Bi2Te3 nanosheets promoted Pd for ethylene glycol electrooxidation both in the dark and under visible light irradiation.

Ethylene glycol electrooxidation catalyzed by Pd nanoparticles was found to be largely improved by Bi2Te3 nanosheets both in the dark and under visible light irradiation.

Enhanced formic acid electrolysis of Pd sites by improved OH adsorption assisted by MoP.

MoP nanofiber-coupled Pd nanoparticles were demonstrated as efficient catalysts for formic acid-assisted water splitting in hydrogen generation. The theoretical calculations indicated that the OH on the surface of MoP through d-p bonding promoted the oxidation of CO at the Pd sites, and improved the ability to resist CO poisoning. As a result, enhanced catalytic performance was indicated.

Glutaredoxin-1 modulates the NF-κB signaling pathway to activate inducible nitric oxide synthase in experimental necrotizing enterocolitis.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), regulated by nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), is crucial for intestinal inflammation and barrier injury in the progression of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The NF-κB pathway is inhibited by S-glutathionylation of inhibitory κB kinase ß (IKKß), which can be restored by glutaredoxin-1 (Grx1). Thus, we aim to explore the role of Grx1 in experimental NEC. Wild-type (WT) and Grx1-knockout (Grx1-/-) mice were treated with an NEC-inducing regimen. Primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) were subjected to LPS treatment. The production of iNOS, NO, and inflammation injuries were assessed. NF-κB and involved signaling pathways were also explored. The severity of NEC was attenuated in Grx1-/- mice. Grx1 ablation promoted IKKß glutathionylation, NF-κB inactivation, and decreased iNOS, NO, and O2·- production in NEC mice. Furthermore, Grx1 ablation restrained proinflammatory cytokines and cell apoptosis, ameliorated intestinal barrier damage, and promoted proliferation in NEC mice. Grx1 ablation protected NEC through iNOS and NO inhibition, which related to S-glutathionylation of IKKß to inhibit NF-κB signaling. Grx1-related signaling pathways provide a new therapeutic target for NEC.

Prenatal phthalate exposure and sex steroid hormones in newborns: Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Newborn anogenital distance (AGD) has been associated with prenatal exposure of phthalates. The association between prenatal phthalate exposure and sex steroid hormones in newborns is unclear. OBJECT: This study aimed to examine whether cord-blood sex hormone levels were associated with prenatal phthalate exposure and newborn anogenital distance (AGD). METHODS: In the Taiwan Maternal and Infant Cohort Study, we recruited 1,676 pregnant women in their third trimester in 2012-2015 in Taiwan. We determined 11 urinary phthalate metabolites in pregnant women, three maternal and five cord-blood steroid sex-hormone concentrations. Five hundred and sixty-five mother-infant pairs with sufficient data were included. Trained neonatologists measured 263 newborns' AGD. We examined the associations of prenatal phthalate metabolite levels with AGD and hormones using linear regression models and evaluated correlations between maternal and cord-blood sex hormone levels and AGD. RESULTS: Compared with the male newborns exposed to maternal phthalate metabolites at the first tertile, AGD was -3.75, -3.43, and -3.53 mm shorter among those exposed at the median tertile of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) metabolites, monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), and monomethyl phthalate (MMP), respectively. Compared with those who had exposed at the first tertile, cord-blood follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) decreased among male newborns exposed at higher levels of MMP, mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), MBzP and DEHP, and among female newborns exposed at higher levels of MMP, MBzP and mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate. However, we did not observe significant correlations of maternal or cord-blood sex steroid hormones with newborns' AGDs. CONCLUSIONS: Alterations in cord-blood sex steroid hormone levels were associated with prenatal phthalate exposures, particularly in male newborns. Women aspiring to be pregnant should be alerted of the need of reducing phthalate exposure.

Geographically weighted machine learning for modeling spatial heterogeneity in traffic crash frequency and determinants in US.

Spatial analyses of traffic crashes have drawn much interest due to the nature of the spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity in the crash data. This study makes the best of Geographically Weighted Random Forest (GW-RF) model to explore the local associations between crash frequency and various influencing factors in the US, including road network attributes, socio-economic characteristics, and land use factors collected from multiple data sources. Special emphasis is put on modeling the spatial heterogeneity in the effects of a factor on crash frequency in different geographical areas in a data-driven way. The GW-RF model outperforms global models (e.g. Random Forest) and conventional geographically weighted regression, demonstrating superior predictive accuracy and elucidating spatial variations. The GW-RF model reveals spatial distinctions in the effects of certain factors on crash frequency. For example, the importance of intersection density varies significantly across regions, with high significance in the southern and northeastern areas. Low-grade road density emerges as influential in specific cities. The findings highlight the significance of different factors in influencing crash frequency across zones. Road network factors, particularly intersection density, exhibit high importance universally, while socioeconomic variables demonstrate moderate effects. Interestingly, land use variables show relatively lower importance. The outcomes could help to allocate resources and implement tailored interventions to reduce the likelihood of crashes.

