A Curcumin-Modified Coordination Polymers with ROS Scavenging and Macrophage Phenotype Regulating Properties for Efficient Ulcerative Colitis Treatment.

Overexpression of classically activated macrophages (M1) subtypes and assessed reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels are often observed in patients with ulcerative colitis. At present, the treatment system of these two problems has yet to be established. Here, the chemotherapy drug curcumin (CCM) is decorated with Prussian blue analogs in a straightforward and cost-saving manner. Modified CCM can be released in inflammatory tissue (acidic environment), eventually causing M1 macrophages to transform into M2 macrophages and inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors. Co(III) and Fe(II) have abundant valence variations, and the lower REDOX potential in CCM-CoFe PBA enables ROS clearance through multi-nanomase activity. In addition, CCM-CoFe PBA effectively alleviated the symptoms of UC mice induced by DSS and inhibited the progression of the disease. Therefore, the present material may be used as a new therapeutic agent for UC.

Engineering multilayer catalytic interfaces with N, S co-regulation for high performance water splitting.

The rational design of hierarchical nano-heterojunction electrocatalysts with efficient and durable water splitting performance is a hot research topic in the field of sustainable energy conversion. Herein, chemical vapor deposition methods are exploited to dope N and S elements in a core-shell structured Co3O4@NiMoO4 with a layered structure (N, S-Co3O4@NiMoO4/NF400). The close contact between Co3O4 nanowires and N, S co-doped NiMoO4 cubic arrays facilitates electron transfer. The electronic structure of Ni, Co and Mo atoms could be optimized to enhance their electrical conductivity by modulation of N and S atoms. At current densities of 10 and 200 mA cm-2, N, S-Co3O4@NiMoO4/NF400 has an overpotential of 200, 300 and 71 160 mV for the oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction, respectively. Its water splitting voltages are 1.45 V and 2 V at 10 and 200 mA cm-2. In addition, N, S-Co3O4@NiMoO4/NF400 can operate stably for 100 h at a current density of 50 mA cm-2. This work provides a new approach to designing bifunctional catalysts with hierarchical heterogeneous structures co-regulated by dual elements.

Genome-Wide Identification and Transcriptome-Based Expression Profile of Cuticular Protein Genes in Antheraea pernyi.

Antheraea pernyi is one of the most famous edible and silk-producing wild silkworms of Saturniidae. Structural cuticular proteins (CPs) are the primary component of insect cuticle. In this paper, the CPs in the genome of A. pernyi were identified and compared with those of the lepidopteran model species Bombyx mori, and expression patterns were analyzed based on the transcriptomic data from the larval epidermis/integument (epidermis in the following) and some non-epidermis tissues/organs of two silkworm species. A total of 217 CPs was identified in the A. pernyi genome, a comparable number to B. mori (236 CPs), with CPLCP and CPG families being the main contribution to the number difference between two silkworm species. We found more RR-2 genes expressed in the larval epidermis of fifth instar of A. pernyi than B. mori, but less RR-2 genes expressed in the prothoracic gland of A. pernyi than B. mori, which suggests that the hardness difference in the larval epidermis and prothoracic gland between the two species may be caused by the number of RR-2 genes expressed. We also revealed that, in B. mori, the number of CP genes expressed in the corpus allatum and prothoracic gland of fifth instar was higher than that in the larval epidermis. Our work provided an overall framework for functional research into the CP genes of Saturniidae.

GelFAP v2.0: an improved platform for Gene functional analysis in Gastrodia elata.

