Latest ArticlesChronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly prevalent medical condition associated with high mortality and cardiovascular complications. The intricate interplay between kidney dysfunction and subsequent metabolic disturbances may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms driving CKD onset and progression. Herein, we proposed a large-scale plasma metabolite identification and quantification system that combines the strengths of targeted and untargeted metabolomics technologies, i.e., widely-targeted metabolomics (WT-Met) approach. WT-Met method enables large-scale identification and accurate quantification of thousands of metabolites. We collected plasma samples from 21 healthy controls and 62 CKD patients, categorized into different stages (22 in stages 1–3, 20 in stage 4, and 20 in stage 5). Using LC-MS-based WT-Met approach, we were able to effectively annotate and quantify a total of 1431 metabolites from the plasma samples. Focusing on the 539 endogenous metabolites, we identified 399 significantly altered metabolites and depicted their changing patterns from healthy controls to end-stage CKD. Furthermore, we employed machine-learning to identify the optimal combination of metabolites for predicting different stages of CKD. We generated a multiclass classifier consisting of 7 metabolites by machine-learning, which exhibited an average AUC of 0.99 for the test set. In general, amino acids, nucleotides, organic acids, and their metabolites emerged as the most significantly altered metabolites. However, their patterns of change varied across different stages of CKD. The 7-metabolite panel demonstrates promising potential as biomarker candidates for CKD. Further exploration of these metabolites can provide valuable insights into their roles in the etiology and progression of CKD.
The device configuration with mesoporous titanium dioxide (m-TiO2) has garnered considerable attention as a promising solution for high-stable perovskite and dye-sensitized solar cells, although its application in organic solar cells remains unexplored. In this communication, we have incorporated this structure into both bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) and single-component organic solar cells (SCOSCs). Surprisingly, mesoporous OSCs (M-OSCs) demonstrate a deteriorative efficiency in BHJ-type cells, whereas this configuration succeeds in SCOSCs, exhibiting competitive performance with planar OSCs (P-OSCs). This pioneering study has resulted in a competitive power conversion efficiency of 9.67% for m-TiO2-based cells, marking a significant milestone in the advancement of OSCs. Importantly, profiting from the better ultraviolet resistance of m-TiO2 than zinc oxide, this M-OSC exhibits superior photostability than that of P-OSCs when subjected to continuous one-sun (AM1.5G) illumination. In its entirety, this research not only introduces the concept of M-OSCs for the first time but also unveils a novel device architecture poised to address the long-term stability concerns within the realm of OSCs.
Regulation of cell fate requires the establishment and erasure of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in genomic DNA. The formation of 5mC is achieved by DNA cytosine methyltransferases (DNMTs), whereas the removal of 5mC can be accomplished by various pathways. Aside from ten-eleven translocation (TET)-mediated oxidation of 5mC followed by thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG)-initiated base excision repair (BER), the direct deformylation of 5-formylcytosine (5fC) and decarboxylation of 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC) have also been discovered as the novel DNA demethylation pathways. Although these novel demethylation pathways have been identified in stem cells and somatic cells, their precise roles in regulating cell fate remain unclear. Here, we differentiate mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) into mouse embryoid bodies (mEBs), followed by further differentiation into mouse neural stem cells (mNSCs) and finally into mouse neurons (mNeurons). During this sequential differentiation process, we employ probe molecules, namely 2′-fluorinated 5-formylcytidine (F-5fC) and 2′-fluorinated 5-carboxyldeoxycytidine (F-5caC), for metabolic labeling. The results of mass spectrometry (MS) analysis demonstrate the deformylation and decarboxylation activities are progressively decreased and increased respectively during differentiation process, and this opposite demethylation tendency is not associated with DNMTs and TETs.
The construction of enzyme reactors based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as the immobilized matrix is a proven strategy that has achieved the widespread application of enzymes across industries. Although many MOFs and a variety of strategies have been developed, a formidable challenge remains in maintaining the high enzyme activity with excellent recyclability and tolerance for harsh conditions. Herein, using degradable redox stimuli-responsive liposomes as the templates with microporous MOFs (M-MOFs) as the hosts for enzyme encapsulation, a series of enzyme reactors (enzyme@M-MOFs) was designed and created. Based on the premise of enhancing enzyme protection in the harsh environment, this strategy provided a high degree-of-freedom space via removal of liposomes that improved the conformational freedom of the enzymes, promoted the mass transfer of substrates and products, and greatly boosted the catalytic activity. Importantly, the strategy had good universality and was applied to various liposomes, M-MOFs and enzymes. Additionally, the co-encapsulation of different enzymes with synergistic functions was performed using the M-MOFs platform. This study solved the problems of the conformation limitation of enzymes and mass transfer resistance of substrates and products using the proposed enzyme@M-MOFs, providing a new approach for the construction of biological cascade reaction devices based on MOFs materials.
