Association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and in-hospital mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease in the intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (NLR) and the risk of in-hospital death in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Data from the MIMIC-IV database, which includes a vast collection of more than 50,000 ICU admissions occurring between 2008 and 2019, was utilized in the study and eICU-CRD was conducted for external verification. The Boruta algorithm was employed for feature selection. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses and multivariate restricted cubic spline regression were employed to scrutinize the association between NLR and in-hospital mortality. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were conducted to estimate the predictive ability of NLR. RESULTS: After carefully applying criteria to include and exclude participants, a total of 2254 patients with CKD and CAD were included in the research. The findings showed a median NLR of 7.3 (4.4, 12.1). The outcomes of multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that NLR significantly elevated the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 2.122, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.542-2.921, P < 0.001) after accounting for all relevant factors. Further insights from subgroup analyses unveiled that age and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores displayed an interactive effect in the correlation between NLR and in-hospital deaths. The NLR combined with traditional cardiovascular risk factors showed relatively great predictive value for in-hospital mortality (AUC 0.750). CONCLUSION: The findings of this research indicate that the NLR can be used as an indicator for predicting the likelihood of death during a patient's stay in the intensive care unit, particularly for individuals with both CAD and CKD. The results indicate that NLR may serve as a valuable tool for assessing and managing risks in this group at high risk. Further investigation is required to authenticate these findings and investigate the mechanisms that underlie the correlation between NLR and mortality in individuals with CAD and CKD.

Rational Design of Non-Noble Metal Single-Atom Catalysts in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries through First Principles Calculations.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with a high theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh·kg-1 are hindered by challenges such as low S conductivity, the polysulfide shuttle effect, low S reduction conversion rate, and sluggish Li2S oxidation kinetics. Herein, single-atom non-noble metal catalysts (SACs) loaded on two-dimensional (2D) vanadium disulfide (VS2) as the potential host materials for the cathode in Li-S batteries were investigated systematically by using first-principles calculations. Based on the comparisons of structural stability, the ability to immobilize sulfur, electrochemical reactivity, and the kinetics of Li2S oxidation decomposition between these non-noble metal catalysts and noble metal candidates, Nb@VS2 and Ta@VS2 were identified as the potential candidates of SACs with the decomposition energy barriers for Li2S of 0.395 eV (Nb@VS2) and of 0.162 eV (Ta@VS2), respectively. This study also identified an exothermic reaction for Nb@VS2 and the Gibbs free energy of 0.218 eV for Ta@VS2. Furthermore, the adsorption and catalytic mechanisms of the VS2-based SACs in the reactions were elucidated, presenting a universal case demonstrating the use of unconventional graphene-based SACs in Li-S batteries. This study presents a universal surface regulation strategy for transition metal dichalcogenides to enhance their performance as host materials in Li-S batteries.

Improved structure stability and performance of a LiFeSO4F cathode material for lithium-ion batteries by magnesium substitution.

Tavorite LiFeSO4F with high Li-ion conductivity has been considered a promising alternative to LiFePO4. However, its poor cycle stability and low electronic conductivity limit the practical application of Tavorite LiFeSO4F. In the present study, we employ a solvothermal method to produce magnesium-substitution LiMgxFe1-xSO4F (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04) cathode materials in which the Mg substitutes the Fe(2) sites. The first-principles calculations demonstrate that Mg-substitution could reduce the bandgap of LiFeSO4F and increase its electronic conductivity to 2.5 × 10-11 S cm-1. Meanwhile, CI-NEB and BV calculations reveal that the diffusion energy barrier of lithium along the (100) direction after Mg substitution is lower than the pristine sample, and the electrochemical inactive Mg2+ could improve the structure stability. The results show that the Mg-substituted LiFeSO4F exhibits enhanced cycle stability and rate performance compared with the pristine LiFeSO4F, suggesting that the use of electrochemically inactive ion substitution may be critical for the development of high-performance LiFeSO4F cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Deciphering the contributing motifs of reconstructed cobalt (II) sulfides catalysts in Li-CO2 batteries.

