Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Is Associated with the Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study in Xinjiang.

In 2020, a group of international experts proposed a new term 'metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease' (MAFLD) to replace 'non-alcoholic fatty liver disease'. This study aimed to describe the epidemic characteristics of MAFLD, incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and relationship between MAFLD and incident CVD. In 2016, 12,794 Uyghur adults from Kashgar, Xinjiang, were grouped according to the presence or absence of MAFLD. The primary outcome was the occurrence of CVD events. Fatty liver was diagnosed using ultrasound. The prevalence of MAFLD was 16.55%. After excluding patients with previous CVD, 11,444 participants were followed up for a median period of 4.7 years. During the follow-up period, the overall CVD incidence was 10.40% (1190/11,444). The incidence of CVD in the patients with MAFLD was significantly higher than that in the non-MAFLD patients (18.38% vs. 9.02%, p < 0.001; multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.20−1.56). The prevalence of MAFLD was relatively low, whereas the incidence of CVD was relatively high among the Uyghur adults in rural Xinjiang. Individuals with MAFLD have a higher risk of developing CVD independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and dyslipidaemia.

Association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and H-type hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T has been linked to H-type hypertension. But the conclusion remained controversial. To elucidate this issue, we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to analyze the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and H-type hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The English and Chinese databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies until November 2020. RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software were used for meta-analysis. The odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to assess the relationship between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and H-type hypertension. RESULTS: A total of 14 studies involving 1769 cases and 1443 controls were included. The meta-analysis results showed the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and H-type hypertension with the homozygous codominant model (OR = 3.30, 95% CI = 1.94-5.60), heterozygous codominant model (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.53-3.58), dominant model (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.33-2.41), recessive model (OR = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.73-4.21),and the allelic model (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.41-2.35). All p-values were less than 0.05. Therefore, MTHFR C677T polymorphism has a positive correlation with the risk of H-type hypertension. Among them, TT mutation has the greatest impact on the activity of this enzyme, which causes Hcy to rise and leads to H-type hypertension. CONCLUSION: In summary, our results provide sufficient data to support the hypothesis that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is related to H-type hypertension susceptibility.

A Scalable Heat Pump Film with Zero Energy Consumption.

Radiative cooling is an effective technology with zero energy consumption to alleviate climate warming and combat the urban heat island effect. At present, researchers often use foam boxes to isolate non-radiant heat exchange between the cooler and the environment through experiments, so as to achieve maximum cooling power. In practice, however, there are challenges in setting up foam boxes on a large scale, resulting in coolers that can be cooled below ambient only under low convection conditions. Based on polymer materials and nano-zinc oxide (nano-ZnO, refractive index > 2, the peak equivalent spherical diameter 500 nm), the manufacturing process of heat pump film (HPF) was proposed. The HPF (4.1 mm thick) consists of polyethylene (PE) bubble film (heat transfer coefficient 0.04 W/m/K, 4 mm thick) and Ethylene-1-octene copolymer (POE) cured nano-ZnO (solar reflectance ≈94% at 0.075 mm thick). Covering with HPF, the object achieves 7.15 °C decreasing in normal natural environment and 3.68 °C even under certain circumstances with high surface convective heat transfer (56.9 W/m2/K). HPF has advantages of cooling the covered object, certain strength (1.45 Mpa), scalable manufacturing with low cost, hydrophobic characteristics (the water contact angle, 150.6°), and meeting the basic requirements of various application scenarios.

A functional genomics screen identifying blood cell development genes in Drosophila by undergraduates participating in a course-based research experience.

Undergraduate students participating in the UCLA Undergraduate Research Consortium for Functional Genomics (URCFG) have conducted a two-phased screen using RNA interference (RNAi) in combination with fluorescent reporter proteins to identify genes important for hematopoiesis in Drosophila. This screen disrupted the function of approximately 3500 genes and identified 137 candidate genes for which loss of function leads to observable changes in the hematopoietic development. Targeting RNAi to maturing, progenitor, and regulatory cell types identified key subsets that either limit or promote blood cell maturation. Bioinformatic analysis reveals gene enrichment in several previously uncharacterized areas, including RNA processing and export and vesicular trafficking. Lastly, the participation of students in this course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) correlated with increased learning gains across several areas, as well as increased STEM retention, indicating that authentic, student-driven research in the form of a CURE represents an impactful and enriching pedagogical approach.

Clustering-Triggered Emission of Nonconjugated Polyacrylonitrile.

Intrinsic emission from nonconjugated polymers has attracted considerable attention owing to its fundamental importance and intensive applications in diverse fields. The emission mechanism, however, is still in debate. Herein, nonconjugated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) molecules are found to be virtually nonluminescent in dilute solutions, while being highly emissive when concentrated or aggregated as nanosuspensions, solid powders, and films, exhibiting distinct aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics. Moreover, triplet emissions of delayed fluorescence and room temperature phosphorescence are detected from the solid powders. Such unique emission of nonconjugated PAN is ascribed to the formation of cyano clusters, which act as the exact chromophores. In these clusters, through space electronic interactions, namely overlap of π and lone pair (n) electrons among cyano groups extend the conjugation and meanwhile rigidify the molecular conformations, thus offering remarkable emission upon irradiation. The AIE phenomenon can also be well rationalized by the formation of cyano clusters together with conformation rigidification. And the triplet emissions shall be originated from the n-π* transition owing to the presence of lone pairs. It is believed that such clustering-triggered emission mechanism is instructive for further development of unorthodox luminogens.