Gas-Phase Cation Exchange toward Porous Single-Crystal CoO Nanorods for Catalytic Hydrogen Production

As a promising catalyst for hydrogen evolution, cobaltous oxide (CoO) with good crystallinity and large surface is highly anticipated to enhance the catalytic performance. Here we present a facile route for the fabrication of porous single-crystal (PS) CoO nanorods (NRs) by gas phase cation exchange of ZnO NRs. The single-crystal structure of ZnO template is well-preserved after the cation exchange, and numerous nanopores form in the PS CoO NRs because of the volume shrinkage. As-synthesized PS CoO NRs exhibit outstanding catalytic activities for NaBH₄ hydrolysis in alkaline solutions, outperforming polycrystalline CoO NRs and even noble metal catalysts

Ultrabroad Bandwidth and Highly Sensitive Optical Ultrasonic Detector for Photoacoustic Imaging

We demonstrate an ultrasonic detector with unprecedented broad bandwidth and high sensitivity, based on an imprinted polymer optical microring. It has an acoustic response of up to 350 MHz at −3 dB and noise-limited detectable pressure as low as 105 Pa in this frequency range. Application of such a detector in photoacoustic imaging leads to improved axial resolving ability compared with using the conventional ultrasound detector, and sub-3 μm axial resolution is achieved, which is more than a 2-fold improvement with respect to the reported record. The device’s miniaturized cavity height guarantees its broadband response, and at the same time, its high optical quality factor ensures the detection sensitivity. Our work suggests that the polymer-based miniature microring resonator works as a high-performance ultrasound detector and has potential for acquiring volumetric photoacoustic images with cellular/subcellular resolution in three dimensions

Double Open-Circuit Voltage of Three-Dimensional ZnO/CdTe Solar Cells by a Balancing Depletion Layer

Three-dimensional (3D) heterojunction solar cells (HSCs) were fabricated by thermal deposition of a compact CdTe layer onto ZnO nanorods (NRs). Although the 3D architecture obviously improves the short-circuit current of HSCs, the open-circuit voltage is rather low, and this problem can be addressed by inserting an intermediate layer between ZnO NRs and the CdTe layer. On the basis of experimental and theoretical analyses, we found that the low open-circuit voltage mainly arose from the incomplete depletion layer and serious recombination of carriers at the CdTe/ZnO interface. The CdS intermediate layer can redistribute the depletion regions and eliminate the interface defects, thus remarkably improving the open-circuit voltage

Designing Hybrid NiP₂/NiO Nanorod Arrays for Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

Transition-metal phosphides (TMPs) have lately drawn intensive attention because of their noble metal-free properties and high catalytic activities for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The current research mainly focuses on the development of TMPs toward the HER in acidic solutions; however, less efforts have been directed to specifically design TMPs for alkaline HER. Here, we design a new bi-functional metal phosphide–oxide catalyst to facilitate the overall multistep HER process in alkaline environments. In this new catalytic system, oxygen-vacancy-rich NiO provides abundant active sites for dissociation of water, and the negatively charged P species in NiP₂ facilitate adsorption of hydrogen intermediates. The resulting hybrid NiP₂/NiO NRs show excellent alkaline HER catalytic activity and stability. Our work demonstrates that it is highly promising to engineer multiple components in hybrid catalytic systems to enhance the overall reaction kinetics and thus achieve improvements in catalytic performance

DataSheet_1_Association between systemic inflammatory indicators with the survival of chronic kidney disease: a prospective study based on NHANES.docx

Backgroundsystemic inflammation disorders were observed in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether the systemic inflammatory indicators could be optimal predictors for the survival of CKD remains less studied.MethodsIn this study, participants were selected from the datasets of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 to 2018 years. Four systemic inflammatory indicators were evaluated by the peripheral blood tests including systemic immune-inflammation index (SII, platelet*neutrophil/lymphocyte), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR). Kaplan-Meier curves, restricted cubic spline (RCS), and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the association between the inflammatory index with the all-cause mortality of CKD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and concordance index (C-index) were used to determine the predictive accuracy of varied systemic inflammatory indicators. Sensitive analyses were conducted to validate the robustness of the main findings.ResultsA total of 6,880 participants were included in this study. The mean age was 67.03 years old. Among the study population, the mean levels of systemic inflammatory indicators were 588.35 in SII, 2.45 in NLR, 133.85 in PLR, and 3.76 in LMR, respectively. The systemic inflammatory indicators of SII, NLR, and PLR were all significantly positively associated with the all-cause mortality of CKD patients, whereas the high value of LMR played a protectable role in CKD patients. NLR and LMR were the leading predictors in the survival of CKD patients [Hazard ratio (HR) =1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-1.36, p = 0.003 (3rd quartile), HR = 1.52, 95%CI: 1.35-1.72, pth quartile) in NLR, and HR = 0.83, 95%CI: 0.75-0.92, pnd quartile), HR = 0.73, 95%CI: 0.65-0.82, prd quartile), and = 0.74, 95%CI: 0.65-0.83, pth quartile) in LMR], with a C-index of 0.612 and 0.624, respectively. The RCS curves showed non-linearity between systemic inflammatory indicators and all-cause mortality risk of the CKD population.ConclusionOur study highlights that systemic inflammatory indicators are important for predicting the survival of the U.S. population with CKD. The systemic inflammatory indicators would add additional clinical value to the health care of the CKD population.</p

Maximizing Thiophene–Sulfur Functional Groups in Carbon Catalysts for Highly Selective H₂O₂ Electrosynthesis

