Exercise-induced cardiac troponin elevations and cardiac ventricular dysfunction assessed by tissue Doppler echocardiography and speckle tracking among non-elite runners in Beijing marathon.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify the major determinants of cardiac troponin changes response to exercise among non-elite runners participating in the Beijing 2022 marathon, with a particular focus on the associations with the cardiac function assessed by tissue Doppler echocardiography and speckle tracking. DESIGN: A prospective study. METHODS: A total of 33 non-elite participants in the 2022 Beijing Marathon were included in the study. Echocardiographic assessment and blood sample collection were conducted before, immediately after, and two weeks after the marathon. Blood samples were analyzed using the same Abbot high-sensitivity cTnI STAT assay. Echocardiography included tissue Doppler and speckle tracking echocardiography. RESULTS: Following the marathon, significant increases were observed in cardiac biomarkers, with hs-cTnI elevating from 3.1 [2.3-6.7] to 49.6 [32.5-76.9] ng/L (P < 0.0001). Over 72 % of participants had post-race hs-TnI levels surpassing the 99th percentile upper reference limit. There was a notable correlation between pre-marathon hs-cTnI levels (ß coefficient, 0.56 [0.05, 1.07]; P = 0.042), weekly average training (ß coefficient, -1.15 [-1.95, -0.35]; P = 0.009), and hs-cTnI rise post-marathon. Echocardiography revealed significant post-race cardiac function changes, including decreased E/A ratio (P < 0.0001), GWI (P < 0.0001), and GCW (P < 0.0001), with LVEF (ß coefficients, 0.112 [0.01, 0.21]; P = 0.042) and RV GLS (ß coefficients, 0.124 [0.01, 0.23]; P = 0.035) changes significantly associated with hs-TnI alterations. All echocardiographic and laboratory indicators reverted to baseline levels within two weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline hs-cTnI levels and weekly average training influence exercise-induced hs-cTnI elevation in non-elite runners. Echocardiography revealed post-race changes in cardiac function, with LVEF and RV GLS significantly associated with hs-TnI alterations. These findings contribute to understanding the cardiac response to exercise and could guide training and recovery strategies.

Biological fermentation pilot-scale systems and evaluation for commercial viability towards sustainable biohydrogen production.

Featuring high caloric value, clean-burning, and renewability, hydrogen is a fuel believed to be able to change energy structure worldwide. Biohydrogen production technologies effectively utilize waste biomass resources and produce high-purity hydrogen. Improvements have been made in the biohydrogen production process in recent years. However, there is a lack of operational data and sustainability analysis from pilot plants to provide a reference for commercial operations. In this report, based on spectrum coupling, thermal effect, and multiphase flow properties of hydrogen production, continuous pilot-scale biohydrogen production systems (dark and photo-fermentation) are established as a research subject. Then, pilot-scale hydrogen production systems are assessed in terms of sustainability. The system being evaluated, consumes 171,530 MJ of energy and emits 9.37 t of CO2 eq when producing 1 t H2, and has a payback period of 6.86 years. Our analysis also suggests future pathways towards effective biohydrogen production technology development and real-world implementation.

Photochemical Mn-Mediated Generation of Azide Radicals for Improvement of Alkene Hydroxyazidation.

State-of-the-art strategies for alkene-hydroxyazidation, which yield a mixture of ß-azido alcohol and ß-azido peroxide, must rely on phosphine reagents to improve the chemoselectivity. To overcome the above problems, we present a photochemical hydroxyazidation of alkenes via Mn-mediated ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) in O2, which activates N3- to •N3 and incorporates O2 to be used as an oxygen source in the hydroxyazidation products. Broad alkene range and step-economy chemistry for the hydroxyazidation transformation were also demonstrated.

