Search

Aims: Heart failure (HF) and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are significant global health issues with a complex interrelationship. This study investigates their shared biomarkers and causal relationships using bioinformatics and Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches. Methods: We analysed NAFLD and HF datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The GSE126848 dataset included 57 liver biopsy samples [14 healthy individuals, 12 obese subjects, 15 NAFL patients and 16 non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients]. The GSE24807 dataset comprised 12 NASH samples and 5 healthy controls. The GSE57338 dataset included 313 cardiac muscle samples [177 HF patients (95 ischaemic heart disease patients and 82 idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy patients) and 136 healthy controls]. The GSE84796 dataset consisted of 10 end‐stage HF patients and 7 healthy hearts procured from organ donors. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and constructed a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Functional pathways were elucidated through enrichment analyses using Gene Ontology (GO), the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and GeneMANIA annotation. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for HF and NAFLD were sourced from genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). The HF dataset included 486 160 samples (14 262 experimental and 471 898 control), and the NAFLD dataset comprised 377 988 samples (4761 experimental and 373 227 control). MR analysis investigates the causal interrelations. Results: Our analysis revealed 4032 DEGs from GSE126848 and 286 DEGs from GSE57338. The top 10 hub genes (CD163, VSIG4, CXCL10, FCER1G, FPR1, C1QB, CCR1, C1orf162, MRC1 and CD38) were significantly enriched in immune response, calcium ion concentration regulation and positive regulation of monocyte chemotaxis. CIBERSORT analysis indicated associations between these hub genes and natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages. Transcription factor (TF) target prediction for CD38, CXCL10 and CCR1 highlighted related TFs. A two‐sample MR analysis confirmed a bidirectional causal relationship between NAFLD and HF. The main method [inverse variance weighted (IVW)] demonstrated a significant positive causal relationship between NAFLD and HF [P = 0.037; odds ratio (OR) = 1.024; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.001 to 1.048]. Similarly, HF was associated with an increase in the risk of NAFLD (P < 0.001; OR = 1.117; 95% CI: 1.053 to 1.185). Conclusions: Our findings reveal novel molecular signatures common to NAFLD and HF and confirm their bidirectional causality, highlighting the potential for targeted therapeutic interventions and prompting further investigation into their intricate relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid polymer electrolytes based on plastic crystals are promising for solid‐state sodium metal (Na0) batteries, yet their practicality has been hindered by the notorious Na0‐electrolyte interface instability issue, the underlying cause of which remains poorly understood. Here, by leveraging a model plasticized polymer electrolyte based on conventional succinonitrile plastic crystals, we uncover its failure origin in Na0 batteries is associated with the formation of a thick and non‐uniform solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and whiskery Na0 nucleation/growth. Furthermore, we design a new additive‐embedded plasticized polymer electrolyte to manipulate the Na0 deposition and SEI formulation. For the first time, we demonstrate that introducing fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) additive into the succinonitrile‐plasticized polymer electrolyte can effectively protect Na0 against interfacial corrosion by facilitating the growth of dome‐like Na0 with thin, amorphous, and fluorine‐rich SEIs, thus enabling significantly improved performances of Na//Na symmetric cells (1,800 h at 0.5 mA cm−2) and Na//Na3V2(PO4)3 full cells (93.0 % capacity retention after 1,200 cycles at 1 C rate in coin cells and 93.1 % capacity retention after 250 cycles at C/3 in pouch cells at room temperature). Our work provides valuable insights into the interfacial failure of plasticized polymer electrolytes and offers a promising solution to resolving the interfacial instability issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single Li+ ion conducting polyelectrolytes (SICs), which feature covalently tethered counter‐anions along their backbone, have the potential to mitigate dendrite formation by reducing concentration polarization and preventing salt depletion. However, due to their low ionic conductivity and complicated synthetic procedure, the successful validation of these claimed advantages in lithium metal (Li0) anode batteries remains limited. In this study, we fabricated a SIC electrolyte using a single‐step UV polymerization approach. The resulting electrolyte exhibited a high Li+ transference number (t+) of 0.85 and demonstrated good Li+ conductivity (6.3×10−5 S/cm at room temperature), which is comparable to that of a benchmark dual ion conductor (DIC, 9.1×10−5 S/cm). Benefitting from the high transference number of SIC, it displayed a three‐fold higher critical current density (2.4 mA/cm2) compared to DIC (0.8 mA/cm2) by successfully suppressing concentration polarization‐induced short‐circuiting. Additionally, the t+ significantly influenced the deposition behavior of Li0, with SIC yielding a uniform, compact, and mosaic‐like morphology, while the low t+ DIC resulted in a porous morphology with Li0 whiskers. Using the SIC electrolyte, Li0||LiFePO4 cells exhibited stable operation for 4500 cycles with 70.5 % capacity retention at 22 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells can generate high power using a potentially green fuel (H2) and zero emissions of greenhouse gas (CO2). However, significant mass transport resistances in the interface region of the membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), between the membrane and the catalyst layers remains a barrier to achieving MEAs with high power densities and long‐term stabilities. Here, a 3D‐interfacial zipping concept is presented to overcome this challenge. Vinylbenzyl‐terminated bi‐cationic quaternary‐ammonium‐based polyelectrolyte is employed as both the anionomer in the anion‐exchange membrane (AEM) and catalyst layers. A quaternary‐ammonium‐containing covalently locked interface is formed by thermally induced inter‐crosslinking of the terminal vinyl groups. Ex situ evaluation of interfacial bonding strength and in situ durability tests demonstrate that this 3D‐zipped interface strategy prevents interfacial delamination without any sacrifice of fuel cell performance. A H2/O2 AEMFC test demonstration shows promisingly high power densities (1.5 W cm−2 at 70 °C with 100% RH and 0.2 MPa backpressure gas feeds), which can retain performances for at least 120 h at a usefully high current density of 0.6 A cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise control over polyelectrolyte architecture, engineered for self‐assembly of ion‐conducting channels, is of fundamental and technological importance to many fields, for example, fuel cells and redox flow batteries and electrodialysis. Building on recent advances with the supramolecular chemistry, we introduce inter/intra‐molecular cation–dipole interactions between pendent quaternary ammoniums cations and polar polyethylene glycol grafts in an anion‐exchange membrane (AEM). Such interactions lead to desirable, ordered ion‐conducting pathways when in the membrane form. Comparison of the results of molecular dynamics simulation with 1H NMR and nano‐scale microscopy analyses show that the cation–dipole interactions enhance self‐assembly and the formation of interconnected ionic network domains, providing three‐dimensional pathways for both water and ion transport. The resultant AEM exhibits high OH− conductivity (49 mS cm−1 at 30°C) and a completive peak power density of 622 mW cm−2 at 70°C when tested in a H2/O2 single‐cell alkaline membrane fuel cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) may provide a path for next generation high‐performance, hazard‐free lithium ion batteries. However, the low lithium ion transference number (tLi+) and electrolyte conductivity limit device performance. In this study, a diblock copolymer with a polycarbonate first block and poly(sulfonated styrene) second block has been synthesized and characterized for conductivity and shows improved tLi+. The low dissociation of lithium salts from the tethered sulfonate anion was overcome by incorporating plasticizers. The diblock SPE material had room temperature conductivity of up to 1.95 ⋅ 10−6 S/cm, and lithium transference number of up to 0.83 with the tethered sulfonate anion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of thoracic aortic dissection (TAD), the overall morbidity and mortality rates of TAD are still high. Therefore, the molecular pathogenesis and etiology of TAD need to be elucidated. In this study, we found that histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) expression is dramatically higher in the aortic wall of patients with TAD (than that in a normal group) and negatively correlates with the levels of the vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) contractile‐phenotype markers. Knockdown of HDAC1 upregulated both smooth muscle 22 α (SM22α) and α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA) in platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐BB‐treated and ‐untreated SMCs. In addition, the knockdown of HDAC1 markedly decreased SMC viability and migration in contrast to the control group under the conditions of quiescence and PDGF‐BB treatment. We also showed that the expression of polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1) is decreased in the aortic wall of patients with TAD and negatively correlates with HDAC1 expression. Overexpressed PKD1 obviously increased SM22α and α‐SMA expression and reduced the viability and migration of SMCs, but these effects were attenuated by HDAC1. Furthermore, we demonstrated that HDAC1 serves as an important modulator of the migration and phenotypic switch of SMCs by suppressing the PKD1– mammalian target of the rapamycin signaling pathway. HDAC1 downregulation