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The exploitation of high-performance membranes selective for propylene is important for developing energy-efficient propylene/propane (C3H6/C3H8) separation technologies. Although metal–organic frameworks with a molecular sieving property have been considered promising filler materials in mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs), their use in practical applications has been challenging due to a lack of interface compatibility. Herein, we adopted a surface coordination strategy that involved rationally utilizing carboxyl-functionalized PIM-1 (cPIM) and ZIF-8 to prepare a mixed-matrix membrane for efficient propylene/propane separation. The interfacial coordination between the polymer and the MOF improves their compatibility and eliminates the need for additional modification of the MOF, thereby maximizing the inherent screening performance of the MOF filler. Additionally, the utilization of porous PIM-1 guaranteed the high permeability of the MMMs. The obtained MMMs exhibited excellent separation performance. The 30 wt% ZIF-8/cPIM-1 membrane performed the best, exhibiting a high C3H6 permeability of 1023 Barrer with a moderate C3H6/C3H8 selectivity of 13.97 under 2 bars of pressure. This work presents a method that can feasibly be used for the preparation of defect-free MOF-based MMMs for specific gas separations.

Solid-state batteries are rising rapidly in response to the fast-increasing energy demand. Metal-organic framework (MOF) loaded with ionic liquids has brought new opportunities for solid-state batteries owing to its good interfacial compatibility and high ionic conductivity. MOF-808 is selected to be filled with Li-contained ionic liquid for structure and ion dynamics investigation using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-ray diffraction. This study finds that the introduced ionic liquid would partially soften the matrix of MOF-808 and thus yield amorphous phase. By selective isotope replacement under cycling symmetric 6Li metal cell, Li+ ion is observed to mainly go cross ionic liquid in the open channel of matrix under potential polarization.

Abstract The efficient separation of butadiene (1,3‐C4H6) from C4 hydrocarbons is a critical step in petrochemical processes. However, the traditional cryogenic distillation suffers from energy‐intensity and serious environmental stress, necessitating the development of alternative technologies for efficient 1,3‐C4H6 separation. Herein, a 1,3‐C4H6 recognition mixed matrix membrane is reported via incorporating metal copper encapsulated a metal‐organic framework (CuBTC@Cu) into elastic poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The resulting CuBTC@Cu/PDMS membrane can efficient separate 1,3‐C4H6 from various C4 hydrocarbons including 1,3‐C4H6/n‐C4H8, 1,3‐C4H6/iso‐C4H8, 1,3‐C4H6/n‐C4H10 and 1,3‐C4H6/iso‐C4H10, yielding superior selectivity of 5.11, 6.35, 4.78, and 10.30, respectively, with 1,3‐C4H6 permeability of 53240 Barrer. Notably, the appropriate π‐complexation interaction between butadiene molecules and CuBTC@Cu as well as suitable transmission channel size enable the membrane only permeable to 1,3‐C4H6 and block the permeation of other C4 hydrocarbons, showing a unique 1,3‐C4H6 recognition behavior in membrane separation. The concept of affinity‐relying separation combining molecular sieving would open a new direction for designing gas membranes for efficient light hydrocarbon separations.

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the composition and function of the gut microbiome in long-term depression using an 8-week chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model.Materials and methodsAnimals were sacrificed after either 4 weeks or 8 weeks under CUMS to mimic long-term depression in humans. The gut microbiome was analyzed to identify potential depression-related gut microbes, and the fecal metabolome was analyzed to detect their functional metabolites. The correlations between altered gut microbes and metabolites in the long-term depression rats were explored. The crucial metabolic pathways related to long-term depression were uncovered through enrichment analysis based on these gut microbes and metabolites.ResultsThe microbial composition of long-term depression (8-week CUMS) showed decreased species richness indices and different profiles compared with the control group and the 4-week CUMS group, characterized by disturbance of Alistipes indistinctus, Bacteroides ovatus, and Alistipes senegalensis at the species level. Additionally, long-term depression was associated with disturbances in fecal metabolomics. D-pinitol was the only increased metabolite in the 8-week CUMS group among the top 10 differential metabolites, while the top 3 decreased metabolites in the long-term depression rats included indoxyl sulfate, trimethylaminen-oxide, and 3 alpha,7 alpha-dihydroxy-12-oxocholanoic acid. The disordered fecal metabolomics in the long-term depression rats mainly involved the biosynthesis of pantothenate, CoA, valine, leucine and isoleucine.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the gut microbiome may participate in the long-term development of depression, and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of gut metabolism.

