The term type III diabetes (T3DM) has been proposed for Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to the shared molecular and cellular features between type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and insulin resistance-associated memory deficits and cognitive decline in elderly individuals. Astrocytes elicit neuroprotective or deleterious effects in AD progression and severity. Patients with T2DM are at a high risk of cognitive impairment, and targeting astrocytes might be promising in alleviating neurodegeneration in the diabetic brain. Recent studies focusing on cell-specific activities in the brain have revealed the important role of astrocytes in brain metabolism (e.g., glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism), neurovascular coupling, synapses, and synaptic plasticity. In this review, we discuss how astrocytes and their dysfunction result in multiple pathological and clinical features of AD and T2DM from a metabolic perspective and the potential comorbid mechanism in these two diseases from the perspective of astrocytes.
Precise control of selectivity in hydrogenation reactions is a long-standing challenge. Surface decoration of nanocatalysts with transition-metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) is an effective strategy to tailor the catalytic selectivity but generally at the expense of activity due to the blocking of active sites. Here, we report that constructing single-site metal oxide modifiers (NiO, CoOx, or FeOx) on supported Au NPs by atomic layer deposition (ALD) can regulate their catalytic selectivity for nitroaromatic hydrogenation. The coverage of single-site metal oxide can be precisely tuned by altering the number of ALD cycles. The Au/TiO2 decorated with five cycles of NiO (Ni: 0.32 wt %) in the style of a single site can efficiently change the product selectivity from azo to azoxy compounds without significantly blocking the surface active sites. The density functional theory calculations indicate that the azoxybenzene bonded to the single-site NiO-decorated Au(111) with a larger adsorption energy, which inhibits the overhydrogenation of azoxybenzene and results in high azoxybenzene selectivity. Our work has demonstrated a general and efficient way to regulate the reaction selectivity of metal nanocatalysts by anchoring single-site metal oxide promoters.
The massive emission of CO2 has caused a series of environmental problems, including global warming, which exacerbates natural disasters and human health. Cu-based catalysts have shown great activity in the reduction of CO2, but the mechanism of CO2 activation remains ambiguous. In this work, we performed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the hydrogenation of CO2 on Cu(211)-Rh, Cu(211)-Ni, Cu(211)-Co, and Cu(211)-Ru surfaces. The doping of Rh, Ni, Co, and Ru was found to enhance CO2 hydrogenation to produce COOH. For CO2 hydrogenation to produce HCOO, Ru plays a positive role in promoting CO dissociation, while Rh, Ni, and Co increase the barriers. These results indicate that Ru is the most effective additive for CO2 reduction in Cu-based catalysts. In addition, the doping of Rh, Ni, Co, and Ru alters the electronic properties of Cu, and the activity of Cu-based catalysts was subsequently affected according to differential charge analysis. The analysis of Bader charge shows good predictions for CO2 reduction over Cu-based catalysts. This study provides some fundamental aids for the rational design of efficient and stable CO2-reducing agents to mitigate CO2 emission.
Extremely high or low autophagy levels disrupt plant survival under nutrient starvation. Recently, autophagy has been reported to display rhythms in animals. However, the mechanism of circadian regulation of autophagy is still unclear. Here, we observed that autophagy has a robust rhythm and that various autophagy-related genes (ATGs) are rhythmically expressed in Arabidopsis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and dual-luciferase (LUC) analyses showed that the core oscillator gene TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1 (TOC1) directly binds to the promoters of ATG (ATG1a, ATG2, and ATG8d) and negatively regulates autophagy activities under nutritional stress. Furthermore, autophagy defects might affect endogenous rhythms by reducing the rhythm amplitude of TOC1 and shortening the rhythm period of CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1). Autophagy is essential for the circadian clock pattern in seedling development and plant sensitivity to nutritional deficiencies. Taken together, our studies reveal a plant strategy in which the TOC1-ATG axis involved in autophagy-rhythm crosstalk to fine-tune the intensity of autophagy.
The mechanism for the dehydration of fructose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), catalyzed by functionalized ionic liquids (ILs), has been probed by DFT calculations.
The addition of Ru promoter has an important role in tuning the stability of the exposed facets of FCC Co NPs, accompanied by the change of surface morphology.
Despite extensive research work, how to control the chain growth by C1–C1 coupling on the catalysts of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) remains an unsolved problem. The activity, chain growth, and selectivity of FTS had been investigated on Co(111), (100), (311), and (110) surfaces with spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is clearly shown that the CO activity decreases in the order of Co(110) > Co(311) > Co(100) > Co(111). Surface carbon is successively hydrogenated to CH4 or undergoes chain growth to form heavier hydrocarbons. The effective barrier difference as a descriptor was introduced to evaluate the selectivity of CH4 formation and C1–C1 coupling. According to the effective barriers difference, the Co(100) surface has high selectivity toward C1–C1 coupling, which is attributed to the active site containing two 4-fold hollow sites. The Co(110) surface has the highest selectivity of CH4 formation. Moreover, it is revealed that the exposed specific cobalt crystal plane could tune the FTS selectivity to higher CO activity and lower CH4 selectivity. This work highlights the effects of surfaces and active sites on catalytic selectivity and promotes the design of Co-based catalysts of FTS with high selectivity for long-chain hydrocarbons.
Introduction This research investigates trends pertaining to the prevalence of low fruit and vegetable consumption among the labor force population in China. The study considered data derived from four nationally representative cross-sectional surveys. Methods The data under review for this study was derived from the China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance (CCDRFS) carried out in 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2018, correspondingly. We utilized a food frequency questionnaire to evaluate the quantity and frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. The estimated prevalence of low fruit and vegetable consumption was calculated for each survey, while considering factors such as sex, age, location, and socioeconomic status (SES). Participants' SES was ascertained via latent class analysis, serving to identify distinct classes based on criteria such as education, occupation, and household income per capita. Logistic regression was deployed to determine the statistical significance of trends. Results From 2010 to 2018, there was a notable increase in the average daily consumption of vegetables and fruits among the working population, rising from 418.6 g/day to 491.8 g/day (P<0.01 for trend). During the same period, the prevalence of low fruit and vegetable intake declined from 51.1% to 43.5% [P<0.001 for trend; −1.6% average annual percent change (AAPC)]. This downward trend was prevalent across genders, however, certain subgroups of adults (e.g., those living in rural areas or those of low SES) saw stable consumption levels throughout this period (P>0.05 for trend). Conclusion Over the past nine years, there has been a notable decline in the prevalence of low fruit and vegetable consumption among the labor force population in China. Moreover, the comparatively deficient intake of fruits and vegetables evident among individuals of lower SES warrants further attention.
The reaction mechanism of the conversion of methyl levulinate (ML) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) catalyzed by Al(OiPr) 3 has been probed using DFT calculations.
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