Theoretical insights into layered IrO for the oxygen evolution reaction.

Here we present the density functional theory-based exploration of layered IrO polymorphs for the oxygen evolution reaction, as well as a data-driven geometric descriptor for catalytic activity. The layer edges are identified as promising active site motifs with not only low theoretical overpotential but also intriguing structural flexibility and to break the universal energetic scaling through torsional distortion.

Probing the processing of facial expressions in monkeys via time perception and eye tracking.

Accurately recognizing facial expressions is essential for effective social interactions. Non-human primates (NHPs) are widely used in the study of the neural mechanisms underpinning facial expression processing, yet it remains unclear how well monkeys can recognize the facial expressions of other species such as humans. In this study, we systematically investigated how monkeys process the facial expressions of conspecifics and humans using eye-tracking technology and sophisticated behavioral tasks, namely the temporal discrimination task (TDT) and face scan task (FST).

Loss of osteoglycin promotes angiogenesis in limb ischaemia mouse models via modulation of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 signalling pathway.

Objective: Osteoglycin (OGN) has been noted for its implication in cardiovascular disease in recent studies. However, the relationship between OGN and angiogenesis remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of OGN on ischaemia-induced angiogenesis and to address the underlying mechanisms.

[The relationship of SIRT3 with cellular metabolism and cardiovascular diseases].

Protein deacetylases play an extremely crucial role in cellular biological processes and have been categorized into four families (HDACⅠ, HDACⅡ, HDACⅢ and HDACⅣ) in human. Of them, HDACⅢ, also known as the Sir2 (Silent information regulator 2) family, contains seven members, SIRT1-7, each exhibiting different cellular localization and biological function. As a major mitochondrial deacetylase, SIRT3 not only modulates cellular metabolism, but also plays important roles in apoptosis, tumor growth, aging and a number of other diseases.

Eventually periodic solutions of a max-type difference equation.

We study the following max-type difference equation xn = max{A(n)/x(n-r), x(n-k)}, n = 1,2,…, where {A(n)} n=1 (+∞) is a periodic sequence with period p and k, r ∈ {1,2,…} with gcd(k, r) = 1 and k ≠ r, and the initial conditions x(1-d), x(2-d),…, x 0 are real numbers with d = max{r, k}. We show that if p = 1 (or p ≥ 2 and k is odd), then every well-defined solution of this equation is eventually periodic with period k, which generalizes the results of (Elsayed and Stević (2009), Iričanin and Elsayed (2010), Qin et al. (2012), and Xiao and Shi (2013)) to the general case.

Toll-like receptor 4 mediates inflammatory cytokine secretion in smooth muscle cells induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-regulated secretion of inflammatory cytokines in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is regarded as an important step in the progression of atherosclerosis; however, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study investigated the role of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in oxLDL-induced expression of inflammatory cytokines in SMCs both in vivo and in vitro. We found that the levels of TLR4, interleukin 1-β (IL1-β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression were increased in the SMCs of atherosclerotic plaques in patients with femoral artery stenosis.