A Green and Efficient Electrocatalytic Route for the Highly-Selective Oxidation of C-H Bonds in Aromatics over 1D Co3O4-Based Nanoarrays.

Electrocatalytic oxidation of C-H bonds in hydrocarbons represents an efficient and sustainable strategy for the synthesis of value-added chemicals. Herein, a highly selective and continuous-flow electrochemical oxidation process of toluene to various oxygenated products (benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, and benzyl acetate) is developed with the electrocatalytic membrane electrodes (ECMEs). The selectivity of target products can be manipulated via surface and interface engineering of Co3O4-based electrocatalysts. We achieved a high benzaldehyde selectivity of 90% at a toluene conversion of 47.6% using 1D-Co3O4 nanoneedles (NNs) loaded on a microfiltration (MF) titanium (Ti) membrane, i.e, Co3O4 NNs/Ti. In contrast, the main product shifted to benzyl alcohol with a selectivity of 90.1% at conversion of 32.1% after modifying MnO2 nanosheets (NSs) on Co3O4 NNs/Ti (Co3O4@MnO2/Ti) catalyst. Moreover, benzyl acetate product can be obtained with selectivity of 92% at a conversion of 58.5% at high current density (> 1.5mA cm-2), demonstrating that the pathway of toluene oxidation is readily maneuvered. DFT results reveal that modifying MnO2 on Co3O4 optimizes the electron structure of Co3O4@MnO2/Ti and modulates the adsorption behavior of intermediate species. This work demonstrates a sustainable, and continuous-flow process for precise control over production selectivity of value-added oxygenated derivatives in electrochemical oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons.

Comparison of prognosis between extracorporeal CPR and conventional CPR for patients in cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: Compared to the conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CCPR), potential benefits of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for patients with cardiac arrest (CA) are still controversial. We aimed to determine whether ECPR can improve the prognosis of CA patients compared with CCPR. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from database's inception to July 2023 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or cohort studies that compared ECPR with CCPR in adults (aged ≥ 16 years) with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). This meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model. Two researchers independently reviewed the relevance of the study, extracted data, and evaluated the quality of the included literature. The primary outcome was short-term (from hospital discharge to one month after cardiac arrest) and long-term (≥ 90 days after cardiac arrest) survival with favorable neurological status (defined as cerebral performance category scores 1 or 2). Secondary outcomes included survival at 1 months, 3-6 months, and 1 year after cardiac arrest. RESULTS: The meta-analysis included 3 RCTs and 14 cohort studies involving 167,728 patients. We found that ECPR can significantly improve good neurological prognosis (RR 1.82, 95%CI 1.42-2.34, I2 = 41%) and survival rate (RR 1.51, 95%CI 1.20-1.89, I2 = 62%). In addition, the results showed that ECPR had different effects on favorable neurological status in patients with OHCA (short-term: RR 1.50, 95%CI 0.98- 2.29, I2 = 55%; long-term: RR 1.95, 95% CI 1.06-3.59, I2 = 11%). However, ECPR had significantly better effects on neurological status than CCPR in patients with IHCA (short-term: RR 2.18, 95%CI 1.24- 3.81, I2 = 9%; long-term: RR 2.17, 95% CI 1.19-3.94, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis indicated that ECPR had significantly better effects on good neurological prognosis and survival rate than CCPR, especially in patients with IHCA. However, more high-quality studies are needed to explore the role of ECPR in patients with OHCA.

Effect of Boron Content in LiOH Solutions on the Corrosion Behavior of Zr-Sn-Nb Alloy.

In pressurized water reactors, LiOH may be concentrated in some areas, leading to the accelerated corrosion of fuel claddings. Injecting boric acid into primary coolants can mitigate the accelerated corrosion effect of LiOH on Zircaloys, but the effects of boron content on the corrosion behavior of the Zr-Sn-Nb alloy are still unknown. This work focused on the corrosion and hydrogen absorption behavior at 360 °C/18.6 MPa in 100 mg/kg LiOH solutions with 0 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 200 mg/kg boron contents for up to 510 days, aiming to study the effect of boron content on corrosion resistance in LiOH solutions. Corrosion kinetics, microstructures of oxide films, hydrogen absorption concentrations and hydride morphology were obtained after the test. The results show that injecting boron in LiOH solutions can significantly reduce the corrosion weight gain, hydrogen concentration, and hydrogen length of Zr-Sn-Nb alloys, that is, improving corrosion resistance effectively. During the oxidation of the Zr-Sn-Nb alloy, B3+ and Li+ incorporate in oxide films. The incorporation of Li+ may lead to the generation of oxygen vacancies, which can carry oxygen from the solutions to O/M interface, accelerating corrosion. The incorporation of B3+ in oxide films will slow down the oxidation of Zr-Sn-Nb alloys by reducing the oxygen vacancies caused by Li+ aggregation.

