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Introduction: COVID‐19 has been threatening global public health since 2019. To address the overwhelming caseload, several tools were developed to predict prognosis and aid triage of critically ill patients for intensive care. Currently, there is a lack of local data on the validity of such tools. Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the predictors of intensive care unit (ICU) mortality in COVID‐19 patients in Hong Kong and externally validate the different scoring systems. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of patients admitted to the HKEC ICUs from 1 January 2022 to 30 April 2022 was performed. We collected data on patient demographics, vaccination status, laboratory parameters, and clinical outcomes including need for organ support and mortality. Clinical severities were estimated by Sequential Organ Failure Score, 4C Mortality Score, COVID‐Gram score, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) IV score based on the original studies. Comparison between individual scoring systems' performance on hospital mortality was conducted and summarized. Results: In these four months, 137 patients with COVID‐19 admitted to ICUs of Ruttonjee Hospital and Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital were recruited. 64 patients (46.7%) were admitted for COVID‐19 related respiratory failure, among which mortality was 66.7%. The overall hospital and ICU mortality were 21.9% and 13.1%, respectively. Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (OR 3.221, p 0.034), high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy (OR 3.107, p 0.039), and higher APACHE IV score (OR 1.043, p < 0.001) were independent predictors of hospital mortality using multivariate analysis. The scoring systems had good performance in mortality prediction in our population. The APACHE IV score (AUROC 0.79, 95% CI 0.698–0.894) and 4C Mortality Score (AUROC 0.751, 95% CI 0.657–0.844) outperformed other scoring systems in predicting hospital mortality. Conclusion: In patients with COVID‐19, the use of IMV or HFNC and APACHE IV score were independent risk factors for hospital mortality. The APACHE IV and the 4C Mortality Score were most useful in our population for predicting ICU and hospital mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of membrane filtration, particularly micro- and ultra-filtration, in food and pharmaceutical industries often faces the issue of protein fouling. In this study, we aimed to fabricate a free-standing ternary tungsten trioxide/carbon nanotube/zinc oxide (WO 3 /CNT/ZnO)-chitosan composite photocatalytic membrane via wet processing and infiltration techniques to address the fouling issue. Infiltration with low molecular weight chitosan was found to enhance the mechanical stability of the ternary composite photocatalytic membrane. The ternary composite photocatalytic membrane with a 0.16 g ternary photocatalyst load demonstrated 86% efficiency in the degradation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) under sunlight irradiation for 120 min. A reduction in permeation flux accompanied by an increase in BSA rejection was observed as the loading of the ternary photocatalyst in the ternary composite photocatalytic membrane was increased. This can be associated with the decreased average porosity and mean pore radius. The ternary composite photocatalytic membrane demonstrated reasonably good antifouling behavior with an R fr of 82% and an R if of 18%. The antifouling property demonstrated by the ternary composite photocatalytic membrane is important in maintaining the reusability of the membrane.

Phosphate (PO 4 (III)) contamination in water bodies poses significant environmental challenges, necessitating efficient and accurate methods to predict and optimize its removal. The current study addresses this issue by predicting the adsorption capacity of PO 4 (III) ions onto biochar-based materials using five probabilistic machine learning models: eXtreme Gradient Boosting LSS (XGBoostLSS), Natural Gradient Boosting, Bayesian Neural Networks (NN), Probabilistic NN, and Monte-Carlo Dropout NN. Utilizing a dataset of 2952 data points with 16 inputs, XGBoostLSS demonstrated the highest R 2 (0.95) on new adsorbents. SHapely Additive exPlanations analysis showed that adsorption experimental conditions had the most significant impact (43%), followed by synthesis conditions (29%) and adsorbent characteristics (28%). Optimized conditions included an initial PO 4 (III) concentration of 125 mg/L, carbon content of 11.5%, oxygen content of 23%, a contact time of 1440 min, a heating rate of 5 °C/min, 200 rpm, and a surface area of 410 m 2 /g, using Ra-LDO adsorbent synthesized from rape cabbage feedstock. This study developed and presented a practical online framework for predicting PO 4 (III) removal onto biochar using a web-based graphical user interface., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in suppressing HIV-1 replication, some people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) fail to achieve an optimal recovery of CD4 T cells, and precise metabolic regulation underlying immune recovery remained poorly understood., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, mass spectrometry was used for quantitative analysis of plasma metabolome and lipidome in 24 treatment-naïve PLWH (TNs), 33 immunological responders (IRs), 35 immunological non-responders (INRs), and 16 healthy controls (HCs). The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman correlation, and LASSO regression analysis., Results: Significant metabolic dysregulation was observed in TNs, IRs and INRs compared to HCs. In TNs, metabolomic analysis revealed increased levels of 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid, 3-oxododecanoic acid, 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, L-kynurenine, oleoylcarnitine, and pseudouridine that were positively correlated with CD8 T cell activation and inflammation-related markers, and decreased levels of phosphorylcholine, ribothymidine, and thymine that were negatively correlated. Notably, 3-hydroxyoctanoic acid and thymine were consistently associated with CD4 T cell counts and inflammation-related markers in PLWH, regardless of ART. Pathway analysis uncovered the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids as the major dysregulated pathway in TNs, IRs, and INRs, while primary bile acid biosynthesis was the dysregulated pathway specifically in INRs. Lipidomic analysis indicated higher plasma triacylglycerols, free fatty acids, ceramide, and monosialodihexosyl gangliosides (GM3) in TNs, IRs, and INRs compared to HCs. Pathway enrichment and differential correlation analyses underscore perturbed systemic lipid metabolism in treatment response to ART, possibly mediated by host-commensal metabolic interactions. Ultimately, we identified two panels, one consisting of 9 metabolites and another of 8 lipids, that can effectively distinguish INRs from IRs., Conclusions: Metabolic aberrations induced by chronic HIV-1 infection persist and do not recover with ART. Abnormal primary bile acid biosynthesis pathway and levels of DHA-containing lipids are closely associated with CD4 T cell recovery. These finding provide new intervention targets to achieve better immune recovery in PLWH., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by Ethics Committee of the Fifth Medical Centre of PLA General Hospital (ky-2021–7-6–1), and conducted in accordance with the principles contained within the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written informed consent before enrollment. Competing interests: The authors have declared no conflict of interest., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Obesity-related kidney disease (ORKD) has recently become a global health issue. Metformin is widely used in patients with type 2 diabetes with concomitant obesity, but its effects on ORKD are insufficiently understood. Accumulation of lipid species including sphingolipids has been reported to disrupt glomerular functions and drive progression of chronic kidney disease. The present study aimed to test the hypothesis that metformin could exert beneficial effects on ORKD, which may be associated with changes in renal lipidomics. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into normal chow diet (ND) group or high-fat diet (HFD)-fed group. After 8 weeks, HFD-fed group was subdivided into metformin treatment (HFD-Met) group and control (HFD-C) group for an additional 8 weeks. Sphingolipids and phospholipids in renal cortex were measured by targeted lipidomics. Compared with ND group, HFD-C group developed histopathological features of ORKD. Metformin alleviated dyslipidemia, renal dysfunction, proteinuria, glomerular hypertrophy, podocyte damage, and renal fibrosis in HFD-fed rats. Renal sphingolipid analysis showed elevations of total ceramide, sphingosine, glucosylceramide, and galactosylceramide levels in HFD-C versus ND group. Specific species, such as ceramide d18:1/22:0, glucosylceramide d18:1/20:0, and galactosylceramide d18:1/16:0, which were positively associated with oxidative stress and insulin resistance, were reduced in HFD-Met versus HFD-C group. Renal phospholipid analysis showed increased levels of total phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) in HFD-C rats versus ND rats. The ratio of saturated and monounsaturated LPCs to polyunsaturated LPCs was significantly reduced in HFD-Met rats. These results suggest that metformin alleviates sphingolipids dysregulation and improves ORKD in HFD-fed rats. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: To date, this is the first report to explore effects of metformin on renal lipidomics. These findings reveal specific changes of renal lipid species, which are crucial for deeper understanding the underlying mechanisms of obesity-related kidney disease and effects of metformin on it. The associated signature sphingolipids and phospholipids in the study may have significant implications for developing targeted therapeutic strategies for obesity-related kidney disease., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2025 American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

There exists a pressing need for a non-invasive panel that differentiates mild fibrosis from non-fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In this work, we applied quantitative lipidomics and sterolomics on sera from the PERSONS cohort with biopsy-based histological assessment of liver pathology. We trained a lasso regression model using quantitative omics data and clinical variables, deriving a combinatorial panel of lipids and clinical indices that differentiates mild fibrosis (>F1, n = 324) from non-fibrosis (F0, n = 195), with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) at 0.775 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.735-0.816). Circulating sulfatides (SLs) emerged as central lipids distinctly associated with fibrosis pathogenesis in MASLD. Lipidomics analysis of lipoprotein fractions revealed a redistribution of circulating SLs from high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) onto low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) in MASLD fibrosis. We further verified that patient LDLs with reduced SL content triggered a smaller activation of type II natural killer T lymphocytes, compared with control LDLs. Our results suggest that hepatic crosstalk with systemic immunity mediated by lipoprotein metabolism underlies fibrosis progression at early-stage MASLD., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests S.M.L., G.H.C., and Y.Z. are employees of LipidALL Technologies., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Calorie restriction (CR) is a dietary intervention used to promote health and longevity 1,2 . CR causes various metabolic changes in both the production and the circulation of metabolites 1 ; however, it remains unclear which altered metabolites account for the physiological benefits of CR. Here we use metabolomics to analyse metabolites that exhibit changes in abundance during CR and perform subsequent functional validation. We show that lithocholic acid (LCA) is one of the metabolites that alone can recapitulate the effects of CR in mice. These effects include activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), enhancement of muscle regeneration and rejuvenation of grip strength and running capacity. LCA also activates AMPK and induces life-extending and health-extending effects in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. As C. elegans and D. melanogaster are not able to synthesize LCA, these results indicate that these animals are able to transmit the signalling effects of LCA once administered. Knockout of AMPK abrogates LCA-induced phenotypes in all the three animal models. Together, we identify that administration of the CR-mediated upregulated metabolite LCA alone can confer anti-ageing benefits to metazoans in an AMPK-dependent manner., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) establish dominant immune tolerance but obstruct tumor immune surveillance, warranting context-specific mechanistic insights into the functions of tumor-infiltrating Tregs (TIL-Tregs). We show that enhanced posttranslational O-linked N-acetylglucosamine modification (O-GlcNAcylation) of cellular factors is a molecular feature that promotes a tumor-specific gene expression signature and distinguishes TIL-Tregs from their systemic counterparts. We found that altered glucose utilization through the glucose transporter Glut3 is a major facilitator of this process. Treg-specific deletion of Glut3 abrogates tumor immune tolerance, while steady-state immune homeostasis remains largely unaffected in mice. Furthermore, by employing mouse tumor models and human clinical data, we identified the NF-κB subunit c-Rel as one such factor that, through Glut3-dependent O-GlcNAcylation, functionally orchestrates gene expression in Tregs at tumor sites. Together, these results not only identify immunometabolic alterations and molecular events contributing to fundamental aspects of Treg biology, specifically at tumor sites but also reveal tumor-specific cellular properties that can aid in the development of Treg-targeted cancer immunotherapies., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Garima Sharma is an employee of ImmunoBiome Inc, South Korea. SHI is the founder and major shareholder of ImmunoBiome Inc, South Korea. SML is an employee of Lipidall Technologies Company Limited, China. The authors have no conflicting financial interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to CSI and USTC.)

