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Since organoboron compounds readily undergo a diverse array of transformations and are widely used in various fields, the development of C–B-bond-forming reactions have attracted considerable atten...

The interplay between virus and host has been one of the hot spot in virology, and it is also the important aspect of revealing the mechanism of virus infection. Increasing studies revealed that several key molecules took part in the process of virus-host interaction. White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) has been proved to affect several physiological processes of the host cells, especially apoptosis. While the relationship between them still remains unclear. In this study, a IFI27 gene (LvIFI27) of Litopenaeus vannamei was cloned. It is indicated that LvIFI27 was induced upon endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress and unfolded protein response activator Thapsigargin. Unlike human IFI27 locating to mitochondria, LvIFI27 lied to ER, and was involved in cell apoptosis process. Moreover, results of cumulative mortality analysis showed that LvIFI27 might contributed to WSSV proliferation by promoting apoptosis during the process of viral infection. Findings in this study enriched our understanding of the relationship between WSSV infection and ER-stress mediated apoptosis.

Background. The association between triglyceride-rich lipoprotein cholesterol (TRL-C) and diabetes mellitus (DM) remains unclear because of limited research and data. The aim of this study was to explore the independent association between TRL-C and DM in hypertensive patients and to examine whether a healthy lifestyle would have an impact on this relationship. Methods. In this study, data from 13,721 hypertensive patients who were not treated with lipid-lowering drugs were analyzed. TRL-C was calculated from total cholesterol (TC) minus [LDL cholesterol + HDL cholesterol]. DM was defined as fasting plasma glucose of ≥7.0 mmol/L and/or self-reported history of hypoglycemic drug use. Results. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the TRL-C was significantly positively associated with elevated DM (odds ratio (OR): 1.73 and 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.54–1.94). In subgroup analysis, a healthy lifestyle (HL) failed to modify the positive association between TRL-C and DM (HL: OR 1.93, 95%CI 1.58–2.36; non-HL: OR 1.72, 95%CI 1.50–1.98; P for interaction = 0.38). Conclusion. The results showed a positive association between TRL-C and DM in hypertensive patients. A healthy lifestyle failed to diminish the relationship between TRL-C and DM. The novel findings indicate that TRL-C might be a reliable marker of DM and may provide a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of DM.

Saccharification of lignocellulose is prerequisite for the biorefinery. Clostridium thermocellum is a promising candidate for the hydrolysis of lignocellulose. A study on the saccharification by Clostridium thermocellum combined with surfactant and cellulase addition was investigated. The reducing sugars content increased with increasing substrate loading in the fermentation of C. thermocllum with isooctyl alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (IAPE) addition. Based on IAPE addition, the glucose content of two-step saccharification was higher than that of the batch saccharification. Besides, the addition of IAPE and Triton X-100 had the same effect on saccharification. The saccharification performance was related to the substrate, especially the lignin content. For the fed-batch hydrolysis of 20 % (w/v) rice straw pretreated by hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid (HPAC), 66.9 g/L glucose and 19.5 g/L xylose were obtained by using C. thermocellum DSM 1313 and 1 FPU/g substrate cellulase with 0.1 % (w/v) IAPE addition, and the glucose and xylose yield reached 63.2 % and 37.4 % respectively.

PURPOSE High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and homocysteine (Hcy) play important roles in contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). We compared HMGB1 to Hcy as preprocedural predictors for CI-AKI in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients after percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI). METHODS We included 257 eligible patients who were categorized into CI-AKI ( +) and CI-AKI ( -) group. The differences in clinical characteristics and biochemical indexes between two groups were analyzed. RESULTS We observed that thirty-eight (14.8%) of 257 eligible CAD patients developed CI-AKI. HMGB1 (14.65 [11.13-24.89] vs 10.88 [7.94-13.23], p

Herein, the synthesis of lactam-substituted gem-difluoroalkenes has been developed through a photoredox-catalyzed radical cascade reaction. This developed photoredox-catalyzed, Bronsted base-assisted intramolecular 5-exo-trig cyclization/intermolecular radical addition/β-fluoride elimination reaction offers a simple method for producing lactam, carbamate, or urea-substituted gem-difluoroalkenes with good functional group tolerance and high yields.

