Single-base editing in IGF2 improves meat production and intramuscular fat deposition in Liang Guang Small Spotted pigs

Background Chinese indigenous pigs are popular with consumers for their juiciness,flavour and meat quality,but they have lower meat production.Insulin-like growth factor 2(IGF2) is a maternally imprinted growth factor that promotes skeletal muscle growth by regulating cell proliferation and differentiation.A single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) within intron 3 of porcine IGF2 disrupts a binding site for the repressor,zinc finger BED-type containing 6(ZBED6),leading to up-regulation of IGF2 and causing major effects on muscle growth,heart size,and backfat thickness.This favorable mutation is common in Western commercial pig populations,but absent in most Chinese indigenous pig breeds.To improve meat production of Chinese indigenous pigs,we used cytosine base editor 3(CBE3)to introduce IGF2 intron3-C3071T mutation into porcine embryonic fibroblasts(PEFs) isolated from a male Liang Guang Small Spotted pig(LGSS),and single-cell clones harboring the desired mutation were selected for somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT) to generate the founder line of IGF2^(T/T) pigs.Results We found the heterozygous progeny IGF2^(C/T) pigs exhibited enhanced expression of IGF2,increased lean meat by 18%-36%,enlarged loin muscle area by 3%-17%,improved intramuscular fat(IMF) content by 18%-39%,marbling score by 0.75-1,meat color score by 0.53-1.25,and reduced backfat thickness by 5%-16%.The enhanced accumulation of intramuscular fat in IGF2^(C/T) pigs was identified to be regulated by the PI3K-AKT/AMPK pathway,which activated SREBP1 to promote adipogenesis.Conclusions We demonstrated the introduction of IGF2-intron3-C3071T in Chinese LGSS can improve both meat production and quality,and first identified the regulation of IMF deposition by IGF2 through SREBP1 via the PI3KAKT/AMPK signaling pathways.Our study provides a further understanding of the biological functions of IGF2and an example for improving porcine economic traits through precise base editing.

Thermochemical splitting of CO_(2) on perovskites for CO production: A review

Energy supply dominated by fossil energy has been and remains the main cause of carbon dioxide emissions,the major greenhouse gas leading to the current grave climate change challenges.Many technical pathways have been proposed to address the challenges.Carbon capture and utilization(CCU) represents one of the approaches and thermochemical CO_(2) splitting driven by thermal energy is a subset of the CCU,which converts the captured CO_(2) into CO and makes it possible to achieve closed-loop carbon recirculation.Redox-active catalysts are among the most critical components of the thermochemical splitting cycles and perovskites are regarded as the most promising catalysts.Here we review the latest advancements in thermochemical cycles based on perovskites,covering thermodynamic principles,material modifications,reaction kinetics,oxygen pressure control,circular strategies,and demonstrations to provide a comprehensive overview of the topical area.Thermochemical cycles based on such materials require the consideration of trade-off between cost and efficiency,which is related to actual material used,operation mode,oxygen removal,and heat recovery.Lots of efforts have been made towards improving reaction rates,conversion efficiency and cycling stability,materials related research has been lacking-a key aspect affecting the performance across all above aspects.Double perovskites and composite perovskites arise recently as a potentially promising addition to material candidates.For such materials,more effective oxygen removal would be needed to enhance the overall efficiency,for which thermochemical or electrochemical oxygen pumps could contribute to efficient oxygen removal as well as serve as means for inert gas regeneration.The integration of thermochemical CO_(2) splitting process with downstream fuel production and other processes could reduce costs and increase efficiency of the technology.This represents one of the directions for the future research.