Hydrogen Flux Inhibition of Pd-Ru Membranes under Exposure to NH3.

The hydrogen flux inhibition of Pd-Ru membranes under exposure to 1-10% NH3 at 673-773 K was investigated. The Pd-Ru membranes were characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, and hydrogen permeation tests. The results show that when exposed to 1-10% NH3 at 723 K for 6 h, the hydrogen flux of Pd-Ru membranes sharply decreases by 15-33%, and the decline in hydrogen flux becomes more significant with increasing temperatures. After the removal of 1-10% NH3, 100% recovery of hydrogen flux is observed. XPS results show that nitrogenous species appear on the membrane surface after NH3 exposure, and the hydrogen flux inhibition may be related to the competitive adsorption of nitrogenous species. By comparing the hydrogen flux of Pd-Ru membranes exposed to 10% NH3 with 10% N2, it is indicated that the rapid decrease in hydrogen flux is due to the concentration polarization and competitive adsorption of nitrogenous species. The competitive adsorption effect is attenuated, while the concentration polarization effect becomes more pronounced with increasing temperature.

Hungatella hathewayi impairs the sensitivity of colorectal cancer cells to 5-FU through decreasing CDX2 expression.

Hungatella hathewayi (H. hathewayi), also known as Clostridium hathewayi, has been reported to be accumulated in the colorectal cancer (CRC) samples. In addition, evidence has demonstrated that inoculation with H. hathewayi promotes the proliferation of colonic epithelial cells in mice. Herein, we explored H. hathewayi role in regulating the 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance in CRC cells, and investigated the underlying mechanisms. H. hathewayi abundance in CRC tissues and the corresponding adjacent normal tissues was tested using qRT-PCR. Both parental and 5-FU resistance CRC cell lines were used to assess H. hathewayi role in regulating the 5-FU resistance of CRC cells using CCK-8, flow cytometry and animal experiments. H. hathewayi abundance was significantly increased in CRC tissues, and the high level of H. hathewayi was linked to lower overall survival rate. H. hathewayi treatment significantly weakened 5-FU effects on inhibiting cell growth and inducing cell apoptosis in CRC HCT116 and HT29 cells. In addition, H. hathewayi enhanced the 5-FU resistance of HCT116/5-FU and HT29/5-FU cells (the 5-FU resistance cell lines). In mechanism, H. hathewayi decreased the expression of CDX2, and increased the expression of nuclear accumulation of ß-catenin. Overexpression of CDX2 abolished H. hathewayi-mediated enhancement in cell growth and inhibition in cell apoptosis in HCT116/5-FU and HT29/5-FU cells, as well as inhibited the expression and nuclear accumulation of ß-catenin. In conclusion, H. hathewayi abundance was increased in CRC tissues, and the high level of H. hathewayi was linked to lower overall survival rate. In mechanisam, H. hathewayi treatment enhanced the 5-FU resistance of CRC cells through modulating CDX2/ß-catenin signaling.

Therapeutic and adverse effects of adrenaline on patients who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The efficacy and safety of epinephrine in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains controversial. The meta-analysis was used to comprehensively appraise the influence of epinephrine in OHCA patients. METHODS: We searched all randomized controlled and cohort studies published by PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from the inception to August 2022 on the prognostic impact of epinephrine on patients with OHCA. Survival to discharge was the primary outcome, while the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and favorable neurological outcome were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: The meta-analysis included 18 studies involving 863,952 patients. OHCA patients with adrenaline had an observably improved chance of ROSC (RR 2.81; 95% CI 2.21-3.57; P = 0.001) in randomized controlled studies, but the difference in survival to discharge (RR 1.27; 95% CI 0.58-2.78; P = 0.55) and favorable neurological outcomes (RR 1.21; 95% CI 0.90-1.62; P = 0.21) between the two groups was not statistically significant. In cohort studies, the rate of ROSC (RR 1.62; 95% CI 1.14-2.30; P = 0.007) increased significantly with the adrenaline group, while survival to discharge (RR 0.73; 95% CI 0.55-0.98; P = 0.03) and favorable cerebral function (RR 0.42; 95% CI 0.30-0.58; P = 0.001) were lower than the non-adrenaline group. CONCLUSION: We found that both the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies showed that adrenaline increased ROSC in OHCA patients. However, they were unable to agree on a long-term prognosis. The cohort studies showed that adrenaline had an adverse effect on the long-term prognosis of OHCA patients (discharge survival rate and good neurological prognosis), but adrenaline had no adverse effect in the RCTs. In addition to the differences in research methods, there are also some potential confounding factors in the included studies. Therefore, more high-quality studies are needed to fully confirm the effect of adrenaline on the long-term results of OHCA.

