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Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are an all-solid energy conversion device from the chemical energy of fuels to electric energy at intermediate and high temperatures. Up to now, massive efforts have been made in developing different components of solid oxide fuel cells, including electrolyte, anode, cathode and interconnect materials. Rare earth elements play an indispensable role in different components of SOFCs which have been extensively studied in the recent decades. In this review, we concentrate upon the rare earth application and recent advances in SOFCs and related materials. Materials structure involved perovskites, Ruddlesden-Popper, fluorite, spinel, pyrochlore, apatite and so on. Moreover, the effects of rare earth based oxides as matrix or dopants in different components are also discussed. Structures and properties of the materials are related to the element type, valence, coordination and ion radius. This article will provide a comprehensive research direction towards SOFCs components for their composition, structural design and mechanisms research.

Background: Developing the high-efficiency and low-risk small-molecule greennematocide is the key of effective control of the nematodes. Paeonol, is a naturally occurring phenolic compound, isolated from the root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa and the whole plant of Cynanchum paniculatum. Due to its crucial phenolic ketone skeleton, modern biological science research has indicated that paeonol has a wide range of biological activities. The structural modification of paeonol into paeonol carbonyl hydrazone derivatives is a potential approach for the development of novel nematodes, which showed more toxicity than paeonol. However, there are no reports on the nematicidal activity of paeonol carbonyl hydrazone derivatives to control Heterodera glycines. Results: We always endeavor to discover and develop biorational natural products-based pesticidal agents, 4 significant intermediates and 21 novel 3/5(3,5)-(di)nitro/chloropaeonol carbonyl hydrazone derivatives were prepared, and their structures well characterized by 1H NMR, HRMS, MS, and mp. Due to the steric hindrance, the substituents on the C=N double bond of all hydrazine compounds adopted E configuration. Results of nematicidal activity revealed that, among all compounds, especially 5-nitropaeonol (5) and 3,5-dinitropaeonol (7) displayed the most potent nematicidal activity H. glycines in vivo with LC50 values of 0.0323 and 0.0367 mg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: It suggested that for the 3/5(3,5)-(di)nitro/chloropaeonol carbonyl hydrazone derivatives, a nitro group introduced at C5 position of 1 was necessary for obtaining the potent compound as nematicidal agents. These preliminary results will pave the way for further modification of paeonol in the development of potential new nematicides.

Ion adsorption type rare earth ores (IATREOs) are a valuable strategic mineral resource in China, which feature a complete composition of fifteen rare earth elements and are rich in medium and heavy rare earth (RE) elements. In the leaching process for recovering rare earth elements from IATREOs, many impurities will be leached together with rare earth elements and enter the leaching liquor. An impurity removal-precipitation enrichment technique is currently applied to selectively recovery rare earth elements from the leaching liquor with the high content of impurities and low concentration of rare earth elements by using ammonium bicarbonate in the industry. However, a high loss of rare earth elements and severe ammonia nitrogen pollution is caused by this process. Therefore, more beneficial impurities removal technologies, mainly for aluminum, and green enrichment technologies with lower pollution are now urgently needed. For this purpose, this paper analyzes two aspects of research progress in recent decades: the green separation of rare earth elements and aluminum from leaching liquor and the green and efficient enrichment of rare earth elements. Finally, an approach for the high-efficiency and green enrichment of rare earth elements from leaching liquor of the IATREOs is proposed in several aspects, including impurity inhibition leaching, neutralization and impurity removal, alkaline calcium and magnesium salt precipitation enrichment, and centrifugal extraction enrichment.

To efficiently remove high concentrations of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), calcium–aluminum-layered double hydroxide (CaAl-LDH, denoted as CAL), and polypyrrole-modified CAL (CAL-PPy) were prepared by hydrothermal and in situ polymerization methods, respectively. The chemical structure, morphology, and elemental results indicated that the chain-like polypyrrole was decorated with hexagonal CAL. The specific surface area of CAL-PPy increased from 8.746 m2/g to 24.24 m2/g. The adsorption performances of CAL and CAL-PPy for aqueous Cr(VI) were investigated using batch equilibrium experiments. The decontamination process of aqueous Cr(VI) (100 mg/L) reached the equilibrium state within 50 min, and the kinetic data met the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. The Langmuir model described the isothermal data properly, and the obtained theoretical adsorption capacity of CAL for Cr(VI) at 318 K was 34.06 mg/g, while that of CAL-PPy was 66.14 mg/g. The removal mechanisms involved electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, anion exchange, and reduction to low-toxicity Cr(III). Therefore, CAL and CAL-PPy have underlying applications in treating real wastewater containing Cr(VI).

A reliable and sensitive strategy which can assess nucleic acid levels in living cells would be essential for fundamental research of biomedical applications. Some nanomaterial-based fluorescence biosensors recently developed for detecting nucleic acids, however, are often with expensive, complicated and time-consuming preparation process. Here, by using a facile bottom-up synthesis method, a two-dimensional (2D) coordination polymer (CP) nanosheet, [Cu(tz)] (Htz = 1,2,4-triazole), was successfully prepared after optimizing reaction conditions. These ultrathin CP nanosheets with thickness of 4.7 ± 1.1 nm could readily form nanosensors by assembly with DNA probes, which exhibited a low limit of detection (LOD) for p53 DNA fragment as 144 pmol/L. Furthermore, by integrating [Cu(tz)] nanosheets with hybridization chain reaction (HCR) probes, miR-21, one kind of microRNA upregulated in many cancer cells, can be sensitively detected with a LOD of 100 pmol/L and monitored in living cells, giving consistent results with those obtained by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. Thus [Cu(tz)] nanosheets, which not only possess much better nucleic acids sensing performance than bulk cystals, but also exhibit nucleic acid delivery functions, could be used as a novel nanoplatform in biomedical imaging and sensing applications.

