-1α epigenetic changes, increased PGC-1α expression, and ameliorated skeletal muscle reduction. Furthermore, exercise training led to elevated expression of proteins related to mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in skeletal muscle, improving mitochondrial structure and function. In conclusion, late-in-life exercise improved skeletal muscle function, morphology, and mitochondria biogenesis, which may be associated with hypomethylation in promoters of PGC-1α and increased content of skeletal muscle PGC-1α. Notably, there was no clear difference between HIIT and CMIT in PGC-1α expression and skeletal muscle function.

Correlation between retinal vascular geometric parameters and pathologically diagnosed type 2 diabetic nephropathy.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are common microvascular complications of diabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between retinal vascular geometric parameters and pathologically diagnosed type 2 DN and to determine the capacity of retinal vascular geometric parameters in differentiating DN from non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD). Methods: The study participants were adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic kidney disease who underwent a renal biopsy. Univariate and multivariable regression analyses were performed to evaluate associations between retinal vessel geometry parameters and pathologically diagnosed DN. Multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed to establish a differential diagnostic model for DN. Results: In total, 403 patients were examined in this cross-sectional study, including 152 (37.7%) with DN, 157 (39.0%) with NDRD and 94 (23.3%) with DN combined with NDRD. After univariate logistic regression, total vessel fractal dimension, arteriolar fractal dimension and venular fractal dimension were all found to be associated with DN. In multivariate analyses adjusting for age, sex, blood pressure, diabetes, DR and other factors, smaller retinal vascular fractal dimensions were significantly associated with DN (P < .05). We developed a differential diagnostic model for DN combining traditional clinical indicators and retinal vascular geometric parameters. The area under the curve of the model established by multivariate logistic regression was 0.930. Conclusions: Retinal vessel fractal dimension is of great significance for the rapid and non-invasive differentiation of DN. Incorporating retinal vessel fractal dimension into the diagnostic model for DN and NDRD can improve the diagnostic efficiency.

Impact of 12-Month Late-in-Life Exercise Training on Cardiopulmonary Reserve, Static Cardiac Structure, and Function: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Although the cardiac benefits of maintaining a lifelong exercise routine are undisputed, to what extent late-in-life exercise training can ameliorate cardiac aging remains unclear. We examined the impact of a 12-month exercise training program on cardiac reserve, static cardiac structure, and cardiac function in older adults. DESIGN: This study was a single-center, randomized trial using Zelen design. Participants in the center-based exercise (CBE) group underwent an individualized multicomponent exercise training program. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In total, 120 community-dwelling older adults aged 65-85 years were evenly divided into a CBE group and a control group. METHODS: The primary outcome indicator was absolute change in peak oxygen uptake (peakVO2) per kilogram from baseline to 12 months. The secondary outcome indicators were the absolute changes in other cardiopulmonary exercise test indices and cardiac magnetic resonance parameters. This study has been registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Network (ChiCTR2400081824). RESULTS: In total, 47 older adults in the control group and 49 in the CBE group ultimately completed the 12-month follow-up and were analyzed. Of all participants, 52 (46.4%) were men, and the mean age was 71.22 ± 4.55 years. The absolute change in peakVO2/kg was significantly different between the CBE and control groups by +3.32 mL/kg/min (95% CI 2.10-4.53; P < .001), and a sex-related difference was observed. Additionally, the right ventricular peak filling and ejection rate improved to a greater degree in the CBE than control group (+65.57 mL/s, P = .006; +56.39 mL/s, P = .026, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: A 12-month exercise training program started later in life was effective in improving cardiopulmonary reserve, and men showed a better response to training than women. The right ventricular function increased after late-in-life exercise training.

Dominant missense variants in SREBF2 are associated with complex dermatological, neurological, and skeletal abnormalities.

PURPOSE: We identified 2 individuals with de novo variants in SREBF2 that disrupt a conserved site 1 protease (S1P) cleavage motif required for processing SREBP2 into its mature transcription factor. These individuals exhibit complex phenotypic manifestations that partially overlap with sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBP) pathway-related disease phenotypes, but SREBF2-related disease has not been previously reported. Thus, we set out to assess the effects of SREBF2 variants on SREBP pathway activation. METHODS: We undertook ultrastructure and gene expression analyses using fibroblasts from an affected individual and utilized a fly model of lipid droplet (LD) formation to investigate the consequences of SREBF2 variants on SREBP pathway function. RESULTS: We observed reduced LD formation, endoplasmic reticulum expansion, accumulation of aberrant lysosomes, and deficits in SREBP2 target gene expression in fibroblasts from an affected individual, indicating that the SREBF2 variant inhibits SREBP pathway activation. Using our fly model, we discovered that SREBF2 variants fail to induce LD production and act in a dominant-negative manner, which can be rescued by overexpression of S1P. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these data reveal a mechanism by which SREBF2 pathogenic variants that disrupt the S1P cleavage motif cause disease via dominant-negative antagonism of S1P, limiting the cleavage of S1P targets, including SREBP1 and SREBP2.

CsPbBrxCl3-x Solid Solutions: Understanding the Relationship between Lattice Expansion and Optical Properties.

All-inorganic halide perovskite semiconductors have received extensive attention due to their excellent photoelectronic conversion efficiency. Prior studies have reported on compounds CsPbBr3 and CsPbCl3. However, the transition phases between them have not been systematically studied. Here, a series of large-size single crystals of CsPbBrxCl3-x (x = 0-3) were successfully grown by the Bridgman method, which proves that the Br and Cl atoms can be miscible in any proportion in the solid solution system, and the change of lattice parameters conforms to Vegard's law. Also, the bandgap and light emission were studied. It is found that the band gap (2.90-2.29 eV) and photoluminescence characteristics (from blue light to green light) can be effectively tuned by adjusting the content of the Br atom. These results provide valuable guidance for the development and optimization of photoelectronic semiconductors that can meet different practical demands.

Optical coherence tomography angiography for the differentiation of diabetic nephropathy from non-diabetic renal disease.

BACKGROUND: To provide a new non-invasive method for the differentiation of diabetic nephropathy (DN) from non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD) by assessing retinal microstructure using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: OCTA parameters were recorded and their relationship with DN was analysed. A differential diagnosis regression model for DN was established, and the diagnostic efficiency was evaluated. RESULTS: Based on the pathological results of renal biopsy, 31 DN patients and 35 NDRD patients were included. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that DN was independently associated with the following parameters: 15.3 mm-1 ≤ vessel density (VD) full < 17.369 mm-1 (odds ratio [OR]=8.523; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.387-52.352; P = 0.021), VD full < 15.3 mm-1 (OR=8.202; 95% CI=1.110-60.623; P = 0.039), DM duration > 60 months (OR=7.588; 95% CI=1.569-36.692; P = 0.012), and estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (OR=24.484; 95% CI=4.308-139.142; P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.911, indicating a high diagnostic efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: VD full < 17.369 mm-1, DM duration > 60 months, and eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 may indicate the presence of DN. OCTA may be an effective non-invasive method for identifying DN and NDRD.

Neuregulin 4 (Nrg4) cooperates with melatonin to regulate the PRL expression via ErbB4/Erk signaling pathway as a potential prolactin (PRL) regulator.

