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Abstract: Electrochemical reduction of CO2 provides an opportunity to reach a carbon‐neutral energy recycling regime, in which CO2 emissions from fuel use are collected and converted back to fuels. The reduction of CO2 to CO is the first step toward the synthesis of more complex carbon‐based fuels and chemicals. Therefore, understanding this step is crucial for the development of high‐performance electrocatalyst for CO2 conversion to higher order products such as hydrocarbons. Here, atomic iron dispersed on nitrogen‐doped graphene (Fe/NG) is synthesized as an efficient electrocatalyst for CO2 reduction to CO. Fe/NG has a low reduction overpotential with high Faradic efficiency up to 80%. The existence of nitrogen‐confined atomic Fe moieties on the nitrogen‐doped graphene layer is confirmed by aberration‐corrected high‐angle annular dark‐field scanning transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray absorption fine structure analysis. The Fe/NG catalysts provide an ideal platform for comparative studies of the effect of the catalytic center on the electrocatalytic performance. The CO2 reduction reaction mechanism on atomic Fe surrounded by four N atoms (Fe–N4) embedded in nitrogen‐doped graphene is further investigated through density functional theory calculations, revealing a possible promotional effect of nitrogen doping on graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Our objective was to examine the factors associated with the serum angiopoietin-2/angiopoietin-1 (Angpt-2/Angpt-1) ratio in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients and to investigate the association between Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality., Methods: Patients on PD who were prevalent between January 2014 and April 2015 in the center of Renji Hospital were enrolled. At the time of enrollment, serum and dialysate samples were collected to detect biochemical parameters, serum angiopoietin-2 and angiopoietin-1 levels. Patients were dichotomized into two groups according to a median of Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio and followed up prospectively until the end of the study., Results: A total of 325 patients were enrolled, including 168 males (51.7%) with a mean age of 56.9 ± 14.2 years and a median PD duration of 32.4 (9.8-55.9) months. Multiple linear regression showed pulse pressure (β = 0.206, p  < .001) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (β = 0.149, p  = .011) were positively correlated with serum Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio, while residual renal function (RRF) (β= -0.219, p  < .001) was negatively correlated with serum Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed the high serum Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio was an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=2.467, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.243-4.895, p  = .010) and all-cause mortality (HR = 1.486, 95%CI 1.038-2.127, p  = .031). In further subgroup analysis by gender, a significant association was shown in high Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio with all-cause mortality in male ( p  < .05), but not in female patients ( p >.05)., Conclusions: High Angpt-2/Angpt-1 ratio is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in PD patients.

Introduction: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a prevalent comorbidity among patients with end-stage kidney disease. Although sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors are validated in treating heart failure and ameliorating left ventricular hypertrophy among non-dialysis patients, the effects on dialysis patients are unknown. We previously investigated the pharmacokinetics of henagliflozin in patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) and clarified its safety., Methods and Analysis: This multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is being conducted at three hospitals in Shanghai, China. A target of 108 HD or PD patients with HFpEF are randomly allocated to treatment group (henagliflozin 5 mg/day in addition to standard therapy) or control group (placebo with standard therapy) at a ratio of 1:1. All subjects will be followed up for 24 weeks. The primary outcome is change in echocardiography-measured left ventricular mass index. The secondary interests include changes in left atrial volume index, E/e', e' and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). Intergroup comparisons of change in echocardiography-related outcomes from baseline to 24 weeks are based on a linear regression model adjusted for baseline values (analysis of covariance), and repeated measure analysis of variance with Bonferroni adjustment is employed for comparison of change in NT-proBNP. Subgroup analyses of the primary and secondary outcomes are conducted to determine whether the effect of henagliflozin varies according to dialysis modality. The χ 2 method is used to compare the occurrence of adverse events and severe adverse events., Ethics and Dissemination: This trial has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (LY2023-127-B). All participants provide written informed consent before screening. The results of the trial will be disclosed completely in international peer-reviewed journals. Both positive and negative results will be reported., Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR2300073169., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Cardiac arrest (CA) is a serious cardiac event, which has a high incidence and low survival rate at home and abroad. In order to predict the risk of CA in advance, a large number of studies have been conducted by relevant researchers. This paper mainly summarizes the characteristics and research status of the existing analysis and prediction of CA from three aspects: the risk prediction factors of CA, the evaluation index of risk prediction of CA and the early warning scoring system of CA. We hope it can help medical staff to understand the current progress in this field, and provide new ways and methods for predicting the risk of CA.