BACKGROUND: Gastrodia elata (tianma), a well-known medicinal orchid, is widely used to treat various kinds of diseases with its dried tuber. In recent years, new chromosome-level genomes of G.elata have been released in succession, which offer an enormous resource pool for understanding gene function. Previously we have constructed GelFAP for gene functional analysis of G.elata. As genomes are updated and transcriptome data is accumulated, collection data in GelFAP cannot meet the need of researchers. RESULTS: Based on new chromosome-level genome and transcriptome data, we constructed co-expression network of G. elata, and then we annotated genes by aligning with sequences from NR, TAIR, Uniprot and Swissprot database. GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encylopaedia of Genes and Genomes) annotations were predicted by InterProScan and GhostKOALA software. Gene families were further predicted by iTAK (Plant Transcription factor and Protein kinase Identifier and Classifier), HMMER (hidden Markov models), InParanoid. Finally, we developed an improved platform for gene functional analysis in G. elata (GelFAP v2.0) by integrating new genome, transcriptome data and processed functional annotation. Several tools were also introduced to platform including BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), GSEA (Gene Set Enrichment Analysis), Heatmap, JBrowse, Motif analysis and Sequence extraction. Based on this platform, we found that the flavonoid biosynthesis might be regulated by transcription factors (TFs) such as MYB, HB and NAC. We also took C4H and GAFP4 as examples to show the usage of our platform. CONCLUSION: An improved platform for gene functional analysis in G. elata (GelFAP v2.0, www.gzybioinformatics.cn/Gelv2 ) was constructed, which provides better genome data, more transcriptome resources and more analysis tools. The updated platform might be preferably benefit researchers to carry out gene functional research for their project.

Endovascular treatment achieves better outcomes than best medical management in patients with M2 occlusion and high stroke severity: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The lack of randomized evidence makes it difficult to establish reliable treatment recommendations for patients with M2 occlusion. This study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of endovascular treatment (EVT) with best medical management (BMM) in patients with M2 occlusion, and to investigate whether the optimal treatment varies according to stroke severity. METHODS: Comprehensive literature retrieval was conducted to identify studies that directly compared the outcomes of EVT and BMM. According to stroke severity, the study population were classified into those with moderate-severe stroke and those with mild stroke. National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores ≥ 6 was defined as moderate-severe stroke, and NIHSS scores 0-5 as mild stroke. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to measure the symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) within 72 h, and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores 0-2 and the mortality at 90 days. RESULTS: Totally, 20 studies were identified, including 4358 patients. In the moderate-severe stroke population, the EVT had 82% higher odds for mRS scores 0-2 (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.34-2.49) and a 43% lower odds for mortality (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.39-0.82) compared with the BMM. However, no difference was found in the sICH rate (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.44-1.77). In the mild stroke population, no differences were observed in the mRS scores 0-2 (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.59-1.10) or mortality (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.72-2.10) between EVT and BMM, whereas EVT was associated with higher sICH rate (OR 4.21, 95% CI 1.86-9.49). CONCLUSION: EVT may be only beneficial for patients with M2 occlusion and high stroke severity, but not for those with NIHSS scores 0-5.

Clinical relevance of plasma EBV DNA as a biomarker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in non-endemic areas: A multicenter study in southwestern China.

BACKGROUND: Numerous clinical studies have validated plasma EBV DNA as a reliable biomarker for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) screening, tumor load monitoring, and prognosis prediction in endemic regions. However, the clinical relevance of plasma EBV DNA as a biomarker for NPC in non-endemic areas is still unclear. METHOD: The pretreatment plasma EBV DNA of 1405 newly diagnosed NPC patients from three major regional hospitals in non-endemic areas were analyzed retrospectively. The medical records of 244 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were reviewed. EBV DNA was detected using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Based on the baseline of 400 and 0 copies/mL, the distribution characteristics of the pretreatment EBV DNA load in different clinical stages and geographic regions were analyzed. The diagnostic value of pretreatment plasma EBV DNA for NPC with two baselines was evaluated using the ROC curve. RESULTS: NPC patients had a significantly higher pretreatment EBV DNA level than healthy controls (P＜0.001). Pretreatment EBV DNA was closely associated with clinical and TNM stages in non-endemic areas, as it was in endemic areas. However, when 400 copies/mL set as the detection baseline, the sensitivity and specificity for NPC diagnosis were 40.8 % and 100 %, respectively (AUC = 0.704, cut off = 200.5 copies/mL). This sensitivity was lower than that reported in endemic regions (41.5 % - 97.1 %). Lower sensitivity may result in false negatives, missing diagnoses during NPC screening. Further investigation revealed that 39.7 % (558/1405) of NPC patients had detectable EBV DNA and S amplification curves. Optimizing the detection limit to 0 copies/mL, the sensitivity could be improved to 80.5 % (AUC = 0.901). CONCLUSIONS: In non-endemic areas, the clinical significance of plasma EBV DNA as a biomarker for NPC was restricted due to the low detection limit of 400 copies/mL. More efficient nucleic acid extraction and detection methods are needed to optimize the detection limit and increase the clinical application of plasma EBV DNA for NPC.