inhibited media degeneration and attenuated the loss of elastic–fiber integrity in a mouse model of TAD. Our results suggest that HDAC1 might be a new target for the treatment of a macrovascular disease such as TAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power generation has developed rapidly in recent decades due to low carbon emissions. However, the significant uncertainty makes it uneconomic or even unreliable to be consumed, which hinders the development of wind energy. To guarantee the minimum wind utilisation level without jeopardising system reliability and cost-effectiveness, this study proposes a concept of optimal wind power consumption point. Based on that, a two-stage chance-constrained unit commitment model is presented to co-optimise the day-ahead energy and reserve schedules, which achieves a reasonable trade-off between robustness and costs. The battery energy storage is also investigated to enhance system flexibility and promote wind consumption. The joint chance constraint is dealt with through a sample average approximation method in bilinear forms. The resulting large-scale mixed-integer programming is decomposed into the master and subproblem formulations and then solved iteratively by the developed bilinear Benders decomposition (BBD) method. To achieve computational tractability, several techniques are used to enhance the convergence property of BBD and accelerate the solution process, with a novel optimality-check-only bilinear Benders decomposition method proposed. Case studies on six-bus, IEEE 118-bus and 236-bus systems demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial counterparts of conical‐shaped transmembrane protein channels are of interest in biomedical sciences for biomolecule detection and selective ion permeation based on ionic size and/or charge differences. However, industrial‐scale applications such as seawater desalination, separation of mono‐ from divalent cations, and treatment of highly‐saline industrial waste effluents are still big challenges for such biomimetic channels. A simple monomer seeding experimental approach is used to grow ionically conductive biomimetic charged nanocone pores at the surface of an acid‐functionalized membrane. These readily scalable nanocone membranes enable ultra‐fast cation permeation (Na+=8.4× vs. Mg2+=1.4×) and high ion charge selectivity (Na+/Mg2+=6×) compared to the commercial state‐of‐the‐art permselective membrane (CSO, Selemion, Japan) owing to negligible surface resistance and positively charged conical pore walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A branched polymer was prepared by grafting allyltrimethylammonium chloride onto polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) via free‐radical polymerization. Afterwards, a series of hybrid membranes were prepared by sol‐gel cross‐linking between quaternary ammonium‐PVA and tetraethoxysilane. The obtained membranes were characterized in terms of infrared spectroscopy, ion exchange capacity, water uptake, linear expansion ratio, and acid resistance. The thermal properties of the membranes were investigated as well. The diffusion dialysis performances of the membranes were tested by using a simulated feed solution containing HCl and FeCl2. The diffusion dialysis coefficients and the separation factors were much better than those of the commercial DF‐120 membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological studies suggested complicated associations between type 2 diabetes mellitus and breast cancer. There is a significant inverse association between high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and the risk and mortality of breast cancer. However, HDL could be modified in various ways in diabetes patients, and this may lead to the altered effects on many different types of cells. In our study, we found that glycation and oxidation levels are significantly higher in HDL from type 2 diabetes mellitus patients compared to that from healthy subjects. Diabetic HDL dramatically had a stronger capability to promote cell proliferation, migration and invasion of breast cancer (as examined both on hormone-independent cells and on hormone-dependent cells). In addition, glycated and oxidized HDL, which were produced in vitro, acted in similar way as diabetic HDL. Diabetic HDL, glycated HDL and oxidized HDL also induced higher synthesis and secretion of VEGF-C, MMP-2 and MMP-9 from malondialdehyde (MDA)-MB-231 cells. It was indicated that diabetic, glycated and oxidized HDL promote MDA-MB-231 cell migration and invasion through ERK and p38 MAPK pathways, and Akt pathway plays an important role as well in MDA-MB-231 cell invasion. The Akt, ERK and p38 MAPK pathways are also involved in VEGF-C and MMP-9 secretion induced by diabetic, glycated and oxidized HDL. Our study demonstrated that glycation and oxidation of HDL in diabetic patients could lead to abnormal actions on MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation, migration and invasion, thereby promoting the progression of breast cancer. This will largely draw the attention of HDL-based treatments in diabetic patients especially those with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]