As a neglected member of the platinum group elements, osmium, the metal with the highest density in the earth, is very suitable for the preparation of a peroxidase with high catalytic activity and stability, and can also be associated with the development of a sensor. In this study, we accessed Os nano-hydrangeas (OsNHs) with one-pot synthesis and utilized them in a bifunctional immunosensor that can present both catalytic chromogenic and tinctorial signal for nanozyme-linked immunosorbent assay (NLISA) and lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for use in folic acid (FA) detection. In the OsNHs-NLISA, the linear range is from 9.42 to 167.53 ng mL−1. The limit of detection (LOD) is 4.03 ng mL−1 and the IC50 value is 39.73 ng mL−1. In OsNHs-LFIA, the visual cut-off value and limit of detection (v-LOD) are 100 ng mL−1 and 0.01 ng mL−1, respectively. Additionally, the outcome from the specificity and spiked sample analysis offered recovery from the spiked milk powder sample ranging from 93.9 to 103.6% with a coefficient of variation under 4.9%, compared with UPLC-MS/MS for a correlation of R2 = 0.999 and admirable validation. The promising application of the OsNHs can also be used in other bioprobes, and this bifunctional immunosensor analysis mode is suitable for diversified analytes.

The development of highly efficient and stable monolithic catalysts is essential for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Copper foam (CF) is a potential ideal carrier for monolithic catalysts, but its low surface area is not conducive to dispersion of active species, thus reducing the interface interaction with active species. Herein, a vertically oriented Cu(OH)2 nanorod was in situ grown on the CF, which acted as the template and precursor to synthesize CoCu-MOF. The optimized catalyst (12CoCu-R) delivers excellent performance for acetone oxidation with a T90 of 195 °C. Impressively, the catalyst demonstrated satisfactory stability in long-term, cycle, water resistance, and high airspeed tests. Therefore, the present study provides a novel strategy for rationally designing efficient monolithic catalysts for VOC oxidation and other environmental applications.

Porous SiC is a valuable membrane material for the microfiltration and ultrafiltration of various wastewaters because of its high hydrophilicity and low fouling tendency, but its preparation has been limited by the high sintering temperature. Here, a silica bonded silicon carbide membrane was prepared by the oxidation of SiC at low temperature. When the SiC substrates were sintered in the temperature range from 1200 to 1400℃, their porosity decreased from 45 % to 37 % while the flexural strength increased from 45 to 59 MPa. For the selective layers made from SiC particles with 0.5 μm in diameter, the average pore sizes that sintered at 1050 and 1150 ℃ were 0.34 and 0.26 μm, respectively, corresponding to the water fluxes of 1080 and 1240 L/(m2 h, respectively. Thus, this technique provided a cost-effective path to prepare ceramic membrane at low sintering temperature.

Ammonia/salt absorption refrigeration cycle has advantages of low grade heat recovery, excellent thermal performance and simple construction, which may play an important role in refrigeration and air-conditioning fields for energy saving and emission reduction. The present paper introduces a prototype of absorption refrigeration system driven by exhaust heat operating with NH3/LiNO3 and NH3/LiNO3+H2O, which is composed of commonly used devices with the advantages of low cost and simple manufacture. Comprehensive experiments on the prototype were carried out with varying operating conditions (exhaust-gas temperature, chilled-water temperature, cooling-water temperature) to evaluate their influences on performance parameters. The NH3/LiNO3 system was driven by gaseous exhaust heat in the range of 150.1°C∼325.1°C, the minimum evaporating temperature reached -25.29°C, the cooling capacities varied between 0.60kW and 3.00kW, the electrical coefficient of performance varied between 3.30 and 16.52, and the overall coefficient of performance varied between 0.263 and 0.584. The NH3/LiNO3+H2O system was driven in the range of 125.8°C∼330.1°C, the minimum evaporating temperature reached -22.56°C, the cooling capacities varied between 0.92kW and 3.91kW, the electrical coefficient of performance varied between 4.65 and 20.30, and the overall coefficient of performance varied between 0.310 and 0.566. The experimental results were compared with that of NH3/NaSCN system by authors’ previous work, it is found that three ammonia/salt working fluids have respective advantages and optimal working condition ranges. The experimental evaluation and comparison provide significant references for the optimization and practical application of the ammonia/salt absorption refrigeration systems.

Laurencia undulata, as one of the most biologically active species in the genus Laurencia, is an edible folk herb red algae. Among them, d-isofloridoside (DIF, 940.68 Da) is isolated from Laurencia undulata, which has antioxidant and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) inhibitory activities. However, its mechanism of action on tumor angiogenesis has not yet been reported. In this study, we have studied the mechanism of DIF on tumor metastasis and angiogenesis in HT1080 cell and human vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC). The results show that DIF can reduce the activity of MMP-2/9, and can inhibit the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) by regulating the downstream PI3K/AKT and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways, thereby down-regulating the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in CoCl2-induced HT1080 cell. In addition, DIF can inhibit the activation of VEGF receptor (VEGFR-2), regulate downstream PI3K/AKT, MAPK, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signal pathways, activate apoptosis, and thus down-regulate the production of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in VEGF-induced HUVEC. In conclusion, our research shows that DIF has the potential to develop into a tumor-preventing functional food and tumor angiogenesis inhibitor, and it can provide theoretical guidance for the high-value comprehensive utilization of edible red algae Laurencia undulata.

Transcriptional downregulation is widely used for metabolic flux control. Here, marO, a cis-element of Escherichia coli mar operator, was explored to engineer promoters of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for downregulation. First, the ADH1 promoter (PADH1) and its enhanced variant PUADH1 were engineered by insertion of marO into different sites, which resulted in decrease in both gfp5 transcription and GFP fluorescence intensity to various degrees. Then, marO was applied to engineer the native ERG1 and ERG11 promoters due to their importance for accumulation of value-added intermediates squalene and lanosterol. Elevated squalene content (4.9-fold) or lanosterol content (4.8-fold) and 91 or 28% decrease in ergosterol content resulted from the marO-engineered promoter PERG1(M5) or PERG11(M3), respectively, indicating the validity of the marO-engineered promoters in metabolic flux control. Furthermore, squalene production of 3.53 g/L from cane molasses, a cheap and bulk substrate, suggested the cost-effective and promising potential for squalene production.