Objective: To investigate whether the specific traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitution of individuals can be defined by certain biological indexes instead of answering the questionnaire, and to explore the possibility of discriminating nine TCM constitutions from each other simultaneously using biological indexes. Methods: Blood and urine samples from 152 individuals with nine TCM constitutions were collected, and the related biological indexes were analyzed combining ANOVA, multiple comparison, discriminant analysis, and support vector machine. Results: We found that 4 out of 24 blood routine indexes, 7 out of 10 urine routine indexes, and 12 out of 32 biochemical indexes showed differences among the constitutions. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, apolipoprotein A1, and alkaline phosphatase were potential candidates for screening out individuals with unbalanced constitutions. Combining uric acid, high-density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein A1, creatine kinase, total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, total bile acid, dehydrogenase, sodium, and calcium levels had the potential to directly distinguish the nine TCM constitutions from each other. Among these indexes, the highest ratio of discriminant analysis between two constitutions was 95.5%, while the lowest was 66.1%. Conclusion: Our results suggest that some biochemical and urine indexes are related to various TCM constitutions, and thus they have the potential to be used for TCM constitution classification.

Abstract Objective To investigate the clinical value of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) to screen for chromosomal abnormalities in twin pregnancies and to provide further data on NIPT manifestations in twin pregnancies. Materials and methods In a 4-year period, 1048 women with twin pregnancies were voluntarily prospectively tested by NIPT to screen for chromosomal abnormalities by sequencing cell-free foetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma. Positive NIPT results were confirmed by karyotyping, while negative results were followed up 42 days after delivery. Results Thirteen women had positive NIPT results as follows: 2 cases of trisomy 21 (T21), 1 of trisomy 18 (T18), 7 of sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA), 1 of microdeletion, and 2 of microduplication. Of these 13 cases, 2 were true-positive cases confirmed by foetal karyotype analysis, namely, 1 case of T21 and 1 of microdeletion. Furthermore, the remaining 11 high-risk pregnant women were confirmed as false positive by foetal karyotyping. Thus, the combined positive predictive value (PPV) of NIPT screening for chromosomal abnormalities in twin pregnancies was 15.4% (2/13). There were no false-negative case via our follow-up results. Conclusion Safe and rapid NIPT has a certain clinical application value; however, the PPV is limited, and the screening efficiency is not stable. Careful use should be made in the screening of chromosomal abnormalities in twin pregnancies.

Abstract Background SAPHO syndrome is a group of symptoms consisting of synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis and osteosis. There is no specific laboratory index assist in the diagnosis of SAPHO because of its highly heterogeneous clinical manifestations. Pathogenic microorganisms had been identified in biopsies of some SAPHO cases and particular gene mutations were also linked to the occurrence of SAPHO. It is largely unknown whether intestinal microbiome plays a role in pathogenesis of SAPHO. To explore the intestinal microbiome structure of SAPHO syndrome, fecal samples from 17 SAPHO patients and 14 healthy controls (HC) were collected for 16S rDNA sequencing. Results Our results showed that there was no significant difference in alpha indexes and beta diversity between SAPHO and HC samples, while there were 14 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and 42 OTUs in the MetagenomeSeq analysis showed significant difference in distribution between the SAPHO and HC groups, 3 of which in Firmicutes were also observed in the random forest analysis and used to construct a receiver operating characteristic curve to evaluate the diagnostic value, the area under the curve was 0.86. Conclusion Fecal-associated microbiome in the SAPHO samples was characterized by the alteration in abundance of some nondominant species, and the 3 selected OTUs in Firmicutes could serve as candidate biomarkers for SAPHO syndrome diagnosis.