Neuregulin-4 (Nrg4) and melatonin play vital roles in endocrine diseases. However, there is little discussion about the function and potential mechanism of Nrg4 and melatonin in prolactin (PRL) regulation. The human normal pituitary data from Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database was used to explore the correlation between NRG4 and PRL. The expression and correlation of NRG4 and PRL were determined by Immunofluorescence staining (IF) and human normal pituitary tissue microarray. Western Blot (WB) was used to detect the expression of PRL, p-ErbB2/3/4, ErbB2/3/4, p-Erk1/2, Erk1/2, p-Akt and Akt in PRL-secreting pituitary GH3 and RC-4B/C cells treated by Nrg4, Nrg4-small interfering RNA, Erk1/2 inhibitor FR180204 and melatonin. The expression of NRG4 was significantly positively correlated with that of PRL in the GEPIA database and normal human pituitary tissues. Nrg4 significantly increased the expression and secretion of PRL and p-Erk1/2 expression in GH3 cells and RC-4B/C cells. Inhibition of Nrg4 significantly inhibited PRL expression. The increased levels of p-Erk1/2 and PRL induced by Nrg4 were abolished significantly in response to FR180204 in GH3 and RC-4B/C cells. Additionally, Melatonin promotes the expression of Nrg4, p-ErbB4, p-Erk1/2, and PRL and can further promote the expression of p-Erk1/2 and PRL in combination with Nrg4. Further investigation into the function of Nrg4 and melatonin on PRL expression and secretion may provide new clues to advance the clinical control of prolactinomas and hyperprolactinemia.

Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR-Associated Protein and Its Utility All at Sea: Status, Challenges, and Prospects.

Initially discovered over 35 years ago in the bacterium Escherichia coli as a defense system against invasion of viral (or other exogenous) DNA into the genome, CRISPR/Cas has ushered in a new era of functional genetics and served as a versatile genetic tool in all branches of life science. CRISPR/Cas has revolutionized the methodology of gene knockout with simplicity and rapidity, but it is also powerful for gene knock-in and gene modification. In the field of marine biology and ecology, this tool has been instrumental in the functional characterization of 'dark' genes and the documentation of the functional differentiation of gene paralogs. Powerful as it is, challenges exist that have hindered the advances in functional genetics in some important lineages. This review examines the status of applications of CRISPR/Cas in marine research and assesses the prospect of quickly expanding the deployment of this powerful tool to address the myriad fundamental marine biology and biological oceanography questions.

Endothelial exosomes work as a functional mediator to activate macrophages.

Introduction: Intercellular communication is essential for almost all physiological and pathological processes. Endothelial cell (EC)-derived exosomes, working as mediators for intercellular information exchange, are involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of atherosclerosis. However, the effect of inflamed endothelial exosomes on the function of macrophages (Mϕ) is poorly defined. This study aims to unravel how exosomes derived from tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated ECs (exo-T) affect Mϕ in vitro. Methods and results: Exosomes derived from untreated ECs (exo) and exo-T were identified by using TEM, NTA, and western blot, and we observed that PKH67-labeled exo/exo-T were taken up by Mϕ. Exposure to exo-T for 24 h not only skewed Mϕ to the M1 subtype and exacerbated lipid deposition, but also promoted Mϕ apoptosis, while it did not significantly affect Mϕ migration, as detected by RT-qPCR, Dil-ox-LDL uptake assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, and transwell assay, respectively. In addition, exo/exo-T-related microRNA-Seq revealed 104 significantly differentially expressed microRNAs (DE-miRNAs). The target genes of DE-miRNAs were mainly enriched functionally in metabolic pathways, MAPK signaling pathway, etc., as determined using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. We further demonstrated by immunoblotting that exo-T intervention improves the phosphorylation of MAPK/NF-κB-related proteins. Discussion and conclusion: Collectively, this study reveals that inflamed endothelial exosomes (TNF-α-stimulated EC-derived exosomes) work as a functional mediator to affect Mϕ function and may activate Mϕ through MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways.

A comprehensive Drosophila resource to identify key functional interactions between SARS-CoV-2 factors and host proteins.

Development of effective therapies against SARS-CoV-2 infections relies on mechanistic knowledge of virus-host interface. Abundant physical interactions between viral and host proteins have been identified, but few have been functionally characterized. Harnessing the power of fly genetics, we develop a comprehensive Drosophila COVID-19 resource (DCR) consisting of publicly available strains for conditional tissue-specific expression of all SARS-CoV-2 encoded proteins, UAS-human cDNA transgenic lines encoding established host-viral interacting factors, and GAL4 insertion lines disrupting fly homologs of SARS-CoV-2 human interacting proteins. We demonstrate the utility of the DCR to functionally assess SARS-CoV-2 genes and candidate human binding partners. We show that NSP8 engages in strong genetic interactions with several human candidates, most prominently with the ATE1 arginyltransferase to induce actin arginylation and cytoskeletal disorganization, and that two ATE1 inhibitors can reverse NSP8 phenotypes. The DCR enables parallel global-scale functional analysis of SARS-CoV-2 components in a prime genetic model system.