AoSAP8-P encoding A20 and/or AN1 type zinc finger protein in asparagus officinalis L. Improving stress tolerance in transgenic Nicotiana sylvestris.

The full length CDS of an A20 and AN1 type zinc finger gene (named AoSAP8-P), located nearby the male specific Y chromosome (MSY) region of Asparagus officinalis (garden asparagus) was amplified by RT-PCR from purple passion. This gene, predicted as the stress associated protein (SAPs) gene families, encodes 172 amino acids with multiple cis elements including light, stress response box, MYB and ERF binding sites on its promoter. To analyze its function, the gene expression of different organs in different asparagus gender were analyzed and the overexpressed transgenic Nicotiana sylvestris lines were generated. The results showed the gene was highly expressed in both flower and root of male garden asparagus; the germination rate of seeds of the T2 transgenic lines (T2-5-4 and T2-7-1) under the stress conditions of 125 mM NaCl and 150 mM mannitol were significantly higher than the wild type (WT) respectively. When the potted T2-5-4, T2-7-1 lines and WT were subjected to drought stress for 24 days and the leaf discs immerged into 20 % PEG6000 and 300 mM NaCl solution for 48 h respectively, the T2-5-4 and T2-7-1 with AoSAP8-P expression showed stronger drought, salt and osmotic stress tolerance. When compared, the effects of AoSAP8-P overexpression on productive development showed that the flowering time of transgenic lines, were âˆ¼ 9 day earlier with larger but fewer pollens than its WT counterparts. However, there were no significant differences in anthers, stigmas and pollen viability between the transgenic lines and WT. Our results suggested that, the AoSAP8-P gene plays a role in improving the stress resistance and shortening seeds generation time for perianal survival during the growth and development of garden asparagus.

Genetic polymorphisms of PRKAA1 (AMPKα1) and postherpetic pain susceptibility: Multicenter, randomized control, and haplotype analysis study.

Adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a pivotal regulatory protein in energy metabolism. In a pilot study, we found that AMPK-associated energy metabolism imbalance in neurons contributes to the occurrence and maintenance of neuropathic pain (NeP). This study aimed to explore the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of AMPK gene (Rs13361707, rs3792822, and rs10074991) in PRKAA1 and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in Chinese individuals. Hundred and thirty two patients with PHN and 118 control individuals were enrolled in this study. All blood samples were shuffled and blinded to the person performing the haplotype analysis. Rs13361707, rs3792822, and rs10074991 PRKAA1 genotypes were identified in all participants. Dominant and recessive models were used for evaluating the association between these nucleotide polymorphisms and PHN susceptibility. A haplotype analysis of PHN patients and healthy controls was performed. Clinical characteristics between the two groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05) except that the ages in control subjects were younger than the PHN patients (p < 0.05). Genotypes and allele frequencies are significantly different between the PHN patients and control subjects for the rs13361707 and rs10074991 polymorphisms (p < 0.05), but not for rs3792822 (p > 0.05). In addition, the CCG haplotype of rs13361707-rs3792822-rs10074991 correlated negatively with PHN occurrence, but TCA was positively correlated with PHN (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that PRKAA1 gene polymorphisms rs13361707 and rs10074991 were associated with a risk of PHN, and that the CCG haplotype of rs13361707-rs3792822-rs10074991 correlated negatively with PHN occurrence in haplotype analysis. TCA was positively associated with PHN in Chinese individuals.

