The direct production of liquid fuels from CO2 hydrogenation has attracted enormous interest for its significant roles in mitigating CO2 emissions and reducing dependence on petrochemicals. Here we report a highly efficient, stable and multifunctional Na–Fe3O4/HZSM-5 catalyst, which can directly convert CO2 to gasoline-range (C5–C11) hydrocarbons with selectivity up to 78% of all hydrocarbons while only 4% methane at a CO2 conversion of 22% under industrial relevant conditions. It is achieved by a multifunctional catalyst providing three types of active sites (Fe3O4, Fe5C2 and acid sites), which cooperatively catalyse a tandem reaction. More significantly, the appropriate proximity of three types of active sites plays a crucial role in the successive and synergetic catalytic conversion of CO2 to gasoline. The multifunctional catalyst, exhibiting a remarkable stability for 1,000 h on stream, definitely has the potential to be a promising industrial catalyst for CO2 utilization to liquid fuels.

Cushing's disease, also known as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenomas (PAs) that cause excess cortisol production, accounts for up to 85% of corticotrophin-dependent Cushing's syndrome cases. However, the genetic alterations in this disease are unclear. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing of DNA derived from 12 ACTH-secreting PAs and matched blood samples, which revealed three types of somatic mutations in a candidate gene, USP8 (encoding ubiquitin-specific protease 8), exclusively in exon 14 in 8 of 12 ACTH-secreting PAs. We further evaluated somatic USP8 mutations in additional 258 PAs by Sanger sequencing. Targeted sequencing further identified a total of 17 types of USP8 variants in 67 of 108 ACTH-secreting PAs (62.04%). However, none of these mutations was detected in other types of PAs (n = 150). These mutations aggregate within the 14-3-3 binding motif of USP8 and disrupt the interaction between USP8 and 14-3-3 protein, resulting in an elevated capacity to protect EGFR from lysosomal degradation. Accordingly, PAs with mutated USP8 display a higher incidence of EGFR expression, elevated EGFR protein abundance and mRNA expression levels of POMC, which encodes the precursor of ACTH. PAs with mutated USP8 are significantly smaller in size and have higher ACTH production than wild-type PAs. In surgically resected primary USP8-mutated tumor cells, USP8 knockdown or blocking EGFR effectively attenuates ACTH secretion. Taken together, somatic gain-of-function USP8 mutations are common and contribute to ACTH overproduction in Cushing's disease. Inhibition of USP8 or EGFR is promising for treating USP8-mutated corticotrophin adenoma. Our study highlights the potentially functional mutated gene in Cushing's disease and provides insights into the therapeutics of this disease.

We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with replication in 36,180 Chinese individuals and performed further transancestry meta-analyses with data from the Psychiatry Genomics Consortium (PGC2). Approximately 95% of the genome-wide significant (GWS) index alleles (or their proxies) from the PGC2 study were overrepresented in Chinese schizophrenia cases, including ∼50% that achieved nominal significance and ∼75% that continued to be GWS in the transancestry analysis. The Chinese-only analysis identified seven GWS loci; three of these also were GWS in the transancestry analyses, which identified 109 GWS loci, thus yielding a total of 113 GWS loci (30 novel) in at least one of these analyses. We observed improvements in the fine-mapping resolution at many susceptibility loci. Our results provide several lines of evidence supporting candidate genes at many loci and highlight some pathways for further research. Together, our findings provide novel insight into the genetic architecture and biological etiology of schizophrenia.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have recently identified KIF1B as susceptibility locus for hepatitis B virus (HBV)–related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To further identify novel susceptibility loci associated with HBV–related HCC and replicate the previously reported association, we performed a large three-stage GWAS in the Han Chinese population. 523,663 autosomal SNPs in 1,538 HBV–positive HCC patients and 1,465 chronic HBV carriers were genotyped for the discovery stage. Top candidate SNPs were genotyped in the initial validation samples of 2,112 HBV–positive HCC cases and 2,208 HBV carriers and then in the second validation samples of 1,021 cases and 1,491 HBV carriers. We discovered two novel associations at rs9272105 (HLA-DQA1/DRB1) on 6p21.32 (OR = 1.30, P = 1.13×10−19) and rs455804 (GRIK1) on 21q21.3 (OR = 0.84, P = 1.86×10−8), which were further replicated in the fourth independent sample of 1,298 cases and 1,026 controls (rs9272105: OR = 1.25, P = 1.71×10−4; rs455804: OR = 0.84, P = 6.92×10−3). We also revealed the associations of HLA-DRB1*0405 and 0901*0602, which could partially account for the association at rs9272105. The association at rs455804 implicates GRIK1 as a novel susceptibility gene for HBV–related HCC, suggesting the involvement of glutamate signaling in the development of HBV–related HCC.

Na-containing Fe3O4 nanocatalysts show improved performance in CO2 hydrogenation due to enhanced surface basicity and carburization induced by residual Na.

Although considerable efforts have been made in converting carbon dioxide to hydrocarbons via hydrogenation processes, precise control of CC coupling towards heavy olefins remains a challenge. Here we report a carbon dioxide hydrogenation to olefin process that achieves 72% selectivity for alkenes and 50.3% selectivity for C 4-18 alkenes, of which formation of linear α-olefins accounts for 80%. The process is catalyzed by carbon-supported iron, commonly used in CC coupling reactions, with multiple alkali promoters extracted from corncob. The design is based on the synergistic catalysis of mineral elements in biomass enzyme on which carbon dioxide can be directly converted into carbohydrate. The mineral elements from corncob may promote the surface enrichment of potassium, suppressing the secondary hydrogenation of alkenes on active sites. Furthermore, carburization of iron species is enhanced to form more Fe 5 C 2 species, promoting both the reverse water-gas shift reaction and subsequent CC coupling.

Direct conversion of CO 2 into isoparaffins, ideal clean hydrocarbon fuel components, would be an eco-friendly way of mitigating CO 2 emissions and replacing fossil fuels. Herein, we realize a one-step high-yield synthesis of isoparaffins from CO 2 hydrogenation, catalyzed by a multifunctional Na− Fe 3 O 4 /HMCM-22 catalyst. A selectivity of 82% among hydrocarbons was achieved for C 4+ hydrocarbons, of which isoparaffins could account for 74%, while CO selectivity was as low as 17% at a CO 2 conversion of 26%. The high yield to isoparaffins was derived owing to well matching of three tandem reactions comprising reverse water−gas shift, C−C coupling and isomerization. Unique pore structure and appropriate Brønsted acid properties of HMCM-22 effectively suppressed aromatization, while promoting isomerization. Coke deposition inside the micropores of HMCM-22 causes the decline of isoparaffin yield without changing the total yield of heavy hydrocarbons. Both the physicochemical properties and catalytic performances of the catalysts could still keep their original levels after several reaction-regeneration cycles, indicating a promising potential application in the future commercialization process of CO 2 hydrogenation.

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