Campylobacter fetus-induced primary psoas abscess in patient with gouty arthritis: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Campylobacter fetus is rare pathogen with high mortality rate in immunosuppressive hosts. This study aimed to summarize clinical and pathological presentation of C fetus induced psoas abscess. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 66-year-old male patient with long medical history of poorly-controlled gouty arthritis and steroid intake complained of a severe low back pain. Physical examination showed tenderness in his psoas. DIAGNOSES: The patient underwent puncture biopsy to the lesion in the psoas under ultrasound guidance. The lesion was indicated as abscess by pathological examination, and its pathogen was indicated as C fetus by the next generation sequencing. INTERVENTIONS: Meropenem 1 g q8.h were administered intravenously for 10 days. Then the antibiotic treatment was switched to amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium 0.375g q.8.h and levofloxacin 0.5g q.d oral administration when discharge. OUTCOMES: The patient's fever and low back pain improved and infectious parameters declined. He was discharged in good general condition with advice for further monitoring and therapy. In the first month follow-up, the patient did not report recurrence or aggravation of his symptoms. LESSONS: C fetus should be noticed in immunosuppressive patient with exposure to livestock who present with rare systematic or local invasive infection. We advocated the meropenem for the first-line treatment against C fetus.

Blood-brain barrier dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease: associations, pathogenic mechanisms, and therapeutic potential.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aß), hyperphosphorylation of tau, and neuroinflammation in the brain. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits solutes from circulating blood from entering the brain, which is essential for neuronal functioning. Focusing on BBB function is important for the early detection of AD and in-depth study of AD pathogenic mechanisms. However, the mechanism of BBB alteration in AD is still unclear, which hinders further research on therapeutics that target the BBB to delay the progression of AD. The exact timing of the vascular abnormalities in AD and the complex cause-and-effect relationships remain uncertain. Thus, it is necessary to summarize and emphasize this process. First, in this review, the current evidence for BBB dysfunction in AD is summarized. Then, the interrelationships and pathogenic mechanisms between BBB dysfunction and the risk factors for AD, such as Aß, tau, neuroinflammation, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype and aging, were analyzed. Finally, we discuss the current status and future directions of therapeutic AD strategies targeting the BBB. We hope that these summaries or reviews will allow readers to better understand the relationship between the BBB and AD.

[Retracted] MicroRNA­199a­3p inhibits ovarian cancer cell viability by targeting the oncogene YAP1.

Following the publication of the above article, the authors have submitted a request that it be retracted on account of the fact that, when requested to do so, the first author was unable to provide the original data for this article. The Editor of Molecular Medicine Reports has agreed with the request that this article be retracted. Note that all the authors agree with the decision to retract this article. The Editor and the authors regret any inconvenience that this retraction will cause to the readership of the Journal. [Molecular Medicine Reports 23: 237, 2021; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2021.11876].

Influence of Continuous Nursing Intervention on Treatment Compliance of Patients with Depression.

Objective: This study mainly discusses the influence of the continuous nursing intervention on the treatment compliance of patients with depression. Methods: The clinical data of 120 patients with depression admitted to our hospital were collected by retrospective analysis. According to the different implementation of nursing methods, patients were subordinated to the conventional group (n = 48, conventional nursing) and the continuous group (n = 72, continuous nursing). The treatment compliance, depression degree, quality of life, nursing satisfaction, Insight and Treatment Attitude Questionnaire (ITAQ), and recurrence rate of patients in the two groups were compared. Results: The continuous group had a higher treatment compliance rate, slighter depression, higher physiological function, psychological function, social function, environmental adaptability, total quality of life, nursing satisfaction, and ITAQ score, and lower recurrence rate, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The implementation of continuous nursing intervention for patients with depression could enhance their treatment compliance and relieve depressive symptoms; improve the quality of life and self-awareness; reduce the risk of relapse; and improve nursing satisfaction.

Retraction Note: MicroRNA-199a-5p suppresses the cell growth of colorectal cancer by targeting oncogene Caprin1.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1007/s13205-020-02433-9.].

Effect Evaluation of Preoperative Psychological Nursing Intervention on Sinusitis Patients Undergoing General Anesthesia by Multiplanner Reformation-Based CT.