Developing highly efficient catalysts is significant for Li-CO2 batteries. However, understanding the exact structure of catalysts during battery operation remains a challenge, which hampers knowledge-driven optimization. Here we use X-ray absorption spectroscopy to probe the reconstruction of CoSx (x = 8/9, 1.097, and 2) pre-catalysts and identify the local geometric ligand environment of cobalt during cycling in the Li-CO2 batteries. We find that different oxidized states after reconstruction are decisive to battery performance. Specifically, complete oxidation on CoS1.097 and Co9S8 leads to electrochemical performance deterioration, while oxidation on CoS2 terminates with Co-S4-O2 motifs, leading to improved activity. Density functional theory calculations show that partial oxidation contributes to charge redistributions on cobalt and thus facilitates the catalytic ability. Together, the spectroscopic and electrochemical results provide valuable insight into the structural evolution during cycling and the structure-activity relationship in the electrocatalyst study of Li-CO2 batteries.

Off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting in elderly patients at 30 days: a propensity score matching study.

BACKGROUND: Elderly patients are at increased risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality after conventional on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (ONCABG). This study was to determine whether such high-risk population would benefit from off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (OPCABG). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on patients aged 65 years or older who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting for the first time in Wuhan Union Hospital from January 2015 to January 2021. We used propensity score matching to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics between the ONCABG and OPCABG groups. Morbidity and mortality within 30 days after surgery were compared between the two groups. All operations were performed by experienced cardiac surgeons. RESULTS: A total of 511 patients (ONCABG 202, OPCABG 309) were included. After 1:1 matching, the baseline characteristics of the two groups were comparable (ONCABG 173, OPCABG 173). The OPCABG group had higher rate of incomplete revascularization (13.9% vs. 6.9%; P = .035) than the ONCABG group. However, OPCABG reduced the risk of postoperative renal insufficiency (15.0% vs. 30.1%; P = .001) and reoperation for bleeding (0.0% vs. 3.5%; P = .030). There were no significant differences in early postoperative mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and other outcomes between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: OPCABG is an alternative revascularization method for elderly patients. It reduces the risk of early postoperative renal insufficiency and reoperation for bleeding.

Loading Recognition for Lumbar Exoskeleton Based on Multi-Channel Surface Electromyography from Low Back Muscles.

Lumbar exoskeleton is an assistive robot, which can reduce the risk of injury and pain in low back muscles when lifting heavy objects. An important challenge it faces involves enhancing assistance with minimal muscle energy consumption. One of the viable solutions is to adjust the force or torque of assistance in response to changes in the load on the low back muscles. It requires accurate loading recognition, which has yet to yield satisfactory outcomes due to the limitations of available measurement tools and load classification methods. This study aimed to precisely identify muscle loading using a multi-channel surface electromyographic (sEMG) electrode array on the low back muscles, combined with a participant-specific load classification method. Ten healthy participants performed a stoop lifting task with objects of varying weights, while sEMG data was collected from the low back muscles using a 3x7 electrode array. Nineteen time segments of the lifting phase were identified, and time-domain sEMG features were extracted from each segment. Participant-specific classifiers were built using four classification algorithms to determine the object weight in each time segment, and the classification performance was evaluated using a 5-fold cross-validation method. The artificial neural network classifier achieved an impressive accuracy of up to 96%, consistently improving as the lifting phase progressed, peaking towards the end of the lifting movement. This study successfully achieves accurate recognition of load on low back muscles during the object lifting task. The obtained results hold significant potential in effectively reducing muscle energy consumption when wearing a lumbar exoskeleton.

Endothelium-targeted Ddx24 conditional knockout exacerbates ConA-induced hepatitis in mice due to vascular hyper-permeability.