Effects of different intervention methods on psychological flexibility, negative emotions and sleep quality in chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) experience various problems, including low psychological flexibility, negative emotions, and poor sleep quality. Therefore, effective nursing interventions are required to reduce adverse events. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) combined with enabling cognitive-behavioral education (ECBE) can improve patients' psychological and sleep. Therefore, we speculate that this may also be effective in patients with CHB. AIM: To investigate the effects of different intervention methods on psychological flexibility, negative emotions, and sleep quality in patients with CHB. METHODS: This retrospective study examined clinical and evaluation data of 129 patients with CHB. Intervention methods were divided into a conventional group (routine nursing, n = 69) and a combination group (ACT combined with ECBE, n = 60). We observed changes in psychological flexibility, negative emotions, sleep quality, and self-care ability in both groups. Observation items were evaluated using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-2nd Edition (AAQ-II), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCA). RESULTS: Compared with the conventional group, the AAQ-II score of the combined group was lower (Fbetween-group effect = 8.548; Ftime effects = 25.020; Finteraction effects = 52.930; all P < 0.001), the SAS score (t = 5.445) and SDS score (t = 7.076) were lower (all P < 0.001), as were the PSQI dimensions (tsleep quality = 4.581, tfall sleep time = 2.826, tsleep time = 2.436, tsleep efficiency = 5.787, tsleep disorder = 5.008, thypnotic drugs = 3.786, tdaytime dysfunction = 4.812); all P < 0.05). The ESCA scores for all dimensions were higher (thealth knowledge level = 6.994, tself-concept = 5.902, tself-responsibility = 19.820, tself-care skills = 8.470; all P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: ACT combined with ECBE in patients with CHB can improve psychological flexibility and sleep quality, alleviate negative emotions, and improve self-care.

An over-the-horizon potential safety threat vehicle identification method based on ETC big data.

Smart cars rely on sensors like LIDAR and high-precision map-based perception for driving environment sensing. However, they can't detect low-speed vehicles beyond visual range, affecting safety and comfort. Manual vehicles face similar challenges. Low-speed driving contributes to expressway accidents due to limited visibility, road design, and equipment performance. To enhance safety, an over-the-horizon potential safety threat vehicle identification method using ETC big data is proposed. It consists of three layers. The first layer is the vehicle section travel speed sensing layer based on the wlp-XGBoost algorithm. The second layer is the in-transit vehicle position estimation layer based on the DR-HMM algorithm. The third layer is the Multi-information fusion of potential safety threat vehicle identification layer. Dynamic real-time detection and identification of potential safety threats in expressway sections were achieved, and simulations were conducted using real-time ETC data from Quanxia section on an ETC platform. Results show accurate prediction of vehicle speed and position in different road sections and traffic situations, with over 95% accuracy and recall in identifying potential safety threat vehicles. It perceives changes in the traffic conditions of road sections in real-time based on the changing trend of potential safety threat vehicle numbers, providing a vital reference for speed planning and risk avoidance.

Phyllanthus emblica fruits: a polyphenol-rich fruit with potential benefits for oral management.

The fruit of Phyllanthus emblica Linn., which mainly grows in tropical and subtropical regions, is well-known for its medicine and food homology properties. It has a distinctive flavor, great nutritional content, and potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and immunoregulatory effects. According to an increasing amount of scientific and clinical evidence, this fruit shows significant potential for application and development in the field of oral health management. Through the supplementation of vitamins, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and other nutrients reduce virulence expression of various oral pathogens, prevent tissue and mucosal damage caused by oxidative stress, etc. Phyllanthus emblica fruit can promote saliva secretion, regulate the balance of the oral microecology, prevent and treat oral cancer early, promote alveolar bone remodeling and aid mucosal wound healing. Thus, it plays a specific role in the prevention and treatment of common oral disorders, producing surprising results. For instance, enhancing the effectiveness of scaling and root planing in the treatment of periodontitis, relieving mucosal inflammation caused by radiotherapy for oral cancer, and regulating the blood glucose metabolism to alleviate oral discomfort. Herein, we systematically review the latest research on the use of Phyllanthus emblica fruit in the management of oral health and examine the challenges and future research directions based on its chemical composition and characteristics.