An Exploratory Study on a New Method for Nutritional Status Assessment in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Malnutrition is a risk factor for disease progression and poor prognosis in chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the complexity of nutritional status assessment limits its clinical application. This study explored a new method of nutritional assessment in CKD (stage 1-5) patients using the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) as the gold standard and evaluated its applicability. The kappa test was used to analyze the consistency of the Renal Inpatient Nutrition Screening Tool (Renal iNUT) with SGA and protein-energy wasting. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of CKD malnutrition and calculate the prediction probability of multiple indicators combined for the diagnosis of CKD malnutrition. The receiver operating characteristic curve of the prediction probability was drawn to evaluate its diagnostic efficiency. A total of 161 CKD patients were included in this study. The prevalence of malnutrition according to SGA was 19.9%. The results showed that Renal iNUT had a moderate consistency with SGA and a general consistency with protein-energy wasting. Age > 60 years (odds ratio, OR = 6.78), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio > 2.62 (OR = 3.862), transferrin < 200 mg/dL (OR = 4.222), phase angle < 4.5° (OR = 7.478), and body fat percentage < 10% (OR = 19.119) were risk factors for malnutrition in patients with CKD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of multiple indicators for the diagnosis of CKD malnutrition was 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.834-0.946, p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that Renal iNUT has good specificity as a new tool for the nutrition screening of CKD patients, but its sensitivity needs to be optimized. Advanced age, high neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, low transferrin level, low phase angle, and low body fat percentage are risk factors for malnutrition in patients with CKD. The combination of the above indicators has high diagnostic efficiency in the diagnosis of CKD malnutrition, which may be an objective, simple, and reliable method to evaluate the nutritional status of patients with CKD.

Serum cystatin C is associated with peripheral artery stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus combined with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVE: Cystatin C (CysC) is associated with arterial stiffness. However, its suitability for evaluating patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the relationship between CysC levels and peripheral arterial stiffness (PAS) in patients with T2DM combined with CKD. METHODS: Participants' arterial stiffness was assessed using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and those with a baPWV ≥ 1800 cm/s were included in the PAS group. Additionally, patients were divided into young (18-44 years old), middle-aged (45-59 years old), and older (≥60 years old) groups. RESULTS: Of 200 patients, 94 (47%) were diagnosed with PAS. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that age, pulse pressure, and CysC levels (odds ratio = 1.525, 95% confidence interval: 1.072-2.168, P = 0.019) were independently correlated with PAS in patients with T2DM combined with CKD. The levels of CysC in different age groups were positively correlated with baPWV, and the correlation was significantly higher in the young group (r = 0.739, P < 0.001) than in the middle-aged (r = 0.329, P < 0.001) and older (r = 0.496, P < 0.001) groups. The multifactor linear regression analysis revealed that CysC was significantly correlated with baPWV in the young group (ß = 0.455, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: CysC was an independent predictor of PAS in patients with T2DM combined with CKD and was more significantly associated with baPWV in young patients than in middle-aged and older patients. CysC may may be an early predictor of peripheral arteriosclerosis in patients with T2DM combined with CKD.

Anchoring ultra-small molybdenum oxide species on covalent triazine frameworks for efficient electrochemical nitrogen fixation.

We report a smart ion-exchange strategy to anchor molybdenum oxide particles on charge-modulated conjugated triazine frameworks (Mo/CTF-I) for electrochemically fixing nitrogen. The strong interaction between MoOx and CTF-I is conducive to the activation of the inert N2 molecule in the electro-chemical process. As a result, 5% Mo/CTF-I exhibited an excellent faradaic efficiency of 27.3% and an NH3 yield rate of 7.23 µg h-1 mgcat.-1 at -0.405 V vs. RHE in 0.1 M KOH, surpassing most previous reports.