Patients on maintenance hemodialysis exhibit a notably higher risk of cardio-cerebrovascular complications that constitute the major cause of death. Preceding studies have reported conflicting associations between traditional lipid measures and clinical outcome in dialysis patients. In this prospective longitudinal study, we utilized quantitative lipidomics to elucidate, at molecular resolution, changes in lipidome profiles of erythrocyte and plasma samples collected from maintenance hemodialysis patients followed up for 86 months (≈7 years). Primary outcome was defined as cardiovascular-related deaths or new-onset cardio-cerebrovascular events. Cox regression model uncovered plasma/erythrocyte lipids associated with incident cardio-cerebrovascular events in the erythrocyte cohort (n = 117 patients, 37 events) and plasma cohort (n = 45 patients, 11 events), respectively. Both the erythrocyte lipid panel [PA 40:5, PI 34:2, PC 42:6, AUC = 0.83] and plasma lipid panel [PC O-34:1, GM3 18:1; O2/25:0, TG 44:1(16:1&#95;28:0), AUC = 0.94] significantly improved the prediction of cardio-cerebrovascular-related outcome compared to the base model comprising age, sex and dialysis vintage alone. Our findings underscore the pathophysiological significance of anionic phospholipid accretion in erythrocytes in the development of cardio-cerebrovascular complications in dialysis patients. In particular, distorted membrane lipid asymmetry leads to compromised membrane deformability, aberrant cell-cell interactions and altered glutathione metabolism in the erythrocytes of high-risk individuals even at relatively early stage of hemodialysis. Our findings thus underscore the importance of maintaining the RBC pool to lower the risk of cardio-cerebrovascular complications in dialysis patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have declared no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The class I phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT signaling pathway is a key regulator of cell survival, growth, and proliferation and is among the most frequently mutated pathways in cancer. However, where and how PI3K-AKT signaling is spatially activated and organized in mammalian cells remains poorly understood. Here, we identify focal adhesions (FAs) as subcellular signaling hubs organizing the activation of PI3K-PI(3,4,5)P 3 -AKT signaling in human cancer cells containing p110α mutations under basal conditions. We find that class IA PI3Ks are preferentially recruited to FAs for activation, resulting in localized production of PI(3,4,5)P 3 around FAs. As the effector protein of PI(3,4,5)P 3 , AKT1 molecules are dynamically recruited around FAs for activation. The spatial recruitment/activation of the PI3K-PI(3,4,5)P 3 -AKT cascade is regulated by activated FA kinase (FAK). Furthermore, combined inhibition of p110α and FAK results in a more potent inhibitory effect on cancer cells. Thus, our results unveil a growth-factor independent, compartmentalized organization mechanism for PI3K-PI(3,4,5)P 3 -AKT signaling., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests S.M.L. is an employee of LipidALL Technologies., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Devising of materials that afforded dual applicability in decontamination and pollutant detection were still a towering challenge owing to the increasing flux of discharge toxic contaminants over the years. Herein, the NiFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles-loaded on cube-like SrTiO 3 (NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 ) composite was fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal approach providing remarkable photocatalytic treatment and electrochemical sensing of noxious pollutants in wastewater. The material traits of the fabricated composite were scrutinized by myriad characterization approaches. The NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 hybrid material demonstrated high surface area of 19.81 m 2 /g, adequate band gap energy of 2.75 eV, and prominent photoluminescence characteristics. In the presence of visible light, the NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 exhibited profound photocatalysis capability to eliminate sewage effluent-bearing chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTCH) with 88.6% COD removal in 120 min, outperforming other pure materials. Meanwhile, the toxicity examination of effluent, the possible degradation pathway of CTCH and the proposed photocatalysis mechanism were also divulged. More importantly, the glassy carbon electrode was modified with synergized NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 (NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 -GCE) was adopted for the precise quantification of Hydrazine (Hz). The NiFe 2 O 4 /SrTiO 3 -GCE obeyed first-order response for the Hz detection within the range of 1-10 mM: cyclic voltametric: limit of detection (LOD) of 0.119 μM with sensitivity of 18.9 μA μM -1 cm -2 , and linear sweep voltametric: LOD of 0.222 μM with a sensitivity of 12.05 μA μM -1 cm -2 . The stability and interference of modified electrode were also inspected. This work furnished valuable insights to yield a composite with the prominent S-scheme heterojunction system for quenching of charge carrier recombination and consequently contributing to the future realization into the domains of environmental clean-up and toxic chemical detection., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the fastest-growing cause of liver-associated death globally. Whole-body knockout (KO) of Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (NHE1, SLC9A1) was previously proposed to protect against high-fat diet-induced liver damage; however, mechanistic insight was lacking. The aim of the present work was to address this question in vitro to determine how NHE1, specifically in hepatocytes, impacts lipid overload-induced inflammation, fibrosis, and hepatocyte-hepatic stellate cell (HSC) crosstalk. We induced palmitate (PA)-based steatosis in AML12 and HepG2 hepatocytes; manipulated NHE1 activity pharmacologically and by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated KO and overexpression; and measured intracellular pH (pHi), steatosis-associated inflammatory and fibrotic mediators, and cell death. PA treatment increased NHE1 mRNA levels but modestly reduced NHE1 protein expression and hepatocyte pHi. NHE1 KO in hepatocytes did not alter lipid droplet accumulation but reduced inflammatory signaling (p38 MAPK activity), lipotoxicity (4-HNE accumulation), and apoptosis (poly-ADP-ribose-polymerase-1 (PARP) cleavage). Conditioned medium from PA-treated hepatocytes increased the expression of NHE1 and of the fibrosis regulator tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-2 in LX-2 HSCs, in a manner abolished by NHE1 KO in hepatocytes. We conclude that NHE1 is regulated in NAFLD in vitro and contributes to the ensuing damage by aggravating hepatocyte injury and stimulating hepatocyte-HSC crosstalk.

