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Band gap opening and engineering make up one of the primary goals of developing novel materials for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. We report here a facile synthesis of graphene decorated with in-plane boron nitride domains via control of both the doping sequence of heteroatoms and the oxygen content of the graphene precursor, showing significant differences in the doping pattern compared with B and/or N singly doped or co-doped graphene. We uncover that the formation of BN domains in graphene is critical for engineering the band gap and delivering an improved activity for photocatalytic hydrogen generation in the absence of any photosensitizer. This work paves the way for the rational design and construction of graphene-based photocatalysts for efficient photocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies revealed the emerging role of excess uptake of lipids in the development of hypothyroidism. However, the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. We investigated the effect of high-fat diet (HFD) on thyroid function and the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in HFD-induced hypothyroidism. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with HFD or control diet for 18 wk. HFD rats showed an impaired thyroid function, with decreased thyroglobulin (Tg) level. We found the ER stress was triggered in HFD rat thyroid glands and palmitate-treated thyrocytes. Luminal swelling of ER in thyroid epithelial cells of HFD rats was also observed. The rate of Tg degradation increased in palmitate-treated thyrocytes. In addition, applying 4-phenyl butyric acid to alleviate ER stress in HFD rats improved the decrease of Tg and thyroid function. Withdrawal of the HFD improved thyroid function . In conclusion, we demonstrate that ER stress mediates the HFD-induced hypothyroidism, probably by impairing the production of Tg, and attenuation of ER stress improves thyroid function. Our study provides the understanding of how HFD induces hypothyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report the successful application of hybrid Au-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and nanochains (NCs) in the harvesting of visible light energy for selective hydrogenation reactions. For individual Au@Ag NPs with Au25 cores, the conversion and turnover frequency (TOF) are approximately 8 and 10 times higher than those of Au25 NPs, respectively. Notably, after the self-assembly of the Au@Ag NPs, the conversion and TOF of 1D NCs were approximately 2.5 and 2 times higher than those of isolated Au@Ag NPs, respectively, owing to the coupling of surface plasmon and the increase in the rate at which hot (energetic) electrons are generated with the formation of plasmonic hot spots between NPs. Furthermore, the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of 1D Au@Ag NCs was strengthened by nearly 2 orders of magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]