The aim of this study was at exploring the clinical effect of CT images based on multiplanner reformation (MPR) combined with a preoperative psychological nursing intervention model in sinusitis patients undergoing general anesthesia. Sixty sinusitis patients who received MPR-based CT examination and general anesthesia were selected as the study subjects and randomly divided into the control group (n = 30) and the experimental group (n = 30). The control group used traditional preoperative education. The experimental group added the psychological nursing intervention based on traditional preoperative education. The blood pressure and heart rate before and after the operation, the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) score before and after intervention, and satisfaction were comprehensively assessed. The results showed that CT based on MPR could observe the lesions and anatomical structures of the sinus wall and sinus in detail from multiple angles. The blood pressure (systolic blood pressure 135.12 ± 14.89 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure 87.05 ± 11.24 mmHg), heart rate (78.42 ± 12.19 beats/min), SAS score (45.85 ± 4.97 points), and nursing satisfaction (78.9%) of the experimental group were significantly better than those of the control group (145.83 ± 15.62 mmHg, 94.21 ± 10.86 mmHg, 86.44 ± 13.65 beats/min, 56.44 ± 5.12 points, 56.4%), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). In summary, the preoperative psychological care model has a positive role in reducing the tension and anxiety of patients before general anesthesia surgery and CT based on MPR is important for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of sinusitis. This study provides a theoretical reference for the clinical treatment of patients with sinusitis.

The Effect of Humanized Nursing Intervention Guided by Computed Tomography Images on Elderly Patients Undergoing Anesthesia for Femur Intertrochanteric Fractures under Intelligent Reconstruction Algorithm.

This research was aimed at analyzing the effect of humanized nursing intervention combined with computed tomography (CT) imaging in the surgical anesthesia of femur intertrochanteric fractures (FIF) in the elderly. An image reconstruction algorithm was proposed based on nonlocal mean (NLM) algorithm, which was named as ONLM, and its performance was analyzed. A total of 114 elderly patients with FIF were equally and randomly divided into a humanized nursing group (57 cases) and a routine nursing group (57 cases). They were performed with CT imaging scan based on the ONLM algorithm, and the clinical indicators of the two groups of patients were recorded. The root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of the CT images constructed using the ONLM algorithm were significantly lower than those using NLM algorithm, edge filtering algorithm, and total variation model, while the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) was the opposite (P < 0.05). The operation time, hospitalization days, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, and anesthesia preparation time of patients in the humanized nursing group were significantly lower than those in the routine nursing group. The number of patients with excellent Harris scores in the humanized nursing group was higher than that in the routine nursing group, and the number of patients with poor Harris scores was lower (P < 0.05). The language pain score, facial pain score, and visual analog simulation (VAS) scores of patients in the humanized nursing group were significantly lower than those in the routine nursing group. The numbers of postoperative hip varus and fracture nonunion cases in the humanized nursing group were significantly more than those in the routine nursing group. In short, CT images constructed by the ONLM showed higher performance than those by the traditional algorithm. In addition, CT images constructed by ONLM combined with humanized nursing intervention could more effectively improve the cooperation of patients with surgical anesthesia, reduce surgical pain and fear of patients, improve the prognosis of patients, and lower the occurrence of adverse events.

Intelligent Algorithm-Based Ultrasound for Evaluating the Anesthesia and Nursing Intervention for Elderly Patients with Femoral Intertrochanteric Fractures.

This study was aimed to explore the anesthesia, analgesia, and nursing intervention scheme for elderly patients undergoing the operation of intertrochanteric fracture of femur under the guidance of ultrasound optimized by blind deblurring algorithm. Fifty elderly patients undergoing intertrochanteric femoral surgery were randomly enrolled into control group (tracheal intubation intravenous anesthesia + routine nursing) and experimental group (ultrasound-guided nerve block anesthesia + comprehensive nursing based on blind deblurring algorithm), with 25 patients in each group. The effects of anesthesia and recovery were evaluated in the two groups. The results showed that the image evaluation index of blind deblurring algorithm was superior to other algorithms (BM3D, DnCNN, and Red-Net), which improved the quality of ultrasound imaging and was more conducive to intraoperative anesthesia guidance. At the beginning and end of intubation and operation, the fluctuation range of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group. The maintenance time of sensory and motor anesthesia block (7.53 ± 1.47 h, 5.45 ± 1.36 h) was longer than that of control group (3.38 ± 1.26 h, 3.02 ± 1.31 h). Visual Analogue Scale/Score (VAS) scores at 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h after surgery were lower than those in the control group. The effective rate of nursing and the incidence of complications (92% and 8%) were better than the control group (80% and 16%), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In summary, the optimization effect of blind deblurring algorithm was good, which can improve the quality of ultrasound-guided surgery and help in the smooth implementation of surgery. Moreover, nerve block anesthesia and comprehensive nursing were of great value in postoperative analgesia and recovery of patients.