Enhanced gas production and CO_(2) storage in hydrate-bearing sediments via pre-depressurization and rapid CO_(2) injection

Carbon emission reduction and clean energy development are urgent demands for mankind in the coming decades.Exploring an efficient CO_(2) storage method can significantly reduce CO_(2) emissions in the short term.In this study,we attempted to construct sediment samples with different residual CH_(4) hydrate amounts and reservoir conditions,and then investigate the potentials of both CO_(2) storage and enhanced CH_(4) recovery in depleted gas hydrate deposits in the permafrost and ocean zones,respectively.The results demonstrate that CO_(2) hydrate formation rate can be significantly improved due to the presence of residual hydrate seeds;However,excessive residual hydrates in turn lead to the decrease in CO_(2) storage efficiency.Affected by the T-P conditions of the reservoir,the storage amount of liquid CO_(2) can reach 8 times that of gaseous CO_(2),and CO_(2) stored in hydrate form reaches 2-4 times.Additionally,we noticed two other advantages of this method.One is that CO_(2) injection can enhance CH_(4) recovery rate and increases CH_(4) recovery by 10%-20%.The second is that hydrate saturation in the reservoir can be restored to 20%-40%,which means that the solid volume of the reservoir avoids serious shrinkage.Obviously,this is crucial for protecting the goaf stability.In summary,this approach is greatly promising for high-efficient CO_(2) storage and safe exploitation of gas hydrate.

High glucose reduces Nrf2-dependent cRAGE release and enhances inflammasome-dependent IL-1βproduction in monocytes:the modulatory effects of EGCG

Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products(sRAGE)acts as a decoy sequestering of RAGE ligands,thus preventing the activation of the ligand-RAGE axis linking human diseases.However,the molecular mechanisms underlying sRAGE remain unclear.In this study,THP-1 monocytes were cultured in normal glucose(NG,5.5 mmol/L)and high glucose(HG,15 mmol/L)to investigate the effects of diabetesrelevant glucose concentrations on sRAGE and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)secretion.The modulatory effects of epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG)in response to HG challenge were also evaluated.HG enhanced intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS)generation and RAGE expression.The secretion of sRAGE,including esRAGE and cRAGE,was reduced under HG conditions,together with the downregulation of a disintegrin and metallopeptidase 10(ADAM10)and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)nuclear translocation.Mechanistically,the HG effects were counteracted by siRAGE and exacerbated by siNrf2.Chromatin immunoprecipitation results showed that Nrf2 binding to the ADAM10 promoter and HG interfered with this binding.Our data reinforce the notion that RAGE and Nrf2 might be sRAGE-regulating factors.Under HG conditions,the treatment of EGCG reduced ROS generation and RAGE activation.EGCG-stimulated cRAGE release was likely caused by the upregulation of the Nrf2-ADAM10 pathway.EGCG inhibited HG-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation at least partly by stimulating sRAGE,thereby reducing IL-1βrelease.

ANTITUMOR MECHANISM OF GEM10 BY THE NATURAL KILLER ACTIVITY AND INTERLEUKIN-2 PRODUCTION

Objective To investigate th e anti-tumor effects of GeM10 by the natural killer(NK) cells activities and th e production of Interleukin-2 (IL-2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB MNCs). Methods Assay of human NK cells activities by dye reject ion assay in vitro and production of IL-2 in PBMNC by IL-2 bioassay with I L-2 dependent cell line CTLL2 and MTT colorometric method. Results GeM10 could significantly stimulate NK activities (60μg·mL -1 G eM10: 17.077±7.665, 120μg·mL -1 GeM10: 24.9±13.04; control: 7.72±4 .64, P< 0.05). GeM10 could up-regulate the production of IL-2 of PBMNCs in tumor patients(60μg·mL -1 GeM10: 2.965± 1.183; 120μg·mL -1 GeM10: 2.28±0.847; control: 1.792±0.823, P<0.05).Conclu si on The GeM10 not only can stimulate the NK activities but also increase the IL-2 production by PBMNCs in tumor patients. These findings indicate that the GeM10 may have promise as an anti-tumor drug and a biological response modi fier in clinic.

