Regulating the Topology of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Boosting Overall H2O2 Photogeneration

Photocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions and water oxidation reactions are extremely promising green approaches for massive H2O2 production. Nonetheless, constructing effective photocatalysts for H2O2 generation is critical and still challenging. Since the network topology has significant impacts on the electronic properties of two dimensional (2D) polymers, herein, for the first time, we regulated the H2O2 photosynthetic activity of 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) by topology. Through designing the linking sites of the monomers, we synthesized a pair of novel COFs with similar chemical components on the backbones but distinct topologies. Without sacrificial agents, TBD-COF with cpt topology exhibited superior H2O2 photoproduction performance (6085 and 5448 μmol g-1 h-1 in O2 and air) than TBC-COF with hcb topology through the O2-O2⋅--H2O2, O2-O2⋅--O2 1-H2O2, and H2O-H2O2 three paths. Further experimental and theoretical investigations confirmed that during the H2O2 photosynthetic process, the charge carrier separation efficiency, O2⋅- generation and conversion, and the energy barrier of the rate determination steps in the three channels, related to the formation of *OOH, *O2 1, and *OH, can be well tuned by the topology of COFs. The current study enlightens the fabrication of high-performance photocatalysts for H2O2 production by topological structure modulation.

Hydrogen Regulates Ulcerative Colitis by Affecting the Intestinal Redox Environment

The redox balance in the intestine plays an important role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis, and it is closely related to the intestinal mucosal barrier, intestinal inflammation, and the gut microbiota. Current research on the treatment of ulcerative colitis has focused on immune disorders, excessive inflammation, and oxidative stress. However, an imbalance in intestinal redox reaction plays a particularly critical role. Hydrogen is produced by some anaerobic bacteria via hydrogenases in the intestine. Increasing evidence suggests that hydrogen, as an inert gas, is crucial for immunity, inflammation, and oxidative stress and plays a protective role in ulcerative colitis. Hydrogen maintains the redox state balance in the intestine in ulcerative colitis and reduces damage to intestinal epithelial cells by exerting its selective antioxidant ability. Hydrogen also regulates the intestinal flora, reduces the harmful effects of bacteria on the intestinal epithelial barrier, promotes the restoration of normal anaerobic bacteria in the intestines, and ultimately improves the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier. The present review focuses on the therapeutic mechanisms of hydrogen-targeting ulcerative colitis.

Effect of Late-Stage Meniere's Disease and Vestibular Functional Impairment on Hippocampal Atrophy

OBJECTIVE

We investigated correlations among clinical features, degree of inner ear endolymphatic hydrops (EH), and hippocampal volume (HV) in different stages of Meniere's disease (MD).

METHODS

From February 2021 to April 2022, clinical data were collected from 99 patients (39 males, 60 females, mean age: 50.4 ± 10.0 [range: 26-69] years) with unilateral MD admitted to the Department of Vertigo Disease of Shandong ENT Hospital. The left and right ears were affected in 64 and 35 patients, respectively. There were 50 and 49 cases in early (Stages 1, 2) and late stages (Stages 3, 4), respectively. Fifty healthy participants were included as controls. Audiovestibular function test results, EH grading using gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and HV determined on MRI were analyzed for patients at different stages of MD.

RESULTS

Between-group comparisons of early and late MD revealed significant differences in the disease course, vestibular function (VF), degree of EH, and HV. There were no significant between-group differences based on age, sex, affected side, subjective degree of dizziness, hospital anxiety, or depression. Mean HV in patients with early-stage MD was correlated with the canal paresis value of the caloric test and pure tone hearing threshold, HV in late-stage patients was correlated with vestibular EH.

CONCLUSION

Patients with late-stage MD exhibited severe auditory and VF impairments, increased EH, and atrophy of the HV. More advanced disease was associated with greater vestibular damage and degree of EH.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

3 Laryngoscope, 134:410-418, 2024.

A model based on adipose and muscle-related indicators evaluated by CT images for predicting microvascular invasion in HCC patients

BACKGROUND AND AIM

The presence of microvascular invasion (MVI) will impair the surgical outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Adipose and muscle tissues have been confirmed to be associated with the prognosis of HCC. We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram based on adipose and muscle related-variables for preoperative prediction of MVI in HCC.

