Causal relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and different sleep traits: a bidirectional Mendelian randomized study

Background and aimsNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) is common worldwide and has previously been reported to be associated with sleep traits. However, it is not clear whether NAFLD changes sleep traits or whether the changes in sleep traits lead to the onset of NAFLD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the causal relationship between NAFLD and changes in sleep traits using Mendelian randomization.MethodsWe proposed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis and performed validation analyses to dissect the association between NAFLD and sleep traits. Genetic instruments were used as proxies for NAFLD and sleep. Data of genome-wide association study(GWAS) were obtained from the center for neurogenomics and cognitive research database, Open GWAS database and GWAS catalog. Three MR methods were performed, including inverse variance weighted method(IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median.ResultsIn total,7 traits associated with sleep and 4 traits associated with NAFLD are used in this study. A total of six results showed significant differences. Insomnia was associated with NAFLD (OR(95% CI)= 2.25(1.18,4.27), P = 0.01), Alanine transaminase levels (OR(95% CI)= 2.79(1.70, 4.56), P =4.71×10-5) and percent liver fat(OR(95% CI)= 1.31(1.03,1.69), P = 0.03). Snoring was associated with percent liver fat (1.15(1.05,1.26), P =2×10-3), alanine transaminase levels (OR(95% CI)= 1.27(1.08,1.50), P =0.04).And dozing was associated with percent liver fat(1.14(1.02,1.26), P =0.02).For the remaining 50 outcomes, no significant or definitive association was yielded in MR analysis.ConclusionGenetic evidence suggests putative causal relationships between NAFLD and a set of sleep traits, indicating that sleep traits deserves high priority in clinical practice. Not only the confirmed sleep apnea syndrome, but also the sleep duration and sleep state (such as insomnia) deserve clinical attention. Our study proves that the causal relationship between sleep characteristics and NAFLD is the cause of the change of sleep characteristics, while the onset of non-NAFLD is the cause of the change of sleep characteristics, and the causal relationship is one-way

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Predicting the Evolution Trend of Water and Land Resource Carrying Capacity Based on CA–Markov Model in an Arid Region of Northwest China

The evolution of water and land resource carrying capacity significantly impacts optimal water and land resource allocation and regional sustainable development in arid regions. This study proposes a model that combines cellular automaton (CA) and Markov; this model aids in predicting spatial changes in water and land resource availability. In this study, taking the Jingdian Irrigation District in China’s northwest arid region as an example, we used long-series monitoring data and a Landsat dataset to create a raster-weighted fusion of 18 indicators and quantitatively analyzed the carrying status of water and land resources from 1994 to 2018. The CA–Markov model was used to simulate the carrying status of water and land resources in 2018 and to perform accuracy correction. The validated CA–Markov model was used to predict water and land resource carrying status in 2026 and 2034. The results show (1) from 1994 to 2018, the area of “good carrying” zone increased by 10.42%, the area of “safe carrying” zone increased by 7%, and spatially rose in an arc from the town to the surrounding regions. The area of “critical carrying” zone remains almost unchanged. The area of “slight carrying” zone decreased by 5.18% and the area of “severe carrying” zone decreased by 11.99%. (2) Comparing the actual and predicted carrying state of water and land resources in 2018, it was found that the simulation accuracy of “good carrying”, “safe carrying”, “critical carrying”, “slight carrying”, and “severe carrying” reached 98.71%, 92.07%, 95.34%, 94.05%, and 93.73%, respectively. This indicates that the simulation results have high reliability and applicability. (3) The future medium and long-term carrying status of water and land resources are healthy, but this trend is gradually slowing. The “slight carrying” and “severe carrying” zones show the gradual spatial transition from land desertification to soil salinization

Loading Nano-CuO on TiO₂ Nanomeshes towards Efficient Photodegradation of Methylene Blue

In order to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, we successfully loaded nano-CuO on the TiO2 nanomeshes as CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites through a facile electrodeposition method. The optimized calcined temperature after Cu electrodeposition is confirmed as 450 °C, which could furthest assist the crystallization of anatase TiO2 and guarantee the high photocatalytic activity of CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites. Comparing with pure TiO2 nanomeshes, CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites showed better degradability of methylene blue, and the degradation efficiency reached to 35% after 120 min irradiation. Additionally, CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites exhibit much stronger absorption intensity within the visible light scope, more than two times than that of pure TiO2 nanomeshes, which indicates that the loading of nano-CuO could promote photocatalytic efficiency by the strong visible light absorption. Additionally, CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites show faster photocurrent response and lower charge transfer resistance than that of pure TiO2 nanomeshes, which implies that the recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs was reduced after nano-CuO loading

Loading Nano-CuO on TiO2 Nanomeshes towards Efficient Photodegradation of Methylene Blue

In order to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2, we successfully loaded nano-CuO on the TiO2 nanomeshes as CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites through a facile electrodeposition method. The optimized calcined temperature after Cu electrodeposition is confirmed as 450 °C, which could furthest assist the crystallization of anatase TiO2 and guarantee the high photocatalytic activity of CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites. Comparing with pure TiO2 nanomeshes, CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites showed better degradability of methylene blue, and the degradation efficiency reached to 35% after 120 min irradiation. Additionally, CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites exhibit much stronger absorption intensity within the visible light scope, more than two times than that of pure TiO2 nanomeshes, which indicates that the loading of nano-CuO could promote photocatalytic efficiency by the strong visible light absorption. Additionally, CuO-TiO2 nanocomposites show faster photocurrent response and lower charge transfer resistance than that of pure TiO2 nanomeshes, which implies that the recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs was reduced after nano-CuO loading

Optimizing entropy-stabilized synthesis kinetics to modulate the oxygen evolution mechanism

Adapting the catalytic reaction pathway and optimizing catalyst activity is a significant challenge in the field of catalysis. Herein, we derived the fundamental form of the diffusion flux-driving force equation using ion diffusion as a research framework, and defined the linear and exponential control coefficients that influence synthesis kinetics. By manipulating these control coefficients, we synthesized high-entropy perovskite La(Co0.2Cr0.2Fe0.2Mn0.2Ni0.2)O3 samples with different degrees of kinetic control. Phase testing results showed that adjusting the control coefficients resulted in varying degrees of kinetic control. Experimental evidence and theoretical simulations demonstrated that samples with a higher proportion of kinetic control exhibited faster catalytic pathways, following the lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism (LOM), and showed the highest catalytic activity. As the proportion of kinetic control decreased, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic pathway underwent corresponding transitions. These findings contribute to a new research paradigm aimed at bridging the gap between synthesis design and catalytic performance.</p