Procyanidin A_1 and its digestive products alleviate acrylamide-induced IPEC-J2 cell damage through regulating Keap1/Nrf2 pathway

Our previous study has revealed that procyanidin A_(1)(A_(1))and its simulated digestive product(D-A,)can alleviate acrylamide(ACR)-induced intestine cell damage.However,the underlying mechanism remains unknown.In this study,we elucidated the molecular mechanism for and D-A_(1) to alleviate ACR-stimulated IPEC-J2 cell damage.ACR slightly activated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)signaling and its target genes,but this activation could not reduce intestine cell damage.A_(1) and D-A_(1) could alleviate ACR-induced cell damage,but the effect was abrogated in cells transiently transfected with Nrf2 small interfering RNA(siRNA).Further investigation confirmed that A_(1) and D-A_(1) interacted with Ketch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keapl),which boosted the stabilization of Nrf2,subsequently promoted the translocation of Nrf2 into the nucleus,and further increased the expression of antioxidant proteins,thereby inhibiting glutathione(GSH)consumption,maintaining redox balance and eventually alleviating ACR-induced cell damage.Importantly,there was no difference between A_(1) and D-A_(1) treated groups,indicating that A_(1) can tolerate gastrointestinal digestion and may be a potential compound to limit the toxicity of ACR.

Molecular engineering binuclear copper catalysts for selective CO_(2) reduction to C_(2) products

Molecular copper catalysts serve as exemplary models for correlating the structure-reaction-mechanism relationship in the electrochemical CO_(2) reduction(eCO_(2)R),owing to their adaptable environments surrounding the copper metal centres.This investigation,employing density functional theory calculations,focuses on a novel family of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts.The modulation of their coordination configuration through the introduction of organic groups aims to assess their efficacy in converting CO_(2) to C_(2)products.Our findings highlight the crucial role of chemical valence state in shaping the characteristics of binuclear Cu catalysts,consequently influencing the eCO_(2)R behaviour,Notably,the Cu(Ⅱ)Cu(Ⅱ)macrocycle catalyst exhibits enhanced suppression of the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),facilitating proton trans fer and the eCO_(2)R process.Fu rthermore,we explo re the impact of diverse electro n-withdrawing and electron-donating groups coordinated to the macrocycle(R=-F,-H,and-OCH_3)on the electron distribution in the molecular catalysts.Strategic placement of-OCH_3 groups in the macrocycles leads to a favourable oxidation state of the Cu centres and subsequent C-C coupling to form C_(2) products.This research provides fundamental insights into the design and optimization of binuclear Cu molecular catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO_(2) to value-added C_(2) products.

Preparation of TiO_(2) Supported Mxene Catalyst for High Efficiency Hydrogen Production

We studied a method to prepare a novel titanium dioxide(TiO_(2))composite photocatalyst,starting from improving the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes.Regular TiO_(2)microspheres were prepared by sol-gel method and loaded onto Ti3C2Tx(Mxene).The high electrical conductivity of Mxene was utilized to transfer photogenerated electrons quickly and effectively prevent their recombination.By adjusting the addition amount of Mxene,the hydrogen production efficiency of the sample was greatly improved,and the maximum efficiency reached 135.2μmol·g^(-1)·h^(-1),which was twice that of pure TiO_(2).The nanocomposites were characterized by XRD,PL,TEM and SEM analysis and electrochemical methods,and the test proved that the improvement of hydrogen production efficiency was caused by the improvement of the separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes.This work demonstrates the application of Mxene as a catalyst to improve efficiency and broadens the application prospects of Mxene.

