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The electrochemical CO 2 reduction to high-value-added chemicals is one of the most promising and challenging research in the energy conversion field. An efficient ECR catalyst based on a Cu-based conductive metal-organic framework (Cu-DBC) is dedicated to producing CH 4 with superior activity and selectivity, showing a Faradaic efficiency of CH 4 as high as ~80% and a large current density of −203 mA cm −2 at −0.9 V vs. RHE. The further investigation based on theoretical calculations and experimental results indicates the Cu-DBC with oxygen-coordinated Cu sites exhibits higher selectivity and activity over the other two crystalline ECR catalysts with nitrogen-coordinated Cu sites due to the lower energy barriers of Cu-O 4 sites during ECR process. This work unravels the strong dependence of ECR selectivity on the Cu site coordination environment in crystalline porous catalysts, and provides a platform for constructing highly selective ECR catalysts. Crystalline porous catalysts with single Cu sites are dedicated to exploring the dependence of CO 2 electroreduction selectivity on the coordination environment of catalytic sites. The conductive MOF Cu-DBC with oxygen-coordinated Cu sites shows a high Faradaic efficiency ~80% of CO 2 -to-CH 4 .

BackgroundThe platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a novel biomarker to predict the prognosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients.AimThe study aimed to evaluate the in-hospital outcomes of elderly patients with AMI and assessed the prognostic value of PLR on in-hospital adverse events.MethodsA total of 1,001 patients were divided into an older group (n = 560) and a younger group (n = 441) based on age ≥ 60 years and successfully underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 12 h after presentation. Total white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets counts were measured at admission.ResultsThe incidence of heart rupture, acute heart failure, total adverse events, and death resulting from all events were significantly higher in patients ≥ 60 years than in younger patients, whereas the incidence of postoperative angina and reinfarction were similar between groups. Regarding blood counts, total white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets were lower in the older group than in the younger group. The platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) was significantly higher in the older group. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, high PLR > 147 predicted adverse events (specificity 72% and sensitivity 63%). In multiple logistic regression analysis, age, hypertension, and PLR were identified as independent predictors of adverse events.ConclusionsThe in-hospital outcomes of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction were poor. PLR was an independent risk factor for in-hospital adverse events, which suggested that strong inflammation and prothrombotic status may contribute to the poor prognoses of elderly patients.

Background The metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcription 1 (Malat1) is a highly conserved long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) gene. Previous studies showed that Malat1 is abundantly expressed in many tissues and involves in promoting tumor growth and metastasis by modulating gene expression and target protein activities. However, little is known about the biological function and regulation mechanism of Malat1 in normal cell proliferation. Results In this study we conformed that Malat1 is highly conserved across vast evolutionary distances amongst 20 species of mammals in terms of sequence, and found that mouse Malat1 expresses in tissues of liver, kidney, lung, heart, testis, spleen and brain, but not in skeletal muscle. After treating erythroid myeloid lymphoid (EML) cells with All-trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA), we investigated the expression and regulation of Malat1 during hematopoietic differentiation, the results showed that ATRA significantly down regulates Malat1 expression during the differentiation of EML cells. Mouse LRH (Lin-Rhodamine low Hoechst low ) cells that represent the early-stage progenitor cells show a high level of Malat1 expression, while LRB (Lin  −  Hoechst Low Rhodamine Bright ) cells that represent the late-stage progenitor cells had no detectable expression of Malat1. Knockdown experiment showed that depletion of Malat1 inhibits the EML cell proliferation. Along with the down regulation of Malat1, the tumor suppressor gene p53 was up regulated during the differentiation. Interestingly, we found two p53 binding motifs with help of bioinformatic tools, and the following chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) test conformed that p53 acts as a transcription repressor that binds to Malat1’s promoter. Furthermore, we testified that p53 over expression in EML cells causes down regulation of Malat1. Conclusions In summary, this study indicates Malat1 plays a critical role in maintaining the proliferation potential of early-stage hematopoietic cells. In addition to its biological function, the study also uncovers the regulation pattern of Malat1 expression mediated by p53 in hematopoietic differentiation. Our research shed a light on exploring the Malat1 biological role including therapeutic significance to inhibit the proliferation potential of malignant cells.