BACKGROUND: Acute hepatitis is a progressive inflammatory disorder that can lead to liver failure. Endothelial permeability is the vital pathophysiological change involved in infiltrating inflammatory factors. DDX24 has been implicated in immune signaling. However, the precise role of DDX24 in immune-mediated hepatitis remains unclear. Here, we investigate the phenotype of endothelium-targeted Ddx24 conditional knockout mice with Concanavalin A (ConA)-induced hepatitis. METHODS: Mice with homozygous endothelium-targeted Ddx24 conditional knockout (Ddx24flox/flox; Cdh5-Cre+) were established using the CRISPR/Cas9 mediated Cre-loxP system. We investigated the biological functions of endothelial cells derived from transgenic mice and explored the effects of Ddx24 in mice with ConA-induced hepatitis in vivo. The mass spectrometry was performed to identify the differentially expressed proteins in liver tissues of transgenic mice. RESULT: We successfully established mice with endothelium-targeted Ddx24 conditional knockout. The results showed migration and tube formation potentials of murine aortic endothelial cells with DDX24 silencing were significantly promoted. No differences were observed between Ddx24flox/flox; Cdh5-Cre+ and control regarding body weight and length, pathological tissue change and embryogenesis. We demonstrated Ddx24flox/flox; Cdh5-Cre+ exhibited exacerbation of ConA-induced hepatitis by up-regulating TNF-α and IFN-γ. Furthermore, endothelium-targeted Ddx24 conditional knockout caused vascular hyper-permeability in ConA-injected mice by down-regulating vascular integrity-associated proteins. Mechanistically, we identified Ddx24 might regulate immune-mediated hepatitis by inflammation-related permeable barrier pathways. CONCLUSION: These findings prove that endothelium-targeted Ddx24 conditional knockout exacerbates ConA-induced hepatitis in mice because of vascular hyper-permeability. The findings indicate a crucial role of DDX24 in regulating immune-mediated hepatitis, suggesting DDX24 as a potential therapeutic target in the disorder.

Effect Analysis of Wearing an Lumbar Exoskeleton on Coordinated Activities of the Low Back Muscles Using sEMG Topographic Maps.

Lumbar exoskeleton has potential to assist in lumbar movements and thereby prevent impairment of back muscles. However, due to limitations of evaluation tools, the effect of lumbar exoskeletons on coordinated activities of back muscles is seldom investigated. This study used the surface electromyography (sEMG) topographic map based on multi-channel electrodes from low back muscles to analyze the effects. Thirteen subjects conducted two tasks, namely lifting and holding a 20kg-weight box. For each task, three different trials, not wearing exoskeleton (NoExo), wearing exoskeleton but power-off (OffExo), and wearing exoskeleton and power-on (OnExo), were randomly conducted. Root-mean-square (RMS) and median-frequency (MDF) topographic maps of the recorded sEMG were constructed. Three parameters, average pixel values, distribution of center of gravity (CoG), and entropy, were extracted from the maps to assess the muscle coordinated activities. In the lifting task, results showed the average pixel values of RMS maps for the NoExo trial were lower than those for the OffExo trial ( [Formula: see text]) but the same as those for the OnExo trial ( [Formula: see text]0.05). The distribution of CoG showed a significant difference between NoExo and OnExo trials ( [Formula: see text]). In the holding task, RMS and MDF maps' average pixel values showed significant differences between NoExo and OnExo trials ( [Formula: see text]). These findings suggest that active lumbar exoskeletons can reduce the load on low back muscles in the static holding task rather than in the dynamic lifting task. This proves sEMG topographic maps offer a new way to evaluate such effects, thereby helping improve the design of lumbar exoskeleton systems.

Theoretical study of highly efficient VS2-based single-atom catalysts for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have become a research hotspot due to their high energy density. However, they also have certain disadvantages and limitations. To enhance the performance of Li-S batteries, this study focuses on the utilization of transition metal (TM)-embedded vanadium disulfide (VS2) materials as cathode catalysts. Using density functional theory (DFT), comprehensive calculations and atomic-level screening of ten TM atoms were conducted to understand the underlying mechanisms and explore the potential of TM@VS2 catalysts for enhancing battery performance. The computational results indicate that five selected catalysts possess sufficient bonding strength towards high-order lithium polysulfide intermediates by the formation of a significant covalent bond between S atoms in Li2Sn and TM atoms, thereby effectively suppressing the shuttle effect. The Ni@VS2 catalyst can effectively decrease the decomposition energy barrier of Li2S in the charge reaction and can have an optimal Gibbs free energy at the rate-determining step among TM@VS2 catalysts for the discharge reaction. This study elucidates the mechanism of VS2-based transition-metal single-atom catalysts and provides an effective reference for the anchoring of TM atoms on other materials.