Analgesic Effects of Dexmedetomidine Combined with Spinal and Epidural Anesthesia Nursing on Prostate Hyperplasia Patients after Transurethral Resection of Prostate by Intelligent Algorithm-Based Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

To analyze the investigation of the application effects of different doses of dexmedetomidine (Dex) with combined spinal and epidural anesthesia nursing on analgesia after transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) by intelligent algorithm-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI imaging segmentation model of mask regions with convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) features was proposed in the research. Besides, the segmentation effects of Mask R-CNN, U-net, and V-net algorithms were compared and analyzed. Meanwhile, a total of 184 patients receiving TURP were selected as the research objects, and they were divided into A, B, C, and D groups based on random number table method, each group including 46 cases. Patients in each group were offered different doses of Dex, and visual analogue scale (VAS) and Ramsay scores of different follow-up visit time, use of other analgesics, the incidence of postoperative cystospasm, and nursing satisfaction of patients in four groups were compared. The results demonstrated that Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) value, specificity, and positive predictive value of Mask R-CNN algorithm were 0.623 ± 0.084, 98.61%, and 69.57%, respectively, all of which were higher than those of U-net and V-net algorithms. Pain VAS scores and the incidence of cystospasm at different time periods of groups B and C were both significantly lower than those of group D (P < 0.05). Ramsay scores of groups B and C at 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after the operation were all remarkably higher than those in group D (P < 0.05). Besides, nursing satisfaction of groups B and C was obviously superior to that in group D, and the difference demonstrated statistical meaning (P < 0.05). The differences revealed that Dex showed excellent analgesic and sedative effects and could effectively reduce the incidence of complications after TURP, including cystospasm and nausea. In addition, it helped improve nursing satisfaction and patient prognosis.

Strategy to Achieve Augmented Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation via Heteroband Structure Engineering and In Situ Interface Activation.

A simple strategy to achieve remarkable activity of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation is both a critical requirement prior to accelerating the deployment of hydrogen and an important pursuit for renewable solar energy utilization. Despite various ways to improve the PEC performance, laborious fabrication and a statically driven process for water oxidation are still the most challenging tasks. We, herein, demonstrated an extremely simple but extraordinary effective strategy to boost PEC water splitting in a three-dimensional (3D) network structure (Ni foam, i.e., NF)-supported ZnO nanowire (NW)/CdS nanoparticle (NP) (NF/ZnO/CdS) photoelectrode. On the one hand, the establishment and optimization of a heteroband junction between ZnO NWs and CdS NPs substantially reduce the solar energy loss and increase the photocarrier utilization rate at the interface of two phases. On the other hand, the solution flow rotation in the unique macroporous 3D network structure gives rise to obvious piezoelectric (PE) polarization of ZnO located on the skeleton of Ni foam, which can dynamically enforce directional charge transfer. This real-time self-built PE polarization, assisted by the heteroband junction, enables the NF/ZnO/CdS photoanode system to obtain an improved photocurrent density by 12.2-fold compared with pure ZnO (at 1.23 V vs RHE). This work sheds light on an ingenious design strategy for fabricating photoelectrodes that combines a simplified structure and an effectively enhanced water oxidation performance.

Sirtuin2 correlates with lymph node metastasis, increased FIGO stage, worse overall survival, and reduced chemosensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel in endometrial cancer.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the correlation of sirtuin2 (SIRT2) with clinical characteristics, prognosis in endometrial cancer (EC) patients, and its effect on chemosensitivity in EC cell lines. METHODS: A total of 137 EC patients who underwent surgical resection were retrospectively enrolled. SIRT2 expression in tumor tissues (n = 137) and adjacent tissues (n = 61) was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining and evaluated by a semiquantitative scoring method. EC patients' clinical characteristics and survival data were collected. Besides, SIRT2 was modulated by plasmid transfection in EC cells, then their chemosensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel was evaluated. RESULTS: SIRT2 was increased in tumor tissues compared with adjacent tissues (reflected by both IHC score and high-expression ratio, both P < 0.001). Meanwhile, tumor SIRT2 was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.037) and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (P = 0.044), but not other clinical characteristics. Moreover, tumor SIRT2 high expression was correlated with worse overall survival (OS) (P = 0.023), while it could not independently predict OS (P = 0.090, hazard ratio = 2.782). Besides, both mRNA and protein levels of SIRT2 were increased in Ishikawa (P = 0.035) and KLE (P < 0.001) cells compared with human endometrial epithelial cells. SIRT2 overexpression decreased chemosensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel in Ishikawa cells, while SIRT2 knockdown increased chemosensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel in KLE cells (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: SIRT2 correlates with lymph node metastasis, increased FIGO stage, worse OS, and reduced chemosensitivity to cisplatin and paclitaxel in EC.