In this study, twelve surface water samples were taken covering all the directions of Poyang Lake, and the dissolved trace metal (Zn, Pb, Hg) concentrations were measured using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI) in order to evaluate spatial variations and health risks with the methods of single factor index and Nemerow pollution index. The following order Zn > Pb > Hg was observed for the concentrations of the heavy metals. The concentration of Hg in the surface water of Raohe River had exceeded the third standard value of GB3838-2002. The results indicated that Pb and Hg might be the major pollutants in this case according to the comparison of heavy metal concentrations between this recearch and other studied areas. Many samples were at high levels for the pollution of Pb and Hg based on the single factor index and the Raohe River was also polluted based on the results of Nemerow pollution index. It showed high risk towards the ecosystem and human health for Pb in the tributaries of Hukou according to the results of the potential ecological risk assessment, while a medium level of risk for Hg and other samples were at a low level of risk in Raohe River.

Norepinephrine (NE) is an important neurotransmitter in the body, and stress or injury of neurons in the locus ceruleus (LC) results in the change of NE level in the body. In this work, we developed a micro-needle electrode for real-time monitoring of NE release in rat brain LC and investigating the effects of alpha 2-adrenoceptors on norepinephrine release upon LC stimulation by different drugs. The micro-needle electrode was prepared by modified both Au nanotubes (AuNTs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the substrate of the acupuncture needle (AN). Due to excellent electrochemical performance and biocompatibility of the nanostructures, highly sensitive detection of NE was realized. The results had shown that the CNTs/AuNTs/AN micro-needle was capable of real-time monitoring NE in the linear range from 0.75 μM to 25 μM with the limit of detection of 0.26 μM in the cell culture medium. Moreover, the stainless steel acupuncture needle was easy to be inserted into the tissue for in vivo monitoring NE release in rat brain with minimal damage compared to other electrode materials. The results also demonstrated that alpha 2-adrenoceptors regulated the release of NE in the brain's locus ceruleus. This stable and sensitive micro-needle sensor had the potential application in studying neural signal transmission, which could potentially provide important new insights into the deep brain study as well as the mechanism underlying neurological disease of the nervous system.

Zinc (Zn) plays a role in the antioxidant capacity and immunity of aquatic animals. A twelve-week feeding experiment was performed to estimate the impact of dietary zinc on antioxidant enzyme-related gene expression, antioxidant enzyme activity and non-specific immune functions of soft-shelled turtles, Pelodiscus sinensis. Six fishmeal-based experimental diets with 32.45% protein were formulated, which contained 35.43, 46.23, 55.38, 66.74, 75.06 and 85.24 mg/kg Zn, respectively. Catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels improved with an elevation in dietary Zn from 35.43 to 55.38 mg/kg and then reduced when dietary Zn was further elevated. The expression levels of Nrf2 and antioxidant-related genes CuZnSOD, MnSOD, CAT, GPX1, GPX2, GPX3 and GPX4 escalated with elevating Zn concentration up to 55.38 mg/kg in diets and then reduced as dietary Zn elevated. The expression levels of Kelch-like ECH-associating protein 1 (keap1) showed a reverse trend with that of Nrf2. The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the 55.38 and 66.74 mg/kg Zn diet-fed groups were the lowest. Alkaline phosphatase activity (AKP), superoxide anion (O2−), lysozyme activity and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) improved with an escalation in dietary Zn concentration up to 66.74 mg/kg. Optimal dietary Zn improved antioxidant capability, immunity, and antioxidant enzyme-related gene expression. The dietary Zn demand for soft-shelled turtles were 60.93 and 61.63 mg/kg, based on second regression analysis of SOD and T-AOC activity, respectively.

Background Chenxiang Huaqi tablets (CXHQTs) are a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) commonly used to treat stomach-related diseases. Currently, the ministerial standards do not provide detailed guidance and regulations on the content determination of CXHQTs, and the reported studies only use individual active components as indicators for determining effective ingredients. Objective The present study aimed to propose a methodology for quality control of CXHQTs based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprinting combined with the quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) method. Methods HPLC method was used to determine seven active ingredients and performed fingerprint analysis of CXHQTs. To further process chemometric assessment, technical analysis-model including similarity analysis (SA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA), principal components analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) was set up to differentiate and classify the 20 batches of samples. Results After comparing the results of QAMS method with the external standard method (ESM), we found there is no significant difference. Besides, the fingerprint of CXHQT was also established. Conclusion HPLC fingerprint combined with the QAMS could be an efficient and selective analysis technique to achieve a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of executing quality processes.