Comparison of endovenous microwave ablation versus radiofrequency ablation for lower limb varicose veins.

OBJECTIVE: Endovenous microwave ablation (EMA) is a recently developed thermal ablation technique used in the treatment of lower limb varicose veins. However, its efficacy and safety have been largely understudied. In the present study, we sought to explore the clinical results of EMA and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in treating lower limb varicose veins. METHODS: Patients who underwent EMA (n = 65) or RFA (n = 46) at our institute from September 2018 to September 2020 were included in this retrospective investigation. The clinical results and complications were evaluated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the procedure. The effects on disease severity and quality of life were evaluated using the venous clinical severity score and chronic venous insufficiency questionnaire (CIVIQ). RESULTS: The technical success rate was 100% for both experimental groups. Although the operative time between the two groups was comparable, the EMA technique was associated with lower direct costs (P < .001), although also with prolonged hospitalization (P < .001). We found that the use of EMA correlated with more pain at 48 hours postoperatively. Except for the visual analog scale scores, no statistically significant variations were observed in the occurrence of postoperative complications within the first 48 hours postoperatively between the EMA and RFA groups, including paresthesia, ecchymosis, induration, and phlebitis (P > .05). At 4 weeks postoperatively, significantly less pigmentation was observed in the RFA group than in the EMA group (13.04% vs 32.31%; P = .020). However, the pigmentation had resolved in all patients by 12 months postoperatively. The two groups had a reduction in the venous clinical severity scores and an increase in the CIVIQ scores after the procedure. However, the CIVIQ scores within the RFA group had increased more than had those within the EMA group (P < .05). No significant differences were found in recurrence between the two groups (EMA group, 1.54%; RFA group, 2.17%; P = .804). CONCLUSIONS: Both ablation techniques are safe and effective. RFA is associated with relatively higher treatment costs but shorter hospitalization and better quality of life improvement.

Off-pump vs. on-pump bypass surgery grafting in diabetic patients with three-vessel disease: a propensity score matching study.

Background: Controversy exists regarding the advantages and risks of off-pump vs. on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for patients with diabetes. We therefore compare the early clinical outcomes of off-pump vs. on-pump procedures for diabetic patients with three-vessel disease. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical data obtained from 548 diabetic patients with three-vessel coronary artery disease who underwent isolated CABG between January 2016 and June 2020. To adjust the differences of baseline characteristics between the off-pump CABG (OPCAB) and on-pump CABG (ONCAB) groups, propensity score matching (PSM) was used. Following 1:1 matching, we selected 187 pairs of patients for further comparison of outcomes within the first 30 days after surgery. Results: The preoperative characteristics of the patients between the two groups were clinically comparable after PSM. The OPCAB group exhibited a significantly higher incidence of incomplete revascularization (27.3% vs. 14.4%; P = 0.002) compared with the ONCAB group. No differences were seen in mortality within 30 days between the matched groups (1.1% vs. 3.7%; P = 0.174). Notably, the OPCAB group had a lower risk of respiratory failure or infection (2.1% vs. 7.0%; P = 0.025), less postoperative stroke (1.1% vs. 4.8%; P = 0.032), and reduced postoperative ventilator assistance time (35.8 ± 33.7 vs. 50.9 ± 64.8; P = 0.005). Conclusion: OPCAB in diabetic patients with three-vessel disease is a safe procedure with reduced early stroke and respiratory complications and similar mortality rate, myocardial infarction, and renal failure requiring dialysis to conventional on-pump revascularization.