Flavonoids from Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) restore CUMS-induced depressive disorder and regulate the gut microbiota in mice.

Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), which is enriched with flavonoids, including isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol, is a representative example of "medicine food homology" targeting several diseases. Major depressive disorders seriously threaten mental health worldwide and may even lead to death. Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depressive-like symptoms in mice are usually considered as the highest similarity to the situation in humans. Herein, we determined the potential functions of the flavonoid-enriched fraction from Seabuckthorn, which was named SBF, in treating major depressive disorder in mice. In the CUMS-induced mouse model, the intake of SBF reversed their depressive behaviors and relieved the CUMS-disturbed levels of neurotrophins, neurotransmitters, stress-related hormones, and inflammation-related cytokines. Additionally, the treatment of depressive mice with SBF showed ability to regulate the gut microbiota, especially in decreasing the abundance of Lactobacillaceae, while increasing the abundance of Lachnospiraceae at the family level. The results suggest the beneficial effects of Seabuckthorn flavonoids in functioning as a health food supplement to treat major depressive disorders.

Dynamics and control mechanisms of inorganic nitrogen removal during wetting-drying cycles: A simulated managed aquifer recharge experiment.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) systems can be operated intermittently through wetting-drying cycles to simultaneously improve the water supply and quality. Although MAR can naturally attenuate considerable amounts of nitrogen, the dynamic processes and control mechanisms of nitrogen removal by intermittent MAR remain unclear. This study was conducted in laboratory sandy columns and lasted for 23 d, including four wetting periods and three drying periods. The hydraulic conductivity, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), and leaching concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen of MAR systems were intensively measured to test the hypothesis that hydrological and biogeochemical controls play an essential role in regulating nitrogen dynamics at different stages of wetting-drying cycles. Intermittent MAR functioned as a sink for nitrogen while providing a carbon source to support nitrogen transformations; however, it occasionally became a source of nitrogen under intense flushes of preferential flow. Nitrogen dynamics were primarily controlled by hydrological processes in the initial wetting phase and were further regulated by biogeochemical processes during the subsequent wetting period, supporting our hypothesis. We also observed that a saturated zone could mediate nitrogen dynamics by creating anaerobic conditions for denitrification and buffering the flush effect of preferential flow. The drying duration can also affect the occurrence of preferential flow and nitrogen transformations, which should be balanced when determining the optimal drying duration for intermittent MAR systems.

Machine learning-enhanced echocardiography for screening coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: Since myocardial work (MW) and left atrial strain are valuable for screening coronary artery disease (CAD), this study aimed to develop a novel CAD screening approach based on machine learning-enhanced echocardiography. METHODS: This prospective study used data from patients undergoing coronary angiography, in which the novel echocardiography features were extracted by a machine learning algorithm. A total of 818 patients were enrolled and randomly divided into training (80%) and testing (20%) groups. An additional 115 patients were also enrolled in the validation group. RESULTS: The superior diagnosis model of CAD was optimized using 59 echocardiographic features in a gradient-boosting classifier. This model showed that the value of the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) was 0.852 in the test group and 0.834 in the validation group, with high sensitivity (0.952) and low specificity (0.691), suggesting that this model is very sensitive for detecting CAD, but its low specificity may increase the high false-positive rate. We also determined that the false-positive cases were more susceptible to suffering cardiac events than the true-negative cases. CONCLUSIONS: Machine learning-enhanced echocardiography can improve CAD detection based on the MW and left atrial strain features. Our developed model is valuable for estimating the pre-test probability of CAD and screening CAD patients in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registered as NCT03905200 at ClinicalTrials.gov. Registered on 5 April 2019.

Knowledge mapping of exosomes in metabolic diseases: a bibliometric analysis (2007-2022).

Background: Research on exosomes in metabolic diseases has been gaining attention, but a comprehensive and objective report on the current state of research is lacking. This study aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of publications on "exosomes in metabolic diseases" to analyze the current status and trends of research using visualization methods. Methods: The web of science core collection was searched for publications on exosomes in metabolic diseases from 2007 to 2022. Three software packages, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R package "bibliometrix" were used for the bibliometric analysis. Results: A total of 532 papers were analyzed, authored by 29,705 researchers from 46 countries/regions and 923 institutions, published in 310 academic journals. The number of publications related to exosomes in metabolic diseases is gradually increasing. China and the United States were the most productive countries, while Ciber Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red was the most active institution. The International Journal of Molecular Sciences published the most relevant studies, and Plos One received the most citations. Khalyfa, Abdelnaby published the most papers and Thery, C was the most cited. The ten most co-cited references were considered as the knowledge base. After analysis, the most common keywords were microRNAs, biomarkers, insulin resistance, expression, and obesity. Applying basic research related on exosomes in metabolic diseases to clinical diagnosis and treatment is a research hotspot and trend. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive summary of research trends and developments in exosomes in metabolic diseases through bibliometrics. The information points out the research frontiers and hot directions in recent years and will provide a reference for researchers in this field.

Flavonoids from Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) mimic neurotrophic functions in inducing neurite outgrowth in cultured neurons: Signaling via PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways.

BACKGROUND: Various brain disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases and major depressive disorders, threaten an increasing number of patients. Seabuckthorn, a fruit from Hippophae rhamnoides L., is an example of "medicine food homology". The fruit has enriched flavonoids that reported to have benefits in treating cognitive disorders. However, the studies on potential functions of Seabuckthorn and/or its flavonoid-enriched fraction in treating neurodegenerative disorders are limited. PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the ability and mechanism of the flavonoid-enriched fraction of Seabuckthorn (named as SBF) in mimicking the neurotrophic functions in inducing neurite outgrowth of cultured neurons. METHODS: Cultured PC12 cell line, SH-SY5Y cell line and primary neurons (cortical and hippocampal neurons isolated from E17-19 SD rat embryos) were the employed models to evaluate SBF in inducing neurite outgrowth by comparing to the effects of NGF and BDNF. Immuno-fluorescence staining was applied to identify the morphological change during the neuronal differentiation. Luciferase assay was utilized for analyzing the transcriptional regulation of neurofilaments and cAMP/CREB-mediated gene. Western blot assay was conducted to demonstrate the expressions of neurofilaments and phosphorylated proteins. RESULTS: The application of SBF induced neuronal cell differentiation, and this differentiating activation was blocked by the inhibitors of PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways. Additionally, SBF showed synergy with neurotrophic factors in stimulating the neurite outgrowth of cultured neurons. Moreover, the major flavonoids within SBF, i.e., isorhamnetin, quercetin and kaempferol, could account for the neurotrophic activities of SBF. CONCLUSION: Seabuckthorn flavonoids mimicked neurotrophic functions in inducing neuronal cell differentiation via activating PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways. The results suggest the beneficial functions of Seabuckthorn as a potential health food supplement in treating various brain disorders, e.g., neurodegenerative diseases.

Noninvasive assessment of myocardial work during left ventricular isovolumic relaxation in patients with diastolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to investigate the value of myocardial work (MW) parameters during the isovolumic relaxation (IVR) period in patients with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD). METHODS: This study prospectively recruited 448 patients with risks for LVDD and 95 healthy subjects. An additional 42 patients with invasive measurements of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function were prospectively included. The MW parameters during IVR were noninvasively measured using EchoPAC. RESULTS: The total myocardial work during IVR (MWIVR), myocardial constructive work during IVR (MCWIVR), myocardial wasted work during IVR (MWWIVR), and myocardial work efficiency during IVR (MWEIVR) of these patients were 122.5 ± 60.1 mmHg%, 85.7 ± 47.8 mmHg%, 36.7 ± 30.6 mmHg%, and 69.4 ± 17.8%, respectively. The MW during IVR was significantly different between patients and healthy subjects. For patients, MWEIVR and MCWIVR were significantly correlated with the LV E/e' ratio and left atrial volume index, MWEIVR exhibited a significant correlation with the maximal rate of decrease in LV pressure (dp/dt per min) and tau, and the MWEIVR corrected by IVRT also exhibited a significant correlation with tau. CONCLUSIONS: MW during IVR significantly changes in patients with risks for LVDD, and is correlated to LV conventional diastolic indices, including dp/dt min and tau. Noninvasive MW during IVR may be a promising tool to evaluate the LV diastolic function.