The strong interfacial coupling effect of Nafion between LaFeO3/electrolyte for efficient photoelectrochemical water reduction.

Insufficient reduction capability and scanty active substance limit the application of LaFeO3(LFO) in the field of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. This work demonstrates a judicious combination of LFO/Nafion composite to improve the PEC performance by a unique dip-coating method on the FTO. The photocurrent density of the LFO electrode coated with two layers Nafion increased to -23.9µA cm-2at 0.47 V versus RHE, which is 4.1 times that of the pristine LFO. Based on the experimental data and theoretical analysis, the improvement of the PEC properties is attributed to the construction of organic/inorganic units, which would enable strong electronic coupling and favor interfacial charge transfer, resulting in a 30 mV downward shift of its flat band potential. Thus, the conduction band gets closer to the proton reduction potential of H+to H2after decoration with Nafion, resulting in a stronger photogenerated electron reduction ability. Our study provides insights that organic materials modify semiconductor photoelectrodes for accelerating charge kinetics.

MicroRNA­199a­3p inhibits ovarian cancer cell viability by targeting the oncogene YAP1.

MicroRNA­199a­3p (miR­199a­3p) is aberrantly expressed in various types of cancer where it exhibits a tumor suppressive role. However, the biological role of miR­199a­3p in ovarian cancer (OC) remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate whether miR­199a­3p was a tumor suppressor in OC and to identify the possible mechanisms. It was found that miR­199a­3p expression was significantly downregulated in the tumor tissues and blood samples of patients with OC, as well as in three OC cell lines. In addition, its low expression was closely associated with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics disease stage, histological grade and lymph node metastasis. It was demonstrated that overexpression of miR­199a­3p inhibited the viability and promoted apoptosis of OV90 and SKOV­3 cells. In addition, Yes­associated protein 1 (YAP1), a well­known oncogene, was identified as a direct target of miR­199a­3p in OC cells. Additionally, it was observed that YAP1 was significantly increased and inversely correlated with miR­199a­3p expression in OC tissues. Notably, YAP1 overexpression abrogated the tumor suppressive effects of miR­199a­3p in vitro. Collectively, the present results indicated that miR­199a­3p suppressed viability in OC cells, at least partly via inhibiting the YAP1 oncogene, suggesting that miR­199a­3p may act as a biomarker and therapeutic target for patients with OC.

Duration of Serum Phosphorus Control Associated with Overall Mortality in Patients Undergoing Peritoneal Dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Serum phosphorus (SP) level is closely associated with overall mortality and cardiovascular events, while the role of SP controlled duration is not fully recognized. Here, we conducted a retrospective cohort study in our department to identify the relationship of SP controlled duration with clinical outcomes in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). METHODS: PD patients in our center from January 1, 2009, to June 30, 2019, were followed up at 2-month (the first year) or 5-month (the next follow-up period) intervals, and until death, until PD withdrawal, or until June 30, 2019. Data at each follow-up point were collected from their medical records. SP levels, changed degree of SP over baseline, and SP controlled duration were analyzed with overall mortality, PD withdrawal (including death, transferred to hemodialysis, and received renal transplantation), and combined endpoint (including death, acute heart failure, cardiovascular event, and stroke). RESULTS: A total of 530 patients entered the analysis. Of them, 456 (86.0%) had hyperphosphatemia before dialysis, and the SP levels decreased soon after dialysis. The degree of SP change over baseline was the maximum at the 3rd month after dialysis (-31.0%), and lower degree was associated with higher overall mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.012; 95% CI, 1.004-1.020; p = 0.003). The median SP controlled duration was 13 (5-28) months, and longer duration was significantly associated with lower overall mortality (HR, 0.968; 95% CI, 0.956-0.981; p < 0.001). After categorization, duration more than 12 months greatly improved overall mortality with a HR of 0.197 (0.082-0.458; p < 0.001 vs. SP never controlled group) and 0.329 (0.150-0.724; p = 0.006 vs. duration <12 months group). Longer SP controlled duration also improved PD withdrawal and combined endpoint. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, both degree and duration of SP control were tightly associated with overall mortality. We should control SP levels as early, as possible, and as long as we could.