This study investigated the environmental geochemical characteristics of rare-earth elements (REEs) in surface waters in the Huainan mining area, Anhui Province, China. The REEs concentrations were determined by ICP-MS, and the inorganic species of dissolved REEs in the river and coal mining subsidence area water samples were calculated by using the Visual MINTEQ (version 3.1) code. On this basis, the distribution and geochemical characteristics of REEs in the surface waters were systematically analyzed, and the main inorganic species of REEs were investigated. The results showed the following: (1) The REEs concentrations in the surface waters were relatively low, ranging from 0.1361 to 0.3536 μg/L, and the average ∑REEs concentration was 0.2062 μg/L. Compared with light rare-earth elements (LREEs), heavy rare-earth elements (HREEs) were significantly enriched, with an average enrichment factor of 1.4642. Due to the interaction of high pH values and high cation concentrations, the ∑REEs content in the subsidence area water was significantly lower than that in the river water. (2) The distribution pattern of REEs in the surface waters normalized against the North American Shale Composite (NASC) showed that the REEs in the study area had different degrees of cerium (Ce) and europium (Eu) anomalies. The negative Ce anomalies were probably closely related to the pH conditions, whereas the positive Eu anomalies were mainly attributed to preferential chemical weathering and the dissolution of feldspar minerals. (3) The simulation results obtained by using Visual MINTEQ code showed that the dominant and typically inorganic complex form of REEs in the surface waters was carbonate complexes, and this form was one of the reasons for the enrichment of HREEs in the surface water.

Background Starch-based films are degradable, renewable, cost effective, and can be used as a foodstuff packaging material. Functional starch-based films have attracted extensive attention from researchers in recent years. Bioactive starch-based films with antibacterial, anti-oxidation, UV, oxygen, and water vapor barriers can reduce the reproduction of microorganisms and prolong the shelf life of packaged foods. Intelligent starch-based films with pH-, temperature-, magnetic field-, glucose-, and enzyme-responsive characteristics can be used to monitor the freshness of foods and control the delivery of functional ingredients and drugs. Therefore, the development of biodegradable bioactive and intelligent starch-based films is particularly important. Scope and approach In this review, we first introduce three common methods for preparing starch-based films and their advantages and disadvantages. Then, the bioactive and intelligent properties of starch-based films are discussed. Finally, examples are used to illustrate the application of active and intelligent starch-based films in food packaging and other areas. Key findings and conclusions The addition of plant extracts, plant essential oils, and nanoparticles to starch films can improve their antibacterial, antioxidant, and barrier properties. The addition of anthocyanins to starch films can make the films pH-responsive, indicating the degree of spoilage in fish products and achieving the purpose of warning consumers. In the future, it is necessary to study other biologically active starch-based films, such as anti-fatigue, enzyme-responsive, and salt-responsive starch-based films.

Summary As an analog of graphene, carbon nitrides have drawn increasing attention, ranging from artificial photosynthesis to synthetic organic chemistry. Notably, the most studied polymeric, C3N4, and other stoichiometric ones, such as C3N5, C4N3, and C3N, are commonly employed repetitive units of six-membered rings. Building blocks of five-membered rings (FMRs) are also fascinating and prevalent from a fundamental point of view, but FMR-based carbon nitrides are scarcely reported. Here, we propose a stable FMR-based C3N2 and the kinetic-oriented synthesis method via a pre-stabilization strategy using abundant-available zeolitic imidazolate framework as a precursor. The FMR topological structure and the associated dangling bonds were disclosed in C3N2, leading to an interesting p-π conjugation and splitting molecular orbitals, which remarkably narrowed the optical bandgap unusually down to 0.81 eV. The as-obtained C3N2 was further successfully applied to real-time, dynamic, and quantitative photoelectrochemical biosensing for practical non-transparent biosamples under near-infrared light irradiation.

Background: Carbonized herbal medicine has been used clinically for centuries in China; however, its influence on the bioavailability of compatible medicinal herbs is still unknown. Objective: To explore the effect of a carbonized herbal medicine on the in vivo adsorption and release and absorption of other active pharmaceutical ingredients in a compound prescription. Methods: The bioavailability of carbonized Herba schizonepetae (CHS) to eight active components (epiberberine, coptisine, palmatine, berberine, phellodendrine, aesculin, aesculetin, and anemoside B4) in the aqueous extract of Pulsatillae Decoction (PDAE) was evaluated by the in vitro adsorption and release and in vivo pharmacokinetics tests. Activated carbon (AC) was used as the control. Results: In vitro experiment showed that the cumulative adsorption rates of CHS to the eight active components were 33.17%, 54.32%, 21.48%, 42.01%, 39.1%, 25.11%, 32.11%, and 23.08% which was characterized by copsitine > berberine > phellodendrine > epiperberine > aesculetin > anemoside B4 > palmatine., and they were significantly lower than those of AC. The stable release concentration in sequence was 3.23, 3.04, 3.32, 7.29, 3.17, 2.80, 1.45, and 3.81 μg/mL, which was characterized by berberine > anemoside B4 > palmatine > epiberberine > phellodendrine > coptisine > aesculin > aesculetin, and they were significantly higher than those of AC. The animal experiment indicated that the areas under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-∞) of epiberberine, berberine, aesculetin, and anemoside B4 in PDAE+CHS group were significantly higher than those in the PDAE and PDAE+AC groups, and the other four components in the PDAE+CHS group were lower than those in PDAE group but higher than those in PDAE+AC group. Conclusion: CHS could significantly improve the bioavailability of epiberberine, berberine, aesculetin, and anemoside B4 in Pulsatillae Decoction and has a sustained-release effect on berberine, aesculin, aesculetin, and anemoside B4.

To evaluate the protective role of lycopene (LYC) against aflatoxin B1 (AFB1)-induced erythrocyte dysfunction and oxidative stress, male kunming mice were treated with LYC (5 mg/kg) and/or AFB1 (0.75 mg/kg) by intragastric administration for 30 d. Hematological indices were detected to assess erythrocyte function. The erythrocytes C3b receptor rate (E-C3bRR) and erythrocytes C3b immune complex rosette rate (E-ICRR) were detected to assess erythrocyte immune function. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were determined to evaluate erythrocyte oxidative stress. The results showed that LYC administration significantly relieved AFB1-induced erythrocyte dysfunction by increasing the levels of red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (HGB) and hematocrit (HCT), as well as reducing red blood cell volume distribution width (RDW) level, while the levels of mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and mean platelet volume (MPV) had no significant differences among the four groups. Besides, LYC ameliorated AFB1-induced erythrocyte immune dysfunction by increasing E-C3bRR and decreasing E-ICRR. Furthermore, LYC also alleviated AFB1-induced erythrocyte oxidative stress by decreasing H2O2 and MDA contents and increasing SOD and CAT activities. These results indicated that LYC protected against AFB1-induced erythrocyte dysfunction and oxidative stress in mice. The findings could lead a possible therapeutics for the management of AFB1-induced erythrocyte toxicity.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most common toxins in food and feed, which seriously affects the health of public. Herein, a convenient biosensor for OTA detecting was built based on graphene oxide (GO) and quantum dots-aptamer (QDs-aptamer) in this investigation. The results in our study demonstrated that the constructed biosensor shows excellent sensitivity and highly selectivity for OTA. A lower limit of detection of 376.3 pM (equivalent to 0.152 ng·mL−1) was achieved in the linear range from 0.5 to 20 nM (R2 = 0.996) under optimized conditions. In addition, the constructed sensor was challenged by testing coffee and red wine samples that contained buffer solution spiked with different concentrations of OTA. Considering easy operating and superior sensitivity, it has great potential, provides a high-performance platform for OTA testing in complicated food sample, and also affords a pathway for analysis of other aptamer-specific molecules.

