Regulating the Morphology Modification To Prepare the High Charge Separation Efficiency and Visible Light Responsive Dual-Type-II B-CN/H-TiO2/BS-CN Heterojunction for Wastewater Treatment.

For the conventional type-II heterojunction photocatalyst, their photocatalytic activity is affected by the limited separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs, exquisitely designed heterojunction photocatalysts are highly prospective materials for inducing charge transfer efficiently. Typically, enhancing the separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs in photocatalysts has been a formidable challenge. Here, the hollow mesoporous TiO2 (H-TiO2), the bulk g-C3N4 (B-CN), and g-C3N4 with bamboo shape (BS-CN) are prepared by simple processes. Among them, it is surprising to find that the band structure of g-C3N4 can be regulated and controlled by adjusting its structure. The B-CN/H-TiO2/BS-CN (CNTOCN) dual-type-II heterojunction photocatalyst and B-CN/H-TiO2 (CNTO) type-II heterojunction photocatalyst are designed to improve the separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs. The superiority of CNTOCN dual-type-II heterojunction photocatalyst is demonstrated by the photocatalysis experiment, the band structure analysis, and the photoelectric characterization. The results show that CNTOCN (0.8428 h-1) has much higher photocatalytic activity than H-TiO2 (0.0812 h-1), B-CN (0.3569 h-1), and CNTO (0.5934 h-1). The improvement of photocatalytic activity is ascribed to the establishment of the dual-type-II heterojunction charge transfer mechanism. This work presents an approach to designing efficient dual-type-II heterojunction photocatalysts for the sustainable conversion of solar energy to photodegrade dyes in dyeing wastewater.

Optimal approach for ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks for abdominal surgeries: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks are commonly used for postoperative analgesia after various abdominal surgeries. There are several different approaches for performing TAP blocks, mainly including posterior, lateral and subcostal approaches. An increasing number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have compared the analgesic effects of different TAP block approaches, but the results have not been consistent. This protocol aims to determine the optimal approach of ultrasound-guided TAP blocks for postoperative analgesia after abdominal surgery. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Four databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library will be systematically searched to identify RCTs that compared the analgesic effects of different ultrasound-guided TAP block approaches. The search interval will range from the inception of the databases to 30 July 2024. The postoperative opioid consumption over 24 hours will be defined as the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes will include the analgesia duration, postoperative pain scores at rest and during movement at different timepoints and the incidence of adverse effects. All the statistical analyses will be conducted using RevMan V.5.4. The quality of evidence will be evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval will not be needed. The results will be submitted to one peer-reviewed journal when completed. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42024510141.

Hereditary hemochromatosis caused by a C282Y/H63D mutation in the HFE gene: A case report.

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a disease characterized by disordered iron metabolism. It often involves mutations of the HFE gene, which encodes the homeostatic iron regulator protein (HFE), as well as mutations affecting hepcidin antimicrobial peptide, hemojuvelin, or transferrin receptor 2. Historically, HH has been observed primarily in European and European diaspora populations, while classical HH is rare in Asian populations, including in China. In this article, we report a rare case of HH in a Chinese man that could be attributed to a heterozygous C282Y/H63D HFE mutation. Based on clinical examination, liver biopsy, and genetic testing results, the patient was diagnosed with HH. Clinical signs and symptoms and serum iron-related test results were recorded for a period of two years after the patient began treatment. Over this observation period, the patient was subjected to 25 phlebotomies (accounting for a total blood loss of 10.2 L). His serum ferritin levels decreased from 1550 µg/L to 454 µg/L, his serum iron concentration decreased from 40 µmol/L to 24.6 µmol/L, and his transferrin saturation decreased from 97.5% to 55.1%. Early diagnosis is essential for patients with HH to obtain good outcomes. Regular phlebotomy after diagnosis can improve HH symptoms and delay HH disease progression.

Synbiotic regulates gut microbiota in patients with lupus nephritis: an analysis using metagenomic and metabolome sequencing.