In this community effort, we compare measurements between 34 laboratories from 19 countries, utilizing mixtures of labelled authentic synthetic standards, to quantify by mass spectrometry four clinically used ceramide species in the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) human blood plasma Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1950, as well as a set of candidate plasma reference materials (RM 8231). Participants either utilized a provided validated method and/or their method of choice. Mean concentration values, and intra- and inter-laboratory coefficients of variation (CV) were calculated using single-point and multi-point calibrations, respectively. These results are the most precise (intra-laboratory CVs ≤ 4.2%) and concordant (inter-laboratory CVs < 14%) community-derived absolute concentration values reported to date for four clinically used ceramides in the commonly analyzed SRM 1950. We demonstrate that calibration using authentic labelled standards dramatically reduces data variability. Furthermore, we show how the use of shared RM can correct systematic quantitative biases and help in harmonizing lipidomics. Collectively, the results from the present study provide a significant knowledge base for translation of lipidomic technologies to future clinical applications that might require the determination of reference intervals (RIs) in various human populations or might need to estimate reference change values (RCV), when analytical variability is a key factor for recall during multiple testing of individuals., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Infection by bacteria leads to tissue damage and inflammation, which need to be tightly controlled by host mechanisms to avoid deleterious consequences. It is previously reported that TMEM16F, a calcium-activated lipid scramblase expressed in various immune cell types including T cells and neutrophils, is critical for the control of infection by bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in vivo. This function correlated with the capacity of TMEM16F to repair the plasma membrane (PM) damage induced in T cells in vitro, by the Lm toxin listeriolysin O (LLO). However, whether the protective effect of TMEM16F on Lm infection in vivo is mediated by an impact in T cells, or in other cell types, is not determined. Herein, the immune cell types and mechanisms implicated in the protective effect of TMEM16F against Lm in vivo are elucidated. Cellular protective effects of TMEM16F correlated with its capacity of lipid scrambling and augment PM fluidity. Using cell type-specific TMEM16F-deficient mice, the indication is obtained that TMEM16F expressed in liver Kupffer cells (KCs), but not in T cells or B cells, is key for protection against Listeria in vivo. In the absence of TMEM16F, Listeria induced PM rupture and fragmentation of KCs in vivo. KC death associated with greater liver damage, inflammatory changes, and dysregulated liver metabolism. Overall, the results uncovered that TMEM16F expressed in Kupffer cells is crucial to protect the host against Listeria infection. This influence is associated with the capacity of Kupffer cell-expressed TMEM16F to prevent excessive inflammation and abnormal liver metabolism., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Ferroptosis, a form of cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation, is emerging as a promising target in cancer therapy. It is regulated by a network of molecules and pathways that modulate lipid metabolism, iron homeostasis and redox balance, and related processes. However, there are still numerous regulatory molecules intricately involved in ferroptosis that remain to be identified. Here, we indicated that suppression of Golgi protein acyl-coenzyme A binding domain A containing 3 (ACBD3) increased the sensitivity of Henrieta Lacks and PANC1 cells to ferroptosis. ACBD3 knockdown increases labile iron levels by promoting ferritinophagy. This increase in free iron, coupled with reduced levels of glutathione peroxidase 4 due to ACBD3 knockdown, leads to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides. Moreover, ACBD3 knockdown also results in elevated levels of polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing glycerophospholipids through mechanisms that remain to be elucidated. Furthermore, inhibition of ferrtinophagy in ACBD3 downregulated cells by knocking down the nuclear receptor co-activator 4 or Bafilomycin A1 treatment impeded ferroptosis. Collectively, our findings highlight the pivotal role of ACBD3 in governing cellular resistance to ferroptosis and suggest that pharmacological manipulation of ACBD3 levels is a promising strategy for cancer therapy., (© 2024 International Federation of Cell Biology.)