Dual-Ligand Red Perovskite Ink for Electrohydrodynamic Printing Color Conversion Arrays over 2540 dpi in Near-Eye Micro-LED Display.

The lack of stability of red perovskite nanocrystals (PeNCs) remains the main problem that restricts their patterning application. In this work, the dual-ligand passivation strategy was introduced to stabilize PeNCs and inhibit their halogen ion migration during high-voltage electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet printing. The as-printed red arrays exhibit the highest emisson intensity and least blue shift compared with samples with other passivation strategies under a high electric field during EHD inkjet printing. Combining with blue and green PeNC inks, single-color and tricolor color conversion layer arrays were successfully printed, with minimum pixel size of 5 µm and the highest spatial resolution of 2540 dpi. The color coordinate of CsPbBrI2 NCs arrays are located close to the red point, with a color gumat of 97.28% of Rec. 2020 standard. All of these show great potential in the application of color conversion layers in a near-eye micro-LED display.

An active Ni(OH)2/MnCO3 catalyst with efficient synergism for alkaline methanol oxidation.

A novel Ni(OH)2/MnCO3 hybrid catalyst was developed for high-performing alkaline methanol electro-oxidation, which could well overcome the shortages of inactive MnCO3 and low intrinsic Ni(OH)2 due to the good synergistic catalysis effect from the Jahn-Teller distortion effect.

Regioselective Hydro(deutero)silylation of 1,3-Enynes Enabled by Photoredox/Nickel Dual Catalysis.

In the presence of visible light irradiation, organophoto/nickel dual catalysts, and the mild base K2HPO4, 1,3-enynes react with silanecarboxylic acids to give the corresponding α-silylallenes with high selectivity. In this uniquely decarboxylative hydrosilylation of 1,3-enynes, a silyl radical process is involved and diverse electron-rich and -poor substrates proceed smoothly in moderate to excellent yields. This transformation is particularly synthetically worthwhile when using MeOD as the solvent, which furnishes new access to α-silyldeuteroallenes.

Long-term PM2.5 exposure is associated with asthma prevalence and exhaled nitric oxide levels in children.

BACKGROUND: Exhaled nitric oxide concentration (FENO) is a marker of airway inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the association of air pollution exposure with FENO levels and asthma prevalence with respiratory symptoms in school children. METHODS: We analyzed 4736 school children who reside in six townships near industrial areas in central Taiwan. We evaluated asthmatic symptoms, FENO, and conducted the environmental questionnaire. The personal exposure of PM2.5, NO, and SO2 was estimated using land-use regression models data on children's school and home addresses. RESULTS: Annual exposure to PM2.5 was associated with increased odds of physician-diagnosed asthma (OR = 1.595), exercise-induced wheezing (OR = 1.726), itchy eyes (OR = 1.417), and current nasal problems (OR = 1.334) (P < 0.05). FENO levels in the absence of infection were positively correlated with age, previous wheezing, allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema, near the road, and for children with high exposure to PM2.5 (P < 0.05). An increase of 1 µg/m3 PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with a 1.0% increase in FENO levels for children after adjusting for potential confounding variables, including exposures to NO and SO2. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term exposures to PM2.5 posed a significant risk of asthma prevalence and airway inflammation in a community-based population of children. IMPACT: Annual exposure to PM2.5 was associated with increased odds of physician-diagnosed asthma and nasal problems and itchy eyes. Long-term exposures to PM2.5 were significantly associated with FENO levels after adjusting for potential confounding variables. This is first study to assess the association between FENO levels and long-term air pollution exposures in children near coal-based power plants. An increase of 1 µg/m3 annual PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with a 1.0% increase in FENO levels. Long-term exposures to PM2.5 posed a significant risk of asthma prevalence and airway inflammation in a community-based population of children.