The impact of online education on carbon emissions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic - Taking Chinese universities as examples.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had various impacts on economic and social development, it may have partially reduced human energy use, thereby helping achieve the goals of reducing carbon emissions and promoting carbon neutrality. During the pandemic, online education was widely used to replace traditional education all over the world. There is a lack of empirical studies on whether and to what extent the change of education model can reduce carbon emissions. Taking Chinese universities as cases, this study, concentrating on two main elements - transportation and electricity consumption - constructs a model and calculates the impact of online education on carbon emissions. The results show that online education can significantly reduce energy consumption and lower carbon emissions. In the field of higher education alone, the carbon emissions reduction caused by online education in half a year is equivalent to the total carbon emissions reduction of college students caused by online education during the half-year is equivalent to the total carbon emissions in 1.296 h in China, 2.688 h in the United States, 5.544 h in India, 12 h in Japan and 3.864 h in European countries of OECD. Therefore, this study suggests that the impact of online education on carbon emissions should be further studied, online education should be promoted through legislation and other systemic measures, and the goals of carbon emissions and carbon neutrality should be explored further within the field of education.

Circular RNA PLCE1 promotes epithelial mesenchymal transformation, glycolysis in colorectal cancer and M2 polarization of tumor-associated macrophages.

Plentiful studies have clarified that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are crucial in colorectal cancer (CRC)'s occurrence and development, but its function has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological functions of circPLCE1 on epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and glycolysis in CRC, and tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) polarization. The results affirmed augment of circPLCE1 and γ-Actin Gene (ACTG1) but decline of miR-485-5p in CRC. Knockdown circPCLE1 refrained CRC proliferation, glucose consumption, lactic acid and pyruvate production, M2 macrophage markers (IL-10, MRC1), N-cadherin, Snail, reduced the proportion of CD206+ and CD168+ macrophages, but expedited M1 macrophage markers (TNF-α, IL-6) and E-cadherin, while descending miR-485-5p expedited EMT, glycolysis in CRC and TAM M2 polarization . Additionally, it was affirmed that the repression or motivation of depressive or elevated circPCLE1 on EMT, glycolysis in CRC and TAM M2 polarization were reversed via facilitated ACTG1 and miR-485-5p, separately. Mechanism studies have clarified that circPCLE1 as a competitive endogenous RNA adsorbed miR-485-5p to mediate ACTG1. It was assured that refrained circPCLE1 constrained CRC tumor growth, EMT and TAM M2 polarization. In brief, circPCLE1 expedites EMT, glycolysis in CRC and TAM M2 polarization via modulating the miR-485-5p/ACTG1 axis, and is supposed to be a latent molecular target for CRC therapy later.

Platelet-Derived Mitochondria Display Embryonic Stem Cell Markers and Improve Pancreatic Islet ß-cell Function in Humans.

Diabetes is a major global health issue and the number of individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) increases annually across multiple populations. Research to develop a cure must overcome multiple immune dysfunctions and the shortage of pancreatic islet ß cells, but these challenges have proven intractable despite intensive research effort more than the past decades. Stem Cell Educator (SCE) therapy-which uses only autologous blood immune cells that are externally exposed to cord blood stem cells adhering to the SCE device, has previously been proven safe and effective in Chinese and Spanish subjects for the improvement of T1D, T2D, and other autoimmune diseases. Here, 4-year follow-up studies demonstrated the long-term safety and clinical efficacy of SCE therapy for the treatment of T1D and T2D. Mechanistic studies found that the nature of platelets was modulated in diabetic subjects after receiving SCE therapy. Platelets and their released mitochondria display immune tolerance-associated markers that can modulate the proliferation and function of immune cells. Notably, platelets also expressed embryonic stem cell- and pancreatic islet ß-cell-associated markers that are encoded by mitochondrial DNA. Using freshly-isolated human pancreatic islets, ex vivo studies established that platelet-releasing mitochondria can migrate to pancreatic islets and be taken up by islet ß cells, leading to the proliferation and enhancement of islet ß-cell functions. These findings reveal new mechanisms underlying SCE therapy and open up new avenues to improve the treatment of diabetes in clinics. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1684-1697.

Sulfate ion (SO4(2-)) release from old and new cation exchange resins used in condensate polishing systems for power plants.

In this study, a dynamic cycle test, a static immersion method and a pyrolysis experiment were combined to examine the characteristics of SO4(2-) released from several new and old cation exchange resins used in condensate polishing systems for power plants. The results show that the quantity and velocity of SO4(2-) released from new and old resins tend to balance in a short time during the dynamic cycle experiment. SO4(2-) is released by 1500H (monosphere super gel type cation exchange resins) and 001 × 7 (gel type cation exchange resins) new and old cation exchange resins, the quantity of which increases according to immersion time. In the pyrolysis experiment, the quantity of SO4(2-) released from resins increases and the pH of the pyrolysis solution transforms from alkaline to acidic with an increase in temperature.