Ligand and Strain Synergistic Effect in NiFeP0.32 LDH for Triggering Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Developing efficient water-splitting electrocatalysts to accelerate the slow oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics is urgently desired for hydrogen production. Herein, ultralow phosphorus (P)-doped NiFe LDH (NiFePx LDH) with mild compressive strain is synthesized as an efficient OER electrocatalyst. Remarkably, NiFePx LDH with the phosphorus mass ratio of 0.32 wt.% and compressive strain ratio of 2.53% (denoted as NiFeP0.32 LDH) exhibits extraordinary OER activity with an overpotential as low as 210 mV, which is superior to that of commercial IrO2 and other reported P-based OER electrocatalysts. Both experimental performance and density function theory (DFT) calculation demonstrate that the doping of P atoms can generate covalent Fe─P coordination bonds and lattice distortion, thus resulting in the consequent depletion of electrons around the Fe active center and the downward shift of the d-band center, which can lead to a weaker adsorption ability of *O intermediate to improve the catalytic performance of NiFeP0.32 LDH for OER. This work provides novel insights into the distinctive coordinated configuration of P in NiFePx LDH, which can result in superior catalytic performance for OER.

Macrophage-derived exosomal HMGB3 regulates silica-induced pulmonary inflammation by promoting M1 macrophage polarization and recruitment.

BACKGROUND: Chronic inflammation and fibrosis are characteristics of silicosis, and the inflammatory mediators involved in silicosis have not been fully elucidated. Recently, macrophage-derived exosomes have been reported to be inflammatory modulators, but their role in silicosis has not been explored. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of macrophage-derived exosomal high mobility group box 3 (HMGB3) in silica-induced pulmonary inflammation. METHODS: The induction of the inflammatory response and the recruitment of monocytes/macrophages were evaluated by immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and transwell assays. The expression of inflammatory cytokines was examined by RT-PCR and ELISA, and the signalling pathways involved were examined by western blot analysis. RESULTS: HMGB3 expression was increased in exosomes derived from silica-exposed macrophages. Exosomal HMGB3 significantly upregulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines, activated the STAT3/MAPK (ERK1/2 and p38)/NF-κB pathways in monocytes/macrophages, and promoted the migration of these cells by CCR2. CONCLUSIONS: Exosomal HMGB3 is a proinflammatory modulator of silica-induced inflammation that promotes the inflammatory response and recruitment of monocytes/macrophages by regulating the activation of the STAT3/MAPK/NF-κB/CCR2 pathways.

Understanding decision curve analysis in clinical prediction model research.

BACKGROUND: Many medical graduate students lack a thorough understanding of decision curve analysis (DCA), a valuable tool in clinical research for evaluating diagnostic models. METHODS: This article elucidates the concept and process of DCA through the lens of clinical research practices, exemplified by its application in diagnosing liver cancer using serum alpha-fetoprotein levels and radiomics indices. It covers the calculation of probability thresholds, computation of net benefits for each threshold, construction of decision curves, and comparison of decision curves from different models to identify the one offering the highest net benefit. RESULTS: The paper provides a detailed explanation of DCA, including the creation and comparison of decision curves, and discusses the relationship and differences between decision curves and receiver operating characteristic curves. It highlights the superiority of decision curves in supporting clinical decision-making processes. CONCLUSION: By clarifying the concept of DCA and highlighting its benefits in clinical decisionmaking, this article has improved researchers' comprehension of how DCA is applied and interpreted, thereby enhancing the quality of research in the medical field.

Waxberry-like hydrophilic Co-doped ZnFe2O4 as bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Water splitting is a promising technique for clean hydrogen production. To improve the sluggish hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), the development of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for both HER and OER is urgent to approach the scale-up applications of water splitting. Nowadays transition metal oxides (TMOs) are considered as the promising electrocatalysts due to their low cost, structural flexibility and stability, however, their electrocatalytic activities are eager to be improved. Here, we synthesized waxberry-like hydrophilic Co-doped ZnFe2O4 electrocatalysts as bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting. Due to the enhanced active sites by electronic structure tuning and modified super-hydrophilic characteristics, the spinel ZFO-Co0.5 electrocatalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activities for both OER and HER. It exhibits a remarkable low OER overpotential of 220 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a Tafel slope of 28.2 mV dec-1. Meanwhile, it achieves a low overpotential of 73 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with the Tafel slope of 87 mV dec-1 for HER. In addition, for water electrolysis device, the electrocatalytic performance of ZFO-Co0.5||ZFO-Co0.5 surpasses that of commercial IrO2||Pt/C. Our work reveals that the hydrophilic morphology regulation combined with metallic doping strategy is a facile and effective approach to synthesize spinel TMOs as excellent bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting.