Performance and mechanism of ammonia production by electrocatalytic nitrate reduction based on dodecahydro-closo-dodecaborate hybrid.

Ammonia is an essential food and fertilizer component and is a fundamental raw material for industry and agriculture. In contrast, nitrate is the main pollutant that causes eutrophication in water. Electrocatalysis is a clean and efficient method for simultaneous nitrate removal and ammonia production. However, because ammonia production from the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NO3RR) is a complex eight-electron process with slow kinetics, designing the cathode catalyst is critical for improving the ammonia yield. In this study, boron (B) doped metal oxides (TiZn2O4@B-x) obtained by coupling dodecahydro-closo-dodecaborate anions ([closo-B12H12]2-) and ZnTi-layered double hydroxides (ZnTi-LDH) after calcination was used as the cathode for the NO3RR. Specifically, TiZn2O4@B-700 exhibited excellent ammonia yield (21809.24 µg h-1 mgcat-1) and Faraday efficiency (FE) of (93.15%) at -1.8 V versus saturated calomel electrode (SCE). Furthermore, TiZn2O4@B-700 exhibited superior cycling stability and resistance to ionic interference. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that incorporating B increased the electron transfer rate and reduced the free energy required for the rate-limiting step of ammonia production via the NO3RR, thereby increasing the ammonia yield. This study provides a new concept for designing catalysts for green ammonia synthesis.

Strong metal-support interactions for high sintering resistance of Ru-based catalysts toward the HER and ORR.

B, N co-doped carbon-supported small-sized Ru nanoparticles (RuBCN) were constructed by a facile ion exchange strategy using closo-[B12H12]2- and Ru(bpy)32+ as the precursors. Benefitting from strong metal-support interactions caused by the synergistic coupling effect of co-dopants B and N, RuBCN exhibits improved sintering resistance and the Ru nanoparticles are stabilized at sub-3 nm at 900 °C. Besides, introducing B doping further increases the electron deficiency of Ru in RuBCN, which could weaken the interaction between Ru and Had species or O2 adsorption. As a result, it exhibits impressive HER (η10 = 20 mV) and ORR (E1/2 = 0.76 V) catalytic performances, as well as outstanding stability, which are much higher than those of the single dopant counterpart.

lncRNA TP73-AS1 Regulates miR-21/PTEN Axis to Affect Cell Proliferation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Objective: TP73-AS1 has been reported as an overexpressed oncogenic lncRNA in several types of cancer. However, these analyses of The Cancer Genome Atlas data set revealed downregulation of TP73-AS1 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In this study, we aimed to study the molecular mechanism between TP73-AS1 and cell proliferation in AML. Methods: Bone marrow (BM) samples were obtained from 50 AML patients and 50 healthy controls. Cell transient transfections were performed to analyze gene interactions. Dual-luciferase reporter assay, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot were used to study the gene expressions. Cell proliferation was analyzed by CCK-8 method. Results: TP73-AS1 was confirmed to be downregulated in AML. TP73-AS1 was predicted to interact with miR-21, while overexpression of TP73-AS1 and miR-21 did not affect the expression of each other. Instead, overexpression of TP73-AS1 led to the upregulation of phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN), a downstream target of miR-21. Cell proliferation analysis showed that overexpression of TP73-AS1 and PTEN led to a decreased proliferation rate of AML cells. Overexpression of miR-21 played an opposite role and reduced the effects of overexpressing TP73-AS1 and PTEN. Conclusion: TP73-AS1 may regulate the miR-21/PTEN axis to affect cell proliferation in AML.

Shape-Controlled Dodecaborate Supramolecular Organic-Framework-Supported Ultrafine Trimetallic PtCoNi for Catalytic Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane.

On the basis of the unique chaotropic supramolecular assembly of cucurbit[5]uril (CB5) and dodecahydro- closo-dodecaborate anion [ closo-B12H12]2-, we have developed an efficient and universal platform to fabricate shape-controlled dodecaborate-based supramolecular organic frameworks (BOFs) decorated with ultrafine monodispersed trimetallic alloys. Simply by regulating the molar ratio of CB5 and [ closo-B12H12]2-, a series of fascinating morphologies, such as flowerlike structures, nanorods, nanocubes, and nanosheets, were successfully constructed. These obtained BOFs were proved to be good substrate supports for in situ synthesis of trimetallic PtCoNi nanoalloys, where the final PtCoNi-BOFs materials were obtained efficiently as a precipitate from aqueous solutions, and showed excellent catalytic performance in ammonia borane hydrolysis with a high turnover frequency of 1490 molH2 molPt-1 min-1 and a low activation energy of 15.79 kJ mol-1.

Curculigoside exerts significant anti­arthritic effects in vivo and in vitro via regulation of the JAK/STAT/NF­κB signaling pathway.