Background Transcriptome and proteome analyses on fruit pulp from the blood orange ‘Zaohong’ and the navel orange ‘twenty-first century’ were performed to study Citrus sinensis quality-related molecular changes during consecutive developmental periods, including young fruit, fruit-coloring onset and fruit delayed-harvest for two months, during which fruit remained on the trees. Results The time-course analysis for the fruit developmental periods indicated a complex, dynamic gene expression pattern, with the numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two cultivars being 119, 426 and 904 at the three continuous stages tested during fruit development and ripening. The continuous increase in total soluble solids over the course of fruit development was correlated with up-regulated sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) transcription levels in both cultivars. Eleven differentially expressed genes between the two cultivars involved in the flavonoid pathway were significantly enriched at the onset of the fruit-coloring stage when anthocyanins were detected in blood orange alone. Among 5185 proteins, 65 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated proteins were co-expressed with their cognate mRNAs with significant transcription and protein expression levels when the fruits from the two cultivars were compared at the fruit delayed-harvest stage. Additionally, important genes participating in the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt were activated in blood orange at two significant expression levels in the fruit delayed-harvest stage. Thus, organic acids in fruit continuously decreased during this stage. Conclusions This research was the first to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the differentially expressed genes involved in anthocyanin, sucrose and citrate metabolism at the transcriptome and proteome levels in C. sinensis , especially during the fruit delayed-harvest stage.

A new process of AlN removal from secondary aluminum dross (SAD) by pyrometallurgical treatment with added cryolite was applied for solving the problem of recycling the secondary aluminum dross. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to design experiments and optimize parameters. The results show that adding the appropriate amount of cryolite can effectively promote the oxidation of AlN in the SAD, and too much cryolite will reduce the promotion effect. The effects of roasting temperature and cryolite on the denitrification rate are the most significant (p < 0.0001) followed by holding time. Predicted values of the denitrification rate are found to be in good agreement with experimental values (R2 = 0.9894 and Radj2=0.9775 , which confirms the validity of the model employed. The optimum conditions of roasting temperature of 750 °C, holding time of 194 min, mass fraction of cryolite of 17.7% are obtained according to the quadratic model. Under these conditions, the maximum actual denitrification rate reaches 94.71% and the AlN content in the SAD is only 0.55 wt%. The unfired brick with compressive strength of 18.62 MPa (GB/T 2542-2012) was prepared based on the roasted SAD.

Higher alcohols significantly influence the quality and flavor profiles of Chinese Baijiu. ILV1-encoded threonine deaminase, LEU1-encoded α-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase, and LEU2-encoded β-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase are involved in the production of higher alcohols. In this work, ILV1, LEU1, and LEU2 deletions in α-type haploid, a-type haploid, and diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and ILV1, LEU1, and LEU2 single-allele deletions in diploid strains were constructed to examine the effects of these alterations on the metabolism of higher alcohols. Results showed that different genetic engineering strategies influence carbon flux and higher alcohol metabolism in different manners. Compared with the parental diploid strain, the ILV1 double-allele-deletion diploid mutant produced lower concentrations of n-propanol, active amyl alcohol, and 2-phenylethanol by 30.33, 35.58, and 11.71%, respectively. Moreover, the production of isobutanol and isoamyl alcohol increased by 326.39 and 57.6%, respectively. The LEU1 double-allele-deletion diploid mutant exhibited 14.09% increased n-propanol, 33.74% decreased isoamyl alcohol, and 13.21% decreased 2-phenylethanol production, which were similar to those of the LEU2 mutant. Furthermore, the LEU1 and LEU2 double-allele-deletion diploid mutants exhibited 41.72 and 52.18% increased isobutanol production, respectively. The effects of ILV1, LEU1, and LEU2 deletions on the production of higher alcohols by α-type and a-type haploid strains were similar to those of double-allele deletion in diploid strains. Moreover, the isobutanol production of the ILV1 single-allele-deletion diploid strain increased by 27.76%. Variations in higher alcohol production by the mutants are due to the carbon flux changes in yeast metabolism. This study could provide a valuable reference for further research on higher alcohol metabolism and future optimization of yeast strains for alcoholic beverages.

Background Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia could lead to kernicterus and neonatal death. This study aimed to analyze the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes involved in bilirubin metabolism and the incidence of severe hyperbilirubinemia. Methods A total of 144 neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia and 50 neonates without or mild hyperbilirubinemia were enrolled in 3 institutions between 2019 and 2020. Twelve polymorphisms of 5 genes (UGT1A1, SLCO1B1, SLCO1B3, BLVRA, and HMOX1) were analyzed by PCR amplification of genomic DNA. Genotyping was performed using an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction technique based on ligase detection reaction. Results The frequencies of the A allele in UGT1A1-rs4148323 and the C allele in SLCO1B3-rs2417940 in the severe hyperbilirubinemia group (30.2% and 90.6%, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the controls (30.2% vs.13.0%, 90.6% vs. 78.0%, respectively, both p  < 0.05). Haplotype analysis showed the ACG haplotype of UGT1A1 were associated with an increased hyperbilirubinemia risk (OR 3.122, p  = 0.001), whereas the GCG haplotype was related to a reduced risk (OR 0.523, p  = 0.018). Conclusion The frequencies of the A allele in rs4148323 and the C allele in rs2417940 are highly associated with the incidence of severe hyperbilirubinemia in Chinese Han neonates. Trial registration Trial registration number:ChiCTR1800020424; Date of registration:2018-12-29.

