Shape control has realized huge success for developing efficient Pd/Pt‐based nanocatalysts, but the control of Ru‐based nanocrystals remains a formidable challenge due to the inherent anisotropy in ...hexagonal closed‐packed nanocrystals. Herein, a class of unique RuCo nanoscrews (NSs) for water electrosplitting is successfully synthesized with rough surfaces and the exposure of steps and edges. Those high‐index faceted RuCo NSs show superior performance for overall water electrosplitting, where a low cell voltage of 1.524 V (@ 10 mA cm−2) and excellent stability for more than 20 h (@ 10 mA cm−2) for overall water electrosplitting in 1 m KOH is achieved. The enhanced performance of RuCo NSs is due to the optimization of the binding energy with the intermediate species and the reduced energy barrier of water dissociation. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the RuCo NS structure intrinsically endows various ridges and edges, which create low coordinated Ru‐ and Co‐sites. These active Ru‐ and Co‐sites present high efficiencies in electronic exchange and transfer between adsorbing O species and nearby lattice sites, guaranteeing the high H2O‐splitting activities. This present work opens up a new strategy for creating high‐performance electrocatalysts for water splitting.
A RuCo electrocatalyst with abundant high index facets is successfully fabricated with superior performance for water‐splitting in an alkaline environment, which is attributed to the simultaneous facilitation of both an alloying effect and high‐index facets. This work supplies significant insights for future research to further overcome the challenge of realizing bimetallic electrocatalysts with high‐index facets.
Background/aims
Direct‐acting antivirals (DAAs) are highly effective in treating chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected patients. The real‐world treatment outcome in Taiwanese patients on a ...nationwide basis is elusive.
Methods
The Taiwan HCV Registry (TACR) programme is a nationwide registry platform including 48 study sites, which is organized and supervised by the Taiwan Association for the Study of the Liver. The primary endpoint was sustained virological response (SVR12, undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks after end‐of‐treatment).
Results
A total of 13 951 registered patients with SVR12 data available were analysed (mean age, 63.0 years; female, 55.9%; HCV genotype‐1 GT1, 57.9%; cirrhosis, 38.4%; preexisting hepatocellular carcinoma HCC, 10.6%; and hepatitis B virus coinfection, 7.7%). The overall SVR12 rate was 98.3%, with 98.7%, 98.0%, 98.4% and 97.4% in treatment‐naïve noncirrhotic, treatment‐naïve cirrhotic, treatment‐experienced noncirrhotic and treatment‐experienced cirrhotic patients, respectively. The SVR12 rate was > 95% across all subgroups except treatment‐experienced cirrhotic patients who received sofosbuvir/ribavirin (88.7%), treatment‐naïve noncirrhotic patients (94.8%) and treatment‐experienced cirrhotic (94.8%) patients who received daclatasvir/asunaprevir. The most important factor associated with treatment failure was DAA adherence < 60% ( adjusted odds ratio aOR/95% confidence interval CI: 117.1/52.4‐261.3, P < .001), followed by GT3/GT2 (aOR/CI: 5.78/2.25‐14.9, P = .0003 and aOR/CI: 1.55/1.05‐2.29, P = .03, compared with GT1), active hepatocellular carcinoma (aOR/CI: 4.29/2.57‐7.16, P < .001), the use of sofosbuvir/ribavirin (aOR/CI: 2.51/1.67‐3.77, P < .001) and daclatasvir/asunaprevir (aOR/CI: 3.29/1.94‐5.58, P < .001), decompensated liver cirrhosis (aOR/CI: 2.50/1.20‐5.22, P = .02) and high HCV viral loads (aOR/CI: 2.16/1.57‐2.97, P < .001).
Conclusions
DAAs are highly effective in treating Taiwanese HCV patients in the real‐world setting. Maintaining DAA adherence and selecting highly efficacious regimens are keys to ensure treatment success.
Guidelines recommend exercise for cardiovascular health, although evidence from trials linking exercise to cardiovascular health through intermediate biomarkers remains inconsistent. We performed a ...meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to quantify the impact of exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness and a variety of conventional and novel cardiometabolic biomarkers in adults without cardiovascular disease.
Two researchers selected 160 randomized controlled trials (7487 participants) based on literature searches of Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central (January 1965 to March 2014). Data were extracted using a standardized protocol. A random-effects meta-analysis and systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effects of exercise interventions on cardiorespiratory fitness and circulating biomarkers. Exercise significantly raised absolute and relative cardiorespiratory fitness. Lipid profiles were improved in exercise groups, with lower levels of triglycerides and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1. Lower levels of fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance, and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c were found in exercise groups. Compared with controls, exercise groups had higher levels of interleukin-18 and lower levels of leptin, fibrinogen, and angiotensin II. In addition, we found that the exercise effects were modified by age, sex, and health status such that people aged <50 years, men, and people with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or metabolic syndrome appeared to benefit more.
This meta-analysis showed that exercise significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness and some cardiometabolic biomarkers. The effects of exercise were modified by age, sex, and health status. Findings from this study have significant implications for future design of targeted lifestyle interventions.
