Al-modified mesocellular silica foam as a superior catalyst support for dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization

A series of Al‐containing mesostructured cellular silica foams(Al‐MCFs)with different Si/Al molar ratios(x;x=10,20,30,40,or50)were prepared by a post synthetic method using aluminum isopropoxide as an alumina source.The corresponding NiMo catalysts supported on Al‐MCFs were prepared and evaluated using dibenzothiophene(DBT)as the probe reactant.All the synthesized samples were characterized by small‐angle X‐ray scattering,scanning electron microscopy,nitrogen adsorption‐desorption,UV‐Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy,H2temperature‐programmed reduction,27Al MAS NMR,temperature‐programmed desorption of ammonia,pyridine‐FTIR,Raman spectroscopy,HRTEM,and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy to analyze their physicochemical properties and to gain a deeper insight of the interrelationship between the structures and the catalytic performance.The synthesis mechanism was proposed to involve the formation of Br?nsted acid and Lewis acid sites through the replacement of Si4+with Al3+.Aluminum introduced into MCFs by the post synthetic method has a negligible influence on the mesostructure of the parent MCFs but can form silicoaluminate materials with moderate Br?nsted acidity.For Al‐MCFs(x)materials,the detection of tetrahedrally coordinated Al3+cations demonstrated that the Al species had been successfully incorporated into the silicon frameworks.Furthermore,the DBT hydrodesulfurization(HDS)catalytic activity of the NiMo/Al‐MCFs(x)catalysts increased with increasing Si/Al molar ratio,and reached a maximum at a Si/Al molar ratio of20.The interaction of Ni and Mo species with the support became stronger when Al was incorporated into the MCFs supports.The high activities of the NiMo/Al‐MCFs catalysts for the DBT HDS were attributed to the suitable acidity properties and good dispersions of the Ni and Mo active phases.

Pregnant women’s awareness and acceptance of epidural anesthesia and its influence on cesarean section rate control in China: A qualitative study

Background: Epidural anesthesia, as an effective pain relief method, could be viewed as an attempt to encourage vaginal delivery and control cesarean section. Increased demand caused by psychosocial factors such as fear of childbirth and labor pain is supposed to be one predictable drive of high cesarean section rate in present China. Little qualitative information on women’s awareness and perceptions of epidural anesthesia was found, but conscious efforts should be focused on this part to help generate policy-making priority. Methods: This study was carried out under an exploratory descriptive design in Bao’an Maternity and Child Health Hospital. Those interested in participating would be invited to focus group discussion or individual interview according to a semi-structured open-ended guide after collecting the participants’ demographic characteristics. The thematic content analysis approach was used for data analysis. Results: Five major themes were identified: 1. the sources to gain information on epidural anesthesia;2. clinical impact;3. social impact on awareness;4. association between epidural anesthesia and cesarean section;5. attitudes and questions about the current service implementation. Discussions: The interplay between pregnancy knowledge, socio-economic conditions, social support, insurance policy environment, women’s judgment of health care quality influences the ways women acknowledge and utilize epidural anesthesia service. Conclusions: As maternal requested CS due to low pain tolerance emerges gradually, natural labor with epidural anesthesia is a more suitable childbirth option, which is also expected to function in reducing CS rate by service-providers and administrators in the health departments of China besides building up a pain-free labor environment.

The role of lipid metabolism in osteoporosis:Clinical implication and cellular mechanism

In recent years,researchers have become focused on the relationship between lipids and bone metabolism balance.Moreover,many diseases related to lipid metabolism dis-orders,such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,atherosclerosis,obesity,and menopause,are associated with osteoporotic phenotypes.It has been clinically observed in humans that these lipid metabolism disorders promote changes in osteoporosis-related indicators bone mineral density and bone mass.Furthermore,similar osteoporotic phenotype changes were observed in high-fat and high-cholesterol-induced animal models.Abnormal lipid metabolism(such as increased oxidized lipids and elevated plasma cholesterol)affects bone microenvironment ho-meostasis via cross-organ communication,promoting differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to adipocytes,and inhibiting commitment towards osteoblasts.Moreover,disturbances in lipid metabolism affect the bone metabolism balance by promoting the secretion of cyto-kines such as receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand by osteoblasts and stimulating the differentiation of osteoclasts.Conclusively,this review addresses the possible link be-tween lipid metabolism disorders and osteoporosis and elucidates the potential modulatory mechanisms and signaling pathways by which lipid metabolism affects bone metabolism bal-ance.We also summarize the possible approaches and prospects of intervening lipid meta-bolismforosteoporosistreatment.

