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Objective To investigate the influence of high-dose atorvastatin on bile acid metabolism in mice with liver injury and its mechanism. Methods A total of 40 specific pathogen-free male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal saline group (group A) and low-, middle-, and high-dose atorvastatin groups (groups B, C, and D, respectively), with 10 mice in each group. After 30 days of intragastric administration of normal saline and atorvastatin at a dose of 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg, respectively, orbital blood was collected from the mice in each group, and these groups were compared in terms of the serum levels of total bile acid (TBA), endotoxin (ET), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT); after liver tissue samples were collected, HE staining was performed to observe the pathological changes of liver tissue, and PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression levels of the bile acid metabolism-related genes farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and multidrug resis-tance-associated protein 2 (MRP2) in liver tissue. Results The mice in group D had slight swelling, sporadic inflammatory cell infiltration, and feather-like degeneration in liver tissue. Compared with the other groups, group D had significant increases in the serum levels of TBA, ET, AST, and ALT (P

CO oxidation at mild condition is significant for industrial process but still challenging nowadays, especially for the non-noble metal catalysts. The preparation method significant affect the catalytic activity of the catalyst. Comparing with cobalt supported on tantalum oxide prepared by impregnation method, Co/Ta2O5 prepared by deposition–precipitation method with urea in this study has smaller particle size, higher specific surface area and better redox properties, and these features make the catalyst exhibit higher catalytic activity for CO oxidation at mild condition. 90% CO conversion was achieved at 130 ℃, and CO was fully converted at 150 ℃. The XPS and DRIFTs results show that Co/Ta2O5 has more oxygen vacancies, and the absorbed CO will react with oxygen. The study may provide a new thought for the preparation of catalysts with high activity at mild condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Hydrolysis of polysaccharides is a key step in biorefineries processes. In this study, an economic and green approach was developed to hydrolyze soluble polysaccharides (starch, inulin, etc.) into monosaccharides by a natural clay of attapulgite (ATP) modified with H2SO4(ATPS), and the catalysts were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT‐IR), Pyridine FTIR Spectroscopy (pyridine‐FTIR), Temperature Programmed Desorption of Ammonia (NH3‐TPD), Thermo‐Gravimetric/Differential Thermal Analyze (TG‐DTA). The hydrolysis of different substrate over ATP‐S was evaluated. RESULTS: After H2SO4 modification, the total acid sites of the catalyst ATP‐S increased from 65.33 to 109.46 umol g–1, and the surface area also increased from 81.4 to 137.3 m2 g–1. ATP‐S shows excellent activity and stability for polysaccharides hydrolysis in aqueous system. As for inulin as reactant, 98.5% of hydrolysis ratio was obtained at the moderate temperature of 95 °C for 210 min, and 75.8% hydrolysis ratio was achieved for starch. More importantly, there is no apparent decline of the catalytic activity after 4 recycles in aqueous system. In addition, the kinetic analysis was carried out, and the activation energy of the substrates were calculated. CONCLUSION: Compared with other hydrolysis processes involving enzymes and homogeneous catalysis, the process in this paper is more cost‐efficient and environmentally friendly, and it can easily be scaled‐up and implemented in chemical and bio‐based industries. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonzero interlayer Schottky barrier leads to a compromise between photodetectivity and photoresponsivity in photodiodes based on vdW heterojunctions. Seeking for the appropriate vdW heterojunction with Ohmic contact and a high tunneling barrier is of great significance to realize high-performance photodiodes. We built borophene/C4N4 (B/C4N4) vdW heterojunctions with a reduced interlayer Schottky barrier, by combining density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function. The adsorption of Li-ions can further tune its Schottky contact into n-type Ohmic contact. The electronic properties of the Li-ion-adsorbed B/C4N4 vdW heterojunction, including the separation of hole–electron pairs, the work function, as well as the effective mass of carrier, can be modulated by changing the adsorption site of Li-ions. B/C4N4/Li shows the most excellent absorbing capability of the infrared illumination and the strongest negative rectification, due to the highest interlayer tunneling barrier. The bottom surface of the C4N4 sublayer is the optimal adsorption site of Li-ions, for the potential application of B/C4N4 vdW heterojunctions in tunneling photodiodes. Our work unveils the great significance of Li-ion adsorption in modulating the interlayer Schottky and tunneling barriers in vdW heterojunctions, thus improving their device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]