Col1a1 mediates the focal adhesion pathway affecting hearing in miR-29a mouse model by RNA-seq analysis.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a common neurodegenerative disease. Its molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we obtained differential mRNA expression in the cochlea of 2-month-old miR-29a+/+ mice and miR-29a-/- mice by RNA-seq. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was used to identify molecular functions associated with hearing in miR-29a-/- mice, including being actin binding (GO: 0003779) and immune processes. We focused on the intersection of differential genes, miR-29a target genes and the sensory perception of sound (GO:0007605) genes, with six mRNA at this intersection, and we selected Col1a1 as our target gene. We validated Col1a1 as the direct target of miR-29a by molecular and cellular experiments. Total 6 pathways involved in Col1a1 were identified by through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. We selected the focal adhesion pathway as our target pathway based. Their expression levels in miR-29a-/- mice were verified by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Compared with miR-29a+/+ mice, the expression levels of Col1a1, Itga4, Itga2, Itgb3, Itgb7, Pik3r3 and Ptk2 were different in miR-29a-/- mice. Immunofluorescence was used to locate genes in the cochlea. Col1a1, Itga4 and Itgb3 were differentially expressed in the basilar membranes and stria vascularis and spiral ganglion neurons compared to miR-29a+/+ mice. Pik3r3 and Ptk2 were differentially expressed in the basilar membranes and stria vascularis, but not at the s spiral ganglion neurons compared to miR-29a+/+ mice. Our results show that when miR-29a is knocked out, the Col1a1 mediates the focal adhesion pathway may affect the hearing of miR-29a-/- mice. These findings may provide a new direction for effective treatment of age-related hearing loss.

The factors of perceived disease knowledge and self-care behavior in type 2 diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study.

Chronic kidney diseases (CKD) is an important public health issue worldwide, and diabetes mellitus is the main cause of CKD. Having sufficient disease knowledge and good self-care behavior both help to prevent the progression of diabetes mellitus and CKD. This cross-sectional study enrolled 181 type 2 diabetic patients with CKD from July 2017 to October 2017. Perceived Kidney Knowledge survey and structured questionnaires of self-care behavior were used to measure perceived disease knowledge and CKD Self-Care (CKDSC) scales respectively with the determinants analyzed by linear regression. Meanwhile, socio-demographic information, kidney function and laboratory data were collected. Of 181 enrolled patients, the mean age was 66.8 ±â€…9.7 years, 59.1% were male and the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 33.1 ±â€…23.1 mL/min/1.73 m2. The mean scores of CKDSC and perceived disease knowledge were 63.2 and 22.4, respectively. High scores of disease knowledge were significantly correlated with low glycated hemoglobin (P = .03) and high scores of overall self-care behavior (P = .03) and aspects of self-care behavior, including diet (P = .003), exercise (P = .02), and home blood pressure monitoring (P = .04). The relationship between young age and high scores of disease knowledge was found (P = .001); however, old age was significantly associated with high scores of overall self-care behavior (P < .001) while additionally, married patients had high scores of regular medication behavior (P = .03). Our findings identified the significant factors correlated with disease knowledge and self-care behavior in type 2 diabetic patients with CKD. Healthcare givers should establish personalized health education plans to improve perceived disease knowledge and self-care behavior.

Development of 18F-Labeled hydrophilic trans-cyclooctene as a bioorthogonal tool for PET probe construction.

We report the development of a hydrophilic 18F-labeled a-TCO derivative [18F]3 (log P = 0.28) through a readily available precursor and a single-step radiofluorination reaction (RCY up to 52%). We demonstrated that [18F]3 can be used to construct not only multiple small molecule/peptide-based PET agents, but protein/diabody-based imaging probes in parallel.

Low-to-Moderate Arsenic Exposure and Urothelial Tract Cancers with a Long Latent Period of Follow-Up in an Arseniasis Area.

BACKGROUND: Arsenic exposure can cause adverse health effects. The effects of long-term low-to-moderate exposure and methylations remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the association between low-to-moderate arsenic exposure and urothelial tract cancers while considering the effects of methylation capacity. METHODS: In this study, 5,811 participants were recruited from an arseniasis area in Taiwan for inorganic arsenic metabolite analysis. This follow-up study was conducted between August 1995 and December 2017. We identified 85 urothelial tract cancers in these participants, including 49 bladder and 36 upper urothelial tract cancer cases. A Cox proportional hazards model was employed. RESULTS: The analyses revealed a significant association between concentrations of inorganic arsenic in water > 100 ug/L and bladder cancer occurrence, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 4.88 (95% CI 1.35-17.61). A monotonic trend was observed between concentrations of inorganic arsenic in water (from 0 to > 100 ug/L) and the incidence of urothelial tract cancer, including bladder cancer (p < 0.05) and upper urothelial tract cancers (p < 0.05). Participants with a lower primary methylation index or higher secondary methylation index had a prominent effect. CONCLUSIONS: Rigorous regulations and active interventions should be considered for populations with susceptible characteristics.