Synthesis of a new ordered mesoporous NiMoO_4 complex oxide and its efficient catalytic performance for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Highly ordered mesoporous NiMoO4 material was successfully synthesized using mesoporous silica KIT-6 as hard template via vacuum nanocasting method. The structure was characterized by means of XRD, TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption, Raman and FT-IR. The mesoporous NiMoO4 with the coexistence of a-NiMoO4 and fl-NiMoO4 showed well-ordered mesoporous structure, a bimodal pore size distribution and crystalline framework. The catalytic performance of NiMoOa was investigated for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. It is demonstrated that the mesoporous NiMoO4 catalyst with more surface active oxygen species showed better catalytic performance in oxidative dehydrogena- tion of propane in comparison with bulk NiMoO4.

Promoted catalytic performances of highly dispersed V-doped SBA-16 catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene

V-doped SBA-16 catalysts (V-SBA-16) with 3D nanocage mesopores have been successfully synthesized by a modified one-pot method under weak acid condition. The obtained materials were characterized by means of small angle XRD, N2adsorption–desorption, TEM, UV–Vis and UV-Raman spectroscopy. These characterization results indicated that well-order mesoporous structures were maintained even at higher vanadium loadings and high concentration of VOxspecies were incorporated into the framework of SBA-16 support. The catalytic performances of V-SBA-16, V/SBA-16 and V/SiO2catalysts were comparatively investigated for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene. The highest selectivity to ethylene of 63.3% and ethylene yield of 25.6% were obtained over 1.0V-SBA-16 catalyst. The superior catalytic performance of V-SBA-16 catalysts could be attributed to the presence of isolated framework VOxspecies, the unique structure of SBA-16 support and weak acidity. Moreover, V/SiO2catalyst exhibited relatively poor catalytic activity duo to the formation of V2O5nanoparticles on the surface of SiO2support and the low dispersion of VOxspecies. These results indicated that the catalytic performances of the studied catalysts were strongly dependent on the vanadium loading, the nature and neighboring environment of VOxspecies and the structure of support. © 2016

Selective oxidation of ethane to aldehydes over SBA-15 supported molybdenum catalyst

SBA-15 supported Mo catalysts （Moy/SBA-15） were prepared by an ultrasonic assisted incipient-wetness impregnation method. The physical and chemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by means of N2-adsorption-desorption, XRD, TEM, UV-Vis, Raman, XANES and H2-TPR. The results showed that a trace amount of MoO3 was produced on high Mo content samples. Tum-over frequency （TOF） and product selectivity are dependent on the molybdenum content. Both Mo0.75/SBA-15 and Mo1.75/SBA-15 catalysts give the higher catalytic activity and the selectivity to the total aldehydes for the selective oxidation of C2H6. At the reaction temperature of 625℃, the maximum yield of aldehydes reached 4.2% over Mo0.75/SBA-15 catalyst. The improvement of the activity and selectivity was related with the state of MoOx species.

Antagonizing exosomal miR-18a-5p derived from prostate cancer cells ameliorates metastasis-induced osteoblastic lesions by targeting Hist1h2bc and activating Wnt/β-catenin pathway

More than 50%of prostate cancer(PCa)patients have bone metastasis with osteo-blastic lesions.MiR-18a-5p is associated with the development and metastasis of PCa,but it remains unclear whether it is involved in osteoblastic lesions.We first found that miR-18a-5p was highly expressed in the bone microenvironment of patients with PCa bone metastases.To address how miR-18a-5p affects PCa osteoblastic lesions,antagonizing miR-18a-5p in PCa cells or pre-osteoblasts inhibited osteoblast differentiation in vitro.Moreover,injection of PCa cells with miR-18a-5p inhibition improved bone biomechanical properties and bone mineral mass in vivo.Furthermore,miR-18a-5p was transferred to osteoblasts by exosomes derived from PCa cells and targeted the Hist1h2bc gene,resulting in Ctnnb1 up-regulation in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.Translationally,antagomir-18a-5p significantly improved bone biomechanical properties and alleviated sclerotic lesions from osteoblastic me-tastases in BALB/c nude mice.These data suggest that inhibition of exosome-delivered miR-18a-5p ameliorates PCa-induced osteoblastic lesions.