METHODS

One hundred fifty-eight HCC patients from institution A (training cohort) and 53 HCC patients from institution B (validation cohort) were included, all of whom underwent preoperative CT scan and curative resection with confirmed pathological diagnoses. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression was applied to data dimensionality reduction and screening. Nomogram was constructed based on the independent variables, and evaluated by external validation, calibration curve, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA).

RESULTS

Histopathologically identified MVI was found in 101 of 211 patients (47.9%). The preoperative imaging and clinical variables associated with MVI were visceral adipose tissue (VAT) density, intramuscular adipose tissue index (IMATI), skeletal muscle (SM) area, age, tumor size and cirrhosis. Incorporating these 6 factors, the nomogram achieved good concordance index of 0.79 (95%CI: 0.72-0.86) and 0.75 (95%CI: 0.62-0.89) in training and validation cohorts, respectively. In addition, calibration curve exhibited good consistency between predicted and actual MVI probabilities. ROC curve and DCA of the nomogram showed superior performance than that of models only depended on clinical or imaging variables. Based on the nomogram score, patients were divided into high (> 273.8) and low (< = 273.8) risk of MVI presence groups. For patients with high MVI risk, wide-margin resection or anatomical resection could significantly improve the 2-year recurrence free survival.

CONCLUSION

By combining 6 preoperative independently predictive factors of MVI, a nomogram was constructed. This model provides an optimal preoperative estimation of MVI risk in HCC patients, and may help to stratify high-risk individuals and optimize clinical decision making.

Thiophene-Containing Covalent Organic Frameworks for Overall Photocatalytic H2 O2 Synthesis in Water and Seawater

H2 O2 is a significant chemical widely utilized in the environmental and industrial fields, with growing global demand. Without sacrificial agents, simultaneous photocatalyzed H2 O2 synthesis through the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and water oxidation reaction (WOR) dual channels from seawater is green and sustainable but still challenging. Herein, two novel thiophene-containing covalent organic frameworks (TD-COF and TT-COF) were first constructed and served as catalysts for H2 O2 synthesis via indirect 2e- ORR and direct 2e- WOR channels. The photocatalytic H2 O2 production performance can be regulated by adjusting the N-heterocycle modules (pyridine and triazine) in COFs. Notably, with no sacrificial agents, just using air and water as raw materials, TD-COF exhibited high H2 O2 production yields of 4060 μmol h-1  g-1 and 3364 μmol h-1  g-1 in deionized water and natural seawater, respectively. Further computational mechanism studies revealed that the thiophene was the primary photoreduction unit for ORR, while the benzene ring (linked to the thiophene by the imine bond) was the central photooxidation unit for WOR. The current work exploits thiophene-containing COFs for overall photocatalytic H2 O2 synthesis via ORR and WOR dual channels and provides fresh insight into creating innovative catalysts for photocatalyzing H2 O2 synthesis.

Muricauda okinawensis sp. Nov. and Muricauda yonaguniensis sp. Nov., Two Marine Bacteria Isolated from the Sediment Core near Hydrothermal Fields of Southern Okinawa Trough

