DataSheet_1_Identification of biomarkers associated with immune scores in diabetic retinopathy.zip

BackgroundDiabetic retinopathy (DR) causes irreversible visual impairment in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Immunity played a crucial role in DR. Nevertheless, the triggering mechanism of DR was not yet thorough enough. Herein, we aim to identify the immune-associated genes as biomarkers associated with immune scores that can distinguish early DR from DM without DR.MethodsIn this study, total RNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples from 15 non-proliferative DR patients and 15 DM patients without DR were collected and the transcriptome sequencing data were extracted. Firstly, the target genes were obtained by intersecting the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were screened by “limma”, and the module genes (related to immune scores), which were screened by “WGCNA”. In order to screen for the crucial genes, three machine learning algorithms were implemented, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to obtain the diagnostic genes. Moreover, the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to understand the function of diagnostic genes, and analysis of the proportions of immune cells and their association with diagnostic genes was performed to analyze the pathogenesis of DR. Furthermore, the regulatory network of TF–mRNA–miRNA was built to reveal the possible regulation of diagnostic genes. Finally, the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to verify the mRNA level of diagnostic genes.ResultsA total of three immune-associated diagnostic genes, namely, FAM209B, POM121L1P, and PTGES, were obtained, and their expression was increased in PBMC samples of DR, and qRT-PCR results confirmed these results. Moreover, the functions of these genes were associated with immune response. The expression of POM121L1P and PTGES was significantly negatively associated with naive B cells, and the expression of FAM209B was significantly negatively associated with immature dendritic cells. Moreover, ESR1 could regulate both FAM209B and PTGES.ConclusionThis study identified three immune-associated diagnostic genes, FAM209B, POM121L1P, and PTGES, as biomarkers associated with immune scores in DR for the first time. This finding might proffer a novel perspective of the triggering mechanism of DR, and help to understand the role of immune-associated genes in the molecular mechanism of DR more deeply.</p

Polyoxometalate-Based Amphiphilic Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol with Hydrogen Peroxide under Organic Solvent-Free Conditions

A series of polyoxometalate (POM)-based amphiphilic catalysts were prepared via functionalization of the V-containing Keggin POM H₄PMo₁₁VO₄₀ by cationic surfactants with different carbon-chain lengths. These prepared catalysts were systematically characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thermogravimetric (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques as well as by the elemental analysis. Their catalytic activities were evaluated in the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by H₂O₂ under organic solvent-free conditions. Among the catalysts investigated, the amphiphilic (ODA)₄PMo₁₁VO₄₀ (ODA: octadecylmethylammonium) shows the highest catalytic efficiency for the selective oxidation. The high activity and selectivity of the prepared (ODA)₄PMo₁₁VO₄₀ are probably related to its amphiphilic property. A maximum conversion of benzyl alcohol is 60.6% with a selectivity of 99% for benzaldehyde under the optimized reaction conditions over (ODA)₄PMo₁₁VO₄₀, which offers excellent reusability, confirmed by the recycling of the used catalyst

Sustainable Ammonia Production via Nitric Oxide Electrochemical Reduction on H‑MXenes: A DFT Study

Ammonia has gained more interest as a promising candidate to produce clean and renewable hydrogen energy in recent years. It is crucial to develop a new and efficient method for improving the performance of NH3 synthesis. Nowadays, electrochemical NH3 synthesis by direct NO reduction has become an alternative to the Haber–Bosch process. Herein, the performance of a NO reduction reaction (NORR) on 33 different H-functionalized MXenes (H-MXenes) has been investigated by the combination of density functional theory (DFT) calculations with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. Through surface Pourbaix diagrams and Gibbs free-energy calculations, the reaction mechanism and limiting potential (UL) of the NORR on the H-MXenes are investigated. The DFT calculations demonstrate that the surface H could regulate the strength of NO adsorption, lower the free energy of the elemental step, effectively reduce the limiting potential, and hence improve the NORR performance. Furthermore, the results on the LASSO regression indicate a good fitting between the expression consisting of the combined descriptors from 1D to 4D and the UL values from the DFT calculations. Moreover, |Gv−ENO|2|GNO| is regarded as human-readable NORR performance descriptors with R2 = 0.83. This work not only provides a deep insight into the important role of H-functionalization in NORR but also profits to understand the originals of the NORR activity for the high-throughput screening of NH3 synthesis catalysts