Effect of yttrium on catalytic performance of Y-doped TiO_(2) catalysts for propane dehydrogenation

Defective bulk catalysts based on TiO_(2) have superior catalytic performance for propane dehydrogenation(PDH).The oxygen vacancy concentration and the number of active sites on the catalyst surface can be effectively tuned by doping metal in TiO_(2).Herein,yttrium(Y)-doped titanium dioxide(nY/TiO_(x))catalysts were in-situ synthesized via the coprecipitation method to study the effect of rare earth metal Y doping on the structure of TiO_(2) and the catalytic performance for PDH.Experimental results demonstrate that Ydoped TiO_(2) exhibits higher catalytic activity,propylene selectivity and stability than bare TiO_(2).Full characterizations with X-ray diffraction(XRD),high-resolution transmission electron microscope(HRTEM),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),infrared spectroscopy of pyridine adsorption(Py-IR),temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia(NH_(3)-TPD),H_(2) temperature-programmed reduction(H_2-TPR),and Raman techniques on these catalysts reveal that Y^(3+)can enter TiO_(2) lattice,and the lattice stability of the catalyst can be enhanced by replacing Ti^(4+)to form Y-O-Ti structure.Meanwhile,the introduction of an appropriate amount of Y can obviously promote the PDH reaction by adjusting the acidity of the catalyst,improving the release capacity of TiO_(2) lattice oxygen and increasing the formation of active centers.Nevertheless,excessive Y doping will lead to pore clogging,and the exposure of active sites will be reduced,resulting in the degradation of catalytic performance.

Synthesis and catalytic performance of macroporous La1-xCexCoO3 perovskite oxide catalysts with high oxygen mobility for catalytic combustion of soot

The disordered macroporous-mesoporous La1-xCexCoO3 catalysts were prepared by complexcombustion method with ethylene glycol as complexing agent at relatively low calcination temperature.The samples were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction,N2 adsorption-ndash;desorption,Xray photoelectron spectroscopy,transmission electron microscopy,hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction and soot temperature-programmed reduction,and so on.The results show that the use of complexing agent and relatively low calcination temperature increase the specific surface area of the catalyst and have abundant pore structure.The Ce ions introduced into lattice of LaCoO3 mainly exist in the form of tetravalent.At the same time,Ce ions enhance the redox performance of the catalyst and the mobility of active oxygen species,which enhances the catalytic activity of the catalyst for soot combustion.The results of activity test show that La0.9Ce0.1CoO3 catalyst exhibits the highest activity in the absence of NO and NO2,and its T10,T50 and T90 are 371,444,and 497℃,respectively.At the same time,a possible reaction mechanism is proposed in this study based on the turnover frequency(TOF) calculated by isothermal anaerobic titrations,XPS and XRD results.

Bone-targeted pH-responsive cerium nanoparticles for anabolic therapy in osteoporosis

Antiresorptive drugs are widely used for treatment of osteoporosis and cancer bone metastasis,which function mainly through an overall inhibition of osteoclast.However,not all osteoclasts are“bone eaters”;preosteoclasts(pOCs)play anabolic roles in bone formation and angiogenesis through coupling with osteoblasts and secreting platelet derived growth factor-BB(PDGF-BB).In this study,a bone-targeted pH-responsive nanomaterial was designed for selectively eliminating mature osteoclasts(mOCs)without affecting pOCs.Biocompatible cerium nano-system(CNS)was guided to the acidic extracellular microenvironment created by mOCs and gained oxidative enzymatic activity.Oxidative CNS decreased the viability of mOCs through accumulating intracellular reactive oxygen species and enhancing calcium oscillation.Non-acid secreting anabolic pOCs were thus preserved and kept producing PDGF-BB,which lead to mesenchymal stem cell osteogenesis and endothelial progenitor cell angiogenesis via PI3K-Akt activated focal adhesion kinase.In treating osteoporotic ovariectomized mice,CNS showed better protective effects compare with the current first line antiresorptive drug due to the better anabolic effects marked by higher level of bone formation and vascularization.We provided a novel anabolic therapeutic strategy in treating bone disorders with excessive bone resorption.