Clinical Factors Associated with Arterial Stiffness in Chronic Kidney Disease.

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness influences the prognosis of patients with end-stage kidney disease; however, the factors that promote arterial stiffness in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients remain unknown. We aimed to explore the clinical factors associated with arterial stiffness in CKD. METHODS: Between September 2017 and September 2022, all CKD patients treated at the Department of Nephrology, General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, excluding dialysis patients, were screened and their medical records within the last month were collected. Arterial stiffness was measured by the augmentation index (AIx). The correlative clinical factors with arterial stiffness were explored in different linear regression models. RESULTS: 559 patients were included in the study. AIx@75 increased as the deterioration of CKDG1-CKDG5, with values of 1 (-9, 11), 5.5 (-4, 13.25), 9 (0, 16), 12 (1.5, 23.5), and 22 (13, 28), respectively (Z = 63.03, p < 0.001). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that AIx@75 was positively associated with female sex (ß = 8.926, 95% confidence interval (CI) 6.291, 11.562, p < 0.001), age (ß = 0. 485, 95% CI 0.39, 0.58, p < 0.001), mean arterial pressure (MAP) (ß = 0.255, 95% CI 0.159, 0.35, p < 0.001), and was negatively associated with ACEI/ARB (ß = -4.466, 95% CI -6.963, -1.969, p < 0.001) and glucocorticoid (ß = -3.163, 95% CI -6.143, -0.183, p = 0.038). Smoking, eGFR, hemoglobin, and cause of disease were associated with AIx@75 in multivariate linear regression models when considering factors partly. CONCLUSIONS: Female, age, smoking, MAP, eGFR, cause of disease, ACEI/ARB, and glucocorticoid were found to be associated with atherosclerosis in CKD patients.

A prognostic cuproptosis-related lncRNA predictive signature for bladder cancer patients.

Cuproptosis is a novel form of cell death in tumours. However, the clinical impact and mechanism of cuproptosis in bladder cancer (BC) remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the functions of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) related to cuproptosis in BC and develop a prognostic predictive model. RNA sequencing and clinicopathological data were derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas and randomly divided into training and validation groups. Cuproptosis-related lncRNAs were identified by Cox regression analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and the patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the median value of the signature-based risk score. We established a signature of 17 cuproptosis-associated lncRNAs in the training set. In both sets, patients with higher signature-based risk scores had a notably higher probability of death (P ≤ 0.001) and a shorter survival duration. Cox regression analyses confirmed the risk score as an independent predictor of BC prognosis in the entire set. The area under the curve (AUC) values for 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 0.767, 0.734, and 0.764, respectively, confirming that the signature could determine the prognosis of BC. A signature-based nomogram was developed, and its prediction accuracy was validated using calibration curves. Several drugs, including Gemcitabine, Oxaliplatin, Mitoxantrone, Camptothecin, Cytarabine and Irinotecan may benefit low-risk BC patients more. Finally, in vitro experiments confirmed that the cuproptosis-related lncRNAs are highly expressed in bladder cancer cells after cuproptosis induced by exogenous copper ions. In conclusion, a cuproptosis-related lncRNA signature independently predicted prognosis in BC, indicating a possible mechanism and clinical treatment approach.

Status and Trends of the Association Between Diabetic Nephropathy and Diabetic Retinopathy From 2000 to 2021: Bibliometric and Visual Analysis.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are microvascular complications of diabetes that share a similar pathogenesis and clinical relevance. The study aimed to visually analyze the research status and development trend of the relationship between DN and DR by means of bibliometrics and knowledge mapping. Methods: Publications were collected from the Science Citation Index-Expanded of the Web of Science Core Collection between 2000 and 2021. CiteSpace, Alluvial Generator, and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze and present the data. Results: A total of 3,348 publications were retrieved and 3,285 were included in the analysis after deduplication. The publications demonstrated an annually increasing trend. The results of the collaborative network analysis showed that the United States, Steno Diabetes Center, and Tien Y. Wong were the most influential country, institution and author, in this field of research, respectively. The analysis of references and keywords showed that the pathogenesis of DN and DR and their relationship with cardiovascular disease are research hotspots. The clinical relevance and drug therapy for DN and DR will become frontiers of future research in this field. Conclusion: This study is the first to visualize the correlation between DN and DR using a bibliometric approach. This study provides a reference of research trends for scholars.