Influence and risk factors of postoperative infection after surgery for ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Studies on postoperative infection (POI) after surgery for ischemic cardiomyopathy are still lacking. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of POI and its influence on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing ischemic cardiomyopathy surgery. Methods: The Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure (STICH) trial randomized patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy [coronary artery disease (CAD) with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35%] to surgical and medical therapy. In this study, a post hoc analysis of the STICH trial was performed to assess the risk factors and clinical outcomes of POI in those undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Patients were divided according to whether POI developed during hospitalization or within 30 days from operation. Results: Of the 2,136 patients randomized, 1,460 patients undergoing CABG per-protocol was included, with a POI rate of 10.2% (149/1,460). By multivariable analysis, POI was significantly related to patients' age, body mass index, depression, chronic renal insufficiency, Duke CAD Index, and mitral valve procedure. Compared to patients without POI, patients with POI had significantly longer durations of intubation, CCU/ICU and hospital stay, and higher rates of re-operation, in-hospital death and failed discharge within 30 days postoperatively. In addition, these patients had significantly higher risks of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, heart failure death, and all-cause hospitalization during long-term follow-up. However, the influence of POI on all-cause death was mainly found during the first year after operation, and the influence was not significant for patients surviving for more than 1 year. Conclusions: POI was prevalent after surgery for ischemic cardiomyopathy and was closely related to short-term and long-term clinical outcomes, and the effect of POI mainly occurred within the first postoperative year. This study first reported and clarified the relationship between POI and long-term prognosis and the predictors for POI after surgery for ischemic cardiomyopathy worldwide, which may have certain guiding significance for clinical practice. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier (NCT00023595).

A Systematic Solution for Moving-Target Detection and Tracking While Only Using a Monocular Camera.

This paper focuses on moving-target detection and tracking in a three-dimensional (3D) space, and proposes a visual target tracking system only using a two-dimensional (2D) camera. To quickly detect moving targets, an improved optical flow method with detailed modifications in the pyramid, warping, and cost volume network (PWC-Net) is applied. Meanwhile, a clustering algorithm is used to accurately extract the moving target from a noisy background. Then, the target position is estimated using a proposed geometrical pinhole imaging algorithm and cubature Kalman filter (CKF). Specifically, the camera's installation position and inner parameters are applied to calculate the azimuth, elevation angles, and depth of the target while only using 2D measurements. The proposed geometrical solution has a simple structure and fast computational speed. Different simulations and experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Comparison of AngioJet Thrombectomy System Versus Suction Catheter with the Adjunct of Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the value of the AngioJet thrombectomy system with adjunct of catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) in treating lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (LEDVT). METHODS: 48 patients who were clinically confirmed LEDVT and treated by percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT) combined with CDT, were included in this retrospective study (AJ-CDT, n = 33; Suction-CDT, n = 15). Baseline characteristics, clinical outcomes and surveillance data were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: The overall clot reduction rate of AJ-CDT group was significantly higher than that of Suction-CDT group (77.86% vs 64.47%, P = .027). The CDT therapeutic time (5.75 ± 3.04 vs 7.67 ± 2.82 days, P = .045) and urokinase dosage (3.63 ± 2.16 vs 5.76 ± 2.12 million IU, P = .003) were lower in AJ-CDT group, respectively. There was statistical significance in the transient hemoglobinuria between 2 groups (72.73% vs 6.67%, P < .001). At postoperative 48 hours, the serum creatinine (Scr) value was higher in AJ-CDT group compared to Suction-CDT group statistically (78.56 ± 32.16 vs 60.21 ± 15.72 µmol/l, P = .049). However, the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and uric acid (UA) concentration at postoperative 48 hours between these 2 groups were no statistical difference. There was no statistical significance in the Villalta score and post-thrombosis syndrome (PTS) incidence during postoperative follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: AngioJet thrombectomy system is more effective for the treatment of LEDVT by providing a higher clot reduction rate with shorter thrombolytic time and lower thrombolytic drug dosage. However, the device-related potential risk of renal function injury should be taken appropriate precautions.