This article has been withdrawn: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). The authors reached out to the Publisher to alert the Publisher to incorrect text published in the article. After investigating the situation, the journal came to the conclusion that the wrong version of the file was sent by the authors to the production team during the proof stage and the misplaced text was not noticed by the authors when they approved the final version. After consulting with the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, the decision was made to withdraw the current version of the article., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Disruption of ciliary homeostasis in vascular endothelial cells has been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. However, the molecular basis for the regulation of endothelial cilia during atherosclerosis remains poorly understood. Herein, we provide evidence in male mice that the accumulation of lipid droplets in vascular endothelial cells induces ciliary loss and contributes to atherosclerosis. Triglyceride accumulation in vascular endothelial cells differentially affects the abundance of free fatty acid species in the cytosol, leading to stimulated lipid droplet formation and suppressed protein S-palmitoylation. Reduced S-palmitoylation of ciliary proteins, including ADP ribosylation factor like GTPase 13B, results in the loss of cilia. Restoring palmitic acid availability, either through pharmacological inhibition of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 or a palmitic acid-enriched diet, significantly restores endothelial cilia and mitigates the progression of atherosclerosis. These findings thus uncover a previously unrecognized role of lipid droplets in regulating ciliary homeostasis and provide a feasible intervention strategy for preventing and treating atherosclerosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health problem. Resistance to rifampicin, the most effective drug for TB treatment, is a major growing concern. The etiological agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ), has a cluster of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters which are responsible for drug resistance through active export. Here, we describe studies characterizing Mtb Rv1217c-1218c as an ABC transporter that can mediate mycobacterial resistance to rifampicin and have determined the cryo-electron microscopy structures of Rv1217c-1218c. The structures show Rv1217c-1218c has a type V exporter fold. In the absence of ATP, Rv1217c-1218c forms a periplasmic gate by two juxtaposed-membrane helices from each transmembrane domain (TMD), while the nucleotide-binding domains (NBDs) form a partially closed dimer which is held together by four salt-bridges. Adenylyl-imidodiphosphate (AMPPNP) binding induces a structural change where the NBDs become further closed to each other, which downstream translates to a closed conformation for the TMDs. AMPPNP binding results in the collapse of the outer leaflet cavity and the opening of the periplasmic gate, which was proposed to play a role in substrate export. The rifampicin-bound structure shows a hydrophobic and periplasm-facing cavity is involved in rifampicin binding. Phospholipid molecules are observed in all determined structures and form an integral part of the Rv1217c-1218c transporter system. Our results provide a structural basis for a mycobacterial ABC exporter that mediates rifampicin resistance, which can lead to different insights into combating rifampicin resistance., Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

The occurrence of hyperuricemia (HUA; elevated serum uric acid) in athletes is relatively high despite that exercise can potentially reduce the risk of developing this condition. Although recent studies have shown the beneficial properties of DAG in improving overall metabolic profiles, a comprehensive understanding of the effect of DAG in modulating HUA in athletes is still lacking. In this study, we leveraged combinatorial lipidomics and metabolomics to investigate the effect of replacing TAG with DAG in the diet of athletes with HUA. A total of 1,074 lipids and metabolites from 94 classes were quantitated in serum from 33 athletes, who were categorized into responders and non-responders based on whether serum uric acid levels returned to healthy levels after the DAG diet intervention. Lipidomics and metabolomics analyses revealed lower levels of xanthine and uric acid in responders, accompanied by elevated plasmalogen phosphatidylcholines and diminished acylcarnitine levels. Our results highlighted the mechanisms behind how the DAG diet circumvented the risk and effects associated with high uric acid via lowered triglycerides at baseline influencing the absorption of DAG resulting in a decline in ROS and uric acid production, increased phospholipid levels associated with reduced p-Cresol metabolism potentially impacting on intestinal excretion of uric acid as well as improved ammonia recycling contributing to decreased serum uric acid levels in responders. These observed alterations might be suggestive that successful implementation of the DAG diet can potentially minimize the likelihood of a potentially vicious cycle occurring in high uric acid, elevated ROS, and impaired mitochondrial metabolism environment., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Caregiver Strain Questionnaire assesses the three dimensions of caregiver strain, namely the objective, subjective externalized and subjective internalized strain. It was validated among caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States and Mainland China with promising psychometric properties.This study aimed to develop and validate the Chinese (traditional script) version of the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire (C-CGSQ) among 198 caregivers of children with ASD in Hong Kong. The C-CGSQ showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.958) and test-retest reliability (Spearman's r = 0.966). Concurrent, convergent, divergent validity and a three-factor structure (consistent with previous studies) were established. The C-CGSQ demonstrated promising psychometric properties in measuring caregiver strain among caregivers of Chinese ASD children in Hong Kong., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Synchronized ferroptosis contributes to nephron loss in acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the propagation signals and the underlying mechanisms of the synchronized ferroptosis for renal tubular injury remain unresolved. Here we report that platelet-activating factor (PAF) and PAF-like phospholipids (PAF-LPLs) mediated synchronized ferroptosis and contributed to AKI. The emergence of PAF and PAF-LPLs in ferroptosis caused the instability of biomembranes and signaled the cell death of neighboring cells. This cascade could be suppressed by PAF-acetylhydrolase (II) (PAFAH2) or by addition of antibodies against PAF. Genetic knockout or pharmacological inhibition of PAFAH2 increased PAF production, augmented synchronized ferroptosis and exacerbated ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced AKI. Notably, intravenous administration of wild-type PAFAH2 protein, but not its enzymatically inactive mutants, prevented synchronized tubular cell death, nephron loss and AKI. Our findings offer an insight into the mechanisms of synchronized ferroptosis and suggest a possibility for the preventive intervention of AKI., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