The clinical value of serum xanthine oxidase levels in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Xanthine oxidase (XO), a form of xanthine oxidoreductase, is widely distributed in various human tissues. As a major source for the generation of superoxide radicals, XO is involved in the induction of oxidative stress and inflammation during ischemic and hypoxic tissue injury. Therefore, we designed this study to identify the role of serum XO levels in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) pathogenesis. In this single-center prospective study, 328 consecutive patients with AIS for the first time were included, and 107 age- and sex-matched healthy controls from a community-based stroke screening population were also included. The serum levels of XO and several conventional stroke risk factors were assessed. Multivariate analysis was applied to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of XO and clinical outcomes, and nomogram models were developed to predict the onset, progression and prognosis of AIS. Compared with the healthy control group, the serum level of XO was significantly higher in the AIS group (P < 0.05) and was an independent risk factor for AIS (OR 8.68, 95% CI 4.62-14.33, P < 0.05). Patients with progressive stroke or a poor prognosis had a much higher serum level of XO than patients with stable stroke or a good prognosis (all P < 0.05). In addition, the serum level of XO was an independent risk factor for stroke progression (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.12-3.50, P = 0.018) and a poor prognosis (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.47-3.31, P = 0.001). The nomogram models including XO to predict the onset, progression and prognosis of AIS had good prediction and differentiation abilities. The findings of this study show that the serum level of XO on admission was an independent risk factor for AIS and had certain clinical predictive value for stroke progression and prognosis in patients with AIS.

Polydopamine-based loaded temozolomide nanoparticles conjugated by peptide-1 for glioblastoma chemotherapy and photothermal therapy.

Purpose: Nanoparticles (NPs) of the polydopamine (PDA)-based,loaded with temozolomide (TMZ) and conjugated with Pep-1 (Peptide-1) as a feasible nano-drug delivery system were constructed and utilized for chemotherapy (CT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) of glioblastoma (GBM). Method: PDA NPs were synthesized from dopamine (DA) hydrochloride and reacted with TMZ to obtain the PDA-TMZ NPs and then the PDA NPs and the PDA-TMZ NPs were conjugated and modified by Pep-1 to obtain the Pep-1@PDA NPs and Pep-1@PDA-TMZ NPs via the Schiff base reaction (SBR), respectively.Their dimensions, charge, and shape were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The assembly of TMZ was verified by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). The biostability of both the nanocarrier and the synthetic NPs were validated using water and fetal bovine serum (FBS). The antitumor activities of the PDA-TMZ NPs and Pep-1@PDA-TMZ NPs were verified in U87 cells and tumor-bearing nude mice. Results: The prepared PDA NPs, PDA-TMZ NPs, Pep-1@PDA NPs, and Pep-1@PDA-TMZ NPs were regular and spherical, with dimension of approximately 122, 131, 136, and 140 nm, respectively. The synthetic nanoparticles possessed good dispersity, stability,solubility, and biocompatibility. No obvious toxic side effects were observed, and the loading rate of TMZ was approximately 50%.In vitro research indicated that the inhibition ratio of the Pep-1@PDA-TMZ NPs combined with 808 nm laser was approximately 94% for U87 cells and in vivo research was approximately 77.13%, which was higher than the ratio of the other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Pep-1 was conjugated and modified to PDA-TMZ NPs, which can serve as a new targeted drug nano-delivery system and can offer a CT and PTT integration therapy against GBM. Thus, Pep-1@PDA-TMZ NPs could be a feasible approach for efficient GBM therapy, and further provide some evidence and data for clinical transformation so that gradually conquer GBM.

Construction of a ceRNA network of regulated ferroptosis in doxorubicin-induced myocardial injury.

