Arterial stiffness exemplified by the ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) and pulse pressure (PP) predicts cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The present cross-sectional study assessed the association of renal function with AASI and 24-h PP in hypertensive inpatients. Subjects included 948 hypertensive inpatients with drug treatment (mean age, 53.3 years; male, 67.1%). The AASI was defined as 1 minus the regression slope of diastolic over systolic blood pressure readings obtained from 24-h recordings. Renal function was evaluated by serum creatinine and urinary albumin excretion was expressed by the urinary albumin-to-urinary creatinine ratio (ACR), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated by the modification of diet in renal disease formula and chronic kidney disease-epidemiology collaboration formula. As AASI and 24-h PP increased, serum creatinine concentrations and ACR increased, and eGFR decreased. Multiple linear regression showed that AASI and 24-h PP were associated with eGFR-EPI (B¼À12.00, P¼0.001 vs. B¼À0.14, P¼0.002) and ACR (B¼0.56, P¼0.004 vs. B¼0.01, P¼0.017) independent of other cardiovascular risk factors. After additional adjustment for 24-h PP, the association of AASI with eGFR-EPI had borderline significance (P¼0.053), whereas the significant associations of 24-h PP with serum creatinine and ACR persisted (P¼0.009 and P¼0.006) after adjusting for confounding factors and AASI. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that each s.d. increase in 24-h PP (that is, 13 mm Hg) was associated with a higher risk of suffering from microalbuminuria (MA) by 39% (P¼0.038) after additional adjustment for AASI. In conclusion, AASI is more closely associated with eGFR compared with 24-h PP in hypertensive inpatients. However, for MA 24-h PP is a better predictor.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 into valuable fuels and chemical feedstocks in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner is an ideal way to mitigate climate change and environmental problems. Here, we fabricated a series of selfsupporting Bi−Sb bimetallic nanoleaves on carbon paper (CP) by a facile electrodeposition method. The synergistic effect of Bi and Sb components and the change of the electronic structure lead to high formate selectivity and excellent stability in the electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR). Specifically, the Bi− Sb/CP bimetallic electrode achieved a high Faradic efficiency (FE formate , 88.30%) at −0.9 V (vs RHE). The FE of formate remained above 80% in a broad potential range of −0.9 to −1.3 V (vs RHE), while FE CO was suppressed below 6%. Density functional theory calculations showed that Bi(012)−Sb reduced the adsorption energy of the *OCHO intermediate and promoted the mass transfer of charges. The optimally adsorbed *OCHO intermediate promoted formate production while inhibiting the CO product pathway, thereby enhancing the selectivity to formate synthesis. Moreover, the CO 2 RR performance was also investigated in a flow-cell system to evaluate its potential for industrial applications. The bimetallic Bi−Sb catalyst can maintain a steady current density of 160 mA/cm 2 at −1.2 V (vs RHE) for 25 h continuous electrolysis. Such excellent stability for formate generation in flow cells has rarely been reported in previous studies. This work offers new insights into the development of bimetallic self-supporting electrodes for CO 2 reduction.

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