Association of stress hyperglycemia ratio and in-hospital mortality in patients with coronary artery disease: insights from a large cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Stress hyperglycemia is strongly associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Recently, the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR) has been proposed to represent relative hyperglycemia. Studies regarding the relationship between SHR and mortality in coronary artery disease (CAD) are limited. This study aimed to clarify the association between SHR and in-hospital mortality in patients with CAD. METHODS: A total of 19,929 patients with CAD who were hospitalized in Beijing Hospital were enrolled in this study. Patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 ml/min, cancer, or missing blood glucose/HbA1c data were excluded; therefore, 8,196 patients were included in the final analysis. The patients were divided into three groups based on tertiles of SHR: T1 group (SHR < 0.725, n = 2,732), T2 group (0.725 ≤ SHR < 0.832, n = 2,730), and T3 group (SHR ≥ 0.832, n = 2,734). The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 0.91% (n = 74). After adjusting for covariates, SHR was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in patients with CAD [odds ratio (OR) = 17.038; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 9.668-30.027; P < 0.001], and the T3 group had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality (OR = 4.901; 95% CI = 2.583-9.297; P < 0.001) compared with T1 group. In the subgroup analysis, the T3 group had an increased risk of mortality among patients with pre-diabetes mellitus (pre-DM) (OR = 9.670; 95% CI = 1.886-49.571; P = 0.007) and diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR = 5.023; 95% CI = 2.371-10.640; P < 0.001) after adjustments for covariates. The relationship between SHR and in-hospital mortality among patients with ACS and chronic coronary syndrome was consistent with the main finding. SHR and in-hospital mortality exhibited a dose-response relationship, and the risk of in-hospital mortality increased when the SHR index was above 1.20. Moreover, the area under the curve of SHR for predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with CAD was 0.741. CONCLUSION: SHR is significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in patients with CAD. SHR may be an effective predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with CAD, especially for those with pre-DM and DM.

Association between the triglyceride-glucose index and severity of coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, which is a reliable surrogate marker of insulin resistance (IR), has been associated with cardiovascular diseases. However, evidence of the impact of the TyG index on the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) is limited. This study investigated the relationship between the TyG index and CAD severity of individuals with different glucose metabolic statuses. METHODS: This study enrolled 2792 participants with CAD in China between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2021. All participants were divided into groups according to the tertiles of the TyG index as follows: T1 group, TyG index < 6.87; T2 group, TyG index ≥ 6.87 to < 7.38; and T3 group, TyG index ≥ 7.38. The glucose metabolic status was classified as normal glucose regulation, pre-diabetes mellitus (pre-DM), and diabetes mellitus according to the standards of the American Diabetes Association. CAD severity was determined by the number of stenotic vessels (single-vessel CAD versus multi-vessel CAD). RESULTS: We observed a significant relationship between the TyG index and incidence of multi-vessel CAD. After adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, hypertension, estimated glomerular filtration rate, antiplatelet drug use, antilipidemic drug use, and antihypertensive drug use in the logistic regression model, the TyG index was still an independent risk factor for multi-vessel CAD. Additionally, the highest tertile of the TyG group (T3 group) was correlated with a 1.496-fold risk of multi-vessel CAD compared with the lowest tertile of the TyG group (T1 group) (odds ratio [OR], 1.496; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.183-1.893; P < 0.001) in the multivariable logistic regression model. Furthermore, a dose-response relationship was observed between the TyG index and CAD severity (non-linear P = 0.314). In the subgroup analysis of different glucose metabolic statuses, the T3 group (OR, 1.541; 95% CI 1.013-2.344; P = 0.043) were associated with a significantly higher risk of multi-vessel CAD in individuals with pre-DM. CONCLUSIONS: An increased TyG index was associated with a higher risk of multi-vessel CAD. Our study indicated that TyG as an estimation index for evaluating IR could be a valuable predictor of CAD severity, especially for individuals with pre-DM.