A Feasibility Study of Using Geothermal Energy to Enhance Natural Gas Production from Offshore Gas Hydrate Reservoirs by CO_(2) Swapping

The energy industry faces a significant challenge in extracting natural gas from offshore natural gas hydrate(NGH)reservoirs,primarily due to the low productivity of wells and the high operational costs involved.The present study offers an assessment of the feasibility of utilizing geothermal energy to augment the production of natural gas from offshore gas hydrate reservoirs through the implementation of the methane-CO_(2)swapping technique.The present study expands the research scope of the authors beyond their previous publication,which exclusively examined the generation of methane from marine gas hydrates.Specifically,the current investigation explores the feasibility of utilizing the void spaces created by the extracted methane in the hydrate reservoir for carbon dioxide storage.Analytical models were employed to forecast the heat transfer from a geothermal zone to an NGH reservoir.A study was conducted utilizing data obtained from a reservoir situated in the Shenhu region of the Northern South China Sea.The findings of the model indicate that the implementation of geothermal heating can lead to a substantial enhancement in the productivity of wells located in heated reservoirs during CO_(2)swapping procedures.The non-linear relationship between the temperature of the heated reservoir and the rate of fold increase has been observed.It is anticipated that the fold of increase will surpass 5 when the gas hydrate reservoir undergoes a temperature rise from 6℃ to 16℃.The mathematical models utilized in this study did not incorporate the impact of heat convection resulting from CO_(2)flow into the gas reservoir.This factor has the potential to enhance well productivity.The mathematical models’deviation assumptions may cause over-prediction of well productivity in geothermal-stimulated reservoirs.Additional research is required to examine the impacts of temperature drawdown,heat convection resulting from depressurization,heat-induced gas pressure increment,and the presence of free gas in the formation containing hydrates.The process of CH4-CO_(2)swapping,which has been investigated,involves the utilization of geothermal stimulation.This method is highly encouraging as it enables the efficient injection of CO_(2)into gas hydrate reservoirs,resulting in the permanent sequestration of CO_(2)in a solid state.Additional research is warranted to examine the rate of mass transfer of CO_(2)within reservoirs of gas hydrates.

INTERLEUKIN-2 (IL-2) PRODUCTION AND INTERLEUKIN-2 RECEPTOR EXPRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH APLASTIC ANEMIA

IL-2 production and IL-2 receptor (Tac antigen) of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 30 patients with aplastic anemic (AA) were studied. We found that mononuclear cells from patients produce spontaneously IL-2 in the absence of exogenous lee-tin stimulation, the proportion of Tac+ cells in mononuclear cells increased. The release of IL-2 and or Tac antigen expression were elevated in almost every patient with AA. The plasma from patients stimulate mitogen-induced blastogenesis and Tac antigen expression of normal human lymphocytes. Immunological 1 abnormalities of patients with AA possibly might represents secondary response to bone marrow depression.

The production of Strains Highly Expressing Human Interleukin-2 cDNA

The plasmid pTLIL-2,which only directed a low-level expression of human interleukin 2(IL-2) cDNA in E.coli,was reconstructed:a series of deletions were made in 3'non-coding region of human IL-2 cDNA,and 7 recombinant plasmids with different deletions were selected,on the other hand, a Tac promoter sequence from pDR540 was inserted to upstream of IL-2 cDNA in pTLIL-2 so that pTLIL-2DT,which contains double Tac promoters,was constructed.And then,E.coli JM103 was transformed with the above 8 recombinant plasmids respectively.The expression efficiency of IL-2 cDNA in E.cbli transformed with different plasmids was evaluated by means of SDS-PAGE and measuring 3H-TdR incorporation of IL-2-dependent activated T lymphocytes in the presence of bacterial extracts.Three engineering strains with high efficiency of IL-2 expression were selected,and all of these strains could produce recombinant IL-2(rIL-2)4 times more than E.coil JM103/pTLIL-2.

TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g⁃C_(3)N_(4)复合材料的光催化产氢性能及机理分析

本文研究了TiO_(2)含量对TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)异质结光催化剂产氢性能的影响。首先将石墨相氮化碳(g-C_(3)N_(4))用硫酸处理,得到酸洗氮化碳(H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)),然后通过煅烧法在H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)表面负载TiO_(2)得到TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料,利用透射电镜、X射线衍射仪、紫外-可见漫反射仪和比表面仪对TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料进行了表征,研究了其在可见光下的光催化产氢性能,探讨了TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料光催化产氢机理。实验结果表明:1)煅烧法可以成功制备TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料,且TiO_(2)的负载显著地提升了H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)的光催化产氢性能,这主要归功于TiO_(2)/g-C_(3)N_(4)异质结的形成降低了光生电子空穴的复合速率,加快了电子的转移速率;2)实验结果还表明TiO_(2)的负载量对TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料的光催化产氢性能有很大影响,当TiO_(2)含量为25%时,所制备的25-TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料的光催化产氢性能最好,其光催化产氢速率为3.47 mmol·g^(−1)·h^(−1),是H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)产氢速率的4.05倍,这主要归功于25-TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)大的比表面积和高的光吸收度;3)所制备的25-TiO_(2)@H^(+)/g-C_(3)N_(4)复合材料还表现出良好的稳定性。

5Cr油套管钢在含Cl^(-)的CO_(2)环境中的腐蚀特性研究

目的掌握油气井生产中CO_(2)腐蚀对油套管的影响规律,研究兼顾耐蚀性和经济性的5Cr油套管材料在含Cl^(-)的CO_(2)环境中不同时间下的腐蚀演变规律。方法采用XRD、XPS、SEM和EDS等技术分析5Cr油套管钢在不同时间下腐蚀产物膜的演变情况,利用丝束电极(WBE)和阻抗测试(EIS)技术对其腐蚀电化学行为进行研究。结果5Cr油套管钢腐蚀后期的平均腐蚀速率约为初期的1/2,在腐蚀14 d后,腐蚀产物膜中的Cr富集大于30%,Cr、Fe质量比达到较高水平,约为基体的15倍。随着腐蚀的进行,电荷传递电阻和产物膜覆盖引起的电阻增大,电化学反应阻力增大。在腐蚀前期具有局部不均匀性,随着腐蚀的进行,电极腐蚀电位有负移现象,最终分布区间为−0.59~−0.61 V,电极表面阳极电流区域大幅减少。结论在腐蚀时间延长的条件下,5Cr油套管钢腐蚀产物膜的致密性增加,电荷传递电阻呈变大趋势。在产物膜下的5Cr油套管钢区域,电流发生由阴极向阳极极性转变的现象,产物膜存在的孔隙使5Cr油套管钢基体金属被腐蚀,从而导致阳极电流的出现。表面局部腐蚀电位阳极区的形成和扩展使其有产生点蚀的倾向,但腐蚀产物逐渐沉积在点蚀坑内壁,形成了Cr富集的保护性表面层,原发生点蚀区域由原阳极活性点位转变为阴极区,对其发展起到了抑制作用。

南川常压海相页岩气注CO_(2)吞吐提高采收率工程实践

当前研究实验和模拟论证了注CO_(2)吞吐提高页岩气采收率的理论可行性,然而其实际工程效果尚未得到现场试验的验证。为此,基于四川盆地南川常压海相页岩气藏地质赋存及生产特征,开展了页岩等温吸附和CO_(2)—CH_(4)竞争吸附机理研究,实施了国内首次常压海相页岩气衰减井CO_(2)吞吐现场试验,并提出了构建成套技术体系的攻关方向。研究结果表明:①气井生产到后期进入低压低产阶段,表现出地层能量不足的特征,是提高气井采出程度的重要阶段;②常压页岩的CH_(4)和CO_(2)吸附能力明显高于低压或高压页岩,采用CO_(2)提采更具可行性和必要性;③相同条件下的常压、高压和低压3组页岩样品均表现出对CO_(2)的吸附量大于对CH_(4)的吸附量,且对气体的吸附能力依次为南川(常压海相)页岩>长宁(高压海相)页岩>延长(低压陆相)页岩;④试验井注CO_(2)吞吐增产效果明显,页岩气单井预测最终可采储量(EUR)从0.75×10^(8) m^(3)上升到0.90×10^(8) m^(3),单井控制储量5.186×10^(8) m^(3),预计采收率提高了2.9%。结论认为:①实施的国内首次常压海相页岩气衰减井注CO_(2)吞吐试验取得突破性进展,为我国页岩气井提高采收率技术研发与应用提供了重要借鉴与参考;②亟需开展页岩气衰减井CO_(2)提采资源潜力与时机评估、提采效果定量评价与工艺优化等研究,并形成页岩气衰减井注CO_(2)吞吐提高采收率成套关键技术及标准体系。

