Relationship between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) rs1801133 SNP and serum homocysteine levels of Zhuang hypertensive patients in the central region of Guangxi.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and serum homocysteine (Hcy) levels or H-type hypertension in different populations is inconsistent. This study aimed to explore the association between the MTHFR rs1801133 SNP and serum Hcy levels of Zhuang hypertensive patients in the central region of Guangxi. METHODS: A total of 606 Zhuang inpatients with essential hypertension were recruited in our hospital from August 2016 to December 2018. The patients were divided into H-type hypertension (Hcy > 10 µmol/L, n = 528) and non-H-type hypertension (Hcy ≤ 10 µmol/L, n = 78) groups. At the same time, an age- and sex-matched group of 379 subjects with normal physical examination in our hospital were selected as the control group. Blood biochemical measurements and genotyping of the MTHFR rs1801133 SNP were performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of H-type hypertension was 87.13%. The levels of serum Hcy in patients with hypertension were higher than those in control group (14.20 ± 5.78 µmol/L vs. 11.97 ± 5.39 µmol/L, P < 0.001), especially in patients with H-type hypertension (15.08 ± 5.65 µmol/L, P < 0.001). The frequencies of TT genotype (22.73%) and T allele (46.21%) in patients with H-type hypertension were significantly higher than those in control group (11.35% and 30.47%, respectively) and non-H-type hypertension group (10.26% and 28.85%, respectively; P < 0.001 for all). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that serum Hcy levels were significantly correlated with creatinine, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, endogenous creatinine clearance rate, and the MTHFR rs1801133 genotypes in control group, while serum Hcy levels were significantly correlated with creatinine, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, endogenous creatinine clearance rate, glycosylated hemoglobin, and the MTHFR rs1801133 genotypes in H-type hypertension group (P < 0.05-0.001). Serum Hcy levels in the T allele carriers were higher than those in the T allele noncarriers in both H-type hypertension and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: There was closely related between the MTHFR rs1801133 SNP and serum Hcy levels in Zhuang patients with H-type hypertension in the central region of Guangxi. The MTHFR SNP may be an important reason for the increase of serum Hcy levels in Zhuang patients with H-type hypertension in this region.

Fabrication of Er3+/Yb3+ Co-Doped Bi5O7I Microsphere With Upconversion Luminescence and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Bisphenol A Degradation.

Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I uniform porous microsphere photocatalysts were synthesized by a two-step chemical method, which possesses excellent photocatalytic performance and upconversion luminescence property. The photocatalytic performance of the photocatalysts was studied by degradation of bisphenol A in aqueous solution under visible light and different monochromatic light irradiation. The photocatalytic performance of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I sample is better than that of the pristine Bi5O7I and Er3+-doped Bi5O7I samples. Moreover, Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I possesses photocatalytic ability with a red light monochromatic LED lamp (3 W, λ = 630 nm) and an infrared monochromatic LED lamp (100 W, λ = 940 nm) irradiation whose wavelength is longer than the absorption-limiting wavelength of pristine Bi5O7I sample. This phenomenon further verified that the upconversion property of Er3+ and Yb3+ causes the improved photocatalytic efficiency of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi5O7I sample.

Synergetic Effects of Pd0 Metal Nanoparticles and Pd2+ Ions on Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of ZnWO4 Nanorods for Nitric Oxide Removal.

Doping and novel metallic nanoparticles loading on the photocatalyst are two effective means to enhance its photocatalytic activity. In our study, Pd0/Pd2+-co-modified ZnWO4 nanorods were fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal process and room-temperature reduction method. The performance of the as-prepared samples was evaluated through the photocatalytic nitric oxide (NOx) removal under simulated solar and visible-light irradiation. Pd0/Pd2+-co-modified ZnWO4 nanorods present a significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for NOx removal compared with Pd0-loaded or Pd2+-doped ZnWO4 under simulated sunlight irradiation owing to a narrower band gap of Pd2+ doping compared with that of pure ZnWO4. The role of Pd0 nanoparticles is to act as an electron reservoir to restrain the recombination of e-/h+ pairs. According to the trapping measurements, the photoinduced holes and electrons play critical roles during the photocatalytic process. In addition, electron spin resonance (ESR) results further confirm that •O2- and •OH radicals are present and assist in the photocatalysis under simulated solar light irradiation. Stability test demonstrated that 1.5% Pd0/0.5% Pd2+-co-modified ZnWO4 nanorods as photocatalyst have high photocatalytic stability in NOx removal. This work proved that Pd0/Pd2+-co-modified ZnWO4 nanorods can be considered as an efficient photocatalyst for NOx removal.