With the continuous development of the nuclear industry, the amount of uranium containing wastewater discharged from the production process is increasing, which poses a great threat to the environment and human health. Therefore, it is an urgent task to find safe, environmentally friendly and efficient water treatment agents. Based on its unique molecular structure, chitosan can chemically react with anion system to adsorb pollutants, which has attracted the attention of scholars in the field of water treatment. However, the poor mechanical and adsorption properties of chitosan and the difficulty of recovery limit its development. To overcome the above shortcomings, chitosan is usually modified. In this paper, several modification methods of chitosan, including blending, crosslinking, grafting, ion imprinting and magnetization modification, are systematically described, and the advantages and disadvantages of different modification methods are analyzed. The application of modified chitosan adsorbent in uranium(VI) containing wastewater treatment is also introduced. Finally, the development trend of chitosan adsorbent in wastewater treatment is prospected.

Dynamic imaging of cell surface pH is extremely challenging due to the slight changes in pH and the fast diffusion of secreted acid to the extracellular environment. In this work, we construct a novel metal-organic framework (MOF)-shell-confined i-motif-based pH probe (MOFC-i) strategy that enables sensitive and dynamic imaging of cell surface pH. The CY3- and CY5-labeled i-motif, which is hybridized via its short complementary chain with two-base mismatches, is optimized for sensing at physiological pH. After efficiently anchoring the optimized pH probes onto the cell membrane with the aid of cholesterol groups, a biocompatible microporous MOF shell is then formed around the cell by cross-linking ZIF-8 nanoparticles via tannic acid. The microporous MOF shell can confine secreted acid without inhibiting the normal physiological activities of cells; thus, the MOFC-i strategy can be used to monitor dynamic changes in the cell surface pH of living cells. Furthermore, this method can not only clearly distinguish the different metabolic behaviors of cancer cells and normal cells but also reveal drug effects on the cell surface pH or metabolism, providing promising prospects in pH-related diagnostics and drug screening.

Oxygen vacancy plays an important role in adsorption and activation of oxygen species and therefore promotes the catalytic performance of materials in heterogeneous oxidation reactions. Here, a series of K-doped ɑ-MnO2 materials with different K loadings were synthesized by a reproducible post processing process. Results show that the presence of K+ enhances the reducibility and oxygen vacancy concentration of ɑ-MnO2 due to the break of charge balance and the formation of low valence Mn species. 4-K/MnO2 material exhibits the highest toluene oxidation activity and satisfied long-term stability and water resistance owing to its superior reducibility and abundant surface absorbed oxygen (Oads). In situ DRIFTS demonstrate that Oads greatly accelerates toluene dehydrogenation rate and promotes benzoate formation, enhancing the activation and decomposition of toluene molecules. Moreover, the CC cleavage of benzene ring (forming maleic anhydride) is the rate-determining step of toluene oxidation, which can be easily occurred over 4-K/MnO2.

In this work, a new material containing chitosan(CS)-hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HP) composite was synthesized with polyphosphoric acid as the cross-linking agent for the effective removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution. The prepared material was characterized by FTIR, EDS, SEM, BET and XPS. According to batch experiments, its adsorption equilibrium (Qe = 398.8 mg g−1) was reached within 50 min at pH 6.0. The adsorption process could be well fitted to the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir model. The thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption was an exothermic and spontaneous process. Furthermore, the CS-HP has superior absorption reusability. This study proved that CS-HP could be considered as the highly efficient and sustainable material for removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution.

The marine natural product fucoxanthin has been reported previously to produce anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuroprotective effects in vitro and in vivo. Fucoxanthin was also demonstrated to be safe in preclinical and small population clinical studies, but the low bioavailability of fucoxanthin in the central nervous system (CNS) has limited its clinical applications. To overcome this, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid-block-polyethylene glycol loaded fucoxanthin (PLGA-PEG-Fuc) nanoparticles with diameter at around 200 nm and negative charge were synthesized and suggested to penetrate into the CNS. Loaded fucoxanthin could be liberated from PLGA-PEG nanoparticles by sustained released in the physiological environment. PLGA-PEG-Fuc nanoparticles were shown to significantly inhibit the formation of Aβ fibrils and oligomers. Moreover, these nanoparticles were taken up by both neurons and microglia, leading to the reduction of Aβ oligomers-induced neurotoxicity in vitro. Most importantly, intravenous injection of PLGA-PEG-Fuc nanoparticles prevented cognitive impairments in Aβ oligomers-induced AD mice with greater efficacy than free fucoxanthin, possibly via acting on Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways. These results altogether suggest that PLGA-PEG nanoparticles can enhance the bioavailability of fucoxanthin and potentiate its efficacy for the treatment of AD, thus potentially enabling its future use for AD therapy.

Since microRNA-205 (miRNA-205) is a predictive biomarker for antiradiation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), quantitative detection of miRNA-205 is important for developing personalized strategies for the treatment of NPC. In this investigation, based on the graphene oxide (GO) sensor and hybridization chain reaction (HCR) for fluorescence signal amplification, a highly sensitive and selective detection method for miRNA-205 was designed. A target-recycling mechanism is employed, where a single miRNA-205 target triggers the signal amplification of many DNA signal probes. The biosensor shows the ability to analyze miRNA-205 in solution, and it can detect miRNA-205 at concentrations as low as 311.96 pM. Furthermore, the method is specific in that it distinguishes between a target miRNA and a sequence with single-, double-, and three-base mismatches, as well as other miRNAs. Considering its simplicity and superior sensitivity, it was also verified in 1‰ serum with a detection limit of 111.65 pM. Importantly, the method successfully demonstrated that miRNA-205 could be imaged in living cells, which provided the possibility of localizing target molecules in live cell imaging applications. This method has great clinical application potential in the determination of miRNA-205, a biomarker for radiation-resistant NPC.