Background: Ferroptosis and long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play crucial roles in doxorubicin (DOX)-induced myocardial injury (DIMI). Nevertheless, there is no research to construct competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network between lncRNAs and ferroptosis-related key gene. So our research was designed to screen ferroptosis-related genes from differentially expressed mRNAs in DIMI and construct lncRNAs regulated ferroptosis-related key gene ceRNAs network. Methods: The male mice were injected with DOX intraperitoneally to induce myocardial injury, myocardial injury was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and ferroptosis-related protein-glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) protein expression was detected. The differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were detected by microarray, and the ferroptosis-related genes were screened to construct a protein-protein associations (PPA) network, the highest maximal clique centrality (MCC) score gene were identified by Cytoscape software, miRNAs bound to key genes and lncRNAs bound to miRNAs were predicted; then, the obtained lncRNAs were intersected with differentially expressed lncRNAs detected by microarray. Finally, the lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA ceRNA network of the highest MCC score gene regulating ferroptosis in DIMI was constructed. The expressions of the key components in ceRNA network were detected by qRT-PCR. Results: Compared with the control group, in the DOX group, myocardial enzymes and HE staining showed that myocardium structure was changed, and GPx4 protein expression was decreased. The differentially expressed 10,265 lncRNAs and 6,610 mRNAs in the DOX group were detected via microarray. Among them, 114 ferroptosis-related genes were obtained to construct PPA networks, and Becn1 was identified as the key gene. Finally, the ceRNA network including Becn1, three miRNAs and four lncRNAs was constructed by predicting data of the Starbase database. The relative expressions of these components in ceRNA net were up-regulated and consistent with microarray results. Conclusions: Based on the microarray detection results and bioinformatics analysis, we screened ferroptosis-related gene Becn1 and constructed the lncRNA/miRNA/mRNA ceRNA network of regulated ferroptosis in DIMI.

The Clinical Impact of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS) Test in Hospitalized Patients with Suspected Sepsis: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

Background: Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS) has the potential to detect pathogens rapidly. We aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of mNGS in hospitalized patients with suspected sepsis and evaluate its role in guiding antimicrobial therapy. Methods: A multicenter, prospective cohort study was performed. We enrolled patients with suspected sepsis, collected clinical characteristics and blood samples, and recorded the 30-day survival. Diagnostic efficacy of mNGS test and blood culture was compared, and the clinical impact of mNGS on antibiotic regimen modification was analyzed. Results: A total of 277 patients were enrolled, and 162 were diagnosed with sepsis. The mortality was 44.8% (121/270). The mNGS test exhibited shorter turn-out time (27.0 (26.0, 29.0) vs. 96.0 (72.0, 140.3) hours, p < 0.001) and higher sensitivity (90.5% vs. 36.0%, p < 0.001) compared with blood culture, especially for fungal infections. The mNGS test showed better performance for patients with mild symptoms, prior antibiotic use, and early stage of infection than blood culture, and was capable of guiding antibiotic regimen modification and improving prognosis. Higher reads of pathogens detected by mNGS were related to 30-day mortality (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Blood mNGS testing might be helpful for early etiological diagnosis of patients with suspected sepsis, guiding the antibiotic regimen modification and improving prognosis.

Neurod1 mediates the reprogramming of NG2 glial into neurons in vitro.

Neuronal defect and loss are the main pathological processes of many central nervous system diseases. Cellular reprogramming is a promising method to supplement lost neurons. However, study on cellular reprogramming is still limited and its mechanism remains unclear. Herein, the effect of Neurod1 expression on differentiation of NG2 glia into neurons was investigated. In this study, we successfully isolated NG2 glial cells from mice prior to identification with immunofluorescence. Afterwards, AAV-Neurod1 virus was used to construct Neurod1 overexpression vectors in NG2 glia. Later, we detected neuronal markers expression with immunofluorescence and real time quantitative polymerase-chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Besides, expression of MAPK-signaling-pathway-related proteins were detected by western blotting technique. Through immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR techniques, we observed that Neurod1 overexpression contributed to NG2 cells differentiated into neurons. Further experiments also showed that Neurod1 overexpression induced the activation of MAPK pathway, but PD98059 (a selective inhibitor of MAPK pathway) partly inhibited the neuronal differentiation induced by Neurod1 overexpression. These findings suggest that Neurod1 could promote NG2 glia cells differentiating into neurons, wherein the mechanism under the differentiation is related to activation of MAPK pathway.