The scarcity of reliable methods for synthesizing chiral gem-diarylmethine borons limits their applications. Herein, we report a method for highly enantioselective dirhodium-catalyzed B-H bond insertion reactions with diaryl diazomethanes as carbene precursors. These reactions afforded chiral gem-diarylmethine borane compounds in high yield (up to 99 % yield), high activity (turnover numbers up to 14 300), high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and showed unprecedented broad functional group tolerance. The borane compounds synthesized by this method could be efficiently transformed into diaryl methanol, diaryl methyl amine, and triaryl methane derivatives with good stereospecificity. Mechanistic studies suggested that the borane adduct coordinated to the rhodium catalyst and thus interfered with decomposition of the diazomethane, and that insertion of a rhodium carbene (generated from the diaryl diazomethane) into the B-H bond was most likely the rate-determining step.

A novel naphthalimide-based solid-phase fluorescence pH sensor (PS-Acyl-II) is prepared by immobilization of a small molecule probe (II) on polystyrene microspheres through an ester bond and is characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and conductiometric titrations. The sensor can determine the pH of a solution within the pH 4.0–7.0, free from interference of common metal ions, and can be reused several times. The geometries of II, PS-Acyl-II, and its product with H+ are optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G** level by density functional theory. The charge distribution, orbital interactions, and bonding characteristics are analyzed and compared in detail to discuss the recognition mechanism and structure–fluorescence property relationships.

Polygoni Multiflori Radix Praeparata (PMRP) is used as Chinese herbal medicine with long history. However, reports about PMRP hepatotoxicity have increased recently, and producing area might be one reason. This article aims to figure out the relationship between producing area and hepatotoxic ingredients in PMRP. HPLC fingerprint for PMRP was established and the contents of gallic acid, trans-stilbene glycoside (TSG), emodin-8-O-β-D-glucoside (EG), emodin and physcion were determined. Clustering heatmap was implemented by TCMNPAS software，and principal component analysis was implemented by SPSS and SIMCA-P software. Hepatotoxic constituents’ contents of PMRP from separate producing area were different. PMRP from Guangxi had the highest content of gallic acid, TSG, EG, emodin and physcion, followed by Hubei, Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan. PMRP from Henan had the lowest contents of hepatotoxic components. Hepatotoxic components’ contents of PMRP in southern were higher than central China. This study carried out a preliminary qualitative and quantitative investigation on the PMRP from different producing places, which provided a basis for safe medication of PMRP.

Lithium metal anodes (LMAs) with high energy density have recently captured increasing attention for development of next-generation batteries. However, practical viability of LMAs is hindered by the uncontrolled Li dendrite growth and infinite dimension change. Even though constructing 3D conductive skeleton has been regarded as a reliable strategy to prepare stable and low volume stress LMAs, engineering the renewable and lithiophilic conductive scaffold is still a challenge. Herein, a robust conductive scaffold derived from renewable cellulose paper, which is coated with reduced graphene oxide and decorated with lithiophilic Au nanoparticles, is engineered for LMAs. The graphene cellulose fibres with high surface area can reduce the local current density, while the well-dispersed Au nanoparticles can serve as lithiophilic nanoseeds to lower the nucleation overpotential of Li plating. The coupled relationship can guarantee uniform Li nucleation and unique spherical Li growth into 3D carbon matrix. Moreover, the natural cellulose paper possesses outstanding mechanical strength to tolerate the volume stress. In virtue of the modulated deposition behaviour and near-zero volume change, the hybrid LMAs can achieve reversible Li plating/stripping even at an ultrahigh current density of 10 mA cm-2 as evidenced by high Coulombic efficiency (97.2 % after 60 cycles) and ultralong lifespan (1000 cycles) together with ultralow overpotential (25 mV). Therefore, this strategy sheds light on a scalable approach to multiscale design versatile Li host, promising highly stable Li metal batteries to be feasible and practical.

Direct oxidation of methane into value-added C1 oxygenated products, such as methanol, is essential and remains a significant challenge in the field of catalysis. In this work, we have prepared Fe/ZSM-5 materials via three different methods and investigated the influence of various preparation methods on the composition and catalytic performance of Fe/ZSM-5 for the low-temperature oxidation of methane. Through a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, we have found that the highest proportion of monomeric Fe species of 71 % could be achieved in the ZSM-5 zeolite by the solid-state ion-exchange method, affording an excellent C1 oxygenates yield of 120 mol/molFe with a C1 oxygenates selectivity of 96 % at 50 °C for 30 min in the aqueous solution of H2O2.