To reduce the dependence of olefin production on the limited petroleum, considerable efforts have been made in synthesizing olefins from alternative energy resources. Here, we evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of coal-to-olefin technology based on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

Graphene (G) and graphene oxide (GO) have been shown to significantly improve the mechanical properties of cement-based materials. In this study, the effect of the G/GO on cement hydration was investigated. First, the zeta potential of G/GO in simulated solutions was tested, and the interaction between G/GO’s surface and Ca2+ was explored. Subsequently, scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphology of C–S–H nucleation and growth on the cement surface in the cement paste containing G/GO. Furthermore, XRD and TGA analyses were carried out on the hydration products of the sample. At last, isothermal calorimetry was applied to investigate the influence of G/GO on the early hydration of cement. The results showed that the addition of G/GO significantly accelerates C–S–H nucleation and growth on the cement surface. It is indicated that the high mobility ions derived by G/GO in the cement paste dominate the reason for the accelerated hydration of cement. The presence of G, especially GO, facilitates the mobility of ions, especially Ca2+, thus enhances the interaction between the cement surface and the ions. This strong interaction promotes the C–S–H nucleation and growth, and therefore, the hydration of the cement.

Xanthate has become the main organic pollutant in mine wastewater because of its widespread use as a flotation collector. Multilayer graphene oxide (MGO) exhibits excellent adsorption performance in removing organic contaminants from aqueous solutions that is attributed to its rich oxygen-containing functional groups and large specific surface area. MGO was prepared using the modified Hummers method. Moreover, MGO was characterised by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption of xanthate by MGO follows the Langmuir model, and thermodynamic studies have shown that the adsorption process can be completed spontaneously. The results of XPS analysis indicated that the oxygen content on the MGO surface decreased after the adsorption of xanthate, and the proportion of oxygen-containing functional groups was also significantly lower than that before adsorption. Molecular dynamics studies revealed that the head group of xanthates was closer to the surface of the MGO than the tail group. This research indicates that MGO can be successfully used to adsorb xanthate. In addition, the dispersion force between the head group of xanthates and the oxygen-containing functional group on the MGO surface was the dominant factor affecting the adsorption process. Multilayer graphene oxide can be used to remove xanthate in aqueous solutions, and the oxygen-containing groups on multilayer graphene oxide can provide adsorption sites for xanthate.

In this study, Polyethyleneimine modified magnetic chitosan (MCS-PEI) was synthesized by grafting polyethyleneimine onto chitosan and adding magnetic Fe3O4 with sodium polyphosphate as crosslinking agent. The structure of the prepared material was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, EDS, XRD and XPS, which showed MCS-PEI was successfully synthesized. After a series of single factor experiments, the adsorption data fitted well with the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.99), being the maximum adsorption capacity equal 181.8 mg g−1. The pseudo-second-order model (R2 = 0.997) and Dubinin-Radushkevich model (R2 = 0.9598) indicated that the adsorption process was chemical adsorption. And thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption was spontaneous and exothermic. The adsorption rate decreased by no more than 4% after the four adsorption–desorption experiments. This work illustrates that MCS-PEI is an environmental friendly, efficient and low-cost adsorbent.

Vanillin (VA) is a common additive used in cakes and beverages. Excessive addition of VA can cause a number of health problems. Therefore, the rapid detection of VA in food samples is well worth investigating. In this work, ZnS fibers were synthesized via simple chemical vapor deposition. The as-prepared ZnS fibers (ZnSF) were then used as substrate for PdZn nanopartciles loading. The prepared composite was characterized using SEM, XRD and EDX. The the ZnSF-PdZn composite was then used for fabrication of VA electrochemical sensor. The prepared electrochemical sensor showed an excellent sensing performance towards VA oxidation. Under the optimized condition, the ZnSF-PdZn modified glassy carbon electrode could linearly detect VA between 0.05 and 150 µM with a low detection limit of 20 nM. The proposed electrochemical sensor also been applied for VA sensing in custard, milk tea and cake.

Although the Chinese diet has become very abundant in the past 30 years, few people know that traditional Chinese diet is exposed to aluminium (Al). A total of 1232 samples were purchased during 2017-2019 and analysed for Al content with an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method. High Al levels were found in deep-fried dough sticks (mean 219 mg/kg), starch products (mean 84.5 mg/kg), and steam bread (mean 28.6 mg/kg). The average dietary Al exposure of residents in North China was 1.82 mg/kg bw/week, lower than the PTWI (provisional tolerable weekly intake). Deep-fried dough sticks (DFDS) are the main Al contributor in North China, providing 28.2% of the daily intake. The P95 dietary exposure to Al from DFDS was 2.3 mg/kg bw/week, exceeding the PTWI. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the health risk of exposure to Al from DFDS and starch products. Over-use of Al associated with food additives should be effectively controlled.

