Journals
2026 EN
Jiang Xiaohua · He Huanhuan · Lu Fenglai
+4 more
ABSTRACT Five Siraitia grosvenorii polysaccharides (SGPs), namely, SGP‐H, SGP‐A, SGP‐B, SGP‐E, and SGP‐U, were extracted from hot air‐dried fruits using hot water extraction (HWE), acid‐assisted extraction (ACAE), alkaline‐assisted extraction (ALAE), enzyme‐assisted extraction (EAE), and ultrasonic‐assisted extraction (UAE), respectively. The extraction yields of ACAE and ALAE were 1.65‐ and 1.59‐fold higher than that of traditional HWE, respectively. Monosaccharide composition analysis showed that SGP‐H, SGP‐A, SGP‐E, and SGP‐U were acidic heteropolysaccharides composed of mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, and arabinose with a notable discrepancy in the molar ratio, whereas SGP‐B exhibited the lowest uronic acid content and a unique monosaccharide profile dominated by glucose (76.62%). Comprehensive characterization confirmed significant differences in molecular weight, glycosidic linkage, and surface morphology among the five SGPs. Antioxidant assays indicated that SGP‐B exhibited the stronger ABTS and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity than the other SGPs, with EC 50 values of 416 ± 5.4 and 338 ± 14.8 µg/mL, respectively. Meanwhile, immunomodulatory studies on RAW264.7 macrophages revealed that SGP‐B significantly enhanced phagocytosis by 29% and stimulated the secretion of immune factors. Therefore, SGP‐B, obtained via ALAE, shows great application potential in the development of antioxidants and immunomodulators, and further research deserves attention.
Journals
2026 EN
Lin Zhangyu · Zheng Zhihao · Yang Min
+6 more
ABSTRACT Background Arterial calcification is an important characteristic of vascular aging. Risk factors and clinical outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedure failure in patients with moderate‐to‐severe coronary artery calcification (MSCAC) have not been adequately assessed. We aimed to analyze the characteristics, risk factors, and long‐term clinical outcomes for patients with MSCAC with PCI procedure failure. Methods We analyzed 26253 patients undergoing PCI at Fuwai Hospital between January 2017 and December 2018. Procedure failure was defined as residual stenosis ≥ 50%, severe angiographic complications, in‐hospital death, or in‐hospital myocardial infarction (MI). The primary endpoint was CV events, including CV death, nonfatal MI, and nonfatal stroke. Results During a median 3‐year follow‐up, 613 CV events were recorded. The incidence of PCI procedure failure for MSCAC patients was 10.96%. Compared with non‐MSCAC patients, the multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for CV events was 2.38 (95% CI: 1.65–3.44) for MSCAC with PCI failure subjects, while no significant difference could be found between non‐MSCAC patients and MSCAC with PCI success patients. MSCAC patients with PCI procedure failure showed an increased risk of CV events (aHR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.39–3.38) than those with procedure success. Application of intravascular ultrasound and rotational atherectomy were independent protective factors for the occurrence of MSCAC‐PCI procedure failure in patients with severe calcification. Conclusions MSCAC patients with PCI procedure failure showed unfavorable long‐term clinical outcomes compared with those with PCI procedure success. IVUS and rotational atherectomy could reduce the risk of PCI procedure failure occurrence.
Journals
2026 EN
Zhang Qing · Yuan Ding · Song Kepeng
+8 more
ABSTRACT Defect engineering serves as a cornerstone in the design of high‐efficiency single‐atom catalysts (SACs) for advanced electrocatalytic systems. This study demonstrates oxygen vacancy‐induced near‐zero‐valent Pt SACs anchored on TiO 2 for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Synchrotron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation reveal that oxygen vacancies create unconventional Pt–Ti coordination while strengthening electronic metal‐support interactions. This facilitates substantial electron transfer from TiO 2 to Pt, generating a near‐zero‐valent Pt state with elevated electron density. The modified electronic structure lowers the Pt d‐band center, reducing hydrogen intermediate (*H) adsorption energy and optimizing HER kinetics. Moreover, ab initio molecular dynamics and in situ Raman spectra show that the negative charge accumulated at the Pt site promotes K + enrichment at the interface, which enhances H–OH bond polarization and accelerates water dissociation kinetics. The resulting D‐TiO 2 /Pt SACs exhibit superior HER activity across acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions, achieving low overpotentials of 40, 57, and 60 mV at 10 mA cm −2 , respectively. Additionally, its mass activities at the overpotential of 100 mV are 10.3, 33.9, and 20.9 times higher that of Pt/C, respectively. This study shows the key role of defect‐mediated electronic engineering in tailoring SACs' valence states and catalytic functions, advancing sustainable hydrogen production through rational catalyst design.