Creating Frustrated Lewis Pairs in Defective Boron Carbon Nitride for Electrocatalytic Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia.

The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) on metal-free catalysts is an attractive alternative to the industrial Haber-Bosch process. However, the state-of-the-art metal-free electrocatalysts still suffer from low Faraday efficiencies and low ammonia yields. Herein, we present a molecular design strategy to develop a defective boron carbon nitride (BCN) catalyst with the abundant unsaturated B and N atoms as Lewis acid and base sites, which upgrades the catalyst from a single "Lewis acid catalysis" to "frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) catalysis." 14 N2 /15 N2 exchange experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that FLPs can adsorb an N2 molecule to form a six-membered ring intermediate, which enables the cleavage of N2 via a pull-pull effect, thereby significantly reducing the energy barrier to -0.28 eV. Impressively, BCN achieves a high Faraday efficiency of 18.9 %, an ammonia yield of 20.9 µg h-1 mg-1 cat. , and long-term durability.

An expanded toolkit for Drosophila gene tagging using synthesized homology donor constructs for CRISPR-mediated homologous recombination.

Previously, we described a large collection of Drosophila strains that each carry an artificial exon containing a T2AGAL4 cassette inserted in an intron of a target gene based on CRISPR-mediated homologous recombination. These alleles permit numerous applications and have proven to be very useful. Initially, the homologous recombination-based donor constructs had long homology arms (>500 bps) to promote precise integration of large constructs (>5 kb). Recently, we showed that in vivo linearization of the donor constructs enables insertion of large artificial exons in introns using short homology arms (100-200 bps). Shorter homology arms make it feasible to commercially synthesize homology donors and minimize the cloning steps for donor construct generation. Unfortunately, about 58% of Drosophila genes lack a suitable coding intron for integration of artificial exons in all of the annotated isoforms. Here, we report the development of new set of constructs that allow the replacement of the coding region of genes that lack suitable introns with a KozakGAL4 cassette, generating a knock-out/knock-in allele that expresses GAL4 similarly as the targeted gene. We also developed custom vector backbones to further facilitate and improve transgenesis. Synthesis of homology donor constructs in custom plasmid backbones that contain the target gene sgRNA obviates the need to inject a separate sgRNA plasmid and significantly increases the transgenesis efficiency. These upgrades will enable the targeting of nearly every fly gene, regardless of exon-intron structure, with a 70-80% success rate.

Anchoring Effect of Organosilanes on Hierarchical ZSM-5 Zeolite for Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Cellulose to Aromatics.

As an essential chemical feedstock, aromatics can be obtained from biomass by catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) technology, in which diffusion limitation is still a problem. In this study, several ZSM-5 zeolites with intercrystal stacking macropores were synthesized by adding organosilanes (OSAs) with different alkyl chain groups. Due to the structure-directing effect of the OSA, the prepared ZSM-5 zeolites possess a larger external surface area and pore volume than Blank-Z5. Moreover, the pore size is related to the extent of anchoring of the OSA and silicon-aluminum species in the zeolite precursor. Pyridine Fourier transform infrared (Py-FTIR) and NH3-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analyses show that the obtained ZSM-5 zeolites have a higher Brønsted acidity and total number of acid sites. In addition, excessive addition of OSA is not conducive to the growth of ZSM-5 zeolites. The catalytic performance of the synthesized ZSM-5 zeolites was evaluated by Py-GC/MS. The larger external surface area and pore volume improve the accessibility of the acid sites and thus promote the conversion of biomass into aromatics.