Cu-Zn-based alloy/oxide interfaces for enhanced electroreduction of CO_(2) to C_(2+) products

The electrochemical CO_(2)reduction reaction to produce multi-carbon(C_(2+)) hydrocarbons or oxygenate compounds is a promising route to obtain a renewable fuel of high energy density.However,producing C_(2+)at high current densities is still a challenge.Herein,we develop a Cu-Zn alloy/Cu-Zn aluminate oxide composite electrocatalytic system for enhanced conversion of CO_(2)to C_(2+)products.The Cu-Zn-Al-Layered Double Hydroxide(LDH) is used as a precursor to decompose into uniform Cu-Zn oxide/Cu-Zn aluminate pre-catalyst.Under electrochemical reduction,Cu-Zn oxide generates Cu-Zn alloy while Cu-Zn aluminate oxide remains unchanged.The alloy and oxide are closely stacked and arranged alternately,and the aluminate oxide induces the strong electron interaction of Cu,Zn and Al,creating a large number of highly active reaction interfaces composed of 0 to+3 valence metal sites.With the help of the interface effect,the optimized Cu_(9)Zn_(1)/Cu_(0.8)Zn_(0.2)Al_(2)O_(4)catalyst achieves a Faradaic efficiency of 88.5% for C_(2+)products at a current density of 400 mA cm^(-2)at-1.15 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode.The in-situ Raman and attenuate total reflectance-infrared absorption spectroscopy(ATR-IRAS) spectra show that the aluminate oxide at the interface significantly enhances the adsorption and activation of CO_(2)and the dissociation of H2O and strengthens the adsorption of CO intermediates,and the alloy promotes the C-C coupling to produce C_(2+)products.This work provides an efficient strategy to construct highly active reaction interfaces for industrial-scale electrochemical CO_(2)RR.

Low-content Pt-triggered the optimized d-band center of Rh metallene for energy-saving hydrogen production coupled with hydrazine degradation

Utilizing the hydrazine-assisted water electrolysis for energy-efficient hydrogen production shows a promising application, which relies on the development and design of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts. Herein, we reported a low-content Pt-doped Rh metallene(Pt-Rhene) for hydrazine-assisted water electrolysis towards energy-saving hydrogen(H_(2)) production, where the ultrathin metallene is constructed to provide enough favorable active sites for catalysis and improve atom utilization.Additionally, the synergistic effect between Rh and Pt can optimize the electronic structure of Rh for improving the intrinsic activity. Therefore, the required overpotential of Pt-Rhene is only 37 mV to reach a current density of-10 mA cm^(-2) in the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER), and the Pt-Rhene exhibits a required overpotential of only 11 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^(-2) in the hydrazine oxidation reaction(HzOR). With the constructed HER-HzOR two-electrode system, the Pt-Rhene electrodes exhibit an extremely low voltage(0.06/0.19/0.28 V) to achieve current densities of 10/50/100 mA cm^(-2) for energy-saving H_(2) production, which greatly reduces the electrolysis energy consumption. Moreover,DFT calculations further demonstrate that the introduction of Pt modulates the electronic structure of Rh and optimizes the d-band center, thus enhancing the adsorption and desorption of reactant/intermediates in the electrocatalytic reaction.