In this work, the self-assembled SrTiO 3 (STO) microstructures were synthesized via a facile one-step solvothermal method. As the solvothermal temperature increased from 140 °C to 200 °C, the STO changed from a flower-like architecture to finally an irregularly aggregated flake-like morphology. The photocatalytic performance of as-synthesized samples was assessed through the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and malachite green (MG) under simulated solar irradiation. The results indicated that the photocatalytic performance of STO samples depended on their morphology, in which the hierarchical flower-like STO synthesized at 160 °C demonstrated the highest photoactivities. The photocatalytic enhancement of STO-160 was benefited from its large surface area and mesoporous configuration, hence facilitating the presence of more reactive species and accelerating the charge separation. Moreover, the real-world practicality of STO-160 photocatalysis was examined via the real printed ink wastewater-containing RhB and MG treatment. The phytotoxicity analyses demonstrated that the photocatalytically treated wastewater increased the germination of mung bean seeds, and the good reusability of synthesized STO-160 in photodegradation reaction also promoted its application in practical scenarios. This work highlights the promising potential of tailored STO microstructures for effective environmental remediation applications., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Municipal wastewater is ubiquitously laden with myriad pollutants discharged primarily from a combination of domestic and industrial activities. These heterogeneous pollutants are threating the natural environments when the traditional activated sludge system fails sporadically to reduce the pollutants' toxicities. Besides, the activated sludge system is very energy intensive, bringing conundrums for decarbonization. This research endeavoured to employ Chlorella vulgaris sp. In converting pollutants from municipal wastewater into hydrogen via alternate light and dark fermentative process. The microalgae in attached form onto 1 cm 3 of polyurethane foam cubes were adopted in optimizing light intensity and photoperiod during the light exposure duration. The highest hydrogen production was recorded at 52 mL amidst the synergistic light intensity and photoperiod of 200 μmolm -2 s -1 and 12:12 h (light:dark h), respectively. At this lighting condition, the removals of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammoniacal nitrogen were both achieved at about 80%. The sustainability of microalgal fermentative performances was verified in recyclability study using similar immobilization support material. There were negligible diminishments of hydrogen production as well as both COD and ammoniacal nitrogen removals after five cycles, heralding inconsequential microalgal cells' washout from the polyurethane support when replacing the municipal wastewater medium at each cycle. The collected dataset was finally modelled into enhanced Monod equation aided by Python software tool of machine learning. The derived model was capable to predict the performances of microalgae to execute the fermentative process in producing hydrogen while subsisting municipal wastewater at arbitrary photoperiod. The enhanced model had a best fitting of R 2 of 0.9857 as validated using an independent dataset. Concisely, the outcomes had contributed towards the advancement of municipal wastewater treatment via microalgal fermentative process in producing green hydrogen as a clean energy source to decarbonize the wastewater treatment facilities., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Follicular unit excision (FUE) has risen to the forefront as the world's most popular hair transplant procedure. However, most writing on this subject has catered to the advanced practitioner. The goal of this article will be to focus on safe planning and decision making along with key technical steps that will guide the beginner surgeon to harvest a graft safely and to harvest the donor area in a uniform way to avoid overharvesting. Topics covered in this article also include instrumentation and decision making between FUE versus linear strip excision., Competing Interests: None declared., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Methylene blue (MB) was regarded as a highly toxic and hazardous substance owing to its irreparable hazard and deplorable damage on the ecosystem and the human body. The treatment of this colorant wastewater appeared to be one of the towering challenges in wastewater treatment. In this study, a microbial fuel cell coupled with constructed wetland (CW-MFC) with effective MB elimination and its energy recuperation concurrently based on the incorporation of carbide lime as a substrate in a new copper oxide-loaded on carbon cloth (CuO/CC) cathode system was studied. The crucial influencing parameters were also delved, and the MB degradation and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were correspondingly incremented by 97.3% and 89.1% with maximum power output up to 74.1 mW m -2 at optimal conditions (0.2 g L -1 carbide lime loading and 500 Ω external resistance). The carbide lime with high calcium ion content was greatly conducive for the enrichment of critical microorganism and metabolic activities. The relative abundances of functional bacteria including Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota were vividly increased. Moreover, the impressive results obtained in printed ink wastewater treatment with a COD removal efficiency of 81.3% and a maximum power density of 58.2 mW m -2 , which showcased the potential application of CW-MFC., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Sphingolipids not only exert structural roles in cellular membranes, but also act as signaling molecules in various physiological and pathological processes. A myriad of studies have shown that abnormal levels of sphingolipids and their metabolic enzymes are associated with a variety of human diseases. Moreover, blood sphingolipids can also be used as biomarkers for disease diagnosis. This review summarizes the biosynthesis, metabolism, and pathological roles of sphingolipids, with emphasis on the biosynthesis of ceramide, the precursor for the biosynthesis of complex sphingolipids with different fatty acyl chains. The possibility of using sphingolipids for disease prediction, diagnosis, and treatment is also discussed. Targeting endogenous ceramides and complex sphingolipids along with their specific fatty acyl chain to promote future drug development will also be discussed., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest S.M. Lam is an employee of LipidALL Technologies. The other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Lipids are indispensable for energy storage, membrane structure and cell signalling. However, dynamic changes in various categories of endogenous lipids in mammalian early embryonic development have not been systematically characterized. Here we comprehensively investigated the dynamic lipid landscape during mouse and human early embryo development. Lipid signatures of different developmental stages are distinct, particularly for the phospholipid classes. We highlight that the high degree of phospholipid unsaturation is a conserved feature as embryos develop to the blastocyst stage. Moreover, we show that lipid desaturases such as SCD1 are required for in vitro blastocyst development and blastocyst implantation. One of the mechanisms is through the regulation of unsaturated fatty-acid-mediated fluidity of the plasma membrane and apical proteins and the establishment of apical-basal polarity during development of the eight-cell embryo to the blastocyst. Overall, our study provides an invaluable resource about the remodelling of the endogenous lipidome in mammalian preimplantation embryo development and mechanistic insights into the regulation of embryogenesis and implantation by lipid unsaturation., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Interorgan lipid transport is crucial for organism development and the maintenance of physiological function. Here, we demonstrate that Drosophila long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (dAcsl), which catalyzes the conversion of fatty acids into acyl-coenzyme As (acyl-CoAs), plays a critical role in regulating systemic lipid homeostasis. dAcsl deficiency in the fat body led to the ectopic accumulation of neutral lipids in the gut, along with significantly reduced lipoprotein contents in both the fat body and hemolymph. The aberrant phenotypes were rescued by fat body-specific overexpression of apolipophorin. A multi-omics investigation comprising lipidomics, metabolomics, and proteomics in conjunction with genetic screening revealed that glycosylation processes were suppressed in dAcsl knockdown flies. Overexpression of CG9035, human ortholog of which is implicated in the congenital disorder of glycosylation, ameliorated gut lipid accumulation in Drosophila . Aberrant lipoprotein glycosylation led to accelerated proteasome-related degradation and induced ER stress in dAcsl knockdown flies, impairing lipoprotein release into the circulation which compromised interorgan lipid transport between the fat body and the gut. Inhibition of ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation alleviated the phenotype of gut ectopic fat accumulation in dAcsl knockdown flies. Finally, we verified that ACSL4 , the human homolog of dAcsl , also regulated lipoprotein levels in HepG2 cells, indicating that the role of dAcsl in modulating lipoprotein secretion and systemic lipid homeostasis is possibly conserved in humans., Competing Interests: S.M.L. is an employee of LipidALL Technologies. G.S. holds the position of Editorial Board Member for Life Metabolism and is blinded from reviewing or making decisions for the manuscript. The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Higher Education Press.)