Acetate esters and higher alcohols greatly influence the quality and flavor profiles of Chinese Baijiu (Chinese liquor). Various mutants have been constructed to investigate the interactions of ATF1 overexpression, IAH1 deletion, and BAT2 deletion on the production of acetate esters and higher alcohols. The results showed that the overexpression of ATF1 under the control of the PGK1 promoter with BAT2 and IAH1 double-gene deletion led to a higher production of acetate esters and a lower production of higher alcohols than the overexpression of ATF1 with IAH1 deletion or overexpression of ATF1 with BAT2 deletion. Moreover, deletion of IAH1 in ATF1 overexpression strains effectively increased the production of isobutyl acetate and isoamyl acetate by reducing the hydrolysis of acetate esters. The decline in the production of higher alcohol by the ATF1 overexpression strains with BAT2 deletion is due to the interaction of ATF1 overexpression and BAT2 deletion. Mutants with varying abilities of producing acetate esters and higher alcohols were developed by genetic engineering. These strains have great potential for industrial application.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a lethal gastrointestinal tract disease that occurs in premature infants. Adenosine receptor A2B (A2BR) regulates the inflammation cytokine secretion and immune cell infiltration in the colonic pathophysiology conditions. In the present study, we aim to determine the roles of A2BR in the development of NEC. A NEC rat model was established and treated with A2BR agonist-BAY60-6583 or A2BR antagonist-PSB1115. Animals in the control group were free from any interventions. Our results showed that the inhibition of A2BR PSB1115 improved intestinal injury and inflammation in newborn NEC rats. The expression levels of caspase-3 and the ratio of apoptotic cells were upregulated in NEC rats, and these indices were downregulated after treating with PSB1115 but further upregulated by BAY60-6583. Meanwhile, a similar trend was also witnessed in the changes of MPO activities and proinflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. However, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the NECP group was significantly higher than that in the NEC and NECB groups (p<0.05, respectively). Moreover, the expression of Ki67 was significantly increased in the NECP group as compared with those of the NEC and the NECB groups (p<0.05, respectively). Collectively, our study suggested that the inhibition of A2BR attenuates NEC in the neonatal rat, at least partially through the modulation of inflammation and the induction of epithelial cell proliferation.

This multicenter retrospective study was conducted to explore the effects of different courses and durations of invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) on the respiratory outcomes of very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) in China. The population for this study consisted of infants with birth weight less than 1500 g needing at least 1 course of invasive MV and admitted to the neonatal intensive care units affiliated with the Chinese Neonatal Network within 6 h of life from January 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2020. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate associations between invasive MV and respiratory outcomes. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were computed with the effects of potential confounders. (1) Among the 3183 VLBWs with a history of at least one course of invasive MV, 3155 (99.1%) met inclusion criteria and were assessed for the primary outcome. Most infants received one course (76.8%) and a shorter duration of invasive MV (62.16% with ventilation for 7 days or less). (2) In terms of the incidence of all bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (mild, moderate, and severe BPD), there were no significant differences between different invasive MV courses [For 2 courses, adjusted OR = 1.11 (0.88, 1.39); For 3 courses or more, adjusted OR = 1.07 (0.72, 1.60)]. But, with the duration of invasive MV prolonging, the OR of BPD increased [8–21 days, adjusted OR = 1.98 (1.59, 2.45); 22–35 days, adjusted OR = 4.37 (3.17, 6.03); ≥ 36 days, adjusted OR = 18.44 (10.98, 30.99)]. Concerning severe BPD, the OR increased not only with the course of invasive MV but also with the duration of invasive MV [For 2 courses, adjusted OR = 2.17 (1.07, 4.40); For 3 courses or more, adjusted OR = 2.59 (1.02, 6.61). 8–21 days, adjusted OR = 8.42 (3.22, 22.01); 22–35 days, adjusted OR = 27.82 (9.08, 85.22); ≥ 36 days, adjusted OR = 616.45 (195.79, > 999.999)]. (3) When the interaction effect between invasive MV duration and invasive MV course was considered, it was found that there were no interactive effects in BPD and severe BPD. Greater than or equal to three courses would increase the chance of severe BPD, death, and the requirement of home oxygen therapy. Compared with distinct courses of invasive MV, a longer duration of invasive MV (> 7 days) has a greater effect on the risk of BPD, severe BPD, death, and the requirement of home oxygen therapy.