Numerical modeling of uni-directional panels of ultra-high-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been a difficult challenge due to multi-scale nature of materials and intimate structure of the composite panel. In order to capture detailed ballistic responses of fibers and matrix in hard panel, a simplified Finite Element (FE) model of UHMWPE fiber-reinforced composite panel under impact has been developed in this study. To simulate the structure of laminates and reduce calculation cost, a panel model was represented by six plies oriented in the direction of 0°/90°with fiber bundles embedded in the matrix. Fiber bundles and matrix were both assumed as three-dimension solid continuum bodies. In this way, different ballistic responses of fibers and matrix at varied regions in the panel can be identified, such as failure appearance, stress and strain distributions on fiber bundles and matrix and so on. These findings are helpful for structure optimizing of UHMWPE hard panel to achieve improvement of ballistic performance and lightweight.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with multiple pathological features. Therefore, a multitarget-directed ligands (MTDLs) strategy has been developed to treat AD. We have previously designed and synthesized dimeric tacrine(10)-hupyridone (A10E), a novel tacrine derivative with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) activation activity, by linking tacrine and a fragment of huperzine A. However, it was largely unknown whether A10E could act on other AD targets and produce cognitive-enhancing ability in AD animal models. In this study, A10E could prevent cognitive impairments in APP/PS1 transgenic mice and β-amyloid (Aβ) oligomers-treated mice, with higher potency than tacrine and huperzine A. Moreover, A10E could effectively inhibit Aβ production and deposition, alleviate neuroinflammation, enhance BDNF expression, and elevate cholinergic neurotransmission in vivo. At nanomolar concentrations, A10E could inhibit Aβ oligomers-induced neurotoxicity via the activation of tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB)/Akt pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. Furthermore, Aβ oligomerization and fibrillization could be directly disrupted by A10E. Importantly, A10E at high concentrations did not produce obvious hepatotoxicity. Our results indicated that A10E could produce anti-AD neuroprotective effects via the inhibition of Aβ aggregation, the activation of the BDNF/TrkB pathway, the alleviation of neuroinflammation, and the decrease of AChE activity. As MTDLs could produce additional benefits, such as overcoming the deficits of drug combination and enhancing the compliance of AD patients, our results also suggested that A10E might be developed as a promising MTDL lead for the treatment of AD.

The development of electrochemiluminescent (ECL) emitters with both intense ECL and excellent film-forming properties is highly desirable for biosensing applications. Herein, a facile one-pot preparation strategy was proposed for the synthesis of a self-enhanced ECL emitter by co-doping Ru(bpy)32+ and (diethylaminomethyl)triethoxysilane (DEAMTES) into an in situ-produced silica nanohybrid (DEAMTES@RuSiO2). DEAMTES@RuSiO2 not only possessed improved ECL properties but also exhibited outstanding film-forming ability, which are both critical for the construction of ECL biosensors. By coupling branched catalytic hairpin assembly with efficient signal amplification peculiarity, a label-free ECL biosensor was further constructed for the convenient and highly sensitive detection of miRNA-21. The as-fabricated ECL biosensor displayed a detection limit of 8.19 fM, much lower than those in previous reports for miRNA-21 and showed superior reliability for detecting miRNA-21-spiked human serum sample, demonstrating its potential for applications in miRNA-associated fundamental research and clinical diagnosis.

A series of CdS-modified zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)-derived porous carbons (marked as CZCs) were fabricated via a facile method in the study. And, the preparation samples were further analyzed by employing some characterization technologies. Also, the introducing amounts of porous carbons were systematically investigated. The results indicated that the composite CZC600-30 presented an optimum photocatalytic activity for organic pollutant methylene blue (MB, 150 mL, 10 mg/L) or tetracycline (TC, 100 mL, 30 mg/L) degradations under visible-light irradiation and the pollutants were all able to be completely removed within 60 min. The adding amount of CZC used to degrade MB and TC was 30 and 5 mg, respectively. The occurrences of good performances were originated from the formation of type (II) heterojunction, which can efficiently separate photoinduced carriers. In addition, the introduction of the CZC increases surface area (53.3 m2 g−1) and pore volume (0.171 cm3 g−1) compared to those (27.2 m2 g−1 and 0.062 cm3 g−1) of CdS. Radical trapping measurements illustrated that radical O2− was a main active species during the photodegradation process. Analyzing results demonstrated that the material is a promising catalyst for the removals of organic pollutants.

α-Ni(OH)2 is an ideal candidate material for a supercapacitor except for its low conductivity and poor stability. In this work, BO2--intercalated α-NixCo(1-x)(OH)2 is synthesized by a hydrothermal method at a low cost. The Co dopant can decrease the charge-transfer resistance and enhance the cyclic stability. The special unsaturated electronic state of BO2- enhances the bonding with metal ions and attracts water molecules. Thus, the BO2- ions support the hydroxide layers as pillars and create efficient paths for proton transportation, optimizing the utilization of α-Ni(OH)2. The three-dimensional (3D) flowerlike morphology supplies an enormous number of active sites, and r-GO is added to improve the conductivity. As a result, the modified α-Ni(OH)2 exhibits the specific capacitance of 2179, 1592, and 1423 F·g-1 at 1, 20, and 40 A·g-1, respectively, showing improved rate performance. Matching with the commercial activated carbon (AC) as an anode, the asymmetric capacitor delivers an energy density of 40.66 W·h·kg-1 when its power density is 187.06 W·kg-1. Meanwhile, it retains 81.5% capacitance of the initial cycle at 5 A·g-1 after 3000 cycles. With conductivity enhanced and structure stabilized, the modified α-Ni(OH)2 confronts broader fields of application.

The exploitation of the interaction between nanostructured matter and small molecules, such as H2O at interfaces via dynamic hydrogen bonding, is essentially the key for smart, responsive nanodevic...

Sepsis is a deadly clinical condition. Allylpyrocatechol is bioactive flavonoid that has shown promising anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. The effects of allylpyrocatechol on sepsis-induced lung injury have not been fully established. This study investigated the effects of allylpyrocatechol in a mouse model of sepsis-induced lung injury. RAW264.7 macrophages were used for in vitro studies. A mouse model of sepsis was established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The PaO2/FiO2 ratio was measured in conjunction with lung tissue histology, and edema was determined by the wet:dry tissue ratio. ELISA was performed to analyze levels of IL-6, TNF-α, NOx, and HMGB1. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured to determine lipid peroxidation status. Protein expression was investigated via Western blotting analyses. Molecular docking studies were done to study the affinity of SIRT1 with Allylpyrocatechol. It was observed that Allylpyrocatechol inhibited the production of HMGB1 and suppressed pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages treated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro, and in CLP sepsis mice in vivo. Moreover, it ameliorated the reduction of SIRT1 levels in both LPS-treated macrophages and CLP mice, alleviated sepsis-induced lung edema, reduced lipid peroxidation, improved lung tissue histology findings, reduced mortality, and improved the PaO2/FiO2 ratio in CLP mice. Allylpyrocatechol caused significant reductions in serum levels of IL-6, nitric oxide, TNF-α, and HMGB1, as well as nuclear translocation of inducible nitric oxide synthase, SIRT1, and HMGB1 in lungs of CLP mice. Molecular docking analysis suggested affinity of SIRT1 with Allylpyrocatechol. The findings suggest that Allylpyrocatechol protects mice against lung injury via SIRT1-mediated suppression of HMGB1 nuclear translocation and p-p65 activation.