Early life nutrition can reprogram development and exert long-term consequences on body weight regulation. In mice, maternal high-fat diet (HFD) during lactation predisposed male but not female offspring to diet-induced obesity when adult. Molecular and cellular changes in the hypothalamus at important time points are examined in the early postnatal life in relation to maternal diet and demonstrated sex-differential hypothalamic reprogramming. Maternal HFD in lactation decreased the neurotropic development of neurons formed at the embryo stage (e12.5) and impaired early postnatal neurogenesis in the hypothalamic regions of both males and females. Males show a larger increased ratio of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) to Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in early postnatal neurogenesis, in response to maternal HFD, setting an obese tone for male offspring. These data provide insights into the mechanisms by which hypothalamic reprograming by early life overnutrition contributes to the sex-dependent susceptibility to obesity in adult life in mice., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Environmental conservation and energy scarcity have become two core challenges with the ever-increasing advancement of industry, particularly chemical energy rich wastewater comprising refractory organics and pathogenic microbes. Here, a multifunctional photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) was devised using NiFe 2 O 4 nanoparticle-loaded on pine tree-like ZnO/Zn (NiFe 2 O 4 /ZnO/Zn) photoanode and CuO/Cu 2 O nanorods-loaded on Cu (CuO/Cu 2 O/Cu) cathode for extracting electricity upon wastewater treatment. When fed with Rhodamine B (RhB) dyestuff, the NiFe 2 O 4 /ZnO/Zn-PFC provided the maximum power density (P max ) of 0.539 mW cm -2 upon visible light irradiation with an average RhB degradation of 85.2%, which were 2.8 and 2.7 times higher than ZnO/Zn, respectively. The remarkable enhanced NiFe 2 O 4 /ZnO/Zn-PFC performance was owing to the synergistic effect of pine tree-like structure and Z-scheme heterostructure. The pine tree-like with high surface area was not only for effective harnessing photon energies but also provided more directional routes for rapid segregation and transport of carriers and higher interface contacting areas with electrolyte. Through a series of systematic characterizations, the Z-scheme heterostructure mechanism of the system and organics degradation pathway were also speculated. Additionally, the performance of the NiFe 2 O 4 /ZnO/Zn-PFC in industry printing wastewater showed P max of 0.600 mW cm -2 , which was considerably impressive as real wastewater was challenging to accomplish. The phytotoxicity outcome also manifested that the comprehensive toxicity of RhB was eradicated after PFC treatment. Lastly, the excellent recyclability and the pronounced bactericidal effect towards Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were other attributions which enabled the NiFe 2 O 4 /ZnO/Zn-PFC for possible practical application., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

MyoD is a skeletal muscle-specifically expressed transcription factor and plays a critical role in regulating myogenesis during muscle development and regeneration. However, whether myofibers-expressed MyoD exerts its metabolic function in regulating whole body energy homeostasis in vivo remains largely unknown. Here, we report that genetic deletion of Myod in male mice enhances the oxidative metabolism of muscle and, intriguingly, renders the male mice resistant to high fat diet-induced obesity. By performing lipidomic analysis in muscle-conditioned medium and serum, we identify 1,2-dilinoleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC) as a muscle-released lipid that is responsible for MyoD-orchestrated body energy homeostasis in male Myod KO mice. Functionally, the administration of DLPC significantly ameliorates HFD-induced obesity in male mice. Mechanistically, DLPC is found to induce white adipose browning via lipid peroxidation-mediated p38 signaling in male mice. Collectively, our findings not only uncover a novel function of MyoD in controlling systemic energy homeostasis through the muscle-derived lipokine DLPC but also suggest that the DLPC might have clinical potential for treating obesity in humans., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

As evolutionarily conserved organelles, lipid droplets (LDs) carry out numerous functions and have various subcellular localizations in different cell types and species. In avian cone cells, there is a single apically localized LD. We demonstrated that CIDEA (cell death inducing DFFA like effector a) and microtubules promote the formation of the single LD in chicken cone cells. Centrins, which are well-known centriole proteins, target to the cone cell LD via their C-terminal calcium-binding domains. Centrins localize on cone cell LDs with the help of SPDL1-L (spindle apparatus coiled-coil protein 1-L), a previously uncharacterized isoform of the kinetochore-associated dynein adaptor SPDL1. The loss of CETN3 or overexpression of a truncated CETN1 abrogates the apical localization of the cone cell LD. Simulation analysis showed that multiple LDs or a single mispositioned LD reduces the light sensitivity. Collectively, our findings identify a role of centrins in the regulation of cone cell LD localization, which is important for the light sensitivity of cone cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis confers beneficial effects on metabolic diseases such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. Nevertheless, the mechanism and lipid driving the process that evokes this response have not been investigated yet. Here, a multiomics approach of integrative transcriptomics and lipidomics is used to explore the mechanism of regulating thermogenesis in BAT and providing promising lipid biomarkers and biomarker genes for thermogenic activators as antiobesity drugs. Lipidomics analysis demonstrated that a high abundance of glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids was more significant in BAT than in WAT. Enrichment analysis of upregulated DEGs between WAT and BAT screened suggested that the differences were mainly involved in lipid metabolism. Besides, β3-adrenergic agonist stimulation reduced the levels of TAG and DAG and increased the content of PC, PE, CL, and LPC and expression of genes involved in thermogenesis, fatty acid elongation, and glycerophospholipid metabolism in BAT. In this study, based on interpreting the inherent characterization of BAT as thermogenic tissue through comparison with WAT as fat storage tissue, adrenergic stimulation-induced BAT thermogenesis further identified specific lipid biomarkers (7 TAG species, 10 PC species, 1 LPC species, and 1 CL species) and Elovl3 and Crat gene biomarkers, which may provide targets for combating obesity by boosting BAT thermogenesis.

