Search

Edible fungi, commonly known as mushrooms, are precious medicinal and edible homologous gifts from nature to us. Edible fungal polysaccharides (EFPs) are a variety of bioactive macromolecular which isolated from fruiting bodies, mycelia or fermentation broths of edible or medicinal fungus. Increasing researches have confirmed that EFPs possess multiple biological activities both in vitro and in vivo settings, including antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and regulating intestinal flora activities. As a result, they have emerged as a prominent focus in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Fungal EFPs have safe, non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible properties with low immunogenicity, bioadhesion ability, and antibacterial activities, presenting diverse potential applications in the food industries, cosmetic, biomedical, packaging, and new materials. Moreover, varying raw materials, extraction, purification, chemical modification methods, and culture conditions can result in variances in the structure and biological activities of EFPs. The purpose of this review is to provide comprehensively and systematically organized information on the structure, modification, biological activities, and potential applications of EFPs to support their therapeutic effects and health functions. This review provides new insights and a theoretical basis for prospective investigations and advancements in EFPs in fields such as medicine, food, and new materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strategy for the synthesis at room temperature of binderless 3D sphere-like aggregates of bimetallic PtRh nanoparticles onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by cross-beam laser deposition technique is presented. The atomic ratio between the two components (Pt and Rh) is tuned by varying the laser pulse energy on the two targets independently to optimize the alloying effects. The morphology of PtRh alloy nanostructure is controlled by introducing helium gas under 2 Torr of pressure during growth. The prepared CNT/3D sphere-like aggregates bimetallic PtRh nanostructures provide a high degree of electrochemical activity and good durability toward the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) outperforming CNT/Pt and CNT/Pt3Sn, which is the most actively known electrocatalyst for EOR. Therefore, the 3D CNT/PtRh alloy porous nano structures provide a good prospect to explore their catalytic properties for direct ethanol fuel cells systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composted livestock waste (CLW) was studied as one low-cost material to remove Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) from simulated acid mine drainage (AMD) by batch and column experiments. The adsorption isotherm data were well fitted by the Langmuir model. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacities were 0.5485 mmol/g for Pb(II), 0.4092 mmol/g for Cu(II), 0.2246 mmol/g for Cd(II), and 0.1879 mmol/g for Zn(II) at pH 4.0. Due to the competition effect, the adsorption capacity of the single metal ion decreased in the multiple metals system compared with single metal system. The removal equilibrium for Pb(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II) occurred at pH of 3.0-3.5, 4.0-4.5, 4.5-5.0 and 6.0-6.5, respectively. There was relatively high adsorption efficiency even in acid conditions (pH 2-4), especially for Pb(II). Breakthrough curves demonstrated the effectiveness of adsorption in column experiment for treatment of heavy metals in AMD. This study confirmed that CLW could be efficient for heavy metal ions removal from acid mine drainage or acidic coal refuse leachate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally down-regulated 9 (NEDD9), a scaffolding protein, has been identified as a prometastatic and poor prognostic gene in multiple malignant tumors. However, the potential role of the NEDD9 protein in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the expression of NEDD9 and the correlation between NEDD9 expression and prognosis in EOC. NEDD9 expression was detected in 129 archived EOC specimens by immunohistochemical staining and in 28 freshly frozen EOC specimens by Western blotting. The expression of NEDD9 was evaluated in ovarian cancer cell lines by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The association between the expression of NEDD9 and prognosis was determined by survival analysis. Results suggested that NEDD9 was overexpressed in EOC specimens compared with noninvasive epithelial ovarian tumors and normal ovarian specimens. A high level of NEDD9 expression significantly correlated with advanced-stage tumors (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics classes III-IV, P < .001), high-grade carcinoma (grades 2-3, P < .001), and suboptimal primary cytoreductive surgery (residual disease b1 cm, P = .021). The expression level of NEDD9 varied in ovarian cancer cell lines. Multivariate analysis indicated that NEDD9 overexpression (P = .033), advanced stage (P < .001), and high-grade carcinoma (P = .01) were independent predictors of poor survival. In conclusion, NEDD9 is overexpressed and associated with an unfavorable prognosis in EOC. NEDD9 overexpression is an independent factor of poor prognosis and may serve as a potential biomarker in EOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]