Two strains, 81s02^T and 334s03^T, were isolated from the sediment core near the hydrothermal field of southern Okinawa Trough. The cells of both strains were observed to be rod-shaped, non-gliding, Gram-staining negative, yellow-pigmented, facultatively anaerobic, catalase and oxidase positive, and showing optimum growth at 30 °C and pH 7.5. The strains 81s02^T and 334s03^T were able to tolerate up to 10% and 9% (w/v) NaCl concentration, respectively. Based on phylogenomic analysis, the average nucleotide identity (ANI) and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values between the two strains and the nearest phylogenetic neighbors of the genus Muricauda were in range of 78.0-86.3% and 21.5-33.9%, respectively. The strains 81s02^T and 334s03^T shared 98.1% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to each other but were identified as two distinct species based on 81.4-81.5% ANIb, 85.5-85.6% ANIm and 25.4% dDDH values calculated using whole genome sequences. The strains 81s02^T and 334s03^T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to M. lutimaris SMK-108^T (98.7%) and M. aurea BC31-1-A7^T (98.8%), respectively. The major fatty acid of strains 81s02^T and 334s03^T were identified similarly as iso-C_15:0, iso-C_17:0 3-OH and iso-C_15:1 G, and the major polar lipids of the both strains consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine and two unidentified lipids. The strains contained MK-6 as their predominant menaquinone. The genomic G+C contents of strains 81s02^T and 334s03^T were determined to be 41.6 and 41.9 mol%, respectively. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics, both strains are considered to represent two novel species of the genus Muricauda, and the names Muricauda okinawensis sp. nov. and Muricauda yonaguniensis sp. nov. are proposed for strains 81s02^T (=KCTC 92889^T = MCCC 1K08502^T) and 334s03^T (=KCTC 92890^T = MCCC 1K08503^T).

Low Expression of TSTD2 Serves as a Biomarker for Poor Prognosis in Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma

Introduction

Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is a common cancer in people worldwide, and one of the main issues is developing suitable biomarkers. This study aims to investigate the expression of TSTD2 in KIRC and its impact on prognosis.

Methods

RNA sequencing data from TCGA and GTEx were gathered to examine the functional enrichment of TSTD2-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using GO/KEGG, GSEA, immunocyte permeation analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. The Kaplan‒Meier-Cox regression model and the prognostic nomograph model were used to assess the clinical importance of TSTD2 in KIRC. R software was used to analyze the included studies. Finally, verification of cells and tissues was performed using immunohistochemical staining and quantitative real‒time PCR.

Results

In contrast to normal samples, it was discovered that TSTD2 was underexpressed in a number of malignancies, including KIRC. Furthermore, in 163 KIRC samples, low expression of TSTD2 was linked to a poor prognosis, as were subgroups with age greater than 60, the integrin pathway, the development of elastic fibers, and high TNM stage, pathologic stage, and histologic grade (P < 0.05). Age and TNM stage were included in the nomogram prognostic model, and low TSTD2 was a prognostic predictor that could be used independently in Cox regression analysis. In addition, 408 DEGs with 111 upregulated genes and 297 downregulated genes were found between the high- and low-expression groups.

Conclusion

The diminished expression of TSTD2 may serve as a biomarker for unfavorable outcomes in KIRC, and holds potential as a target for therapeutic interventions.

Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome is associated with thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules and correlated with clinical index of thyroid function

PURPOSE

Thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules are the most prevalent form of thyroid endocrine disorder. The balance of gut microbiome is highly crucial for a healthy human body, especially for the immune and endocrine system. However, the relationship between gut microbiome and the thyroid endocrine disorders such as thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules has not been reported yet.

METHODS

A cohort of 74 patients was recruited for this study. Among them, 20 patients had thyroid cancer, 18 patients had thyroid nodules, and 36 were matched healthy controls. Gut microbiome composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA (16S ribosomal RNA) gene-based sequencing protocol.

RESULTS

We compared the gut microbiome results of 74 subjects and established the correlation between gut microbiome and thyroid endocrine function for both thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules. The results inferred that alpha and beta diversity were different for patients with thyroid tumor than the healthy controls (p < 0.01). In comparison to healthy controls, the relative abundance of Neisseria (p < 0.001) and Streptococcus (p < 0.001) was significantly higher for thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules. Butyricimonas (p < 0.001) and Lactobacillus (p < 0.001) displayed notably lower relative abundance for thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules, respectively. It was also found that the clinical indexes were correlated with gut microbiome.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that both thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules are associated with the composition of gut microbiome. These results may support further clinical diagnosis to a great extent and help in developing potential probiotics to facilitate the treatment of thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules.