Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) generally has a relatively favorable clinical course; however, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was much more frequently progresses to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials to examine the effects of vitamin E supplementation in improving liver histology in NASH. We performed a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases through October 2014. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the efficacy of vitamin E in improving liver histological scores by using fixed effects or random effects. Standard methods were performed to explore statistical heterogeneity and publication bias. Compared with controls, vitamin E supplementation significantly improved all histological parameters, including steatosis (WMD = -0.62, 95% CI: -0.95, -0.77, P = 0.0002), hepatocyte ballooning (WMD = -0.30, 95% CI: -0.56, -0.04, P = 0.03), lobular inflammation (WMD = -0.39, 95% CI: -0.67, -0.11, P = 0.007) and fibrosis (WMD = -0.39, 95% CI: -0.72, -0.06, P = 0.02). Our analysis also indicated the absence of publication bias between NASH and Vitamin E intake. This meta-analysis indicates that vitamin E supplementation had a significant and positive effect in the improvement of steatosis, ballooning degeneration, lobular inflammation and fibrosis in patients with NASH.
The proposal of China’s dual carbon strategy is not only a kind of pressure but also an opportunity for enterprises. Both upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain pay more attention to carbon emission reduction, and consumers are gradually turning to a low-carbon preference. How carbon reduction targets are allocated among supply chain members with different technical efficiency and market opportunities will directly affect supply chain performance and social welfare. Power structure is an important factor that dominates the decision-making of the supply chain, so we establish the low-carbon supply chain model under three different power structures: manufacturer-led, retailer-led, and power pairs between two parties. We study the government distribution decisions of carbon emissions reduction targets under different supply chain power structures and discuss the influence of supply chain power structures on carbon emissions reduction distribution decisions and social welfare. The study found that if the carbon emissions reduction target increases, the government will adjust the allocation strategy to increase the proportion of enterprises whose emissions cuts have less impact on market demand. The study also found that the government will allocate more emissions reduction to enterprises with higher emissions reduction efficiency, and enterprises whose emissions reductions have a greater impact on market demand. When supply chain enterprises have equal power, the supply chain will have greater social welfare and market demand, but not necessarily greater supply chain profits.
An electrochemical sensing system was proposed for tryptophan (Trp) measurement. CuCo2O4@ biomass derived carbon (CuCo2O4@BC) was combined with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) to construct the electrochemical sensor. The BC was obtained by pyrolyzing leaves of Lactuca sativa L. var. ramosa Hort, and the CuCo2O4@BC was synthesized via hydrothermal method. The MIP was electropolymerized on CuCo2O4@BC modified glassy carbon electrode (CuCo2O4@BC/GCE) using pyrrole as the monomer and Trp as the template. The sensor can specifically rebind Trp because of the specific recognition ability of the MIP. After optimizing the experimental parameters, the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) current of the fabricated sensor is linearly correlated with Trp concentration in the ranges of 0.01 μM to1 μM and 1 μM to 40 μM, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.003 μM. Moreover, the presented sensor holds excellent selectivity toward Trp, and has been successfully applied to detect Trp in human serum and urine with satisfactory recoveries.
Abstract Kinds of interfacial engineering technologies are explored in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), which are proved to be benefit for the devices to achieve higher efficiency, less hysteresis, and/or better stability. In this work, in an inverted p–i–n structured PSC, a monolayer of 5‐aminovaleric acid (5‐AVA) molecules with bifunctional groups is introduced to modify the surface of p‐NiMgLiO compact hole transport layer (HTL). This key surface modification is not only improving the resultant perovskite film's quality, but also facilitating efficient charge extraction at the HTL/perovskite interface, which result in improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 18.0 to 19.4%. Furthermore, the 5‐AVA‐modified device can withstand much higher poling bias (>1.8 V) for a longer time than the pristine one, showing little nonsteady state current and excellent consistency of forward and reverse photocurrent–voltage curves after high bias poling. Benefitting from the exceptionally stable interface, the 5‐AVA‐modified device shows much improved long‐term stability, which can maintain over 90% of its initial PCE after 300 h continuous light soaking at maximum power point tracking condition.
Cytochrome P-450 epoxygenase-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) exert diverse biological activities, which include potent vasodilatory, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antioxidatant effects, and cardiovascular protection. Liver has abundant epoxygenase expression and high levels of EET production; however, the roles of epoxygenases in liver diseases remain to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the protection against high-fat diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in mice with endothelial-specific CYP2J2 overexpression (Tie2-CYP2J2-Tr). After 24 wk of high-fat diet, Tie2-CYP2J2-Tr mice displayed attenuated NAFLD compared with controls. Tie2-CYP2J2-Tr mice showed significantly decreased plasma triglyceride levels and liver lipid accumulation, improved liver function, reduced inflammatory responses, and less increase in hepatic oxidative stress than wild-type control mice. These effects were associated with inhibition of NF-κB/JNK signaling pathway activation and enhancement of the antioxidant defense system in Tie2-CYP2J2-Tr mice in vivo. We also demonstrated that 14,15-EET treatment protected HepG2 cells against palmitic acid-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. 14,15-EET attenuated palmitic acid-induced changes in NF-κB/JNK signaling pathways, malondialdehyde generation, glutathione levels, reactive oxygen species production, and NADPH oxidase and antioxidant enzyme expression in HepG2 cells in vitro. Together, these results highlight a new role for CYP epoxygenase-derived EETs in lipotoxicity-related inflammation and oxidative stress and reveal a new molecular mechanism underlying EETs-mediated anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that could aid in the design of new therapies for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.
A Bi2WO6/BiOBr/RGO (BWO/BOB/RGO) composite photocatalyst with a Z-type heterojunction was prepared by a simple one-pot hydrothermal method, and the micro-morphology and physicochemical properties of the prepared samples were characterized. After reacting under visible light for 120 min, the degradation rate of 20 mg L-1 norfloxacin (NOR) by BWO/BOB/RGO was 95.12%, and the kinetic constant of the reaction was 6.42 times higher than that of pure BiOBr. Furthermore, BWO/BOB/RGO also shows good recycling stability and universality. The characterization results show that the improvement of the photocatalytic performance of the catalyst is mainly due to the heterojunction formed between Bi2WO6, RGO and BiOBr, which enhances the visible light absorption ability, accelerates the photogenerated electron migration and improves the electron-hole pair separation efficiency. The introduction of Bi2WO6 and RGO into the catalyst also increased its specific surface area and made it have more surface-active sites. The results of radical capture experiments showed that ˙O2- and h+ played an important role in the BWO/BOB/RGO reaction system, and the intermediate products and possible degradation pathways of the system were detected and analyzed. Furthermore, the electron transfer mechanism of the Z-type heterojunction using RGO as an electron transport medium and the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of norfloxacin were proposed.
'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(23.036 .093 25.536)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(45.87 1.273 16.18)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(69.945 .996 12.078)'/%3e%3cuse xlink:href='%23a' transform='rotate(20.66 -19.689 31.932)'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)