Journals
2026 EN
Chen Rui · Zhang Tao · Yang Jingru
+2 more
ABSTRACT Background Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD), although the third‐most common type of gastrointestinal tumors, still lacks specific biomarkers for early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Aims This study aimed to evaluate the CD276 in tumorigenesis, prognosis and immunity for colon adenocarcinoma. Methods and Results The CD276 expression in colon adenocarcinoma was established by using RNA‐sequencing transcriptomic data of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. The biological functions of CD276 were evaluated using the Metascape database and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). The association between CD276 and immune cell infiltration was investigated by TIMER website. Correlation analysis was performed between CD276 expression and clinicopathological characteristics. CD276 expression was significantly elevated in colon adenocarcinoma tumor ( p < 0.0001). High CD276 was associated with microsatellite instability (MSI) status, patients' survival, and disease progression. Cox regression analysis revealed that CD276 was a risk factor for overall survival [hazard ratio (HR): 1.848, p = 2.64E−03], disease‐specific survival (HR: 2.406, p = 5.35E−04), and progression‐free interval (HR: 1.772, p = 2.04E−03). Moreover, CD276 level was significantly associated with tumor immune cell infiltration, biomarkers of immune cells, and immune checkpoint expression. Conclusions Our analyses indicated that increased CD276 may contribute to colon adenocarcinoma development by activating tumor‐promoting signal pathways and altering the immune microenvironment.
Journals
2026 EN
Xie Yingyi · Song Yanjun · Shi Shanshan
+3 more
ABSTRACT Aims This multi‐cohort study evaluated whether the cardiometabolic index (CMI)—a composite of waist‐to‐height ratio and triglyceride‐to‐HDL cholesterol ratio—serves as an early predictor of cardio‐kidney risk and whether its predictive value varies across glycaemic states. Methods We analysed 327,902 adults in the UK Biobank to examine the association of CMI with baseline cardio‐kidney comorbidities, incident cardio‐kidney events (CKE)—defined as the composite occurrence of cardiovascular and chronic kidney outcomes, and mortality. Baseline comorbidities was assessed using logistic regression, and Cox models with stratified analyses and restricted cubic splines (RCS) evaluated prospective associations. Findings were externally validated in CHARLS and NHANES. Machine‐learning survival models further assessed predictive performance. Results Higher CMI was associated with baseline cardio‐kidney comorbidities (OR 2.25, 95% CI 2.10–2.42). Among 303,113 participants free of cardiovascular and/or kidney disease at baseline, CMI predicted incident CKE (HR 2.18, 95% CI 2.01–2.38; median follow‐up 14.3 years), all‐cause death (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.06–1.14; 15.8 years), and cardio‐kidney death (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.37–1.76; 15.8 years). The strength of associations was greatest in normoglycemia and progressively attenuated in prediabetes and diabetes. RCS analyses revealed nonlinear dose–response relationships, with steep increases in CKE and cardio‐kidney mortality below CMI thresholds (∼0.70 and ∼0.95) and more gradual rises thereafter. Results were directionally consistent in external cohorts, particularly for cardio‐kidney comorbidities and incident CKE. ML models demonstrated strong discrimination and consistently ranked CMI among the top predictors of incident CKE. Conclusions CMI is a simple, robust predictor of cardio‐kidney risk especially in earlier metabolic states, with particularly strong prognostic value in normoglycaemic individuals where excess risk appears at lower CMI levels.
Journals
2026 EN
Song Yanjun · Chen Xinyue · Chang Zhen'ge
+8 more
ABSTRACT Aims Heart failure (HF) is a major cardiovascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), yet reliable biomarkers for early risk stratification remain limited. We investigated the prospective association between plasma angiopoietin‐like protein 7 (ANGPTL7) and incident HF, and examined the extent to which this relationship is mediated by insulin resistance (IR). Materials and Methods This study included 2871 participants with T2DM and no baseline HF from the UK Biobank. Plasma ANGPTL7 was quantified using the Olink Proximity Extension Assay. Incident HF was ascertained via hospital and death records over a median follow‐up of 13.5 years. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were employed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and evaluate dose‐response relationships. Predictive performance was assessed using time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Furthermore, we conducted stratified analyses by HF polygenic risk score (PRS) and performed causal mediation analysis to quantify the contributions of IR indices. Results Elevated ANGPTL7 levels were robustly associated with an increased risk of incident HF. Patients in the highest tertile had a 1.90‐fold higher risk compared to the lowest (HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.47–2.45, p < 0.001). This positive association was linear ( p for nonlinearity = 0.988). Time‐dependent ROC analysis showed that the AUCs for ANGPTL7 in predicting 5‐, 10‐, and 15‐year incident HF were 0.651, 0.666, and 0.670, respectively. Significant risk elevations for ANGPTL7 T3 versus T1 were consistent in both low‐PRS (HR 3.20, 95% CI 1.91–5.36) and high‐PRS groups (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.14–2.69). Mechanistically, IR significantly mediated this association, with TyG‐WC and METS‐IR accounting for 19.4% and 9.0% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions In T2DM patients, elevated plasma ANGPTL7 is an independent risk factor for future HF, showing a linear dose‐response relationship partially mediated by IR. ANGPTL7 may represent a promising biomarker and a potential therapeutic target warranting further investigation.
Journals
2026 EN
Dou Pengpeng · Lin Dunmei
ABSTRACT Understanding how litter diversity and soil fauna drive microbial communities is critical for revealing trophic cascades in decomposition processes. We conducted a 460‐day field decomposition experiment in a subtropical forest, placing litter mixtures of one to four tree species into mesh bags with 25 μm or 4 mm openings to create fauna‐excluded and fauna‐accessible treatments, and assessing microbial community composition and biomass using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. The results showed that the litter traits and diversity significantly influenced microbial PLFA content. Both fungal and bacterial PLFA content increased with higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, and leaf thickness in the mixed litter. Soil fauna had a significant impact on microbial PLFA content and its community distribution. A notable interaction between soil fauna and litter richness was observed: soil fauna slowed the decline of bacterial PLFA content as litter richness increased, highlighting their role in moderating the impact of litter diversity on microbial communities. Additionally, soil fauna reversed the relationship between mixed litter traits and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) PLFA content. While a negative correlation was observed in the absence of soil fauna, their presence turned it positive, demonstrating that soil fauna modifies the impact of litter traits on AMF. These findings demonstrate the intricate interactions between plant litter diversity, soil fauna, and microbes, highlighting the crucial role of soil fauna in modulating the effect of plant diversity on microbial communities during decomposition.
Journals
2026 EN
Zhang Zhengcai · Huang Dulin · Peng Xiaohui
+3 more
Redox mediators (RMs) represent the most promising strategy to address the sluggish kinetics of lithium–oxygen (Li–O 2 ) batteries. To achieve high‐energy and cost‐effective Li–O 2 batteries, carbon materials are typically regarded as ideal cathodes in these systems. However, the impact of their surface properties—which often regulate specific discharge pathways—on the RM‐mediated oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) remains unclear. In this study, CNTs electrodes with different surface properties are fabricated. Results suggest that CNTs with more surface defects not only promote the unmediated discharge pathway even in RMs‐involved battery systems but also exacerbate the corrosion of carbon cathodes. This, in turn, leads to the undesired accumulation of Li 2 O 2 and Li 2 CO 3 on the cathode surface, which hinders effective and continuous electron transfer between the cathode and RMs, ultimately decreasing the catalytic activity of RMs. As a result, the discharge capacity of the battery is seriously diminished, especially at large current densities. These findings underscore the significance of surface engineering in advancing the performance of RMs‐assisted Li–O 2 batteries.
Journals
2026 EN
Liu Tao · Li Mengmin · Feng Fengqin
+11 more
ABSTRACT Many plant and fungal extracts (PFEs) show anti‐fatigue properties through various pathways, but synergistic formulas and mechanisms are unclear. We screened six PFEs using a sodium sulfite (Na 2 SO 3 )‐induced exercise fatigue zebrafish model and developed a synergistic anti‐fatigue formula based on the combination index (CI) method. Red ginseng (RG), Lycium ruthenicum (LR) and Ganoderma lucidum (GL) extracts were selected as formulation materials based on their potential synergistic possibilities. The formula demonstrated a strong synergistic effect on recovery rate with a CI of 0.04 when RG, LR, and GL were mixed at concentrations of 3.6, 4.0, and 14 μg/mL, respectively. Ginsenosides Re, LR anthocyanins and GL polysaccharides are the main anti‐fatigue components. The contents of ATP and SOD were increased by 39.1% and 53.9%, while lactic acid and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were decreased by 31.3% and 15.6%. Zebrafish swimming ability was restored by 97.6% relative to the control group, demonstrating a fatigue recovery effect comparable to that of Red Bull. The formula exerts anti‐fatigue effects by regulating muscle contraction, energy metabolism and oxidative stress at the relative rRNA expression. These findings highlight the promising potential of rationally designed PFEs combinations for functional food.
Journals
2026 EN
Wang Youzhi · Zhang Xuan · Dou Zhancheng
+1 more
The global climate crisis and carbon neutrality imperatives are urgently advancing CO 2 emission mitigation and resource utilization technologies to critical research frontiers, with photothermal cocatalysis emerging as a transformative approach due to its inherent sustainability and energy efficiency. This review examines recent breakthroughs in cerium oxide (CeO 2 )‐based catalysts, systematically analyzing their intrinsic catalytic advantages while addressing fundamental limitations including narrow spectral response, high CO 2 activation barriers, and limited product selectivity. State‐of‐the‐art modification strategies—encompassing precision nanostructuring, rational elemental doping, optimized strong metal–support interactions, oxygen vacancy engineering, heterojunction band alignment, and single‐atom/nanocluster active site design—synergistically enhance light harvesting, promote charge carrier separation/migration, and improve CO 2 conversion kinetics with superior selectivity. Notwithstanding these advances, persistent challenges in long‐term stability, targeted synthesis of high‐value products, and scalable implementation necessitate future efforts to decipher multifield photothermal‐chemical energy coupling mechanisms, develop manufacturing protocols for ultrastable catalysts, and integrate atomic‐scale active site design with reactor‐scale engineering applications.