Neuron stem cell NLRP6 sustains hippocampal neurogenesis to resist stress-induced depression

Neurogenesis decline in hippocampal dentate gyrus(DG)participates in stress-induced depressive-like behaviors,but the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood.Here,we observed low-expression of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 6(NLRP6)in hippocampus of stress-stimulated mice,being consistent with high corticosterone level.NLRP6 was found to be abundantly expressed in neural stem cells(NSCs)of DG.Both Nlrp6 knockout(Nlrp6^(-/-))and NSCconditional Nlrp6 knockout(Nlrp6CKO)mice were susceptible to stress,being more likely to develop depressive-like behaviors.Interestingly,NLRP6 was required for NSC proliferation in sustaining hippocampal neurogenesis and reinforcing stress resilience during growing up.Nlrp6 deficiency promoted esophageal cancer-related gene 4(ECRG4)expression and caused mitochondrial dysfunction.Corticosterone as a stress factor significantly down-regulated NLRP6 expression,damaged mitochondrial function and suppressed cell proliferation in NSCs,which were blocked by Nlrp6 overexpression.ECRG4 knockdown reversed corticosterone-induced NSC mitochondrial function and cell proliferation disorders.Pioglitazone,a well-known clinical drug,up-regulated NLRP6 expression to inhibit ECRG4 expression in its protection against corticosterone-induced NSC mitochondrial dysfunction and proliferation restriction.In conclusion,this study demonstrates that NLRP6 is essential to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis and proliferation in NSCs,and identifies NLRP6 as a promising therapeutic target for hippocampal neurogenesis decline linked to depression.

Mn-containing bioceramics inhibit osteoclastogenesis and promote osteoporotic bone regeneration via scavenging ROS

Osteoporosis is caused by an osteoclast activation mechanism.People suffering from osteoporosis are prone to bone defects.Increasing evidence indicates that scavenging reactive oxygen species(ROS)can inhibit receptor activator of nuclear factorκB ligand(RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and suppress ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis.It is critical to develop biomaterials with antioxidant properties to modulate osteoclast activity for treating osteoporotic bone defects.Previous studies have shown that manganese(Mn)can improve bone regeneration,and Mn supplementation may treat osteoporosis.However,the effect of Mn on osteoclasts and the role of Mn in osteoporotic bone defects remain unclear.In present research,a model bioceramic,Mn-containedβ-tricalcium phosphate(Mn-TCP)was prepared by introducing Mn intoβ-TCP.The introduction of Mn intoβ-TCP significantly improved the scavenging of oxygen radicals and nitrogen radicals,demonstrating that Mn-TCP bioceramics might have antioxidant properties.The in vitro and in vivo findings revealed that Mn^(2+)ions released from Mn-TCP bioceramics could distinctly inhibit the formation and function of osteoclasts,promote the differentiation of osteoblasts,and accelerate bone regeneration under osteoporotic conditions in vivo.Mechanistically,Mn-TCP bioceramics inhibited osteoclastogenesis and promoted the regeneration of osteoporotic bone defects by scavenging ROS via Nrf2 activation.These results suggest that Mn-containing bioceramics with osteoconductivity,ROS scavenging and bone resorption inhibition abilities may be an ideal biomaterial for the treatment of osteoporotic bone defect.

Morphology-selective synthesis of active and durable gold catalysts with high catalytic performance in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol

A series of novel catalysts consisting of nanosized Au particles confined in micro-mesoporous ZSM-5/SBA-15 （ZSBA） materials with platelet （PL）, rod （RD）, and hexagonal-prism （HP） morphologies have been synthesized in situ. These catalysts possess both SBA-15 and ZSM-5 structures and exhibit excellent stability of their active sites by confinement of the Au nanoparticles （NPs） within ZSBA. The catalysts have been characterized in depth to understand their structure-property relationships. The gold NP dimensions and the pore structure of the catalysts, which were found to be sensitive to calcination temperature and synthetic conditions, are shown to play vital roles in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Au/ZSBA-PL, with short mesochannels （210 nm） and a large pore diameter （6.7 nm）, exhibits high catalytic performance in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, whereas Au/ZSBA-HP and Au/ZSBA-RD, with long mesochannels and relatively smaller pore sizes, show poor catalytic activities. In the case of catalysts with different gold NP sizes, Au/ZSBA-PL-350 with an Au NP diameter of 4.0 nm exhibits the highest reaction rate constant （0.14 min-1） and turnover frequency （0.0341 s-1）. In addition, the effect of the reaction parameters on the reduction of 4-nitrophenol has been systematically investigated. A possible mechanism for 4-nitrophenol reduction over the Au/ZSBA catalysts is proposed.