Beneficial Effect of Edoxaban on Preventing Atrial Fibrillation and Coagulation by Reducing Inflammation via HBG1/HBD Biomarkers.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. The effectiveness and mechanism of edoxaban in preventing stroke after atrial fibrillation remain unclear. Methods: The expressions of HBG1 and HBD in red blood cells were tested in AF. Sixty C57B/6J mice were randomly divided into the following groups: the control (CON) group, atrial fibrillation (AF) group, AF + edoxaban group, and AF + rivaroxaban group. H&E staining assay and reticular fiber staining were performed. Myocardial fibrosis was evaluated by the Masson staining assay, Sirius red staining assay, and immunohistochemical assay for the expressions of α-SMA and COL1A1. ELISA and RT-PCR assay were performed for the detection of inflammatory parameters (TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10). Blood lipids were detected by using the Beckman automatic biochemical analyzer. Furthermore, four items of coagulation were detected, and molecular docking among HBG1, HBD, and MASP1 (Xa) was performed by PyMOL 2.1 software. The BP neural network model, cubic spline interpolation, and support vector machine model were constructed to predict prothrombin time based on HBG1 and HBD expressions. COIP assay was performed to construct the interaction between HBG1 and HBD. The functional enrichment analysis was performed by DAVID and Metascape tools. Results: The expressions of HBG1 and HBD in red blood cells of the patients with atrial fibrillation were decreased. The results showed a lower level of hemoglobin in red blood cells with HBG1-siRNA and HBG1-siRNA. Compared with the AF group, the collagen fiber percentage in the AF + edoxaban group was decreased (p < 0.05). After using edoxaban, the expressions of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, and IL-10 were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The LDL-C, TC, and TG levels were downregulated in the AF + edoxaban group. The PT and APTT levels in the AF + edoxaban group were more increasing than in the AF mice (p < 0.05). Compared with the AF group, the expressions of HBG1 and HBD were downregulated in the AF + edoxaban group (p < 0.05). HBG1 protein matched well with HBD and MASP1(Xa) protein surfaces. There exists a significant interaction between HBG1, HBD, and PT via the BP neural network and support vector machine. Enrichment analysis showed that HBG1 and HBD were mainly enriched in blood coagulation. Conclusion: Edoxaban could prevent atrial fibrillation and coagulation by reducing inflammation, lipids, and fibrosis via HBG1/HBD biomarkers effectively, and the effect was superior to that of rivaroxaban.

Lignin removal, reducing sugar yield and photo-fermentative biohydrogen production capability of corn stover: Effects of different pretreatments.

The effects of different pretreatment methods, including hydrothermal, acid, alkali, acid-heat and alkali-heat on lignin removal, reducing sugar (RS) yield and photo-fermentative biohydrogen production (PFHP) capability of corn stover (CS) were studied. NaOH-heat pretreatment was the most effective for lignin removal from CS, and the lignin removal rate reached 77%. All the studied pretreatment methods improved the total RS yield of CS, and the highest total RS yield (46.1 g/100 g raw material (RM)) was obtained from 2% NaOH-heat pretreated CS. 2% NaOH pretreatment realized the best PFHP of CS, which increased the hydrogen yield (HY), maximal hydrogen production rate (HPR) and highest hydrogen content (HC) by 31.9%, 50.9% and 20.1% respectively, and shortened hydrogen production lag time (HPLT) by 58.8% over that of untreated CS. However, NaOH-heat and 4% NaOH pretreatment weakened the PFHP capability of CS.