The present study aimed to investigate the anti­arthritic effects of curculigoside isolated from the rhizome of Curculigo orchioides Gaertn in vivo and in vitro, as well as to determine the potential underlying mechanisms. A rat model of arthritis was induced with type II collagen. Arthritic rats were treated with curculigoside (50 mg/kg) and blood samples were collected to determine serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)­α, interleukin (IL)­1ß, IL­6, IL­10, IL­12 and IL­17A. Furthermore, indices of the thymus and spleen were determined. The anti­proliferative effects of curculigoside were detected with Cell Counting kit­8 assays in rheumatoid arthritis­derived fibroblast­like synoviocyte MH7A cells. In addition, expression levels of Janus kinase (JAK)1, JAK3, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3, nuclear factor (NF)­κB p65 and its inhibitor (IκB) were determined by western blotting. The results revealed that curculigoside inhibited paw swelling and arthritis scores in type II collagen­induced arthritic (CIA) rats. Additionally, curculigoside decreased serum levels of TNF­α, IL­1ß, IL­6, IL­10, IL­12 and IL­17A in CIA rats. Curculigoside also significantly inhibited MH7A cell proliferation in a time and concentration­dependent manner. Furthermore, treatment downregulated the expression of JAK1, JAK3 and STAT3, and upregulated cytosolic nuclear factor (NF)­κB p65 and IκB. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that curculigoside exhibited significant anti­arthritic effects in vivo and in vitro, and the molecular mechanism may be associated with the JAK/STAT/NF­κB signaling pathway.

Identification of differentially expressed genes and pathways for intramuscular fat deposition in pectoralis major tissues of fast-and slow-growing chickens.

BACKGROUND: Intramuscular fat (IMF) is one of the important factors influencing meat quality, however, for chickens, the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying this trait have not yet been determined. In this study, a systematic identification of candidate genes and new pathways related to IMF deposition in chicken breast tissue has been made using gene expression profiles of two distinct breeds: Beijing-you (BJY), a slow-growing Chinese breed possessing high meat quality and Arbor Acres (AA), a commercial fast-growing broiler line. RESULTS: Agilent cDNA microarray analyses were conducted to determine gene expression profiles of breast muscle sampled at different developmental stages of BJY and AA chickens. Relative to d 1 when there is no detectable IMF, breast muscle at d 21, d 42, d 90 and d 120 (only for BJY) contained 1310 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in BJY and 1080 DEGs in AA. Of these, 34-70 DEGs related to lipid metabolism or muscle development processes were examined further in each breed based on Gene Ontology (GO) analysis. The expression of several DEGs was correlated, positively or negatively, with the changing patterns of lipid content or breast weight across the ages sampled, indicating that those genes may play key roles in these developmental processes. In addition, based on KEGG pathway analysis of DEGs in both BJY and AA chickens, it was found that in addition to pathways affecting lipid metabolism (pathways for MAPK & PPAR signaling), cell junction-related pathways (tight junction, ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion, regulation of actin cytoskeleton), which play a prominent role in maintaining the integrity of tissues, could contribute to the IMF deposition. CONCLUSION: The results of this study identified potential candidate genes associated with chicken IMF deposition and imply that IMF deposition in chicken breast muscle is regulated and mediated not only by genes and pathways related to lipid metabolism and muscle development, but also by others involved in cell junctions. These findings establish the groundwork and provide new clues for deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying IMF deposition in poultry. Further studies at the translational and posttranslational level are now required to validate the genes and pathways identified here.

[Study of single nucleotide polymorphism of A-FABP gene and its association with fatness traits in chicken].

In this experiment, Beijing-You chicken was used to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in A-FBAP gene and to study the correlation between its genotype and the trait of fat accumulation. The first exon of the gene was amplified by one pair of primers, and SNPs were detected by the technique of single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and finally confirmed by sequencing. Results of analysis of variance showed that a significant difference existed among abdominal fat percentage, subcutaneous fat thickness and intramuscular fat contents in breast musculature with different genotypes (P<0.01). It implied that A-FABP gene could be a major effector gene or could be linked to gene(s) which significantly affect fat metabolism in chicken.

[Genetic parameter estimation for inosine-5-monophosphate and intramuscular fat contents and other meat quality traits in chicken muscle].

The genetic parameters for some important flavor traits like inosine-5'-monophosphate (IMP) and intramuscular fat (IMF) contents in breast meat were estimated using a MTDFREML procedure on 1063 male, 90-day-old, purebred Beijing-You meat-type chicks (BJY). The result showed that the heritability of IMP and IMF contents in BJY breast meat was moderate or low (h2=0.23, 0.10), whereas these parameters were higher for abdominal fat weight (AFW), breast meat yield (BMY), ratio of BMY to carcass weight (BMR), leg muscle yield (LMY), body weight (BW), comb weight(CW) and comb weight percentage (CWB) (h2=0.56-0.79). The heritability of abdominal fat percentage (AFP), leg meat yield (LMY), testicle weight (TW) and testicle weight percentage (TWP) were 0.24, 0.32, 0.39 and 0.35, respectively. IMP exhibited low phenotypic correlations with BMY, LMY and SFT and no significant phenotypic correlations with other traits. IMF, to some extent, exhibited positive phenotypic correlation with BW, AFP, SFT and FSW (rP=0.11-0.33). In terms of genetic correlation, IMP was moderately or significantly negatively correlated with BW and CWP (rA=-0.38,-0.62), and a high level of positive correlation was observed with BMY (rA=0.57). Moreover, IMF was highly correlated with BW and AFW (rA=0.75,0.66), and moderately correlated with AFP and CWP (rA=0.32, 0.40). A low level of positive correlation was observed between IMP and IMF (rA =0.27). We propose that IMP and IMF contents in chicken meat could be increased with selection through line-breeding.