High Urine Albumin-to-Creatinine Ratio is Associated with Increased Arterial Stiffness in Diabetes: A Chinese Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: Elevated urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) is an established risk factor for microvascular disease in the general population. However, it is unclear whether UACR is associated with arterial stiffness in diabetes. We aimed to assess the relationship between UACR levels and the risk of arterial stiffness in patients with diabetes. Methods: From July 2021 to February 2023, a total of 1039 participants were assessed for the risk of arterial stiffness, which was evaluated by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). The value of UACR≥30 mg/g was defined as high UACR. The UACR level had an abnormal distribution and was log2-transformed for analyses to reduce skewness and volatility. High baPWV was evaluated as categorical variables divided by the highest quartile of the values by sex. The relationship between UACR and arterial stiffness was analyzed by linear curve fitting analyses. Multiple logistic regression models were used to analyze the crude and adjusted odds ratio (OR) of UACR for high baPWV with 95% confidence interval (CI). In addition to applying non-adjusted and multivariate-adjusted models, interaction and stratified analyses were also carried out. Results: The baPWV level was significantly higher in the high UACR group compared with that in the normal UACR group (1861.84 ± 439.12 cm/s vs 1723.13 ± 399.63 cm/s, p<0.001). Adjusted smoothed plots suggested that there are linear relationships between log2-transformed UACR and high baPWV, and Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.226 (0.176-0.276, p<0.001). The OR (95% CI) between log2-transformed UACR and high baPWV were 1.26 (1.19-1.33, p<0.001), and 1.16 (1.08-1.25, p<0.001) respectively in diabetic patients before and after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusion: The elevated UACR was associated with arterial stiffness in Chinese patients with diabetes.

1. The mean baPWV level was significantly higher in the high UACR group compared with that in the normal UACR group.2. The sex-specific hierarchical analysis revealed that baPWV levels and the incidence of high baPWV were significantly elevated with increased UACR.3. Curvilinear relationships between log2-transformed UACR and the risk of high baPWV.4. Positive association between UACR and high baPWV in patients with diabetes.

A comparative study of the ameliorative effects of hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides and hyaluronic acid on DSS-induced colitis in mice and research on relevant mechanisms.

As a dietary supplement, hyaluronic acid (HA) has exhibited appreciable immunomodulatory activity and an ameliorative effect on rodent colitis. However, its high viscosity is not only refractory to absorb through the gut, but also causes flatulence. In contrast to HA, hyaluronic acid oligosaccharides (o-HAs) can overcome the above-mentioned constraints, but their treatment effect still remains ill-defined contemporarily. Herein, the current study intends to compare the modulatory effects of HA and o-HA on colitis and assess the underlying molecular mechanism. We first showed that o-HA had a better preventive effect than HA in alleviating colitis symptoms, as evidenced by lower body weight loss, lower disease activity index scores, a lower inflammatory response (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1ß, p-NF-κB), and more intact colon epithelial integrity in vivo. The best efficiency was observed in the o-HA treated group with a dosage of 30 mg kg-1. In an in vitro barrier function assay, o-HA exerted a better protective effect on the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), FITC permeability, and wound healing and modulated the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins (ZO-1, occludin) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated Caco-2 cells. In summary, both HA and o-HA showed the potential to reduce inflammation and ameliorate intestinal damage in DSS-induced colitis and LPS-induced inflammation, but o-HA had improved outcomes. The results also provided a glimpse of the latent mechanism by which HA and o-HA enhanced intestinal barrier function via MLCK/p-MLC signaling pathway suppression.

Influence of high altitude on the strength of aerated concrete.

Aerated concrete specimens were prepared at Fuzhou and Lhasa with the same processing conditions. The compressive strengths of the specimens in Lhasa were lower than that in Fuzhou. We used SEM-EDS, XRD, FT-IR and MIP to study their microstructure in order to find the reasons made for differences in strength. Furthermore, the effect of the preparation process on the material strength was analyzed. The results showed that a low ambient temperature affected the autoclave curing process of the aerated concrete. A longer time was needed to reach the desired constant temperature, resulting in an insufficient degree of hydration, a low level of tobermorite generation, poor crystallinity, high porosity, an uneven pore size distribution, more harmful pore content above 200 nm and unsatisfactory strength. Under low environmental pressure, increasing autoclave pressure can promote the better formation of tobermorite to improve the strength of aerated concrete.

Chemical Characterization and Atherosclerosis Alleviation Effects of Gypenosides from Gynostemma pentaphyllum through Ameliorating Endothelial Dysfunction via the PCSK9/LOX-1 Pathway.

Dietary saponins have the potential to ameliorate atherosclerosis (AS). Gypenosides of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (GPs) have been used as functional foods to exhibit antiatherosclerotic activity. The present study aimed to explore the protective effect, underlying mechanism and active substances of GPs on AS in vivo and in vitro. Results demonstrated GPs administration reduced the serum concentrations of TC and LDL-C, upregulated the plasma HDL-C content, inhibited the secretion of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and MCP-1, and alleviated vascular lesions in VitD3 plus high cholesterol diet-induced AS rats as well as reduced adhesion factors levels in ox-LDL-stimulated HUVECs, which was potentially associated with suppressing PCSK9/LOX-1 pathway. Further activity-guided phytochemical investigation of GPs led to the identification of five new dammarane-type glycosides (1-5) and ten known analogs (6-15). Bioassay evaluation showed compounds 1, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14 observably reduced the expressions of PCSK9 and LOX-1, as well as the secretion of adhesion factors in injured HUVECs. Molecular docking experiments suggested that the active saponins of GPs might bind to the allosteric pocket of PCSK9 located at the catalytic and C-terminal domains, and 2α-OH-protopanaxadiol-type gypenosides might exert a higher affinity for an allosteric binding site on PCSK9 by hydrogen-bond interaction with ARG-458. These findings provide new insights into the potential nutraceutical application of GPs and their bioactive compounds in the prevention and discovery of novel therapeutic strategies for AS.

Dammarane-type saponins with proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitory activity from Gynostemma pentaphyllum.

Seven undescribed dammarane-type saponins, gypenosides LXXXI-LXXXVII, together with four known compounds, were isolated from the whole herb of Gynostemma pentaphyllum. The chemical structures of these undescribed compounds were elucidated on the basis of physical and spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. All the isolates were evaluated for their proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitory activities in HepG2 cells. Among them, gypenosides LXXXII-LXXXVII, gynosaponin II, IV and VI suppressed the expression of PCSK9 in LPDS-induced HepG2 cells at 20 µM; gypenosides LXXXII, LXXXV and LXXXVII showed inhibitory activities against PCSK9 at 10 µM; notably, gypenoside LXXXII still exhibited inhibitory activity against PCSK9 at 5 µM.

TiO2@Pt@CeO2 nanocomposite as a bifunctional catalyst for enhancing photo-reduction of Cr (VI) and photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohol.

An solar-light-driven and bifunctional photocatalyst was designed for photo-reduction of Cr(VI) and selective photo-oxidation of benzyl alcohol into benzaldehyde in the presence of water under ambient conditions. Double-shelled and sandwiched TiO2@Pt@CeO2 hollow spheres were prepared by using functionalized polystyrene spheres, sol-gel, hydrothermal reaction, and calcination. The Pt nanoparticles (NPs) were controllably loaded between the TiO2 shell and CeO2 shell. Under solar-light irradiation, the photo-reduction rate of Cr(VI) (µmol h-1) was in the order of TiO2@Pt@CeO2 (1.901) > TiO2@CeO2 (1.424) > TiO2 (1.040) > CeO2 (0.992). Among the above-mentioned photocatalysts, the conversion rate of benzyl alcohol for TiO2@Pt@CeO2 was also the best. These results were attributed to the combination of TiO2 and CeO2 as photocatalyst and oxygen buffer, the double-shelled and sandwiched nanostructure, and the addition of Pt NPs as cocatalyst and electron trap site, which could store and shuttle photo-generated electrons, reduce the recombination of the electron-hole, and then enhance photo-generation of active radicals. This conclusion was verified by the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Considering the versatile combination of photocatalyst, oxygen buffer and cocatalyst, this work could provide new insights into the design of high-performance bifunctional photocatalysts for heavy metal removal and selective synthesis.

Influence of TiO2 hollow sphere size on its photo-reduction activity for toxic Cr(VI) removal.

After polystyrene@titanium dioxide (PS@TiO2) composite with different size was calcined at designated temperature, TiO2 hollow sphere with controllable size was obtained for high efficient photo-reduction of Cr(VI). The feature of the TiO2 hollow sphere was investigated by SEM, TEM, XRD, UV-Vis, and photoluminescence. The photo-reduction of Cr(VI) were measured for the performance assessment of the TiO2 hollow sphere, Cr(VI) was used as an electron acceptor. After irradiation for 2h, the photo-reduction rate of Cr(VI) (pH=2.82) for TiO2(450nm) was 96%, which exhibited an increase of 5% and 8% compared with TiO2(370nm) and TiO2(600nm). The absorption edges of TiO2 hollow sphere (450nm) was largest with the increasing of hollow sphere size from 370 to 600nm. The optimal hollow sphere size of TiO2 was 450nm for the photo-reduction of Cr(VI), because the light-harvesting efficiency (the best of absorption edge) and photo-generated electron-hole separation rate (the best of photo-reduction rate) of TiO2 hollow sphere were controlled by its hollow sphere size. In addition, we find that the behavior of the hydrogen production was inhibited by the coexistence Cr(VI) solution. This study can improve our understanding of the mechanism for the activity enhancement by the optimal hollow sphere size of TiO2.