High‐entropy alloys (HEAs) have been attracting extensive research interests in designing advanced nanomaterials, while their precise control is still in the infancy stage. Herein, we have reported a ...well‐defined PtBiPbNiCo hexagonal nanoplates (HEA HPs) as high‐performance electrocatalysts. Structure analysis decodes that the HEA HP is constructed with PtBiPb medium‐entropy core and PtBiNiCo high‐entropy shell. Significantly, the HEA HPs can reach the specific and mass activities of 27.2 mA cm−2 and 7.1 A mgPt−1 for formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR), being the record catalyst ever achieved in Pt‐based catalysts, and can realize the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) power density (321.2 mW cm−2) in fuel cell. Further experimental and theoretical analyses collectively evidence that the hexagonal intermetallic core/atomic layer shell structure and multi‐element synergy greatly promote the direct dehydrogenation pathway of formic acid molecule and suppress the formation of CO*.
High‐entropy alloy hexagonal nanoplates (HEA HP) with PtBiPb medium‐entropy core and PtBiNiCo high‐entropy shell has been successfully achieved. The HEA HP not only displays the record formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR) performance, but also readily achieves much higher peak power density (321.2 mW cm−2) along with the long‐term lifetime under the operating fuel cell conditions.
Abstract
Herein, we present a scalable approach for the synthesis of a hydrogen-bonded organic–inorganic framework via coordination-driven supramolecular chemistry, for efficient remediation of trace ...heavy metal ions from water. In particular, using copper as our model ion of interest and inspired by nature’s use of histidine residues within the active sites of various copper binding proteins, we design a framework featuring pendant imidazole rings and copper-chelating salicylaldoxime, known as zinc imidazole salicylaldoxime supramolecule. This material is water-stable and exhibits unprecedented adsorption kinetics, up to 50 times faster than state-of-the-art materials for selective copper ion capture from water. Furthermore, selective copper removal is achieved using this material in a pH range that was proven ineffective with previously reported metal–organic frameworks. Molecular dynamics simulations show that this supramolecule can reversibly breathe water through lattice expansion and contraction, and that water is initially transported into the lattice through hopping between hydrogen-bond sites.
Uremic toxins, such as indoxyl sulfate (IS) and p-cresol, or p-cresyl sulfate (PCS), are markedly accumulated in the organs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. These toxins can induce ...inflammatory reactions and enhance oxidative stress, prompting glomerular sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis, to aggravate the decline of renal function. Consequently, uremic toxins play an important role in the worsening of renal and cardiovascular functions. Furthermore, they destroy the quantity and quality of bone. Oral sorbent AST-120 reduces serum levels of uremic toxins in CKD patients by adsorbing the precursors of IS and PCS generated by amino acid metabolism in the intestine. Accordingly, AST-120 decreases the serum IS levels and reduces the production of reactive oxygen species by endothelial cells, to impede the subsequent oxidative stress. This slows the progression of cardiovascular and renal diseases and improves bone metabolism in CKD patients. Although large-scale studies showed no obvious benefits from adding AST-120 to the standard therapy for CKD patients, subsequent sporadic studies may support its use. This article summarizes the mechanisms of the uremic toxins, IS, and PCS, and discusses the multiple effects of AST-120 in CKD patients.
This paper presents a new method based on phasor measurement units (PMUs) for the estimation of voltage stability margin in a power system to increase operator's situational awareness. The method ...assumes a PMU measurement preprocessing technique as a priori in order to eliminate data inconsistency and uncertainty caused by random load disturbances. The measurements are then used in the computation of voltage stability margin based on the coupled single-port Thevenin equivalent model and the cubic spline extrapolation technique. Moreover, some practical operating constraints such as the generator reactive power limits are taken into account for practical assessment of the method's performance. Extensive case studies conducted on several standard IEEE test systems are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Highly selective semihydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes is a highly important reaction for catalytic industry. Developing non‐noble metal based catalysts with platinum group metal‐like activity and ...selectivity is extremely crucial yet challenging. Metastable phase catalysts provide a potential candidate to realize high activity, yet the control of selectivity remains an open question. Here, this work first reports a metastable phase core–shell: face‐centered cubic (fcc) phase Ag (10 at%) core‐metastable hexagonal closest packed (hcp) phase Ni (90 at%) shell catalyst, which represents high conversion rate, high selectivity, and remarkable universality for the semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene and its derivatives. More impressively, a turnover frequency (TOF) value of 8241.8 h−1 is achieved, much higher than those of stable phase catalysts and reported platinum group metal based catalysts. Mechanistic investigation reveals that the surface of hcp Ni becomes more oxidized due to electron transfer from hcp Ni shell to fcc Ag core, which decreases the adsorption capacity of styrene on the metastable phase Ni surface, thus preventing full hydrogenation. This work has gained crucial research significance for the design of high performance metastable phase catalysts.
The core–shell design of metastable phase nickel (Ni) catalyst achieves a beyond platinum‐group metal performance with exhibiting approaching 100% conversion rate and selectivity, good stability, and a high TOF of 8241.8 h−1. The introduction of Ag core leads to electron transfer, and more oxidation states on the catalyst surface, which is conducive to H2 dissociation and phenylacetylene adsorption.
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