CO2 separation performance of polymer membranes can be significantly enhanced by selecting porous fillers with high CO2 affinity. Ionic liquids incorporation has been recognized as an effective strategy for improving the separation ability of pristine porous fillers. However, the influence of the specific functional groups of ILs in IL@MOF composites on separation performance of MMMs still remains unclear. Herein, we designed three microenvironment-tuned IL@ZIF-8 composites in which the three ILs contain different functional groups (-CH3, –SO3H, and –NH2). Molecular simulation results showed that the NH2-IL@ZIF-8 has a commendable CO2 adsorption capacity and CO2/CH4 adsorptive selectivity, and the results were well confirmed by the following experimental data. More importantly, the prepared NH2-IL@ZIF-8 based MMMs also exhibit superior CO2 separation performance among the three IL@ZIF-8 based MMMs owning to its high CO2 affinity. Thus, this work can provide guidance for designing IL@MOF composites for MMMs fabrication towards gas separation, and the research mode combining molecular simulation prediction and experimental verification can afford valuable reference for material development in membrane separation field.

Abstract Objective To assess the positive predictive value (PPV) of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) as a screening test for sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA) with different maternal characteristics and prenatal decisions in positive cases. Materials and methods We retrospectively analysed 45,773 singleton pregnancies with different characteristics that were subjected to NIPT in the Maternity and Child Health Hospital of Anhui Province. The results were validated by karyotyping. Clinical data, diagnostic results, and data on pregnancy outcomes were collected. Results In total, 314 cases were SCA positive by NIPT; among those, 143 underwent invasive prenatal diagnostic testing, and 58 were true-positive. Overall, the PPVs for 45,X, 47,XXX, 47,XXY and 47,XYY were 12.5%, 51.72%, 66.67% and 83.33%, respectively. Interestingly, when only pregnant women of advanced maternal age (AMA) were screened, the PPVs for 45,X, 47,XXX, 47,XXY and 47,XYY were 23.81%, 53.33%, 78.95%, and 66.67%, respectively. The frequency of SCA was significantly higher in the AMA group than in the non-AMA group. The frequencies of 47,XXX and 47,XXY were significantly correlated with maternal age. Conclusion NIPT performed better in predicting sex chromosome trisomies than monosomy X, and patients with 45,X positive foetuses were more eager to terminate pregnancy than those with 47,XXX and 47,XYY. AMA may be a risk factor of having a foetus with SCA. Our findings may assist in genetic counselling of AMA pregnant women. Our pre- and posttest counselling are essential for familiarizing pregnant women with the benefits and limitations of NIPT, which may ease their anxiety and enable them to make informed choices for further diagnosis and pregnancy decisions.

Refinery gas contains abundant H2 and a small amount of C1–C4 hydrocarbons. Here, we propose a condensability sieving strategy to realize preferential permeation of hydrocarbons over H2 by developing halogen-induced porous coordination polymer (PCP) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) that display condensability sieving gas transport. The 4-Cl-PCP, 5-Cl-PCP and 5-Br-PCP are synthesized by using Zr4+ and X-isophthalic acid (where X ​= ​4-Cl or 5-Cl or 5-Br) exhibit increased gas adsorption capacity with the increase in carbon number of the feed gas, but with almost no H2 adsorption. MMMs containing the PCPs with different charge distributions enhance condensability sieving selectivity and inhibit diffusion selectivity. The permeances of the MMMs originated from condensability sieving are consistent with the polarizability-dependent adsorption of the PCP. The selectivity of the obtained MMMs for n-C4H10/H2, C3H8/H2, C2H6/H2, and CH4/H2 achieve ∼40, ∼15, ∼5, and ∼2, respectively, exhibiting promising applications in refinery gas purification owing to their lower energy consumption compared with H2-preferential permeation membranes.

Synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis, and osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome is known as a rare disease characterized by inflammatory lesions on bones and skin. Polymorphism of clinical manifestation and lack of molecular biomarkers have both limited its diagnosis. Our study performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and integrative bioinformatics analysis of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) profile in patients with SAPHO syndrome and healthy controls. A total of 4,419 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and 2,713 lncRNAs were identified (p < 0.05, fold change > 2) and a coexpression network was constructed to further investigate their regulatory interactions. The DE lncRNAs were predicted to interact with mRNAs in both cis and trans manners. Functional prediction found that the lncRNA-targeted genes may function in SAPHO syndrome by participating in biological process such as adipocytokine signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, as well as production and function of miRNAs. The expression levels of three pairs of coexpressed lncRNA-mRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR, and their relative expression levels were consistent with the RNA-seq data. The deregulated RNAs GAS7 and lnc-CLLU1.1-1:2 may serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers, and the combined receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the two showed more reliable diagnostic ability with an AUC value of 0.871 in distinguishing SAPHO patients from healthy controls. In conclusion, this study provides a first insight into long noncoding RNA transcriptome profile changes associated with SAPHO syndrome and inspiration for further investigation on clinical biomarkers and molecular regulators of this inadequately understood clinical entity.

Abstract Background SAPHO syndrome is a rare disease characterized by inflammatory lesions on skin and bones. Diversified manifestation and inadequate understanding of etiology has limited its diagnosis and treatment. The co-occurrence of other immune-mediated diseases strongly suggests an involvement of autoimmunity in SAPHO syndrome. However, the role of the largest population of circulating immune cells, neutrophils, is still not well explored. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing to profile the mRNA expression of neutrophils purified from peripheral blood of SAPHO patients to identify key genes associated with SAPHO syndrome, trying to find new functional molecules or biomarkers for this rare disease. Results A total of 442 differentially expressed genes were identified (p 2), in which 294 genes were upregulated and 148 genes were downregulated. Five differentially expressed genes of interest were verified by quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), among which S100A12 was upregulated and positively related to high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), while the downregulated gene MYADM was positively related to osteocalcin. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that differentially expressed genes were enriched in “systemic lupus erythematosus” and “ECM-receptor interaction”. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment showed that differentially expressed genes may participate in biological processes such as “cell migration” and “cell adhesion”. Conclusions In conclusion, this study provides a first insight into transcriptome characteristics of SAPHO syndrome, indicating an over-active neutrophil recruitment in patients and possibly suggesting molecular candidates for further study on diagnosis and pathology of this disease.

Objective: Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) plays an important role in the development of acne, an inflammatory skin disease with a high-incidence. In this study, we used high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to reveal the anti-inflammatory mechanism of baicalin on P. acnes-induced acne in rabbits. Methods: The Kligman method was used to induce acne in the ears of New Zealand rabbits. The effect of baicalin on the acne model was evaluated by the number of acne lesions and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of acne tissues. Enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay was used to measure the protein expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFA), interleukin-1 β (IL1B), IL6, and IL8 in the serum of rabbits. RNA-seq was performed to investigate the mechanism of anti-inflammatory activities of baicalin on acne. Immunohistochemical analysis and Western blot were used to validate the expression levels of related proteins in acne tissues. Results: Baicalin treatment significantly reduced the number of acne lesions and lesions of the ear as well as levels of serum inflammatory cytokines. RNA-seq data showed that baicalin treatment globally suppressed inflammation, especially the TNF signaling pathway and Staphylococcus aureus infection pathway, in the rabbit acne model. Conclusion: Baicalin effectively ameliorates P. acnes-induced acne in rabbits by suppressing the inflammatory response in rabbits. Keywords: Acne, Baicalin, P. acnes, TNF signaling pathway, Complement pathway

The relevance of the research of the cooperation between Russia and China in the innovative sphere is due to the necessity to raise competitiveness of both countries, provision their sustainable and dynamic development. The intensification of cooperation in the sphere of innovation is a positive trend in the modern development of Russian-Chinese relations. The article presents the results of researches aimed at analyzing the prospects of economic cooperation between Russia and China in the sphere of innovative infrastructure creation (by the example of technological parks). The research identifies the strategic priorities of science, technology and education in China, formulates the factors of intensification of economic cooperation between Russia and China in creation of technological parks as the most important elements of innovative infrastructure. Moreover the example of the positive experience of realization of the hi-tech park project “The Silk Road” was considered in the article and the results of its activity for cooperation perceptivities in the innovative sphere were evaluated. Eventually the article identified the following positive factors of development of economic cooperation in technological parks creation: the construction Belt and Road, which allows to activate the process of creating infrastructure, energy, communications, production, finance and humanitarian exchanges; positive experience of China in the creation of the free economic zones and technological parks; the successful use of fiscal methods to stimulate innovative activities.