Aortic Dissection Research in China: Analysis of Studies Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

OBJECTIVE: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has made great progress in promoting the development of aortic dissection research in recent years. This study aimed to examine the development and research status of aortic dissection research in China so as to provide references for future research. METHODS: The NSFC projects data from 2008 to 2019 were collected from the Internet-based Science Information System and other websites utilized as search engines. The publications and citations were retrieved by Google Scholar, and the impact factors were checked by the InCite Journal Citation Reports database. The investigator's degree and department were identified from the institutional faculty profiles. RESULTS: A total of 250 grant funds totaling 124.3 million Yuan and resulting in 747 publications were analyzed. The funds in economically developed and densely populated areas were more than those in underdeveloped and sparsely populated areas. There was no significant difference in the amount of funding per grant between different departments' investigators. However, the funding output ratios of the grants for cardiologists were higher than those for basic science investigators. The amount of funding for clinical researchers and basic scientific researchers in aortic dissection was also similar. Clinical researchers were better in terms of the funding output ratio. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the medical and scientific research level of aortic dissection in China has been greatly improved. However, there are still some problems that urgently need to be solved, such as the unreasonable regional allocation of medical and scientific research resources, and the slow transition from basic science to clinical practice.

Electrochemical C-N coupling of CO2 and nitrogenous small molecules for the electrosynthesis of organonitrogen compounds.

Electrochemical C-N coupling reactions based on abundant small molecules (such as CO2 and N2) have attracted increasing attention as a new "green synthetic strategy" for the synthesis of organonitrogen compounds, which have been widely used in organic synthesis, materials chemistry, and biochemistry. The traditional technology employed for the synthesis of organonitrogen compounds containing C-N bonds often requires the addition of metal reagents or oxidants under harsh conditions with high energy consumption and environmental concerns. By contrast, electrosynthesis avoids the use of other reducing agents or oxidants by utilizing "electrons", which are the cleanest "reagent" and can reduce the generation of by-products, consistent with the atomic economy and green chemistry. In this study, we present a comprehensive review on the electrosynthesis of high value-added organonitrogens from the abundant CO2 and nitrogenous small molecules (N2, NO, NO2-, NO3-, NH3, etc.) via the C-N coupling reaction. The associated fundamental concepts, theoretical models, emerging electrocatalysts, and value-added target products, together with the current challenges and future opportunities are discussed. This critical review will greatly increase the understanding of electrochemical C-N coupling reactions, and thus attract research interest in the fixation of carbon and nitrogen.

Accelerated Transfer and Spillover of Carbon Monoxide through Tandem Catalysis for Kinetics-boosted Ethylene Electrosynthesis.

Cu-based catalysts have been widely applied in electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2 ER) to produce multicarbon (C2+ ) feedstocks (e.g., C2 H4 ). However, the high energy barriers for CO2 activation on the Cu surface is a challenge for a high catalytic efficiency and product selectivity. Herein, we developed an in situ *CO generation and spillover strategy by engineering single Ni atoms on a pyridinic N-enriched carbon support with a sodalite (SOD) topology (Ni-SOD/NC) that acted as a donor to feed adjacent Cu nanoparticles (NPs) with *CO intermediate. As a result, a high C2 H4 selectivity of 62.5 % and an industrial-level current density of 160 mA cm-2 at a low potential of -0.72 V were achieved. Our studies revealed that the isolated NiN3 active sites with adjacent pyridinic N species facilitated the *CO desorption and the massive *CO intermediate released from Ni-SOD/NC then overflowed to Cu NPs surface to enrich the *CO coverage for improving the selectivity of CO2 ER to C2 H4 .

Engineering the interfacial orientation of MoS2/Co9S8 bidirectional catalysts with highly exposed active sites for reversible Li-CO2 batteries.

Sluggish CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and evolution reaction (CO2ER) kinetics at cathodes seriously hamper the applications of Li-CO2 batteries, which have attracted vast attention as one kind of promising carbon-neutral technology. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have shown great potential as the bidirectional catalysts for CO2 redox, but how to achieve a high exposure of dual active sites of TMDs with CO2RR/CO2ER activities remains a challenge. Herein, a bidirectional catalyst that vertically growing MoS2 on Co9S8 supported by carbon paper (V-MoS2/Co9S8@CP) has been designed with abundant edge as active sites for both CO2RR and CO2ER, improves the interfacial conductivity, and modulates the electron transportation pathway along the basal planes. As evidenced by the outstanding energy efficiency of 81.2% and ultra-small voltage gap of 0.68 V at 20 µA cm-2, Li-CO2 batteries with V-MoS2/Co9S8@CP show superior performance compared with horizontally growing MoS2 on Co9S8 (H-MoS2/Co9S8@CP), MoS2@CP, and Co9S8@CP. Density functional theory calculations help reveal the relationship between performance and structure and demonstrate the synergistic effect between MoS2 edge sites and Co9S8. This work provides an avenue to understand and realize rationally designed electronic contact of TMDs with specified crystal facets, but more importantly, provides a feasible guide for the design of high-performance cathodic catalyst materials in Li-CO2 batteries.

