The role of inflammation in autoimmune disease: a therapeutic target

Autoimmune diseases (AIDs) are immune disorders whose incidence and prevalence are increasing year by year. AIDs are produced by the immune system’s misidentification of self-antigens, seemingly caused by excessive immune function, but in fact they are the result of reduced accuracy due to the decline in immune system function, which cannot clearly identify foreign invaders and self-antigens, thus issuing false attacks, and eventually leading to disease. The occurrence of AIDs is often accompanied by the emergence of inflammation, and inflammatory mediators (inflammatory factors, inflammasomes) play an important role in the pathogenesis of AIDs, which mediate the immune process by affecting innate cells (such as macrophages) and adaptive cells (such as T and B cells), and ultimately promote the occurrence of autoimmune responses, so targeting inflammatory mediators/pathways is one of emerging the treatment strategies of AIDs. This review will briefly describe the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of different AIDs, and give a rough introduction to inhibitors targeting inflammatory factors, hoping to have reference significance for subsequent treatment options for AIDs

Competitive Interactions of NH3 and Toluene with Biochar Modified by Pre- and Post-Treatments of H3PO4 in Dual Adsorption Systems

Biochar modified by H3PO4 treatment can be used to purify malodorous gases during bio-drying of sludge, but the current understanding of multi-component adsorption of malodorous gases through biochar is limited. This study examined the adsorption mechanism of mixed malodorous gases including toluene and ammonia (NH3) on two kinds of biochar modified via H3PO4 pretreatment before and after pyrolysis. The biochar obtained by H3PO4 pretreatment of biomass before pyrolysis (C550) preferred to adsorb NH3 whether in the single or the dual system. In contrast, the biochar obtained by H3PO4 reprocessing after pyrolysis of biomass (C350-550) tended to adsorb toluene in the dual system but was more efficient in absorbing NH3 in the single system. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model indicated the synergistic adsorption between NH3 and toluene for all biochar samples. In-situ DRIFTS of C350-550 during adsorption demonstrated the formation of amino functional groups caused by NH3 chemical adsorption with -OH (or -COOH) in the dual system. These increases in basic groups on C350-550 could enhance the surface zero potential point of C350-550, thereby improving the non-polarity of C350-550 and benefit the adsorption of weak polar toluene

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Mutagenesis of <i>GmFAD2-1A</i> and/or <i>GmFAD2-1B</i> to Create High-Oleic-Acid Soybean

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) oil is an important source of vegetable oil for supporting the human diet. However, the high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in natural soybean oil renders the oil unstable and thus susceptible to the development of unpalatable flavors and trans fatty acids. Therefore, reducing the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and increasing the content of monounsaturated fatty acids is a longstanding and important target for soybean breeding. However, soybean varieties with a high oleic acid content are rare in soybean germplasm resources, which introduces substantial difficulties in the cultivation of high-oleic-acid soybeans. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene-editing technology was used to create targeted knockout of the soybean fatty acid desaturase encoding genes GmFAD2-1A and GmFAD2-1B that contribute to the formation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. We obtained fad2-1a, fad2-1b, and fad2-1a/fad2-1b homozygous mutants using two sgRNAs. We found that the oleic acid content increased from 11% to 40-50% in the fad2-1a and fad2-1b mutants and to 85% in the fad2-1a/fad2-1b mutants. We also generated transgene-free double mutants that conferred higher oleic acid, and the fad2-1a/fad2-1b mutant had no adverse phenotyping compared with the wild type. Our study provided new materials for the selection and breeding of high-oleic-acid soybean varieties

Efficient Synthesis of Liquid Fuel Intermediates from Furfural and Levulinic Acid via Aldol Condensation over Hierarchical MFI Zeolite Catalyst

A water-tolerant, basic, and hierarchical MFI zeolite catalyst was synthesized and applied in the aldol condensation reaction between biomass-derived furfural and levulinic acid. The results showed that the addition of poly(diallyl dimethylammonium chloride) significantly affected the textural and acid-base properties of hierarchical zeolite, which subsequently influenced the catalytic performance of hierarchical zeolite. In the aqueous phase, potassium-modified, hierarchical MFI zeolite (K/H-MFI-n) was more active for aldol condensation between furfural and levulinic acid than the potassium-modified, conventional MFI zeolite (K/MFI). This was ascribed to higher basic sites density and improved diffusion limitation of K/H-MFI-n. A 70.6% yield of aldol condensation product was achieved with a complete conversion of furfural at 100 degrees C for 9 h by K/H-MFI-0.6. However, only 27.4% yield of aldol condensation product with 55.1% furfural conversion was obtained by K/MFI at the same condition. Two major isomeric aldol products, beta-furfurylidenelevulinic acid and delta-furfurylidenelevulinic acid (beta-FDLA and delta-FDLA), were obtained after acidification. K/H-MFI-n displayed an enhanced selectivity (54.9%) to delta-FDLA, owing to the stronger basicity of K/H-MFI-n. However, K/MFI showed a preferred selectivity to beta-FDLA (42.7%), owing to the dominant Lewis acidity. Recyclability research showed that the catalytic performance of potassium-modified, hierarchical MFI zeolite was acceptable after five runs