Carbon materials are promising electrocatalysts for renewable energy devices because of their abundant availability, tunability, and structural durability in harsh electrochemical environments. Future large-scale applications require the construction of carbon materials with a clear doping configuration and high dopant loading, but this is particularly challenging. In this work, we reported a molecular weaving strategy using molecules with well-defined thiophene–sulfur (S) configuration as precursors to synthesize thiophene–S-doped carbon with a high S doping mass up to 14 wt % for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) electrosynthesis. We theoretically and experimentally showed that the as-synthesized thiophene–S-doped carbon catalyst exhibited a selectivity exceeding 90% for H2O2 production. More significantly, we assembled a thiophene–S-doped carbon-based zinc–air battery for simultaneous H2O2 and power generation, which demonstrated a H2O2 production rate of 117.7 ± 0.2 mg·mg–1Cat·h–1 and a peak power density of 82.7 ± 0.8 mW cm–2. This work extends the practical application potential of carbon-based materials in future energy conversion and storage devices

Arrays of Ultrathin CdS Nanoflakes with High-Energy Surface for Efficient Gas Detection

It is fascinating and challenging to endow conventional materials with unprecedented properties. For instance, cadmium sulfide (CdS) is an important semiconductor with excellent light response; however, its potential in gas-sensing was underestimated owing to relatively low chemical activity and poor electrical conductivity. Herein, we demonstrate that an ideal architecture, ultrathin nanoflake arrays (NFAs), can improve significantly gas-sensing properties of CdS material. The CdS NFAs are grown directly on the interdigitated electrode to expose large surface area. Their thickness is reduced below the double Debye length of CdS, permitting to achieve a full depletion of carriers. Particularly, the prepared CdS nanoflakes are enclosed with high-energy {0001} facets exposed, which provides more active sites for gas adsorption. Moreover, the NFAs exhibit the light-trapping effect, which further enhances their gas sensitivity. As a result, the as-prepared CdS NFAs demonstrate excellent gas-sensing and light-response properties, thus being capable of dual gas and light detection

Zinc-Blende CdS Nanocubes with Coordinated Facets for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

To develop catalysts that are efficient and stable under aggressive catalytic conditions, we detail a synthetic approach to producing zinc-blende cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocubes (NCs), a metastable CdS polymorph that is terminated by coordinated facets. The hydrogen generation activity of these CdS NCs (∼11.6 mmol g^–1 h^–1) was nearly 4 times higher than that of wurtzite CdS nanoparticles (∼2.7 mmol g^–1 h^–1) and 2 times higher than that of irregularly shaped zinc-blende CdS nanoparticles (∼5.9 mmol g^–1 h^–1). Furthermore, the NCs also exhibited much improved long-term performance compared to the performance of these controlled photocatalysts. Finally, the density functional theory calculation and site-specific Au photodeposition demonstrate that the improved activity and stability can be attributed to the enhanced charge-flow steering and coordinated facet terminations

DataSheet_1_Integrative analysis identifies oxidative stress biomarkers in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via machine learning and weighted gene co-expression network analysis.zip

BackgroundNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease globally, with the potential to progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. Given the absence of effective treatments to halt its progression, novel molecular approaches to the NAFLD diagnosis and treatment are of paramount importance.MethodsFirstly, we downloaded oxidative stress-related genes from the GeneCards database and retrieved NAFLD-related datasets from the GEO database. Using the Limma R package and WGCNA, we identified differentially expressed genes closely associated with NAFLD. In our study, we identified 31 intersection genes by analyzing the intersection among oxidative stress-related genes, NAFLD-related genes, and genes closely associated with NAFLD as identified through Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA). In a study of 31 intersection genes between NAFLD and Oxidative Stress (OS), we identified three hub genes using three machine learning algorithms: Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression, Support Vector Machine - Recursive Feature Elimination (SVM-RFE), and RandomForest. Subsequently, a nomogram was utilized to predict the incidence of NAFLD. The CIBERSORT algorithm was employed for immune infiltration analysis, single sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA) for functional enrichment analysis, and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) networks to explore the relationships between the three hub genes and other intersecting genes of NAFLD and OS. The distribution of these three hub genes across six cell clusters was determined using single-cell RNA sequencing. Finally, utilizing relevant data from the Attie Lab Diabetes Database, and liver tissues from NASH mouse model, Western Blot (WB) and Reverse Transcription Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) assays were conducted, this further validated the significant roles of CDKN1B and TFAM in NAFLD.ResultsIn the course of this research, we identified 31 genes with a strong association with oxidative stress in NAFLD. Subsequent machine learning analysis and external validation pinpointed two genes: CDKN1B and TFAM, as demonstrating the closest correlation to oxidative stress in NAFLD.ConclusionThis investigation found two hub genes that hold potential as novel targets for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD, thereby offering innovative perspectives for its clinical management.</p

Effects of miR-29a/b on NPC cell growth and cell cycle.

<p>The results of MTT assays following transfection of pre-miR-29a/b and their inhibitors into S18 cells for the indicated 24 h, 48 h and 72 h post-transfection times. The values are the mean and SD optical density (OD) units. (B) miR-29b increased the proportion of S18 cells at the G1/S transition, whereas miR-29a did not have a similar effect. Cells were treated with pEGFP-miR-29a/b or anti-miR-29a/b transfection and control vector pEGPF-C. Cell cycle distributions were detected 20 h later. A representative result of 3 independent experiments is shown. In all experiments, the negative control was pre-miRNA negative control.</p