Discovery of the Membrane Binding Domain in Trifunctional Proline Utilization A

<i>Escherichia coli</i> proline utilization A (<i>Ec</i>PutA) is the archetype of trifunctional PutA flavoproteins, which function both as regulators of the proline utilization operon and bifunctional enzymes that catalyze the four-electron oxidation of proline to glutamate. <i>Ec</i>PutA shifts from a self-regulating transcriptional repressor to a bifunctional enzyme in a process known as functional switching. The flavin redox state dictates the function of <i>Ec</i>PutA. Upon proline oxidation, the flavin becomes reduced, triggering a conformational change that causes <i>Ec</i>PutA to dissociate from the <i>put</i> regulon and bind to the cellular membrane. Major structure/function domains of <i>Ec</i>PutA have been characterized, including the DNA-binding domain, proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) and l-glutamate-γ-semialdehyde dehydrogenase catalytic domains, and an aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily fold domain. Still lacking is an understanding of the membrane-binding domain, which is essential for <i>Ec</i>PutA catalytic turnover and functional switching. Here, we provide evidence for a conserved C-terminal motif (CCM) in <i>Ec</i>PutA having a critical role in membrane binding. Deletion of the CCM or replacement of hydrophobic residues with negatively charged residues within the CCM impairs <i>Ec</i>PutA functional and physical membrane association. Furthermore, cell-based transcription assays and limited proteolysis indicate that the CCM is essential for functional switching. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer involving dansyl-labeled liposomes, residues in the α-domain are also implicated in membrane binding. Taken together, these experiments suggest that the CCM and α-domain converge to form a membrane-binding interface near the PRODH domain. The discovery of the membrane-binding region will assist efforts to define flavin redox signaling pathways responsible for <i>Ec</i>PutA functional switching

Intermediate Phase Intermolecular Exchange Triggered Defect Elimination in CH₃NH₃PbI₃ toward Room-Temperature Fabrication of Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

The solvent-engineered one-step spin-coating method has been widely used to produce full-coverage CH₃NH₃PbI₃ films for perovskite solar cells by forming an intermediate phase. However, the resultant CH₃NH₃PbI₃ films usually contain numerous structural and compositional defects mainly resulting from the fast crystallization of the intermediate phase as well as the escape of CH₃NH₃I species induced by the inevitably thermal annealing recipe. Herein, a facile room-temperature intermolecular exchange route is proposed to enable conversion of the intermediate phase into uniform and ultra-flat CH₃NH₃PbI₃ films. It can effectively inhibit the formation of structural and compositional defects in the resultant films, and even repair their inherent defects. As a result, the efficiency of perovskite solar cells can be boosted to 19.45% with a stabilized value of 18.55%, which is much higher than that from the ones fabricated by thermal annealing. This study suggests a facile and low-cost route to room-temperature fabrication of highly efficient perovskite solar cells including flexible ones

Table_1_Characterization of suspended sand concentrations in the Yangtze River Estuary and adjacent waters.xls

IntroductionThe study on the distribution characteristics of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in estuaries is an important subject in the study of estuaries and coasts, which has important theoretical significance and practical value.MethodsIn order to fully understand the characteristics of SSC in the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent waters, this paper uses fixed vertical observation data and navigation type large area observation data as data sources to analyze the distribution characteristics of SSC in the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent waters under different tidal current states and its vertical profile characteristics. It discusses the impact of tidal current velocity on SSC and the changes of SSC in the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent waters from 2018 to 2020. And the applicability of the Rouse and Soulsby formulas in the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent waters was verified.ResultsIt was found that the Rouse and Soulsby models have high applicability in the study area, and the prediction accuracy based on the Li’s Soulsby model is higher. This study provides effective support for carrying out marine forecasting, analysis and evaluation, and provides theoretical basis for carrying out analysis of the current situation of estuarine mudflat resources and prediction of the evolution trend. It plays an important role in scientific and comprehensive research and management of mudflat resources in Shanghai.DiscussionHowever, this study only explored the characteristic patterns of SSC in the Yangtze River Estuary and its adjacent waters based on field observations, but SSC is a more complex water environment parameter that is influenced by a variety of factors. The effects of salinity, temperature and wind speed should be considered in subsequent studies.</p

Highly Flexible Self-Powered Organolead Trihalide Perovskite Photodetectors with Gold Nanowire Networks as Transparent Electrodes

Organolead trihalide perovskites (OTPs) such as CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPbI₃) have attracted much attention as the absorbing layer in solar cells and photodetectors (PDs). Flexible OTP devices have also been developed. Transparent electrodes (TEs) with higher conductivity, stability, and flexibility are necessary to improve the performance and flexibility of flexible OTP devices. In this work, patterned Au nanowire (AuNW) networks with high conductivity and stability are prepared and used as TEs in self-powered flexible MAPbI₃ PDs. These flexible PDs show peak external quantum efficiency and responsivity of 60% and 321 mA/W, which are comparable to those of MAPbI₃ PDs based on ITO TEs. The linear dynamic range and response time of the AuNW-based flexible PDs reach ∼84 dB and ∼4 μs, respectively. Moreover, they show higher flexibility than ITO-based devices, around 90%, and 60% of the initial photocurrent can be retained for the AuNW-based flexible PDs when bent to radii of 2.5 and 1.5 mm. This work suggests a high-performance, highly flexible, and stable TE for OTP flexible devices

Nucleation and Crystal Growth of Organic–Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskites under Different Relative Humidity

Organic–inorganic lead halide perovskite compounds are very promising materials for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. But how to fabricate high-quality perovksite films under controlled humidity conditions is still an important issue due to their sensitivity to moisture. In this study, we investigated the influence of ambient humidity on crystallization and surface morphology of one-step spin-coated perovskite films, as well as the performance of solar cells based on these perovskite films. On the basis of experimental analyses and thin film growth theory, we conclude that the influence of ambient humidity on nucleation at spin-coating stage is quite different from that on crystal growth at annealing stage. At the spin-coating stage, high nucleation density induced by high supersaturation prefers to appear under anhydrous circumstances, resulting in layer growth and high coverage of perovskite films. But at the annealing stage, the modest supersaturation benefits formation of perovskite films with good crystallinity. The films spin-coated under low relative humidity (RH) followed by annealing under high RH show an increase of crystallinity and improved performance of devices. Therefore, a mechanism of fast nucleation followed by modest crystal growth (high supersaturation at spin-coating stage and modest supersaturation at annealing stage) is suggested in the formation of high-quality perovskite films

Pure-Phase, Large-Grained Wide-Band-Gap Perovskite Films for High-Efficiency, Four-Terminal Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

High-quality, stable perovskite films with a wide band gap between 1.65 and 1.80 eV are highly suitable for efficient and cost-competitive silicon-based tandem solar cells. Herein, we demonstrate that the combined strategies of the Pb(SCN)2 additive and air annealing can enable the Cs0.22FA0.78Pb(I0.85Br0.15)3 films with a wide band gap of 1.65 eV and favored properties including pure composition, high crystallinity, micro-sized grains, and reduced defects. With these desired films, the average efficiencies of semitransparent perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are boosted from (18.13 ± 0.31) to (20.35 ± 0.28)%. Further, the semitransparent PSC is used to assemble the four-terminal perovskite/TOPCon tandem solar cell. Benefiting from its excellent performance and preferred optical properties, the obtained tandem solar cell yields a milestone efficiency of 30.32%

(a) The signal of TEMPO; (b) ¹O₂ existence verified by L-His

<p>.</p