Production of liquid fuel intermediates from furfural via aldol condensation over Lewis acid zeolite catalysts

Aldol condensation reactions between furfural and acetone can be used to produce liquid fuel intermediates. It was found that tin-containing zeolites with MFI (Sn-MFI) and BEA* (Sn-Beta) framework structures are effective for C-C bond formation via the aldol condensation reactions between furfural and acetone. Aldol condensation between furfural and acetone produced two main products, 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc) and 1,5-di-2-furanyl-1,4-pentadien-3-one (F2Ac). Although both these catalysts were active for the aldol condensation reactions, different selectivities to aldol products were observed over Sn-MFI and Sn-Beta. FAc and F2Ac were formed over the Sn-Beta catalyst with selectivities to FAc of 40% and F2Ac of 22%, respectively. In contrast, only FAc was produced over Sn-MFI. The variation in selectivity is likely due to different pore geometries of Sn-Beta and Sn-MFI, suggesting that Sn-MFI exhibits shape selectivity for aldol condensation between furfural and acetone. In addition, it was found that the addition of water to the reaction system can also affect the product selectivity, leading to the aldol product exclusively being FAc over Sn-Beta

Preparation of two different crystal structures of cerous phosphate as solid acid catalysts: their different catalytic performance in the aldol condensation reaction between furfural and acetone

Liquid fuel intermediates can be produced via aldol condensation reactions through furan aldehydes and ketones driven from biomass. It was found that cerous phosphate (CP) with two different crystal structures (hexagonal and monoclinic structure), which was tailored by different hydrothermal temperature (120 degrees C for the hexagonal structure and 180 degrees C for the monoclinic structure) and calcination temperature (900 degrees C for the monoclinic structure) as a solid acid catalyst, exhibit high catalytic performance in aldol condensation between furfural and acetone. The CP with hexagonal structure gave 89.1% conversion of furfural with 42% yield of 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc) and 17.5% of yield of 1,5-di-2-furanyl-1,4-pentadien-3-one (F2Ac), much higher than CP with monoclinic structure. However, both furfural conversion and aldol product yield increased from 82.3% to 96% and from 50.5% to 68.4%, respectively, for CP with the monoclinic structure after calcination owing to the higher amount of acid of catalyst after calcination but decreased continuously for CP with hexagonal structure after calcination because of its rapidly reduced BET surface area and total pore volume. The results indicated that calcination affects significantly the physical-chemical properties of CP catalysts, which influence subsequently the catalytic performance in the aldol condensation reaction. Recycling experiments showed that the catalytic performance after five number runs for CP with monoclinic structure after calcination was acceptable but was not ideal for CP with hexagonal structure owing to its poor hydrothermal stability

Dehydration of glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural by combining Lewis and Bronsted acid

In this work, glucose was transformed into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 5-ethoxymethylfurfural (EMF) in the presence of AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O and a Bronsted solid acid catalyst (PTSA-POM). GVL (gamma-valerolactone)-water and ethanol-water solvent systems were evaluated in the dehydration reaction of glucose into HMF and EMF, respectively. Water content and dosage of AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O were examined in the conversion of glucose into HMF, and some valuable chlorides (FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O, NiCl2 center dot 6H(2)O, CrCl3 center dot 6H(2)O etc.) were also used in contrast with AlCl3 center dot 6H(2)O. Some different organic solvents were added to the ethanol-water system to explore whether it would be beneficial to the generation of EMF. A high yield of HMF (60.7%) was obtained at 140 degrees C within 60 min in GVL-water (10:1) solvent system, and total yield 42.1% of EMF and HMF (30.6% EMF, 11.5% HMF) was achieved at 150 degrees C after 30 min in an ethanol-water (9 : 1) solvent system

p-Hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid-formaldehyde solid acid resin for the conversion of fructose and glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

A novel solid p-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid-formaldehyde resin (SPFR) was prepared via a straightforward hydrothermal method. The catalytic properties of SPFR solid acids were evaluated in the dehydration reaction of fructose and glucose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). SEM, TEM, N-2 adsorption-desorption, elemental analysis (EA), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and FT-IR were used to explore the effects of catalyst structure and composition on the HMF preparation from fructose. The effects of reaction time and temperature on the dehydration of fructose and glucose were also investigated. An HMF yield as high as 82.6% was achieved from fructose at 140 degrees C after 30 min, and 33.0% was achieved from glucose at 190 degrees C in 30 min. Furthermore, the recyclability of SPFR for the HMF production from fructose in 5 cycles was good