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The utilization of perovskite oxide as a catalyst for aqueous reactions is promising but challenging in stability. Here, we propose an in situ growth strategy that constructs an ultrathin protective skin on the Sr0.9Fe0.81Ta0.09Ni0.1O3-δ perovskite surface and thus effectively solves the stability issue. Using a spherical aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we observe the coexistence of an angstrom-scale (~7 Å) Fe2O3 protective skin and FeNi alloy nanoparticles. A number of alloy nanoparticles grow along with the skin and uniformly take root on the skin surface. Such a hierarchical structure can reconstruct the surface electronic structure and suppress the ion leaching of perovskite oxide in water. Benefiting from this unique structure, the catalyst has experienced a substantial increase (800 h, more than three orders of magnitude) in its stable operation time in water (for example, in a hydrogen evolution reaction). These results provide valuable insight into solid-solid phase transitions and have substantial implications for using structural defects at surfaces to modulate mass transport and transformation kinetics. Our strategy is sufficiently simple and can be used to subtly manipulate the catalyst structures to improve the performance of perovskite-based catalysts and potentially other oxide catalysts for a wide range of reactions., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Objective: This study aimed to explore the association between the Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) and cardiometabolic multimorbidity in middle-aged and older Chinese adults., Methods: The data used in this study were obtained from a national cohort, the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011-2018 wave). The CVAI was measured using previously validated biomarker estimation formulas, which included sex, age, body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The presence of two or more of these cardiometabolic diseases (diabetes, heart disease, and stroke) is considered as cardiometabolic multimorbidity. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models to examine the association between CVAI and cardiometabolic multimorbidity, adjusting for a set of covariates. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to show the strength of the associations. We also conducted a subgroup analysis between age and sex, as well as two sensitivity analyses. Receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC) were used to test the predictive capabilities and cutoff value of the CVAI for cardiometabolic multimorbidity., Results: A total of 9028 participants were included in the final analysis, with a mean age of 59.3 years (standard deviation: 9.3) and women accounting for 53.7% of the sample population. In the fully-adjusted model, compared with participants in the Q1 of CVAI, the Q3 (HR = 2.203, 95% CI = 1.039 - 3.774) and Q4 of CVAI (HR = 3.547, 95% CI = 2.100 - 5.992) were associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity. There was no evidence of an interaction between the CVAI quartiles and sex or age in association with cardiometabolic multimorbidity ( P > 0.05). The results of both sensitivity analyses suggested that the association between CVAI and cardiometabolic multimorbidity was robust. In addition, the area under ROC and ideal cutoff value for CVAI prediction of cardiometabolic multimorbidity were 0.685 (95% CI = 0.649-0.722) and 121.388., Conclusion: The CVAI is a valid biomarker with good predictive capability for cardiometabolic multimorbidity and can be used by primary healthcare organizations in the future for early warning, prevention, and intervention with regard to cardiometabolic multimorbidity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ye, Zhang, Han, Wang, Lu and Zhang.)

The contribution of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) to anthropogenic mercury and CO 2 emissions have become increasingly important over the past decade. This study developed an inventory of anthropogenic mercury emissions and CO 2 emissions during the period of 2014-2020, of MSWI process in China using a bottom-up inventory at the plant level. Overall, national MSWI anthropogenic mercury emissions increased from 2014 to 2020 by province. It was estimated that total 8321.09 kg of anthropogenic mercury emissions from 548 MSWI plants were scattered in 31 provinces of mainland China in 2020. The average intensity of mercury emission in China was 0.06 g·t -1 in 2020, which was much lower than the pre-2010 level. Furthermore, the increased CO 2 emission generated by MSWI from 2014 to 2020 is 1.97 times. Anthropogenic mercury emissions and CO 2 emissions were concentrated mainly in developed coastal provinces and cities. The general uncertainty of national mercury emissions and CO 2 emissions was estimated to be -123% to 323% and -130% to 335%, respectively. Furthermore, future emissions were predicted from 2030 to 2060 based on different scenarios of the independent and collaborative effects of control proposals, the results indicate that the enhancement of advanced air pollution control technologies and effective management of MSWI represent pivotal factors in realizing future reductions in CO 2 and mercury emissions. The findings will supplement those for mercury and CO 2 emissions, and be useful for relevant policy-making and to improve urban air quality, as well as human health., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Ion-conducting ceramic membranes, such as mixed oxygen ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) membranes and mixed proton-electron conducting (MPEC) membranes, have the potential for absolute selectivity for specific gases at high temperatures. By utilizing these membranes in membrane reactors, it is possible to combine reaction and separation processes into one unit, leading to a reduction in by-product formation and enabling the use of thermal effects to achieve efficient and sustainable chemical production. As a result, membrane reactors show great promise in the production of various chemicals and fuels. This paper provides an overview of recent developments in dense ceramic catalytic membrane reactors and their potential for chemical production. This review covers different types of membrane reactors and their principles, advantages, disadvantages, and key issues. The paper also discusses the configuration and design of catalytic membrane reactors. Finally, the paper offers insights into the challenges of scaling up membrane reactors from experimental stages to practical applications.