Next-generation interaction proteomics for quantitative Jumbophage-bacteria interaction mapping.

Host-pathogen interactions (HPIs) are pivotal in regulating establishment, progression, and outcome of an infection. Affinity-purification mass spectrometry has become instrumental for the characterization of HPIs, however the targeted nature of exogenously expressing individual viral proteins has limited its utility to the analysis of relatively small pathogens. Here we present the use of co-fractionation mass spectrometry (SEC-MS) for the high-throughput analysis of HPIs from native viral infections of two jumbophages ( ϕ KZ and ϕ PA3) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa . This enabled the detection > 6000 unique host-pathogen and > 200 pathogen-pathogen interactions for each phage, encompassing > 50% of the phage proteome. Interactome-wide comparison across phages showed similar perturbed protein interactions suggesting fundamentally conserved mechanisms of phage predation within the KZ-like phage family. Prediction of novel ORFs revealed a ϕ PA3 complex showing strong structural and sequence similarity to ϕ KZ nvRNAp, suggesting ϕ PA3 also possesses two RNA polymerases acting at different stages of the infection cycle. We further expanded our understanding on the molecular organization of the virion packaged and injected proteome by identifying 23 novel virion components and 5 novel injected proteins, as well as providing the first evidence for interactions between KZ-like phage proteins and the host ribosome. To enable accessibility to this data, we developed PhageMAP, an online resource for network query, visualization, and interaction prediction ( https://phagemap.ucsf.edu/ ). We anticipate this study will lay the foundation for the application of co-fractionation mass spectrometry for the scalable profiling of hostpathogen interactomes and protein complex dynamics upon infection.

Establishment of a risk prediction model for prolonged mechanical ventilation after lung transplantation: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV), mostly defined as mechanical ventilation > 72 h after lung transplantation with or without tracheostomy, is associated with increased mortality. Nevertheless, the predictive factors of PMV after lung transplant remain unclear. The present study aimed to develop a novel scoring system to identify PMV after lung transplantation. METHODS: A total of 141 patients who underwent lung transplantation were investigated in this study. The patients were divided into PMV and non-prolonged ventilation (NPMV) groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with PMV. A risk nomogram was then established based on the multivariate analysis, and model performance was further examined regarding its calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. RESULTS: Eight factors were finally identified to be significantly associated with PMV by the multivariate analysis and therefore were included as risk factors in the nomogram as follows: the body mass index (BMI, P = 0.036); primary diagnosis as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, P = 0.038); pulmonary hypertension (PAH, P = 0.034); primary graft dysfunction grading (PGD, P = 0.011) at T0; cold ischemia time (CIT P = 0.012); and three ventilation parameters (peak inspiratory pressure [PIP, P < 0.001], dynamic compliance [Cdyn, P = 0.001], and P/F ratio [P = 0.015]) at T0. The nomogram exhibited superior discrimination ability with an area under the curve of 0.895. Furthermore, both calibration curve and decision-curve analysis indicated satisfactory performance. CONCLUSION: A novel nomogram to predict individual risk of receiving PMV for patients after lung transplantation was established, which may guide preventative measures for tackling this adverse event.

Pilot study on production of aviation fuel from catalytic conversion of corn stover.

Aviation fuel is high energy density and is usually produced from refinery in petroleum industry. Production of renewable aviation fuel from biomass eases pressure of carbon emission regulation. The operational processes in this study include steam stripping, hydrolysis of residues, condensation reaction unit, autoclave hydrogenation, fixed-bed hydrodeoxygenation, and oil-upgrading unit. The biomass-derived aviation fuel has a low oxygen content of 0.4 %, while its high heat value is 45.5 MJ/kg. The aviation fuel ranges from C8 âˆ¼ C15, and rich in isoparaffins (50.4 %) while the n-paraffins have a selectivity of 12.2 % and other components are cycloparaffins (19.0 %), aromatic hydrocarbons (11.3 %), and alkenes (5.6 %). The mass yield for aviation fuel from corn stover reaches 10.6 %. This pilot study achieved production of aviation fuel from raw biomass corn stover.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications of Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion in Lung Transplantation: Potential Benefits and Inherent Limitations.

Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), a technique in which isolated lungs are continually ventilated and perfused at normothermic temperature, is emerging as a promising platform to optimize donor lung quality and increase the lung graft pool. Over the past few decades, the EVLP technique has become recognized as a significant achievement and gained much attention in the field of lung transplantation. EVLP has been demonstrated to be an effective platform for various targeted therapies to optimize donor lung function before transplantation. Additionally, some physical parameters during EVLP and biological markers in the EVLP perfusate can be used to evaluate graft function before transplantation and predict posttransplant outcomes. However, despite its advantages, the clinical practice of EVLP continuously encounters multiple challenges associated with both intrinsic and extrinsic limitations. It is of utmost importance to address the advantages and disadvantages of EVLP for its broader clinical usage. Here, the pros and cons of EVLP are comprehensively discussed, with a focus on its benefits and potential approaches for overcoming the remaining limitations. Directions for future research to fully explore the clinical potential of EVLP in lung transplantation are also discussed.

Novel catalysts with multivalence copper for organic pollutants removal from wastewater with excellent selectivity and stability in Fenton-like process under neutral pH conditions.

Fenton-like reaction has been widely used for organics degradation. However, most Fenton-like reaction works at low pH range (pH < 4) with uncontrollable selectivity of hydroxyl radicals from H2 O2 activation, and unsatisfied catalyst stability, which is compromised advanced oxidation performance for water/wastewater treatments. In this work, to solve the drawbacks, novel copper catalysts were fabricated via hydrogen reduction/calcination of Cu2+ -supported Al/MCM-41 with precisely controllable copper valence state. Compared with catalysts with monovalence copper (i.e., CuO, Cu, and Cu2+ ), the obtained catalysts with multivalence copper present higher selectivity, excellent stability towards •OH radical pathways, and outperformance in pCBA degradation efficiency at neutral state. In addition, the fabricated catalysts also exhibited excellent phenol removal efficiency (75.5%) and H2 O2 utilization efficiency (47.9%) within neutral environment. Moreover, the degradation efficiency of phenol approaches to 100% within only 2 h. The catalyst also shows good stability for organic pollutants removal, which shows good potential in catalytic oxidation for phenolic compounds-containing wastewater in Fenton-like reaction, especially under neutral pH conditions. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Multivalence copper presents great potentials for organic compounds removal at neutral condition. Multivalence copper shows higher selectivity toward •OH and good stability at neutral condition. Multivalence copper exhibiters outperformed phenol removal efficiency at neutral condition.

The role of tolvaptan in pulmonary hypertension: A retrospective study.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a severe form of pulmonary vascular disease that can lead to right heart failure (RHF). Nearly 2-thirds of patients with PH die within 5 years. Studies suggest that a new diuretic medication, called tolvaptan (TLV), can be used to treat PH. However, there is still insufficient evidence to confirm its effectiveness. Therefore, we investigated the role of TLV in patients with PH. This retrospective study included 73 patients with PH hospitalized in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital between November 2019 and March 2022. All patients received 7.5 to 15.0 mg of TLV for 3 to 21 days starting at admission, in addition to targeted drugs and traditional diuretic therapy. The outcomes included the blood pressure, urine and water intake volumes, electrolyte concentrations, and renal, liver, and cardiac function indexes before and after TLV treatment. In addition, we assessed the clinical symptoms and adverse reactions during the treatment. After TLV treatment, the water intake and urine volumes significantly increased, and body weight, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean arterial pressure significantly decreased. Total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and serum uric acid (UA) levels after TLV treatment were significantly lower than before treatment. After TLV treatment, dyspnea significantly improved in 71 of 73 patients, and lower limb edema disappeared in 42 of 53 patients. No obvious adverse reactions occurred during the TLV treatment period. These results suggest that adding TLV to targeted drug and traditional diuretic therapies is effective for patients with PH. However, more data are required to support these findings.