Experimental study on optimization of initial pH for photo-fermentation bio-hydrogen under different enzymatic hydrolysis of chlorella vulgaris.

In the paper, Use Chlorella as raw material, HAU-M1 Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) as hydrogen-producing bacteria, the influence of initial pH on bio-hydrogen by photosynthetic organisms from Chlorella vulgaris with diverse enzyme addition was studied. The results showed that when using cellulase as hydrolase, the optimum initial pH was 7.0 and highest bio-hydrogen was 25.99 mL/g dry cell weight. Using neutral protease as hydrolase, the optimum initial pH was 8.0 and highest bio-hydrogen was 16.47 mL/g dry cell weight. Using mixed enzyme of cellulase and protease as hydrolase, the optimal initial pH was 7.0 and highest bio-hydrogen was 27.43 mL/g dry cell weight. The bio-hydrogen from Chlorella after mixed enzymatic hydrolysis is better than that of single enzymatic hydrolysis, we think the mixed enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulase and protease was superior to the single enzymatic hydrolysis of the two enzymes, which provides a scientific reference and low-cost bio-hydrogen technology by microalgae.

Enhancement strategies for photo-fermentative biohydrogen production: A review.

Biohydrogen production by photo fermentation is an attractive clean energy production approach with less environmental pollution and higher substrate conversion. In recent years, various measures have been used to improve biohydrogen production performance, but there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive summary and analysis. Hence, the recent literatures on enhancing biohydrogen production by photo fermentation were summarized, and the functional mechanisms of enhancement strategies were explained. In this work, these measures were divided into four categories according to their roles in photo fermentation, including substrate pretreatment, bacterial modification and immobilization, additive addition, reactor design optimization. It can be concluded that the optimal enhancement conditions of each strategy were affected by substrate type, strain and process parameters. According to the results of this work, it was expected to give readers a clear understanding and provide a scientific reference of the research of photosynthetic biohydrogen production.

Next generation of anti-PD-L1 Atezolizumab with enhanced anti-tumor efficacy in vivo.

FDA-approved anti-PD-L1 antibody drug Atezolizumab is a human IgG1 without glycosylation by an N297A mutation. Aglycosylation of IgG1 has been used to completely remove the unwanted Fc-mediated functions such as antibody-dependent cytotoxicity (ADCC). However, aglycosylated Atezolizumab is very unstable and easy to form aggregation, which causes quick development of anti-drug antibody (ADA) in 41% of Atezolizumab-treated cancer patients, eventually leading to loss of efficacy. Here, we report the development of the anti-PD-L1 antibody drug Maxatezo, a glycosylated version of Atezolizumab, with no ADCC activity, better thermo-stability, and significantly improved anti-tumor activity in vivo. Using Atezolizumab as the starting template, we back-mutated A297N to re-install the glycosylation, and inserted a short, flexible amino acid sequence (GGGS) between G237 and G238 in the hinge region of the IgG1 heavy chain. Our data shows that insertion of GGGS, does not alter the anti-PD-L1's affinity and inhibitory activity, while completely abolishing ADCC activity. Maxatezo has a similar glycosylation profile and expression level (up to 5.4 g/L) as any normal human IgG1. Most importantly, Maxatezo's thermal stability is much better than Atezolizumab, as evidenced by dramatic increases of Tm1 from 63.55 °C to 71.01 °C and Tagg from 60.7 °C to 71.2 °C. Furthermore, the levels of ADA in mice treated with Maxatezo were significantly lower compared with animals treated with Atezolizumab. Most importantly, at the same dose (10 mg/kg), the tumor growth inhibition rate of Maxatezo was 98%, compared to 68% for Atezolizumab.