Objective: To investigate the changes in gut microbes and their metabolites after administering synbiotics to patients with new-onset lupus nephritis (LN) treated using a conventional method and provide a theoretical basis for finding new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of LN. Methods: In this study, a total of 12 participants were divided into the lupus and synbiotic groups. Stool samples and clinical data were collected before and after treatment for metagenomic, nontargeted metabolomic, and statistical analyses. Results: The relative abundances of the pathogenic bacteria Prevotella, Bacteroides, and Enterobacteriaceae_unclassified decreased after synbiotic treatment, whereas the abundances of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes increased. Further, the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio increased; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). α diversity analysis showed no significant differences in the intestinal microbial richness and diversity index of patients with LN between the groups before and after treatment (p > 0.05). ß analysis showed the differences in the community structure between the samples of the two groups before and after treatment. Linear discriminant analysis effect size and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed that Negativicutes (AUC = 0.9722) and Enterobacteriaceae_unclassified (AUC = 0.9722) were the best predictors of the lupus and synbiotic groups, respectively, before and after treatment. Joint analyses revealed that amino acid biosynthesis, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, purine metabolism, and other metabolic pathways may be involved in the changes in the metabolic function of patients with LN after the addition of synbiotics. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed the interaction between clinical features and flora, and flora exhibited a complex biological network regulatory relationship. Conclusion: Synbiotics regulate the metabolic functions of intestinal microorganisms in patients with LN and play a role in various biological functions. Synbiotic supplements may be safe and promising candidates for patients with LN.

Hyperammonemic encephalopathy induced by valproic acid.

Valproate (VPA) is broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug. Several adverse reactions including hepatotoxicity, fetal risk and pancreatitis are well known and labelled as boxed warnings in the USA. One adverse reaction that is less well known but clinically significant for its severe morbidity is hyperammonemic encephalopathy. We present a case of woman with hyperammonemic encephalopathy following the initiation of VPA therapy; she had a favourable outcome with discontinuation of the drug and prompt treatment with lactulose and L-carnitine.

Protein interaction networks in the vasculature prioritize genes and pathways underlying coronary artery disease.

Population-based association studies have identified many genetic risk loci for coronary artery disease (CAD), but it is often unclear how genes within these loci are linked to CAD. Here, we perform interaction proteomics for 11 CAD-risk genes to map their protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in human vascular cells and elucidate their roles in CAD. The resulting PPI networks contain interactions that are outside of known biology in the vasculature and are enriched for genes involved in immunity-related and arterial-wall-specific mechanisms. Several PPI networks derived from smooth muscle cells are significantly enriched for genetic variants associated with CAD and related vascular phenotypes. Furthermore, the networks identify 61 genes that are found in genetic loci associated with risk of CAD, prioritizing them as the causal candidates within these loci. These findings indicate that the PPI networks we have generated are a rich resource for guiding future research into the molecular pathogenesis of CAD.

Regulating the hydroxyl groups reactivity of cellulose by grafting the quaternary ammonium group to achieve a salt-free and low alkali dyeing process for reactive dye.

In this work, a salt-free and low alkali dyeing process was developed through cationic modification of cotton fabric with a series of quaternary ammonium salts (QAS). The dyeing performance indicated that the cationic cotton fabric treated with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyldimethyloctane ammonium chloride (CT-8) achieved better K/S value (8.87) and dye fixation (90.47 %) compared to the conventional dyeing process. Notably, the CT-8 treated fabric performed exceptionally under salt-free conditions and with a Na2CO3 concentration of 5 g/L. The rationale behind the adoption of a salt-free and low-alkali dyeing process was attributed to the positive charge of quaternary ammonium groups, which had an augmenting impact on the hydroxyl reaction activity of cotton fabrics. The condensed Fukui function, atomic charge, and HOMO orbital calculations showed that the QAS structure could regulate the hydroxyl reactivity of cationic cotton fabric. Our salt-free and low alkali dyeing process not only achieved the aim of reducing chemical consumption and emissions, but also contributed to better understand the effect of hydroxyl reactivity of cationic cotton on the fixation reaction with reactive dye, and provided a new direction to achieve the require of sustainable development and clean production for a variety of industrial crops and products.