Manganese complexes have been considered as a cheap and readily available alternative to commonly used precious metal catalysts in C–C bond coupling reactions. Although high-valent Mn aryl intermediates have been proposed in such reactions, a mechanistic understanding of possible organometallic intermediates in Mn-mediated C–C coupling is still lacking due to their high reactivity. We report the synthesis of stable, isolable Mn(III) aryl complexes obtained by oxidative addition of aryl bromide or aryl chloride. These complexes react with a range of organometallic alkylating or arylating reagents (alkyl and aryl Grignard reagents, MeLi, ZnMe2) to undergo C(sp2)–C(sp3) or C(sp2)–C(sp2) bond coupling, and a preliminary catalytic system could be demonstrated. The reagent scope and yield of the C(sp2)–C(sp3) coupled product can further be increased by addition of TEMPO as an oxidant, generating alkyl radicals.

Silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) have outstanding physicochemical characteristics, including the ability to interact with proteins and DNA. Given the growing number of diagnostic and therapeutic applications of AgNCs, we evaluated the impact of AgNCs on DNA replication and DNA damage response in cell-free extracts prepared from unfertilized Xenopus laevis eggs. We find that, among a number of silver nanomaterials, AgNCs uniquely inhibited genomic DNA replication and abrogated the DNA replication checkpoint in cell-free extracts. AgNCs did not affect nuclear membrane or nucleosome assembly. AgNCs-supplemented extracts showed a strong defect in the loading of the mini chromosome maintenance (MCM) protein complex, the helicase that unwinds DNA ahead of replication forks. FLAG-AgNCs immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis of AgNCs associated proteins demonstrated direct interaction between MCM and AgNCs. Our studies indicate that AgNCs directly prevent the loading of MCM, blocking pre-replication complex (pre-RC) assembly and subsequent DNA replication initiation. Collectively, our findings broaden the scope of silver nanomaterials experimental applications, establishing AgNCs as a novel tool to study chromosomal DNA replication.

The development of next-generation lithium metal batteries (LMBs) has been chronically hindered by uncontrollable dendrite growth and infinite dimension change of metal Li. Even though the porous carbon skeletons have been deemed as effective hosting materials to prepare low-stress Li metal anode (LMA), the lithiophobic feature and poor spatial regulation for Li nucleation/growth of carbon skeletons render the achievement of high-stable LMA to be challenging. Herein, vertical-aligned SnS2 nanosheet arrays (SnS2 NSA) with intrinsic lithiophilic nature, endowed by in situ formed Li13Sn5 via the alloying reaction of SnS2, are uniformly decorated on highly flexible carbon foam (SnS2 NSA@CF) to overcome the encountered issues of ordinary carbon skeletons. The vertical-aligned SnS2 nanosheet offers enriched lithiophilic surface area, thereby guiding the thin Li-nuclei layer uniformly deposited on nanosheet. Moreover, the continuous Li growth is proceeded on the initial Li-nuclei layer and spatially confined into the nanochannels of nanoarray to eliminate the volume change of LMA. The well-defined nanochannel effectively reduces the local current density and provides open spacing for quick charge transfer kinetics. Accordingly, the sustainable Li utilization with high Coulombic efficiency and highly stable Li plating/stripping with low polarization is achieved, shedding light on the feasibility of SnS2 NSA for dendrite-free LMA.