Rechargeable magnesium ion batteries (RMBs) are investigated as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) alternatives owing to their favorable merits of high energy density, abundance and low expenditure of Mg, as well as especially non-toxic safety and low risk of dendrite formation in anodes, which endows them to be more easily assembled in electric-power vehicles for the extended application of civilian-military fields. Nevertheless, the high charge density, strong polarization effect, and slow diffusion kinetics of Mg2+ remain a large obstacle and thus enormous efforts have to be paid to mend the gap with commercial demand for cathode materials. At present, RMBs cathode materials mainly contain transition metal sulfides/oxides, polyanionic compounds and Prussian blue analogs, and several methods such as nano structuring, doping regulation and coating modification have been applied to materials design for better performance. In this paper, the current research status of RMBs cathode materials at home & abroad is arranged and summarized along with challenges of development in the future focusing on synthesis of RMBs cathode materials with high energy density as well as satisfactory cycling performance. And this analysis aims to provide reference and basis for researchers working on RMBs technology advancement.
The new reactions between o-hydroxyphenyl enaminones and Langlois reagent (CF3SO2Na) for the tunable synthesis of 3-(trifluoromethylthio) chromones and 3-trifluoromethylsulfinyl chromones are reported herein. Both type of reactions proceed under transition metal-free conditions. In addition, the conditions for the synthesis of 3-trifluoromethylsulfinyl chromones have also been found to be applicable for the synthesis of 3-alkyl/arylsulfinyl chromones.
Gas adsorption remains an attractive area of research. The hierarchical structure can reduce diffusion limitations and facilitate molecular transport, while acid sites can be used as adsorption sites. These make zeolites widely used in the field of gas adsorption. How to obtain zeolite adsorbents with better adsorption properties by modulating the hierarchical structure and acid sites is a pressing issue nowadays. This review highlights the strategies to modulate the hierarchical structure as well as the acid sites; and then explains how these strategies are achieved. The mechanism of zeolite adsorption on gases is then described in terms of these two properties. Lastly, the adsorption properties of zeolites for certain gases under specific conditions are summarised. An outlook of zeolite hierarchical structures and acid site modulation strategies is given.
The electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate (NO3–) not only facilitates the environmentally sustainable production of ammonia (NH3) but also purifies water by removing NO3–, thereby transforming waste into valuable resources. The process of converting NO3– to NH3 is complex, involving eight electron transfers and multiple intermediates, making the choice of electrocatalyst critical. In this study, we report a cobalt selenide (CoSe2) nanowire array on carbon cloth (CoSe2/CC) as an effective electrocatalyst for the NO3– to NH3 conversion. In an alkaline medium with 0.1 mol/L NO3–, CoSe2/CC demonstrates exceptional NH3 Faradaic efficiency of 97.6% and a high NH3 yield of 517.7 µmol h–1 cm–2 at –0.6 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Furthermore, insights into the reaction mechanism of CoSe2 in the electrocatalytic NO3– reduction are elucidated through density functional theory calculations.
In the exploration of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials, doping cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) with achiral dyes is a common strategy. Conjugated polymers are favored as achiral dyes for their superior luminescent properties. In this study, a series of oligomers (M1-M3) and the conjugated polymer F8BT were synthesized to systematically assess the impact of the length of the conjugated backbone on CPL signals of CLCs doped with conjugated polymers. As the length rose from M1 to M3, CPL intensity concurrently increased (glum increased from 0.35 to 0.84), attributable to enhanced dichroism (order parameter, SF increased from 0.20 to 0.56). In contrast, F8BT polymer resulted in diminished CPL intensity (|glum| = 0.64) due to the reduced compatibility. Achieving a balance between dichroism and compatibility is crucial for optimizing CPL in conjugated polymer-doped CLCs. The guiding principle established here may have broad applicability in other CPL assemblies, offering a strategic avenue to engineer high-performance CPL materials with conjugated polymer.
Constructing more stable self-assembled organic nanotubes has been one of the focuses of scientists in recent decades. Hexakis(m-phenylene ethynylene) (m-PE) benzene macrocycles can form stable tubular self-assemblies in nonpolar or weakly polar solvents through the π-π interaction of the main skeleton and the hydrogen bonding of the side chain amide. We covalently linked two macrocyclic units at the para position of the macrocycles using two oligo(β-alanine) linkers through an efficient synthetic route. UV–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and circular dichroism spectroscopy were employed to demonstrate that the incorporation of two peptide chains significantly enhances the stability of the self-assemblies. Meanwhile, the average open time of the ion channel formed by the macrocyclic dimer in the lipid bilayer was significantly better than that of the ion channel formed by a single macrocycle. This study shows that this strategy effectively improves the efficiency of self-assembly and the stability of its formed self-assemblies, providing a feasible strategy for constructing organic self-assembled nanotubes in highly polar solvents.
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