A risk model developed based on necroptosis to assess progression for ischemic cardiomyopathy and identify possible therapeutic drugs.

Object: Ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), with high morbidity and mortality, is the most common cause of heart failure. Cardiovascular remodeling secondary to chronic myocardial ischemia is the main cause of its progression. A recently identified type of programmed cell death called necroptosis is crucial in the development of various cardiovascular diseases. However, the function role of necroptosis in cardiac remodeling of ICM has not been elucidated. Our study aimed to screen for genes associated with necroptosis and construct a risk score to assess the progression and evaluate the prognosis of ICM patients, and further to search for potentially therapeutic drugs. Methods: The gene expression profiling was obtained from the GEO database. LASSO regression analysis was used to construct necroptosis-related gene signatures associated with ICM progression and prognosis. TF-gene and miRNA-gene networks were constructed to identify the regulatory targets of potential necroptosis-related signature genes. Pathway alterations in patients with high necroptosis-related score (NRS) were analyzed by GO, KEGG, GSEA analysis, and immune cell infiltration was estimated by ImmuCellAI analysis. CMap analysis was performed to screen potential small molecule compounds targeting patients with high NRS. Independent risk analyses were performed using nomograms. Results: Six necroptosis-related signature genes (STAT4, TNFSF10, CHMP5, CHMP18, JAK1, and CFLAR) were used to define the NRS, with areas under the ROC curves of 0.833, 0.765, and 0.75 for training test, test set, and validation set, respectively. Transcription factors FOXC1 and hsa-miR-124-3p miRNA may be regulators of signature genes. Patients with higher NRS have pathway enriched in fibrosis and metabolism and elevated nTreg cells. AZD-7762 may be an effective drug to improve the prognosis of patients with high NRS. A feature-based nomogram was constructed from which patients could derive clinical benefit. Conclusion: Our results reveal 6 necroptosis gene signatures that can evaluate the progression and prognosis of ICM with high clinical value, and identify potential targets that could help improve cardiovascular remodeling.

Disturbing effect of cepharanthine on valve interstitial cells calcification via regulating glycolytic metabolism pathways.

Osteogenic differentiation of valve interstitial cells (VICs) directly leads to aortic valve calcification, which is a common cardiovascular disease caused by inflammation and metabolic disorder. There is still no ideal drug for its treatment and prevention. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect and molecular mechanism of cepharanthine (CEP), a natural product, on inhibiting the osteogenic differentiation of VICs. First, CCK8 assay was used to evaluate cell viability of CEP on VICs. CEP concentration of 10 µM was the effective dose with slight cytotoxicity, which was used for further study. The alizarin red staining analysis showed that CEP significantly inhibited calcium deposition caused by osteogenic medium related calcification induction. In order to explore the anti-calcification molecular mechanism of CEP, transcriptome and metabolome were synchronously used to discover the possible molecular mechanism and target of CEP. The results showed that CEP inhibited valve calcification by regulating the glycolytic pathway. The molecular docking of CEP and selected key factors in glycolysis showed significant binding energies for GLUT1 (-11.3 kcal/mol), ENO1 (-10.6 kcal/mol), PKM (-9.8 kcal/mol), HK2 (-9.2 kcal/mol), PFKM (-9.0 kcal/mol), and PFKP (-8.9 kcal/mol). The correlation analysis of RUNX2 expression and cellular lactate content showed R2 of 0.7 (p < 0.001). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that CEP inhibited osteoblastic differentiation of VICs by interfering with glycolytic metabolisms via downregulation of the production of lactate and glycolysis-associated metabolites.