Background: HER2 activating mutations occur in 2-5% of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, and three phase II or basket clinical trials have shown that the irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor, neratinib, has good single agent efficacy for HER2 mutated MBC patients. Current trials are combining neratinib with other targeted therapies to increase response rate and progression free survival for these patients. Methods: We established patient derived xenografts (PDX) and organoids from two patients with HER2 mutated, non-amplified MBC and used them to test neratinib with the antibody drug conjugates (ADC’s), trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), both in 3D culture and in vivo. Real time, in vivo uptake of these ADC’s was visualized with a near infrared fluorophore. Results: PDX lines WHIM51 and WHIM64 were established from ER+, HER2 non-amplified MBC patients that had HER2 activating mutations. WHIM51 has HER2 exon 20 insertion mutation at amino acid 776 (ERBB2 A775_G776insYVMA) and WHIM64 has a HER2 L869R missense mutation, both of which are located in the HER2 tyrosine kinase domain. Both of these HER2 mutations have been previously characterized and are known activating mutations. Organoids were established from both PDX’s and were grown in 3D culture. Drug combination testing of neratinib with T-DM1 in 3D culture showed strong synergy and the mechanism was explored. We demonstrate that neratinib and other irreversible HER2 inhibitors increase the endocytic uptake of T-DM1, but this effect does not occur with the reversible HER2 inhibitors, tucatinib and lapatinib. Real time, in vivo uptake of T-DM1 was measured by labeling the ADC with a near infrared fluorophore and we observed statistically significant increase in T-DM1 uptake with neratinib pre-treatment. Combining neratinib with T-DM1 increased apoptosis at day 3 post-treatment and enhanced tumor shrinkage. With the FDA approval of T-DXd at the end of 2019, we hypothesized that this same mechanism may apply to neratinib combined with T-DXd. We have tested both the combinations of neratinib + T-DXd and neratinib + T-DM1 in vivo in both HER2 mutant PDX’s and observed statistically significant tumor regression with the neratinib + ADC combinations as compared to either T-DXd or T-DM1 on its own. Conclusions: Neratinib increases the endocytosis of trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd), thereby increasing tumor cell kill and causing greater tumor regression in HER2 mutated MBC. These data provide preclinical justification for trials of neratinib plus HER2 ADCs including T-DXd or T-DM1 in HER2 mutant or HER2+ MBC. Further, this mechanism of neratinib stimulated HER2 endocytosis may also apply to HER2 low MBC. Citation Format: Ron Bose, Shunqiang Li, Tina M. Primeau, Maureen K. Highkin, Ashley R. Tipton, Nagalaxmi Vemalapally, Xuefeng Gao, Gail Sudlow, Irmina Diala, Yu Tao, Jingqin Luo, Ian Hagemann, Chieh-Yu Lin, Richard P. Bryce, Alshad S. Lalani, Samuel Achilefu, Cynthia X. Ma. Irreversible inhibition of HER2 activating mutations with neratinib enhances the pre-clinical efficacy of trastuzumab emtansine and trastuzumab deruxtecan [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS4-13.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology enables genome editing with high precision and versatility and has been widely utilized to combat viruses, bacteria, cancers, and genetic diseases. Nonviral nanocarriers can overcome several limitations of viral vehicles, including immunogenicity, inflammation, carcinogenicity, and low versatility, and thus represent promising platforms for CRISPR/Cas9 delivery. Herein, we for the first time develop the application of protamine-capped gold nanoclusters (protamine-AuNCs) as an effective nanocarrier for Cas9-sgRNA plasmid transport and release to achieve efficient genome editing. The protamine-AuNCs integrate the merits of AuNCs and protamine: AuNCs are able to promptly assemble with Cas9-sgRNA plasmids to allow efficient cellular delivery, while the cationic protamine facilitates the effective release of Cas9-sgRNA plasmids into the cellular nucleus. The AuNCs/Cas9-gRNA plasmid nanocomplexes can not only achieve successful gene editing in cells but also knock out the oncogenic gene for cancer therapy. Moreover, the AuNCs with excellent photoluminescence characteristics endow our nanoplatform with the functionality of bioimaging. Overall, our study provides strong evidence that demonstrates protamine-AuNCs as an effective CRISPR/Cas9 delivery tool for gene therapy.

CoS-related catalysts usually have good OER activity, but require very complicated preparation processes, so the corresponding mechanism analysis will proceed with difficulty. In this work, a NiCo-150 composite catalyst is prepared via a simple two-step electrodeposition method with an outstanding OER performance of 145 mV@10 mA cm−2 and 337 mV@50 mA cm−2. The Ni-150 composite catalyst shows a good OER performance, but the OER performance is further improved after electrodepositing CoS, and is better than that of a simple CoS/NF composite catalyst. The experimental results show that this pre-deposition in situ growth technique effectively reduces the internal resistance of the electrochemical process and significantly increases the electrochemically active sites by controlling the morphology. In order to explain the catalytic mechanism, the valence changes of Co, Ni, and S were detected by XAS measurements. The results show that the Co ion may be the most important active center.