MOF/polymer interface in mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) has been considered as a crucial issue for achieving highly efficient gas separation performance. In this research, aluminum fumarate framework (A520) based mixed matrix hydrogel self-supported membranes (A520-MMHMs) were prepared by a facile UV photopolymerization. The hydrophilic A520 incorporated into hydrogel polymer effectively avoided the formation of interfacial defects and improved the compatibility between MOF and hydrogel matrix. As a result, the A520-MMHM possessed enhanced CO2 permeability (∼432.87 Barrer) and CO2/CH4 selectivity (∼51.05) in comparison with pure hydrogel membrane. This performance data is very close to the updated McKeown 2019 upper bound, far exceeding the 2008 Robeson upper bound. Therefore, the design of hydrogel membrane incorporated with water-stable MOF may open up a new way for optimizing self-supported hydrogel membrane performance in gas separation.

Abstract Noncoding RNAs regulate the initiation and progression of osteosarcoma (OS). The role of long noncoding RNA metastasis‐associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) playing in OS and whether the function it working out was achieved through HDAC4 pathway remain uncovered. In this study, we illustrated that MALAT1 was upregulated and was correlated with poor prognosis in OS patients. Meanwhile, we demonstrated that a depression of MALAT1 suppressed proliferation and promoted apoptosis in OS cell line HOS and 143B. Further, we verified that MALAT1 exerting its function via upregulating of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4). Through an online prediction, a series of luciferase assays and RNA pull‐down assays, we demonstrated that both MALAT1 and HDAC4 were the targets of microRNA‐140‐5p (miR‐140‐5p) via sharing a similar microRNA responding elements. Even further, we revealed that MALAT1 served as a ceRNA of HDAC4 via decoying of miR‐140‐5p. Finally, we proved that MALAT1 promoted OS tumor growth in an in vivo animal study. In summary, the outcomes of this study demonstrated the complex ceRNA network among MALAT, miR‐140‐5p, and HDAC4‐mediated proliferation and apoptosis in OS. This study might provide a new axial in molecular treatment of OS.

The article discusses the resource potential in the context of national security. The authors describe ‘traps’ of a resource economy. There are assessed the role and importance of natural resource taxation in Russia and China. The dynamics of tax income from mineral resources is given. There are substantiated the main directions of improving taxes and payments for mineral in Russia and China.

Zeolitic-imidazole frameworks (ZIFs), as novel porous materials, are attracting much attention in several fields due to their special advantages such as large specific surface area, versatile porosity and well-connected networks. Here, we develop a porous ZIF-derived catalytic thin film, which was coated on the conducting glass as a counter electrode (CE) to substitute costly platinum for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). A ZIF layer is first prepared by coating ZIF-67 powders on the conducting glass, followed by the careful calcination treatments in sulfur vapour (sulfuration) or nitrogen gas (carbonization). The structure and morphologies of the derived porous film are characterized by the measurements of XRD, SEM and BET, and the electrochemical properties in the polysulfide solution are evaluated by the measurements of Tafel curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies. The derived porous film is used as a CE to fabricate QDSSC with CdSe quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 nanocrystalline thin film and the polysulfide solution. Compared with the photovoltaic performance of CdSe QDSSCs based on the CE prepared by the different sulfuration conditions, QDSSC based on the CE derived by the sulfuration for 30 min shows an excellent light-to-electric conversion efficiency of 3.77%, it is even higher than that of QDSSC based on Pt CE (2.98%). This work will open a new avenue to design a facile, low-cost and renewable CE for QDSSC.