Isolated hafnium (Hf) sites were prepared on Silicalite-1 and SiO2 and investigated for acetone conversion to isobutene. Characterization by IR, 1H MAS NMR, and UV-vis spectroscopy suggests that Hf atoms are bonded to the support via three O atoms and have one hydroxyl group, i.e, (≡SiO)3Hf-OH. In the case of Hf/Silicalite-1, Hf-OH groups hydrogen bond with adjacent Si-OH to form (≡SiO)3Hf-OH···HO-Si≡ complexes. The turnover frequency for isobutene formation from acetone is 4.5 times faster over Hf/Silicalite-1 than Hf/SiO2. Lewis acidic Hf sites promote the aldol condensation of acetone to produce mesityl oxide (MO), which is the precursor to isobutene. For Hf/SiO2, both Hf sites and Si-OH groups are responsible for the decomposition of MO to isobutene and acetic acid, whereas for Hf/Silicalite-1, the (≡SiO)3Hf-OH···HO-Si≡ complex is the active site. Measured reaction kinetics show that the rate of isobutene formation over Hf/SiO2 and Hf/Silicalite-1 is nearly second order in acetone partial pressure, suggesting that the rate-limiting step involves formation of the C-C bond between two acetone molecules. The rate expression for isobutene formation predicts a second order dependence in acetone partial pressure at low partial pressures and a decrease in order with increasing acetone partial pressure, in good agreement with experimental observation. The apparent activation energy for isobutene formation from acetone over Hf/SiO2 is 116.3 kJ/mol, while that for Hf/Silicalite-1 is 79.5 kJ/mol. The lower activation energy for Hf/Silicalite-1 is attributed to enhanced adsorption of acetone and formation of a C-C bond favored by the H-bonding interaction between Hf-OH and an adjacent Si-OH group.

In this study, chitosan/oxidized bacterial cellulose (CS/OBC) composite films were produced through impregnation and cross-linking with (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). Bacterial cellulose was selectively oxidized using TEMPO, where a carbonate buffer solution (Na2CO3/NaHCO3) was used to control the pH instead of NaOH. The surface morphology, crystal structure, thermal properties and mechanical strength of OBC and CS/OBC composite films were characterized. Furthermore, antibacterial properties and biocompatibility of OBC and CS/OBC composites were assessed. The results showed that the oxidation process had little impact on the macroscopic morphology and fiber diameter of bacterial cellulose. The crystallization, thermal stability and mechanical properties decreased due to the presence of unstable sodium gluconate in OBC. After compounding with chitosan, the crystallinity and thermal stability of OBC were improved. The mechanical strength increased first and then decreased with the increase of chitosan content. The antibacterial performance of CS/OBC composite films against E. coli was superior than that of S. aureus. When the chitosan content reached 6.6 % or more, the inhibition rate against E. coli and S. aureus was over 90 %. Cell culture studies demonstrated that OBC and the CS/OBC composites had no cytotoxicity. These results indicated that the CS/OBC composite film could be used as a potential wound dressing material.

Carbon-based materials including diamond-like carbon (DLC) and graphene have been demonstrated as extraordinary lubricating materials due to its specific structure and weakness of the interlayer interactions. In this work, the extreme coefficient of friction (COF = 0.002) was achieved on the silicon-doped hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H:Si) film by lubrication with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets as additives in ethylene glycol. The tribochemical reactions occurred on the Si3N4 surface and a-C:H:Si film, leading to the formation of the silica colloid layer on both Si3N4 and a-C:H:Si surfaces. In the meantime, the physical adsorption of GO nanosheets on the friction surfaces makes the shear plane transfer from Si3N4/a-C:H:Si interface to GO/GO interface, which results in a further reduction of shear stress. The mechanism and modelling of a-C:H:Si and GO nanosheets synergistic lubrication effect was finally established to reveal the design principle of superlubricity at macroscale.

As antimicrobial agents, essential oils (EOs) have been used by more and more companies as alternatives to traditional chemicals. In the study, seven EOs from Pinus massoniana, cinnamon, Star anise, Litsea cubeba, Cinnamomum camphora, Lemon eucalyptus, and Camphor from Guangxi were researched for their antifungal performances and chemical components. With the help of the diffusion in a disc way as well as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to three fungi, the antifungal impacts and the bamboo slices anti-mold tests of these EOs were studied. The compositions of these oils were identified. Litsea cubeba EO, Anise EO, and Cinnamon EO exhibited super antifungal activity against Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium citrinum. Treated by Cinnamon EO, Anise EO, or Litsea cubeba EO, few molds were observed on the surface of bamboo chips, which showed that these EOs had a good antifungal effect on molds of bamboo. Antifungal effect of seven essential oils on bamboo

Hydrovoltaic devices are proposed as an alternative way to directly generate electricity due to the ubiquity of water and its interaction with specific porous structures. At present, the output power density of the reported device is limited by its low current density arising from the low surface charge density and inferior charge transport capability of the active materials. In this work, an asymmetric structure consisting of positively charged conductive polyaniline (PANI) and negatively charged Ti3C2TX MXene is proposed to build a hydrovoltaic device to achieve high conductivity and surface charge density simultaneously. An extra polyvinyl alcohol layer is utilized between PANI and MXene to reserve the asymmetric structure and maintain a constant voltage output. As a result, a peak current density of 1.8 mA/cm2 is achieved, which is 18 times higher than the previous peak current density of the device with an inert electrode. Our work of incorporating an asymmetric structure provides an alternative way to target high-efficiency hydrovoltaic devices with a large current density.

Ni2+-functionalized porous ceramic/agarose composite beads (Ni-NTA Cerose) can be used as carrier materials to immobilize enzymes harboring a metal affinity tag. Here, a 6×His-tag fusion alcohol dehydrogenase Mu-S5 and glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus megaterium (BmGDH) were co-immobilized on Ni-NTA Cerose to construct a packed bed reactor (PBR) for the continuous synthesis of the chiral intermediate (S)-(4-chlorophenyl)-(pyridin-2-yl) methanol [(S)-CPMA]. NADPH recycling and in situ product adsorption was achieved simultaneously by assembling a D101 macroporous resin column after the PBR. Using an optimum enzyme activity ration of 2:1 (Mu-S5: BmGDH) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin as co-solvent, a space-time yield of 1,560 g/(L·d) could be achieved in the first three days at a flow rate of 5 mL/min and substrate concentration of 10 mM. With simplified selective adsorption and extraction procedures, (S)-CPMA was obtained in 84% isolated yield.