MicroRNA-199a-5p suppresses the cell growth of colorectal cancer by targeting oncogene Caprin1.

MicroRNAs-199a-5p (miR-199a-5p) plays critical regulatory roles in various types of human cancers. However, the biological function and regulatory mechanisms of miR-199a-5p in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-199a-5p in CRC and possible mechanisms of its action. The expression of miR-199a-5p in CRC tumor tissues was validated using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The effects of miR-199a-5p on cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated in vitro. Then, the association of miR-199a-5p and its downstream target was investigated in both cell line and clinical specimens. Furthermore, gain- and loss-of-function studies of cytoplasmic activation/proliferation-associated protein-1 (Caprin1) were performed to assess whether the suppressive effect of on CRC cells were via targeting Caprin1. Using a microarray platform, we focused on miR-199a-5p for further research, which was one of the most markedly downregulated miRNAs in CRC tumor tissues. Functionally, the overexpression of miR-199a-5p inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in both HTC116 and SW480 cells. Furthermore, cytoplasmic activation/proliferation-associated protein-1 (Caprin1), a well-known oncogene, was directly targeted by miR-199a-5p. It was also observed that Caprin1 was upregulated, and inversely correlated with miR-199a-5p levels in CRC tissues. Further investigations revealed that knockdown of Caprin1 by siRNA has similar role with miR-199a-5p overexpression in CRC cells, suggesting the oncogenic role of Caprin1 in CRC. In the contrast, we found that overexpression of Caprin1 reversed the suppressive effects of miR-199a-5p on CRC cells. Collectively, our study suggests that miR-199a-5p/Caprin1 axis may serve as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of CRC.

Associations between the expression of SCCA, MTA1, P16, Ki-67 and the infection of high-risk HPV in cervical lesions.

The application of detection technologies for human papillomavirus (HPV) has increased the resection rate for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and early cervical cancer types. However, a large number of patients still present with advanced cervical cancer upon diagnosis. Therefore, to find a marker for the early diagnosis of cervical cancer, the present study investigated the expression profiles of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), tumor metastasis related factor-1 (MTA1), the multiple tumor suppressor gene P16, and the nucleus-associated antigen Ki-67 in cervical lesions, and evaluated the association between the four proteins and the infection of high-risk (HR)-HPV in cervical lesions. The rate of SCCA expression gradually increased with the progression of cervical lesions, but the increase in SCCA expression levels from low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions was not significant (P=0.197). The positive rate of MTA1 expression gradually increased with the development of cervical lesions, but the increase from chronic cervicitis to LSIL was not significant (P=0.258). The positive rates of P16 and Ki-67 expression exhibited significant increasing trends with the progression of cervical lesions. The expression ratio of SCCA between HR-HPV infection and non-infection groups was not statistically significant (P=0.38), but the expression ratios of MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 between HR-HPV infection and non-infection groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). These results demonstrated that the expression of SCCA, MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 increased gradually with the severity of cervical lesions. In addition, there was a positive association between the expression levels of MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 and the infection of HR-HPV in cervical lesions. Therefore, SCCA, MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 may be used to enhance the diagnostic accuracy for cervical lesions.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 3B is overexpressed and correlates with larger tumor size, advanced FIGO stage, and shorter overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to detect the eukaryotic initiation factor 3B (EIF3B) expression and explore its correlation with clinical features and prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients. METHODS: A total of 230 primary EOC patients underwent surgery treatment were retrospectively reviewed. Immunohistochemical (IHC) assay was used to determine EIF3B expression in tumor and adjacent tissue specimens of all patients. According to the total IHC score, the expression of EIF3B was classified as low expression and high expression, and the latter was further divided into 3 grades: high+, high++, and high+++ expressions. Overall survival (OS) was calculated. RESULTS: Eukaryotic initiation factor 3B expression was increased in tumor tissue compared with adjacent tissue. Tumor EIF3B high expression correlated with larger tumor size (>10 cm), lymphatic metastasis, and advanced International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage (FIGO) (III/IV). Besides, OS was decreased in patients with tumor EIF3B high expression compared with patients with tumor EIF3B low expression, and further analysis showed that the OS was shortest in patients with tumor EIF3B high+++ expression, followed by patients with tumor EIF3B high++ expression and patients with tumor EIF3B high + expression, and the longest in patients with tumor EIF3B low expression. Additionally, higher tumor EIF3B expression, peritoneal cytology (positive), ascites volume (>100 mL), differentiation (poor vs. well/moderate), tumor size (>10 cm), FIGO stage (III/IV vs. I/II), and cancer antigen 125 (>1000 U/mL) independently predicted shorter OS. CONCLUSION: Eukaryotic initiation factor 3B exhibits a clinical value for monitoring disease progression and predicting prognosis in EOC patients.