Background: Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a critical pathophysiological process involved in many acute and critical diseases, and it may seriously threaten the lives of patients. Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC-exos) may be an effective therapeutic approach for I/R injury., Aims: This study aimed to investigate the role and possible mechanism of BMSC-exos in intestinal I/R injury in vivo and in vitro based on the miR-144-3p and PTEN/Akt/Nrf2 pathways., Methods: BMSC-exos were isolated from mouse BMSCs by super centrifugation methods. The effects of BMSC-exos on I/R intestinal injury, intestinal cell apoptosis, oxidative stress and the PTEN/Akt/Nrf2 pathway were explored in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, the relationship between miR-144-3p and PTEN was confirmed by a dual-luciferase reporter assay. The miR-144-3p mimic and inhibitor were used to further clarify the role of miR-144-3p in the mitigation of intestinal I/R by BMSC-exos., Results: BMSC-exos effectively alleviated intestinal pathological injury, reduced intestinal cell apoptosis, relieved oxidative stress and regulated the PTEN/Akt/Nrf2 pathway in vivo and in vitro. In addition, miR-144-3p was significantly reduced in the oxygen and glucose deprivation/reperfusion cell model, and miR-144-3p could directly target PTEN to regulate its expression. Additional studies showed that changing the expression of miR-144-3p in BMSC-exos significantly affected the regulation of intestinal injury, intestinal cell apoptosis, oxidative stress and the PTEN/Akt/Nrf2 pathway in I/R, suggesting that miR-144-3p in BMSC-exos plays an important role in regulating the PTEN/Akt/Nrf2 during intestinal I/R., Conclusions: BMSC-exos carrying miR-144-3p alleviated intestinal I/R injury by regulating oxidative stress., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-α (HIF-1α) mediates the occurrence and development of renal diseases and fibrosis. In the process, dysregulated cellular metabolism was suggested to be involved in several pathological processes. Here, we found that HIF-1α expression was increased in the early stage of renal fibrosis, and significant metabolic remodeling was triggered. Epigenetic events that drive diseases were characterized previously. Our study showed that ten-eleven translocation-2 (TET2) was upregulated in both renal fibrosis models and metabolite-treated samples. Furthermore, we found that the promoter of α-SMA was hypomethylated at CpG sites, which promoted the expression of α-SMA and the occurrence of renal fibrosis. HIF-1α inhibition alleviated renal fibrosis development by improving metabolic remodeling and TET2 activation. Our studies provide novel insight into HIF-1α-mediated metabolic remodeling in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis and propose a concept that targets this pathway to treat fibrotic disorders., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the toxic heavy metals which is confirmed to be related to male sterile. Here, confocal Raman spectroscopy was employed to detect biomolecular composition and changes in testis under acute and chronic Cd treatment. Specific Raman shifts associated with mitochondria, nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and cholesterol were identified which were distinguishing among groups undergoing different Cd treatment times. Supporting evidences were provided by conventional experimental detections. The relevant biochemical parameters, pathological changes, and protein expression related to testosterone synthesis were all changed and consistent with Raman spectrum information. In conclusion, confocal Raman spectroscopy presents a reliable data and provides a novel method which is expected to be a promising strategy in reproduction toxicity research.

Dynamic and on-site analysis of serum from human blood is crucial, however, state-of-the-art blood-assay methods can only collect single or discrete data of physiological analytes; thus, the online reports of the dynamic fluctuation of key analytes remains a great challenge. Here, we propose a novel separation-sensing membrane by constructing a heterogeneous-nanostructured architecture, wherein a surface nanoporous layer continuously extracts serum, while the biosensing nanochannels underneath dynamically recognise biotargets, thereby achieving a continuous testing of vital clinical indices as blood is drawn. By precisely controlling the pore structure and nanoshape of biosensing crystals, this membrane achieved accurate and online glucose and lactate monitoring in patients with a variety of medical conditions within 1 min, which is one order of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art techniques. Moreover, various kinds of bio-recognisers can be introduced into this membrane to accurately detect glutamate, transaminase, and cancer biomarkers., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The practical applications of perovskite hollow fibers (HFs) are limited by challenges in producing these easily, cheaply, and reliably. Here, a one-step thermal processing approach is reported for the efficient production of high performance perovskite HFs, with precise control over their cation stoichiometry. In contrast to traditional production methods, this approach directly uses earth-abundant raw chemicals in a single thermal process. This approach can control cation stoichiometry by avoiding interactions between the perovskites and polar solvents/nonsolvents, optimizes sintering, and results in high performance HFs. Furthermore, this method saves much time and energy (≈ 50%), therefore pollutant emissions are greatly reduced. One successful example is Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ HFs, which are used in an oxygen-permeable membrane. This exhibits high oxygen permeation flux values that exceed desired commercial targets and compares favorably with previously reported oxygen-permeable membranes. Studies on other perovskites have produced similarly successful results. Overall, this approach could lead to energy efficient, solid-state devices for industrial application in energy and environmental fields., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have neuroprotective effects against ischemic brain diseases. The newly discovered potassium channel "TREK-1" is a promising target for therapies against neurodegeneration. Arachidonic acid (AA) is an n-6 PUFA, as well as a potent TREK-1 activator. We previously showed that TREK-1 is expressed at high levels in astrocytes. However, the effect of AA on astrocytes in ischemia remains unknown. Here, we assessed the effects of 3-30μM AA on astrocyte apoptosis, glutamate uptake, and expression of the astrocytic glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) and TREK-1 under different conditions. Under normal conditions, 3-30μM AA showed no effect on astrocytic apoptosis or TREK-1 expression, whereas glutamate uptake decreased significantly and its change paralleled the decreased expression of GLT-1. When astrocytes were subjected to 4h of oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), 10μM AA markedly alleviated OGD-induced cell death, recovering from 63.50±1.90% to 82.96±4.63% of the control value. AA also rescued the decreased glutamate uptake and increased mRNA, as well as protein levels of GLT-1 and TREK-1. Our results provide new evidence of a protective effect of AA on astrocytes under OGD conditions, suggesting that a low concentration of AA may protect against brain ischemic diseases., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Highly-effective sustainable hydrogen production from ethanol and water was achieved in a tubular dense mixed-conducting oxygen permeable membrane reactor, in which water splitting took place at the tube side of the membrane and oxidative steam reforming of ethanol occurred at the shell side simultaneously.