Accessible preparation of a novel nitrogen‑phosphorus synergetic nanocellulose-based flame retardant with excellent char-forming ability for enhancing the anti-melting droplet property of PA66.

Developing eco-friendly and effective flame retardants is crucial for enhancing the fire resistance of polymeric materials. This study developed a novel nitrogen‑phosphorus (NP) synergistic nanocellulose-based flame retardant (CNC-PEI-PA) by grafting polyethyleneimine (PEI) and phytic acid (PA) onto the CNC. CNC-PEI-PA demonstrated remarkable thermal stability, char-forming ability, and antibacterial activity.

PyNetCor: a high-performance Python package for large-scale correlation analysis.

The development of multi-omics technologies has generated an abundance of biological datasets, providing valuable resources for investigating potential relationships within complex biological systems. However, most correlation analysis tools face computational challenges when dealing with these high-dimensional datasets containing millions of features. Here, we introduce pyNetCor, a fast and scalable tool for constructing correlation networks on large-scale and high-dimensional data.

The association of RBP4 with chronic kidney diseases in southern Chinese population.

Background: Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), as a novel adipokine, has been proven to be highly related to insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, hyperuricemia and other metabolic diseases, which are all risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, there is a lack of sufficient studies to explore the relationship between RBP4 and CKD, and no reports have described the predictive value of RBP4 for CKD. This study was designed to clarify the relationship between RBP4 and CKD and its potential predictive value.

Lithocholic acid binds TULP3 to activate sirtuins and AMPK to slow down ageing.

Lithocholic acid (LCA) is accumulated in mammals during calorie restriction and it can activate AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to slow down ageing. However, the molecular details of how LCA activates AMPK and induces these biological effects are unclear. Here we show that LCA enhances the activity of sirtuins to deacetylate and subsequently inhibit vacuolar H-ATPase (v-ATPase), which leads to AMPK activation through the lysosomal glucose-sensing pathway.

Lithocholic acid phenocopies anti-ageing effects of calorie restriction.

Calorie restriction (CR) is a dietary intervention used to promote health and longevity. CR causes various metabolic changes in both the production and the circulation of metabolites; however, it remains unclear which altered metabolites account for the physiological benefits of CR. Here we use metabolomics to analyse metabolites that exhibit changes in abundance during CR and perform subsequent functional validation.