A new planar carbon allotrope named net-Y with periodic four-six-eight-membered carbon rings has been synthesized in this study. In this paper, the adsorption properties of CO and CO2 on the pristine net-Y and two Fe-doped net-Y surfaces were studied using first-principles calculations. Using adsorption energy, charge analysis, adsorption distance, deformation charge density and density of states, it can be found that the adsorption of CO and CO2 on the pristine net-Y surface appears as physisorption with weak interactions. Based on this, in order to enhance the adsorption strength of CO and CO2 on the surface of net-Y, Fe-doping is performed on net-Y. The calculation results after doping show that the doping of Fe atoms at different positions can significantly improve the adsorption strength of the two gas molecules. After CO and CO2 are adsorbed on the doped net-Y surface, the adsorption energy is greatly improved compared with the pristine adsorption energy, which makes the two gas molecules form a chemical bond with the substrate. Subsequently, the results of charge density and density of states further prove that the adsorption system shows chemisorption with strong interactions. Comparing doped and pristine adsorption, after Fe doping, the adsorption of CO and CO2 is stronger, which makes it possible to use this material effectively for the adsorption and removal of CO and CO2 gases.

Excessive emissions of carbon dioxide have caused serious harm to the natural environment. Porphyrin-based microporous organic polymers play an important role in carbon capture and separation. In this study, several porphyrin-based polymers were synthesized through Friedel–Crafts alkylation. Although they have similar structures, the pore sizes and BET surface area of porous tetraphenyl porphyrins (POTPPs) are different on account of the solvent (crosslinker) adopted. The POTPPs exhibit surface areas of up to 940 m2 g−1. Owing to the larger surface area and N-contained structure, these POTPPs show high CO2 adsorption ability (3.25 mmol g−1) and good CO2/CH4 separation abilities (6.04) at 273 K/1.0 bar. Therefore, these materials appear to be candidates for CO2 adsorption and separation.

For the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media, there is an urgent need to optimize the adsorption strength of OH*. Here, a flower-like hybrid of Cr-doped FeOOH/Ni(OH)2 was used as an OER catalyst with a low overpotential of 291 mV at 50 mA cm-2. The results showed that faster charge transfer was achieved at the electrode/solution interface during the OER process after the FeOOH/Ni(OH)2 was modified by Cr, which facilitates the rate-determining step of the Volmer reaction. Furthermore, the results of faradaic efficiency and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements confirmed that the synergistic effect between the ternary metal and oxygen vacancies led to excellent OER performance. This work provides a new strategy for the preparation of high-efficiency and low-cost oxygen evolution electrocatalysts.

A photoinitiated perfluoroalkylative coupling of enamides with perfluoroalkyl iodides and a visible-light-induced difluoroacetylation of enamides with ethyl bromodifluoroacetate have been developed, respectively. These transformations allow the efficacious and straightforward incorporation of biologically and physiologically privileged fluoro-containing moieties into synthetically eminent enamide scaffolds with excellent regio- and stereoselectivities under mild and environmentally friendly conditions.

C19H25N5O, monoclinic, P21 (no. 4), a = 16.0600(2) Å, b = 5.3992(1) Å, c = 19.8514(2) Å, β = 94.260(1)°, V = 1716.58(4) Å3, Z = 4, R gt (F) = 0.0350, wR ref(F 2) = 0.0908, T = 100.00(10) K.

α-Pinene, an important biologically active natural monoterpene, has been widely used in fragrances, medicines, and fine chemicals, especially, in high-density renewable fuels such as jet fuel. The development of an α-pinene production platform in a highly modifiable microbe from renewable substitute feedstocks could lead to a green, economical avenue, and sustainable biotechnological process for the biosynthesis of α-pinene. Here, we report engineering of an orthogonal biosynthetic pathway for efficient production of α-pinene in oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica that resulted in an α-pinene titer of 19.6 mg/L when using glucose as the sole carbon source, a significant 218-fold improvement than the initial titer. In addition, the potential of using waste cooking oil and lignocellulosic hydrolysate as carbon sources for α-pinene production from the engineered Y. lipolytica strains was analyzed. The results indicated that α-pinene titers of 33.8 and 36.1 mg/L were successfully obtained in waste cooking oil and lignocellulosic hydrolysate medium, thereby representing the highest titer reported to date in yeast. To our knowledge, this is also the first report related to microbial production of α-pinene from waste cooking oil and lignocellulosic hydrolysate.