Enhanced Active Sites and Stability in Nano-MOFs for Electrochemical Energy Storage through Dual Regulation by Tannic Acid.

The limited active sites and poor acid-alkaline solution stability of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), significantly limit their wider application. In this study, the acid property of tannic acid (TA) was used as an etchant to etch the surface-active sites. Subsequently, the further chelation of the protonated TA with the exposed metal active site can effectively protect the metal ions. Meanwhile, the TA provided a large amount of phenolic hydroxyl groups, which can greatly improve the stability of imidazolate-coordinated MOFs. The electrochemical test results indicated that the MOFs composite materials synthesized using this scheme had high specific capacitance and stability. And the mechanism of its electrochemical reaction process was explored through in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and theoretical calculations. In addition, the same treatment was carried out through a series of carboxyl-coordinated MOFs, which further confirmed the principle of this scheme to obtain a higher active site and stability. This paper explains the mechanism of functionalization of nano-MOFs by polyphenolic compounds, providing new ideas for the research of nano-MOFs.

Shared decision-making for renal replacement treatment and illness perception in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Current healthcare trends emphasize the use of shared decision-making (SDM) for renal replacement treatment (RRT) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This is crucial to understand the relationship between SDM and illness perception of CKD patients. Few studies have focused on SDM and illness perception status of CKD patients and the impact of illness perception on RRT after SDM. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we used a questionnaire with purposive sampling from March 2019 to February 2020 at the nephrology outpatient department of a medical center in southern Taiwan. The nephrology medical team in this study used the SHARE five-step model of SDM to communicate with the patients about RRT and Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) was applied to evaluate illness perception of these patients at the beginning of SDM. According to the SDM decision time, the study participants were classified general and delayed SDM groups. The distribution between SDM groups was estimated using independent two sample t-test, chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. The correlation between illness perception and SDM decision time were illustrated and evaluated using Spearman's correlation test. A p-value less than 0.05 is statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 75 patients were enrolled in this study. The average time to make a dialysis decision after initiating SDM was 166.2 ± 178.1 days. 51 patients were classified as general group, and 24 patients were classified as delayed group. The median SDM decision time of delayed group were significantly longer than general group (56 vs. 361 days, P < 0.001). Our findings revealed that delayed group was significantly characterized with not created early surgical assess (delayed vs. general: 66.7% vs. 27.5%, p = 0.001) compared to general group. The average BIPQ score was 54.0 ± 8.1 in our study. We classified the patients into high and low illness perception group according to the median score of BIPQ. The total score of BIPQ in overall participants might increase by the SDM decision time (rho = 0.83, p = 0.830) and the linear regression line also showed consistent trends between BIPQ and SDM decision time in correspond cohorts. However, no statistically significant findings were found. CONCLUSIONS: The patients with advanced chronic kidney disease took an average of five and a half months to make a RRT decision after undergoing SDM. Although there is no statistical significance, the trend of illness perception seems correlated with decision-making time. The stronger the illness perception, the longer the decision-making time. Furthermore, shorter decision times may be associated with earlier establishment of surgical access. We need more research exploring the relationship between illness perception and SDM for RRT in CKD patients.

ZNF671 methylation test in cervical scrapings for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 and cervical cancer detection.

Effective triage of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV)+ women is warranted to avoid unnecessary referral and overtreatment. Molecular triage tests have recently begun to impact cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) or cervical cancer (CC), termed CIN3+, detection. We find that zinc finger protein 671 methylation (ZNF671m) test has superior performance for CIN3+ detection in all single molecular triage tests, including HPV16/18 genotyping, paired box gene 1 methylation (PAX1m), and ZNF671m, in the training set. Using ZNF671m test instead of Thinprep cytologic test (TCT) as a single triage strategy or as a combined triage strategy with HPV16/18 genotyping has achieved comparable sensitivity but higher specificity for CIN3+ detection among 391 hrHPV+ women in the validation set. Little attention has been paid to the women with hrHPV- status but detected CIN3+. We find that the CIN3+ risk after a negative result could be reduced further by triage using ZNF671m in hrHPV- patients.

Numerical Simulation Study on the Flow Field and Separation Efficiency by Built-In Twisted Tape in the Hydrocyclone.