The durability of infection-induced severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunity has crucial implications for reinfection and vaccine effectiveness. However, the relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and long-term anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody level is poorly understood. Here, we measured the longevity of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in survivors who had recovered from COVID-19 1 year previously. In a cohort of 473 survivors with varying disease severity (asymptomatic, mild, moderate, or severe), we observed a positive correlation between virus-specific IgG antibody titers and COVID-19 severity. In particular, the highest virus-specific IgG antibody titers were observed in patients with severe COVID-19. By contrast, 74.4% of recovered asymptomatic carriers had negative anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG test results, while many others had very low virus-specific IgG antibody titers. Our results demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG persistence and titer depend on COVID-19 severity., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions, vegetable yields, and soil microbial properties were studied in response to different rates of rice-straw biochar applied to an intensive vegetable soil (Ultisol) in South China. The study was conducted over a one-year period as a block-designed field experiment (n = 3) with two successive crops and five harvests in total. Biochar was applied at rates of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 Mg ha -1 and splits of nitrogen (N) fertilizer were added in the form of urea (1010 kg N in total). References without biochar and N fertilization were included. Biochar significantly decreased the cumulative annual N 2 O emissions by 34-67%, which concurred with decreased denitrification enzyme activity and increased nosZ gene abundance in the vegetable soil. The absolute N 2 O mitigation increased with increasing flux rates, which were positively correlated to soil temperature and water-filled pore space. Conversely, weak increases of N 2 O emissions were recurrently induced by biochar when the soil temperature was lower than 20 °C and the absolute fluxes were low. A significant 17-29% increase in vegetable yield was induced by biochar, which also ameliorated soil fertility by increasing the soil carbon content and the cation exchange capacity. Overall, biochar significantly decreased the yield-scaled N 2 O emissions by 44-71% with the lowest yield-scaled N 2 O emissions for the intermediate biochar application rate of 20 Mg ha -1 . Higher biochar application rates failed to further decrease the yield-scaled N 2 O emissions, but rather caused weak increases. Based on the present results, a biochar application rate of 20 Mg ha -1 combined with N fertilization seemed to be recommendable to achieve highest vegetable yield with lowest N 2 O emissions in intensive vegetable production in South China., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1)/Tie-2 signaling pathway plays a crucial role in the maintenance of vascular stabilization and permeability. In this study, we evaluated the protective effect of a designed Ang-1 variant (COMP-Ang-1) on peritoneal vascular permeability and peritoneal transport function in a uremic peritoneal dialysis (PD) model. Compared to the sham controls, uremic rats were characterized by decreased pericyte coverage and downregulated endothelial junction expression. The permeability of the peritoneal vasculature to FITC-BSA and FITC-dextran in uremic rats was also higher than that in the sham controls, as well as increased levels of proinflammatory adhesion molecules and cytokines, increased D/P cr and decreased ultrafiltration. Such changes were more marked in uremia+PD rats after exposure to glucose-based peritoneal dialysis fluid (PDF) for 4 weeks. Peritoneal Ang-1 protein expression and Tie-2 phosphorylation were significantly lower in uremic rats than in control rats and were further significantly reduced in uremia+PD rats. After COMP-Ang-1 administration, phosphorylation of the Tie-2 receptor was significantly increased. Treatment with COMP-Ang-1 also significantly enhanced pericyte coverage, upregulated endothelial junction protein expression and inhibited leakage of FITC-BSA and FITC-dextran from the peritoneal vasculature induced during PD therapy; these changes were accompanied by reduced peritoneal tissue levels of proinflammatory adhesion molecules and cytokines, decreased D/P cr and increased ultrafiltration. These findings suggest that COMP-Ang-1 may exert a protective effect against glucose-based PDF-induced peritoneal vascular permeability and inflammation, at least in part, by enhancing pericyte coverage and endothelial junction protein expression, which subsequently significantly improves peritoneal transport function., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2019.)