We have developed a protocol for insertion of alkylidene carbenes into the B-H bonds of amine-borane adducts, enabling, for the first time, the construction of C(sp2)-B bonds by means of carbene-insertion reactions. Various acyclic and cyclic alkenyl borane-amine adducts were prepared from readily accessible starting materials in good to high yields and were subsequently subjected to a diverse array of functional group transformations. The unprecedented spiro B-N heterocycles prepared in this study have potential utility as building blocks for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that insertion of the alkylidene carbenes into the B-H bonds of the amine-borane adducts proceeds via a concerted process involving a three-membered-ring transition state.

IL-17 plays essential roles in neutrophilic inflammation in the lower respiratory tract, however, the characteristics of local IL-17+ T cells in nasal inflammatory mucosa are not fully understood. We investigated the roles of IL-17+ T cells in regulating neutrophil infiltration and the effect of the mucosal microenvironment in modulating IL-17+ T cell differentiation in CRSwNP tissues. 47 polyp tissues from chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) patients without corticosteroid therapy and 26 tissues from healthy mucosa were obtained. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry were used to analyze the neutrophil infiltration, local IL-17+ T cell subsets, as well as cytokine producing profiles of IL-17+ T cell; tissue homogenates were used to study neutrophil migration and IL-17+ T cell differentiation. Increase of IL-17+ cells and IL-17+ T cell subsets was significant in polyp tissues versus controls, IL-17+ cell number was positively correlated with neutrophil infiltration; while homogenates from polyp tissues with high IL-17 promoted neutrophil migration in vitro. IL-17 response was found in polyp-derived T cells upon Staphylococcus aureus infection. IL-17+ T cells were also down-regulated in polyps from patients treated with glucocorticoid steroids, and exhibited poly-functionality patterns in polyp tissues. Finally, IL-17+ T cell differentiation could be induced by IL-23, and homogenates from polyps could enhance IL-17+ T cell development. This study determined a functional association of IL-17+ T cells with neutrophils in CRSwNP, and revealed that polyp microenvironment could promote IL-17+ T cell differentiation, suggesting a potential feedback role for IL-17+ T cell development and local neutrophilic inflammation.

BackgroundThe low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL-C/HDL-C) ratio is an excellent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, previous studies linking the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio to mortality have yielded inconsistent results and been limited by short follow-up periods. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine whether the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio could be an effective predictor of all-cause mortality in elderly hypertensive patients.MethodsA total of 6941 hypertensive patients aged 65 years or older who were not treated with lipid-lowering drugs were selected from the Chinese Hypertension Registry for analysis. The endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality. The relationship between the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and all-cause mortality was determined using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, smoothing curve fitting (penalized spline method), subgroup analysis and Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 1.72 years, 157 all-cause deaths occurred. A U-shaped association was found between the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and all-cause mortality. Patients were divided according to the quintiles of the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. Compared to the reference group (Q3: 1.67–2.10), patients with both lower (Q1 and Q2) and higher (Q4 and Q5) LDL-C/HDL-C ratios had higher all-cause mortality (P = 0.038).ConclusionsThe results suggest that there is a U-shaped association between the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and all-cause mortality. Both lower and higher LDL-C/HDL-C ratios were associated with increased all-cause mortality in elderly hypertensive patients.

The present work aimed at establishing an efficient degradation and energy recovery system form sugarcane bagasse (SCB) through hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid (HPAC) pretreatment, thermophilic hydrogen production and mesophilic methane production. The degradation ratio of HPAC pretreated SCB (HPAC-SCB, 2%, w/v) exceeded 90% under the biological hydrolysis of C. thermocellum without enzyme addition. The hydrogen yield in the co-culture fermentation of T. thermosaccharolyticum and C. thermocellum from HPAC-SCB (2%, w/v) reached 226 mL/g substrate. The long-term hydrogen fermentation was successfully established with 1.59 L/(L·d), 0.159 L/g substrate for average hydrogen productivity and yield, respectively. Methane production of 0.341 L/g COD (chemical oxygen demand)added was recovered by semi-continuous methane fermentation from hydrogen-producing effluent at 12 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT). Average energy recovery of 8.79 MJ/kg SCB was obtained under the optimal conditions. The present work indicated the promising application of the established process in valorization of lignocellulosic bio-waste.