Background: The criteria for metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) remain controversial. This research aimed to identify a potential biomarker to differentiate the subtypes of obesity., Methods: The study conducted a lipidomic evaluation of ceramide in the serum of 77 Chinese adults who had undergone hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps. These adults were divided into three groups according to the clinical data: normal weight control group (N = 21), MHO (N = 20), and MUO (N = 36)., Results: The serum Cer d18:1/24:1 level in the MHO group was lower than that in the MUO group. As the Cer d18:1/24:1 level increased, insulin sensitivity decreased, and the unfavorable parameters increased in parallel. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that serum Cer d18:1/24:1 levels were independently correlated with MUO in obesity. Individuals with higher levels of Cer d18:1/24:1 also had an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. Most ceramide subtype levels increased in obesity compared to normal-weight individuals, but the levels of serum Cer d18:0/18:0 and Cer d18:1/16:0 decreased in obesity., Conclusions: The relationships between ceramide subtypes and metabolic profiles might be heterogeneous in populations with different body weights. Cer d18:1/24:1 could be a biomarker that can be used to differentiate MUO from MHO, and to better predict who will develop unfavorable health outcomes among obese individuals., Trial Registration: The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University's Institutional Review Board authorized this study protocol, and all participants provided written informed consent (2014-SR-003) prior to study entry., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) couple feed-fast cycles to diurnal rhythms. However, it remains largely uncharacterized whether and how meal timing organizes diurnal rhythms beyond the transcriptome. Here, we systematically profile the daily rhythms of the proteome, four PTMs (phosphorylation, ubiquitylation, succinylation and N-glycosylation) and the lipidome in the liver from young female mice subjected to either day/sleep time-restricted feeding (DRF) or night/wake time-restricted feeding (NRF). We detect robust daily rhythms among different layers of omics with phosphorylation the most nutrient-responsive and succinylation the least. Integrative analyses reveal that clock regulation of fatty acid metabolism represents a key diurnal feature that is reset by meal timing, as indicated by the rhythmic phosphorylation of the circadian repressor PERIOD2 at Ser971 (PER2-pSer971). We confirm that PER2-pSer971 is activated by nutrient availability in vivo. Together, this dataset represents a comprehensive resource detailing the proteomic and lipidomic responses by the liver to alterations in meal timing., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Teachers' instructional quality is critical to student learning and development. However, the affordance of different aspects of instructional quality remains underexplored., Aims: This study explores the relationship between teachers' personal growth initiative (PGI) and teacher engagement and instructional quality., Sample: The data were collected from 998 teachers (82.9% female, average years of teaching experience = 15.25, SD = 10.29) from China., Methods: The participants completed an anonymous online survey questionnaire that examined their PGI, work engagement and self-reported instructional quality. Structural equation modelling and bootstrapping were performed to determine the differentiated associations between PGI and each aspect of the teachers' self-reported instructional quality., Results: The results confirmed the critical role of PGI in teacher engagement and self-reported instructional quality. To varying degrees, the dimensions of teacher engagement, except for cognitive engagement, mediated the association between PGI and self-reported instructional quality., Conclusions: The teachers' self-reported data showed that their motivation for personal growth played an important role in improving their instructional quality. The teachers' emotional engagement and social engagement with colleagues were positively related to classroom management, and their social engagement with students was associated with a supportive climate., (© 2023 British Psychological Society.)

Attributable to the prosperous production growth of palm oil in Malaysia, the generated palm oil mill effluent (POME) poses a high threat owing to its highly polluted characteristic. Urged by the escalating concern of environmental conservation, POME pollution abatement and potential energy recovery from the effluent are flagged up as a research topic of interest. In this study, a cutting-edge photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) system with employment of ZnO/Zn nanorod array (NRA) photoanode, CuO/Cu cathode, and persulfate (PS) oxidant was successfully designed to improve the treatment of POME and simultaneous energy production. The photoelectrodes were fabricated and characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller analysis (BET). Owing to the properties of strong oxidant of PS, the proposed PFC/PS system has exhibited exceptional performance, attaining chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 96.2%, open circuit voltage (V oc ) of 740.0 mV, short circuit current density (J sc ) of 146.7 μA cm -2 , and power density (P max ) of 35.6 μW cm -2 . The pre-eminent PFC/PS system performance was yielded under optimal conditions of 2.5 mM of persulfate oxidant, POME dilution factor of 1:20, and natural solution pH of 8.51. Subsequently, the postulated photoelectrocatalytic POME treatment mechanism was elucidated by the radical scavenging study and Mott-Schottky (M-S) analysis. The following recycling test affirmed the stability and durability of the photoanode after four continuous repetition usages while the assessed electrical energy efficiency revealed the economic viability of PFC system serving as a post-treatment for abatement of POME. These findings contributed toward enhancing the sustainability criteria and economic viability of palm oil by adopting sustainable and efficient POME post-treatment technology., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)