Synergistical Dual Strategies Based on in Situ-Converted Heterojunction and Reduction-Induced Surface Oxygen Vacancy for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance of TiO2.

Identifying effective means to improve the charge separation performance assisted by adequate surface reaction represents a significant challenge for developing a highly efficient TiO2 photoanode. Here we report a structural synergistic strategy between a close contact heterojunction and a surface oxygen vacancy to significantly boost the charge separation efficiency and charge injection efficiency of TiO2 nanowires (NWs) in PEC water splitting. To accomplish this task, a TiO2/SrTiO3 (TiO2/STO) heterojunction was first constructed by in situ conversion, resulting in close contact between interface, promoting separation of the photoinduced charge carriers, which increased charge separation efficiency by 107% compared to TiO2. After the amorphous layer was established on the surface of the SrTiO3 coating, the resulting TiO2/SrTiO3/r-SrTiO3 (TiO2/STO/r-STO) improved the light absorption property of the photoelectrodes and boosted the ability to adsorb the reactant hydroxide ions, resulting in charge injection efficiency improvement by 67.3% compared with pure TiO2. This complementary modification for enhancing charge separation and boosting the surface reaction demonstrates a significant capacity to improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of one photoanode, which could be instructive for other fields including photocatalysis and PEC carbon dioxide reduction.

Colorimetric evaluation of the hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of antioxidants using carbon-confined CoOx as a highly active peroxidase mimic.

The authors present a colorimetric method for the evaluation of the hydroxyl radical scavenging capability of antioxidants by exploiting carbon-confined mixed cobalt oxide nanoparticles (denoted as C-confined CoOx NPs) as a novel peroxidase mimic. The nanozyme can be prepared from the metal-organic framework ZIF-67 by calcination at a moderate temperature. It exhibits peroxidase-mimicking activity and catalyzes the oxidation of colorless 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to form a blue product in the presence of H2O2 via generation of hydroxyl radicals. However, in the presence of an antioxidant, the color reaction is suppressed due to scavenging of hydroxyl radicals by the antioxidant. Based on this principle, the hydroxy radical scavenging ability of glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys), tannic acid (TA) and tea polyphenols (TP) was assessed. It was found that these antioxidants can scavenge hydroxyl radicals in the following decreasing order: TA>Cys>GSH>TP. The assay was also used to quantify the antioxidative power of common fruit extracts. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation for evaluating the hydroxyl radical scavenging ability of different antioxidants using carbon-confined mixed cobalt oxide nanoparticles (denoted as C-confined CoOx NPs) as a highly active peroxidase mimic. With excellent activity, the C-confined CoOx NPs together with the visible peroxidase reaction can be employed as a powerful tool to rapidly screen appropriate antioxidants from natural samples and measure their activity for guiding their usage in related products.

Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of LaFeO3 photocathode with Au buffer layer.

Due to an appropriate band gap of 2.07 eV, perovskite LaFeO3 (LFO) is an alternative candidate for high-efficiency photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems. However, the photocurrent of the LFO photocathode is too low to be practical. Herein, we prepared a LFO film with high crystal quality by inserting an Au thin layer between LFO and FTO in the LFO/FTO photocathode. Accordingly, an effective improvement PEC performance could be obtained and the photocurrent density of the FTO/Au/LFO electrode was increased to -19.60 µA cm-2 at 0.6 V vs. RHE, which is 4.1 times higher than that of pristine FTO/LFO electrode. Based on the experimental and theoretical analysis, the enhancement of the photocurrent was attributed to the strong light harvesting, enhanced charge separation, and increased charge-collection efficiency of the Au/LFO structure. This work provides a promising strategy to develop high-efficiency PEC electrodes, and has potential to be applied in the visible-light water splitting area.