Aiming at the separation of mud and sand in natural gas hydrate, for the designed built-in twisted tape hydrocyclone, the numerical simulation method was used to study the effects of different types of built-in twisted tape and operating conditions on the internal flow field of the hydrocyclone, separation efficiency, and influence of hydrate particle size distribution. The research results show that the built-in twisted tape has the same swirling direction as the hydrocyclone, which is beneficial to improving the swirling intensity, and the ability to carry and separate solid particles is obviously enhanced. The built-in twisted tape hydrocyclone with a length of 300 mm has better separation efficiency and internal flow field stability. By changing the conditions of the inlet velocity and the initial concentration of hydrate particles, the comparison shows that when the inlet velocity is 8 m/s, the volume of mud and sand is 25%, the initial concentration of hydrate particles is 15%, and the built-in tape is 300 mm long. The tape hydrocyclone has the best separation efficiency. Compared with the basic hydrocyclone, the built-in twisted tape hydrocyclone with a length of 300 mm increases the separation efficiency of mud and sand by 7.49%, while the pressure drop only increases by 2.67%, showing the superiority of the built-in twisted tape structure.

MiR-29a-deficiency causes thickening of the basilar membrane and age-related hearing loss by upregulating collagen IV and laminin.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the most common sensory degenerative disease and can significantly impact the quality of life in elderly people. A previous study using GeneChip miRNA microarray assays showed that the expression of miR-29a changes with age, however, its role in hearing loss is still unclear. In this study, we characterized the cochlear phenotype of miR-29a knockout (miR-29a-/-) mice and found that miR-29a-deficient mice had a rapid progressive elevation of the hearing threshold from 2 to 5 months of age compared with littermate controls as measured by the auditory brainstem response. Stereocilia degeneration, hair cell loss and abnormal stria vascularis (SV) were observed in miR-29a-/- mice at 4 months of age. Transcriptome sequencing results showed elevated extracellular matrix (ECM) gene expression in miR-29a-/- mice. Both Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the key differences were closely related to ECM. Further examination with a transmission electron microscope showed thickening of the basilar membrane in the cochlea of miR-29a-/- mice. Five Col4a genes (Col4a1-a5) and two laminin genes (Lamb2 and Lamc1) were validated as miR-29a direct targets by dual luciferase assays and miR-29a inhibition assays with a miR-29a inhibitor. Consistent with the target gene validation results, the expression of these genes was significantly increased in the cochlea of miR-29a-/- mice, as shown by RT-PCR and Western blot. These findings suggest that miR-29a plays an important role in maintaining cochlear structure and function by regulating the expression of collagen and laminin and that the disturbance of its expression could be a cause of progressive hearing loss.

Synthesis and Functions of Resistant Starch.

Resistant starch (RS) has become a popular topic of research in recent years. Most scholars believe that there are 5 types of RS. However, accumulating evidence indicates that in addition to starch-lipid complexes, which are the fifth type of RS, complexes containing starch and other substances can also be generated. The physicochemical properties and physiologic functions of these complexes are worth exploring. New physiologic functions of several original RSs are constantly being discovered. Research shows that RS can provide health improvements in many patients with chronic diseases, including diabetes and obesity, and even has potential benefits for kidney disease and colorectal cancer. Moreover, RS can alter the short-chain fatty acids and microorganisms in the gut, positively regulating the body's internal environment. Despite the increase in its market demand, RS production remains limited. Upscaling RS production is thus an urgent requirement. This paper provides detailed insights into the classification, synthesis, and efficacy of RS, serving as a starting point for the future development and applications of RS based on the current status quo.

Confined Synthesis of Amorphous Al2 O3 Framework Nanocomposites Based on the Oxygen-Potential Diagram as Sulfur Hosts for Catalytic Conversion.

Sulfur cathodes in Li-S batteries suffer significant volumetric expansion and lack of catalytic activity for polysulfide conversion. In this study, a confined self-reduction synthetic route is developed for preparing nanocomposites using diverse metal ions (Mn2+ , Co2+ , Ni2+ , and Zn2+ )-introduced Al-MIL-96 as precursors. The Ni2+ -introduced Al-MIL-96-derived nanocomposite contains a "hardness unit", amorphous aluminum oxide framework, to restrain the volumetric expansion, and a "softness unit", Ni nanocrystals, to improve the catalytic activity. The oxygen-potential diagram theoretically explains why Ni2+ is preferentially reduced. Postmortem microstructure characterization confirms the suppressive volume expansion. The in situ ultraviolet-visible measurements are performed to probe the catalytic activity of polysulfide conversion. This study provides a new perspective for designing nanocomposites with "hardness units" and "softness units" as sulfur or other catalyst hosts.