Effect of Ce doping of TiO_2 support on NH_3-SCR activity over V_2O_5–WO_3/CeO_2–TiO_2 catalyst

CeO2–TiO2composite supports with different Ce/Ti molar ratios were prepared by a homogeneous precipitation method, and V2O5–WO3/CeO2–TiO2catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction（SCR） of NOx with NH3 were prepared by an incipient-wetness impregnation method. These catalysts were characterized by means of BET, XRD, UV–Vis,Raman and XPS techniques. The results showed that the catalytic activity of V2O5–WO3/TiO2 was greatly enhanced by Ce doping（molar ratio of Ce/Ti = 1/10） in the TiO2 support.The catalysts that were predominantly anatase TiO2 showed better catalytic performance than the catalysts that were predominantly fluorite CeO2. The Ce additive could enhance the surface adsorbed oxygen and accelerate the SCR reaction. The effects of O2 concentration, ratio of NH3/NO, space velocity and SO2 on the catalytic activity were also investigated. The presence of oxygen played an important role in NO reduction. The optimal ratio of NH3/NO was 1/1 and the catalyst had good resistance to SO2 poisoning.

Long non-coding RNA HCAR promotes endochondral bone repair by upregulating VEGF and MMP13 in hypertrophic chondrocyte through sponging miR-15b-5p

Endochondral bone formation is an important route for bone repair.Although emerging evidence has revealed the functions of long non-coding RNAs(lncRNAs)in bone and cartilage development,the effect of lncRNAs in endochondral bone repair is still largely unknown.Here,we identified a lncRNA,named Hypertrophic Chondrocyte Angiogenesis-related lncRNA(HCAR),and proved it to promote the endochondral bone repair by upregulating the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 13(Mmp13)and vascular endothelial growth factorα(Vegfa)in hypertrophic chondrocytes.Lnc-HCAR knockdown in hypertrophic chondrocytes restrained the cartilage matrix remodeling and decrease the CD31hiEmcnhi vessels number in a bone repair model.Mechanistically,we proved that lnc-HCAR was mainly enriched in the cytoplasm using fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)assay,and it acted as a molecular sponge for miR-15b-5p.Further,in hypertrophic chondrocytes,lnc-HCAR competitively bound to miR-15b-5p to increase Vegfa and Mmp13 expression.Our results proved that lncRNA is deeply involved in endochondral bone repair,which will provide a new theoretical basis for future strategies for promoting fracture healing.

Optimized Pt-MnO_(x) interface in Pt-MnO_(x)/3DOM-Al_(2)O_(3)catalysts for enhancing catalytic soot combustion

The catalysts of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous(3 DOM)Al_(2)O_(3)-supported core-shell structured Pt@MnOx nanoparticles(3 DOM-Pt@MnO_(x)/Al_(2)O_(3))were successfully prepared by the gas bubbling-assisted membrane reduction-precipitation(GBMR/P)method.Pt@MnO_(x)core-shell nanoparticles(NPs)are highly dispersed on the inner surface of 3 DOM-Al_(2)O_(3)support.Pt@MnOx/3 DOM-Al_(2)O_(3)catalysts,which combine both advantages of high-efficiency soot-catalyst contact by 3 DOM-Al_(2)O_(3)structure and the abundant active sites by the optimized Pt-MnO_(x)interface,exhibit high catalytic activities for soot combustion,and the catalytic activities are strongly dependent on the thickness of MnO_(x)shell.Among the catalysts,3 DOM-Pt@MnO_(x)/Al_(2)O_(3)-1 catalyst with optimized Pt-MnO_(x)interface shows the highest catalytic activity for soot combustion,i.e.,its values of T_(50)and S_(CO_(2))^(m) are 351℃and98.6%,respectively.The highest density of Pt-MnO_(x)active sites for adsorptio n-activation of gaseous O_(2)is responsible for enhancing catalytic activity for soot combustion.Pt@MnOx/3 DOM-Al_(2)O_(3)catalysts are promising to practical applications for the emission reduction of soot particles.