Rescue of mesangial cells from high glucoseinduced over-proliferation and extracellular matrix secretion by hydrogen sulfide

Abstract Background. Hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is considered as the third gasotransmitter after nitric oxide and carbon monoxide. This gas molecule participates in the regulation of renal function. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the major chronic complications of diabetes. The present study aimed to explore the changes in H 2 S metabolism in the early stage of DN and the effects of H 2 S on cultured rat renal glomerular mesangial cells (MCs). Methods. Cultured rat MCs and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were used in this study. Expression levels of cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and collagen IV in rat renal cortex and in cultured MCs were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and western blot. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) released from rat MCs was assessed by fluorescent probe assays. MCs proliferation was analyzed by 5′-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation assay. Results. H 2 S levels in the plasma and renal cortex and the levels of CSE messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein in renal cortex were significantly reduced, while the levels of TGF-β1 and collagen IV increased 3 weeks after STZ injection. Administration of NaHS, a H 2 S donor, reversed the increases in TGF-β1 and collagen IV in diabetic rats. By contrast, NaHS did not alter the TGF-β1 and collagen IV levels in non-diabetic rats. But NaHS lowered the CSE mRNA level in renal cortex. Exposure to high glucose promoted ROS generation and cell proliferation, up-regulated the expression of TGF-β1 and collagen IV but decreased the CSE expression in cultured MCs. Treatment of cultured MCs with NaHS reversed the effect of high glucose. NaHS did not change ROS generation, cell proliferation, TGF-β1 and collagen IV expression in the cells cultured with normal glucose. Reduction of endogenous H 2 S generation by DLpropargylglycine, a CSE inhibitor, produced similar cellular effects as high glucose, including increases in cell proliferation, TGF-β1 and collagen IV expressions and ROS generation. Conclusion. Suppressed CSE-catalyzed endogenous H 2 S production in the kidney by hyperglycemia may play an important role in the pathogenesis of DN

Tax-Scheduler: An interactive visualization system for staff shifting and scheduling at tax authorities

Given a large number of applications and complex processing procedures, how to efficiently shift and schedule tax officers to provide good services to taxpayers is now receiving more attention from tax authorities. The availability of historical application data makes it possible for tax managers to shift and schedule staff with data support, but it is unclear how to properly leverage the historical data. To investigate the problem, this study adopts a user-centered design approach. We first collect user requirements by conducting interviews with tax managers and characterize their requirements of shifting and scheduling into time series prediction and resource scheduling problems. Then, we propose Tax-Scheduler, an interactive visualization system with a time-series prediction algorithm and genetic algorithm to support staff shifting and scheduling in the tax scenarios. To evaluate the effectiveness of the system and understand how non-technical tax managers react to the system with advanced algorithms and visualizations, we conduct user interviews with tax managers and distill several implications for future system design

Construction and Validation of a Predictive Model for the Risk of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Elderly ICU Patients

Background. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is among the most important hospital-acquired infections in an intensive-care unit setting. However, clinical practice lacks effective theoretical tools for preventing VAP in the elderly. Aim. To describe the independent factors associated with VAP in elderly intensive-care unit (ICU) patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) and to construct a risk prediction model. Methods. A total of 1851 elderly patients with MV in ICUs from January 2015 to September 2019 were selected from 12 tertiary hospitals. Study subjects were divided into a model group (n = 1219) and a validation group (n = 632). Two groups of patients were divided into a VAP group and a non-VAP group and compared. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were used to explore influencing factors for VAP in elderly ICU patients with MV, establish a risk prediction model, and draw a nomogram. We used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test to evaluate the predictive effect of the model. Findings regarding the length of ICU stay, surgery, C-reactive protein (CRP), and the number of reintubations were independent risk factors for VAP in elderly ICU patients with MV. Predictive-model verification results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of VAP risk after MV in the modeling and verification groups was 0.859 and 0.813 (P<0.001), respectively, while P values for the Hosmer–Lemeshow test in these two groups were 0.365 and 0.485, respectively. Conclusion. The model could effectively predict the occurrence of VAP in elderly patients with MV in ICUs. This study is a retrospective study, so it has not been registered as a clinical study

Atomically thin mesoporous NiCo2O4grown on holey graphene for enhanced pseudocapacitive energy storage

© 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Pseudocapacitive energy storage via Li+ storage at the surface/interface of the electrode is promising for achieving both high energy density and high power density in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Thus, we created holey graphene (HG) via an etching method, and then in situ grew atomically thin mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanosheets on the HG surface, resulting in a NiCo2O4-HG heterostructure. Since both NiCo2O4 and HG possess atomic thickness and porous structures, the as-prepared nanocomposite enables efficient electrolyte diffusion and mass transfer, providing abundant accessible surface atoms for enhanced redox pseudocapacitance. Moreover, the strong coupling effect between NiCo2O4 and graphene produces an ultra-large interfacial area and enhanced electrical conductivity, and subsequently promotes the intercalation pseudocapacitance. Consequently, the NiCo2O4@HG exhibits a high specific capacity of 1103.4 mA h g-1 at 0.2C, ∼88.9% contribution from pseudocapacitance at 1 mV s-1, excellent rate capability, and ultra-long life up to 450 cycles with 931.2 mA h g-1 retention, significantly outperforming previously reported electrodes. This work suggests that the maximum exposure and utilization of the surface/interfacial active sites is vital for the construction of high-performance pseudocapacitive energy storage devices

Atomically thin mesoporous NiCo2O4 grown on holey graphene for enhanced pseudocapacitive energy storage

Pseudocapacitive energy storage\ua0via\ua0Li+\ua0storage at the surface/interface of the electrode is promising for achieving both high energy density and high power density in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Thus, we created holey graphene (HG)\ua0via\ua0an etching method, and then\ua0in situ\ua0grew atomically thin mesoporous NiCo2O4\ua0nanosheets on the HG surface, resulting in a NiCo2O4–HG heterostructure. Since both NiCo2O4\ua0and HG possess atomic thickness and porous structures, the as-prepared nanocomposite enables efficient electrolyte diffusion and mass transfer, providing abundant accessible surface atoms for enhanced redox pseudocapacitance. Moreover, the strong coupling effect between NiCo2O4\ua0and graphene produces an ultra-large interfacial area and enhanced electrical conductivity, and subsequently promotes the intercalation pseudocapacitance. Consequently, the NiCo2O4@HG exhibits a high specific capacity of 1103.4 mA h g−1\ua0at 0.2C, ∼88.9% contribution from pseudocapacitance at 1 mV s−1, excellent rate capability, and ultra-long life up to 450 cycles with 931.2 mA h g−1\ua0retention, significantly outperforming previously reported electrodes. This work suggests that the maximum exposure and utilization of the surface/interfacial active sites is vital for the construction of high-performance pseudocapacitive energy storage devices