Mechanisms of action of natural products on type 2 diabetes

Over the past several decades,type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)has been considered a global public health concern.Currently,various therapeutic modalities are available for T2DM management,including dietary modifications,moderate exercise,and use of hypoglycemic agents and lipid-lowering medications.Although the curative effect of most drugs on T2DM is significant,they also exert some adverse side effects.Biologically active substances found in natural medicines are important for T2DM treatment.Several recent studies have reported that active ingredients derived from traditional medicines or foods exert a therapeutic effect on T2DM.This review compiled important articles regarding the therapeutic effects of natural products and their active ingredients on isletβcell function,adipose tissue inflammation,and insulin resistance.Additionally,this review provided an in-depth understanding of the multiple regulatory effects on different targets and signaling pathways of natural medicines in the treatment of T2DM as well as a theoretical basis for clinical effective application.

Two-dimensional ultrathin MoS2-modified black Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes for enhanced photocatalytic water splitting hydrogen production

Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin MoS2-modified black Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated using an electrospinning-hydrothermal treatment-reduction method.Bare TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated via electrospinning.Then,2D MoS2 lamellae were grown on the surface of the nanotubes and Ti^3+/Ov ions were introduced by reduction.The photocatalytic performance of the 2D MoS2/Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes was^15 times better than that of TiO2.The HER enhancement of the MoS2/Ti^3+-TiO2 nanotubes can be attributed to the Pt-like behavior of 2D MoS2 and the presence of Ti^3+-ions,which facilitated the quick diffusion of the photogenerated electrons to water,reducing the H2 activation barrier.The presence of Ov ions in the nanotubes and their hollow structure increased their solar utilization.

TiO2-based materials for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Hydrogen, the cleanest and most promising energy vector, can be produced by solar into chemical energy conversion, either by the photocatalytic direct splitting of water into Hand O, or, more efficiently,in the presence of sacrificial reagents, e.g., in the so-called photoreforming of organics. Efficient photocatalytic materials should not only be able to exploit solar radiation to produce electron–hole pairs, but also ensure enough charge separation to allow electron transfer reactions, leading to solar energy driven thermodynamically up-hill processes. Recent achievements of our research group in the development and testing of innovative TiO-based photocatalytic materials are presented here, together with an overview on the mechanistic aspects of water photosplitting and photoreforming of organics. Photocatalytic materials were either（i） obtained by surface modification of commercial photocatalysts, or produced（ii） in powder form by different techniques, including traditional sol gel synthesis, aiming at engineering their electronic structure, and flame spray pyrolysis starting from organic solutions of the precursors, or（iii） in integrated form, to produce photoelectrodes within devices, by radio frequency magnetron sputtering or by electrochemical growth of nanotube architectures, or photocatalytic membranes, by supersonic cluster beam deposition.

Moderating effect of synthesized docosahexaenoic acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine on production of Th1 and Th2 cytokine in lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation

Objective: To evaluate effects of docosahexaenoic acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine(DHAPC) on cytokine production induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS). Methods: The culture supernatants of splenocytes exposed to DHA-PC along with LPS were harvested to determine the production of Th 1(IFN-kines. Cytokines were m毭 and IL-2) and Th2 [IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-12/IL-23(p40)] cytoeasured using ELISA. Results: Co-administration of DHAPC with LPS resulted in significantly lower IL-2 expression compared to that observed with administration of only LPS(P<0.01). Treatment with DHA-PC and LPS significantly increased IL-5 expression(P<0.01). Moreover, co-administration of DHA-PC with LPS significantly decreased IL-6 and IL-12/IL-23(p40) expressions compared to that observed with administration of only LPS(P<0.01). Conclusions: Our results suggest that DHA-PC inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines [IL-2, IL-6 and IL-12/IL-23(p40)] expression on induction of inflammation.