The anthocyanin synthetic pathway is regulated centrally by an MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) complex. Anthocyanin pigmentation is an important fruit quality trait in red-fleshed kiwifruit; however, the underlying regulatory mechanisms involving the MBW complex are not well understood. In this study, one R2R3MYB (AcMYBF110 expressed in fruit characteristically), one bHLH (AcbHLH1), two upstream regulators of AcbHLH1 (AcbHLH4 and AcbHLH5), and one WDR (AcWDR1) are characterized as being involved in the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis in kiwifruit. AcMYBF110 plays an important role in the regulation of anthocyanin accumulation by specifically activating the promoters of several anthocyanin pathway genes including AcCHS, AcF3'H, AcANS, AcUFGT3a, AcUFGT6b, and AcGST1. Coexpression of AcbHLH1, AcbHLH4, or AcbHLH5 together with AcMYBF110 induces much greater anthocyanin accumulation in both tobacco leaves and in Actinidia arguta fruit compared with AcMYBF110 alone. Moreover, this activation is further enhanced by adding AcWDR1. We found that both AcMYBF110 and AcWDR1 interact with all three AcbHLH factors, while AcMYBF110 also interacts with AcWDR1 to form three different MBW complexes that have different regulatory roles in anthocyanin accumulation of kiwifruit. The AcMYBF110-AcbHLH1-AcWDR1 complex directly targets the promoters of anthocyanin synthetic genes. Other features of the regulatory pathways identified include promotion of AcMYBF110, AcbHLH1,and AcWDR1 activities by this MBW complex, providing for both reinforcement and feedback regulation, whereas the AcMYBF110-AcbHLH4/5-AcWDR1 complex is indirectly involved in the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis by activating the promoters of AcbHLH1 and AcWDR1 to amplify the regulation signals of the first MBW complex.

The development of catalysts for volatile organic compound (VOC) treatment by catalytic oxidation is of great significance to improve the atmospheric environment. Size-effect and oxygen vacancy engineering are effective strategies for designing high-efficiency heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, we explored the in situ carbon-confinement-oxidation method to synthesize ultrafine MnOx nanoparticles with adequately exposed defects. They exhibited an outstanding catalytic performance with a T90 of 167 °C for acetone oxidation, which is 73 °C lower than that of bulk MnOx (240 °C). This excellent catalytic activity was primarily ascribed to their high surface area, rich oxygen vacancies, abundant active oxygen species, and good reducibility at low temperatures. Importantly, the synthesized ultrafine MnOx exhibited impressive stability in long-term, cycling and water-resistance tests. Moreover, the possible mechanism for acetone oxidation over MnOx-NA was revealed. In this work, we not only prepared a promising material for removing VOCs but also provided a new strategy for the rational design of ultrafine nanoparticles with abundant defects.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most fatal cancers, and the majority of patients die within three years. However, a small proportion of patients overcome this fatal disease and survive for more than five years. To determine the molecular characteristics of long-term survivors (survival ≥ 5 years), we analyzed the genomic and clinical data of hepatocellular carcinoma patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium databases, and identified molecular features that were strongly associated with the patients' prognosis. Genes involved in the cell cycle were expressed at lower levels in tumor tissues from long-term survivors than those from short-term survivors (survival ≤ 1 years). High levels of positive regulators of the G1/S cell cycle transition (cyclin-dependent kinase 2 [CDK2], CDK4, Cyclin E2 [CCNE2], E2F1, E2F2) were potential markers of poor prognosis. Hepatocellular carcinoma patients with TP53 mutations were mainly belonged to the short-term survivor group. Abemaciclib, an FDA-approved selective inhibitor of CDK4/6, inhibited the cell proliferation and tumor growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Thus, high G1/S transition-related gene levels and TP53 mutations are promising diagnostic biomarkers for short-term survivals, and abemaciclib may be a potential targeted drug for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Yaping Han,1,2 Lei Huang,1,2 Chengcheng Liu,1,2 Xu Huang,3 Ruiying Zheng,1,2 Yanfei Lu,1,2 Wenying Xia,1,2 Fang Ni,1,2 Yaning Mei,1,2 Genyan Liu1,2 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China; 2National Key Clinical Department of Laboratory Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Genyan LiuDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 25-6830-3453Fax +86 25- 8372-4440Email liugenyan@njmu.edu.cnObjective: Nosocomial infection caused by carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is a great threat to severely ill patients. Here we report an outbreak of K. pneumoniae ST15 isolates co-producing KPC-2, CTX-M-15, and SHV-28 in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit (CSICU) of a tertiary hospital.Materials and Methods: From November 2019 to August 2020, all non-duplicated CRKP isolates were collected from the CSICU. The VITEK-2 compact system was used for bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Clinical data were retrieved from electronic case records. All strains were also subjected to antibiotic resistance genes detection. Clonal relationships were analyzed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).Results: A total of 28 non-duplicated CRKP isolates were collected, including 23 strains belonging to ST15 and 5 strains belonging to ST11. All ST15 isolates were susceptible to amikacin, tigecycline, polymyxin B and ceftazidime/avibactam, but resistant to carbapenems, cephalosporins, quinolones, tobramycin and gentamicin. The detection of resistant determinants showed that 21 strains of ST15 CRKP co-harboured blaKPC-2, blaCTX-M-15, blaSHV-28, blaTEM-1, blaOXA-1 and aac(6ʹ)-Ib-cr. All the 28 CRKP isolates were classified into five PFGE patterns (A, B, C, D and E), of which type A and B belonged to ST15 and type C, D and E belonged to ST11. PFGE type A was the predominant clonotype of this nosocomial infection and belonged to ST15.Conclusion: K. pneumoniae ST15 co-producing KPC-2, CTX-M-15, SHV-28, TEM-1, OXA-1 and aac(6ʹ)-Ib-cr is the predominant clone spread in the CSICU. Surveillance and comprehensive infection control measures should be strengthened in clinical practice.Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae ST15, carbapenem-resistant, KPC-2, multidrug resistance, resistance gene