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Oral cancer (OC), characterized by malignant tumors in the mouth, is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Chemotherapy is a commonly used treatment for OC; however, it often leads to severe side effects on human bodies. In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising solution for managing OC using nanomaterials and nanoparticles (NPs). Nano-drug delivery systems (nano-DDSs) that employ various NPs as nanocarriers have been extensively developed to enhance current OC therapies by achieving controlled drug release and targeted drug delivery. Through searching and analyzing relevant research literature, it was found that certain nano-DDSs can improve the therapeutic effect of drugs by enhancing drug accumulation in tumor tissues. Furthermore, they can achieve targeted delivery and controlled release of drugs through adjustments in particle size, surface functionalization, and drug encapsulation technology of nano-DDSs. The application of nano-DDSs provides a new tool and strategy for OC therapy, offering personalized treatment options for OC patients by enhancing drug delivery, reducing toxic side effects, and improving therapeutic outcomes. However, the use of nano-DDSs in OC therapy still faces challenges such as toxicity, precise targeting, biodegradability, and satisfying drug-release kinetics. Overall, this review evaluates the potential and limitations of different nano-DDSs in OC therapy, focusing on their components, mechanisms of action, and laboratory therapeutic effects, aiming to provide insights into understanding, designing, and developing more effective and safer nano-DDSs. Future studies should focus on addressing these issues to further advance the application and development of nano-DDSs in OC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The separation of structurally similar compounds, such as cholic acid (CA) and deoxycholic acid (DCA), is challenging due to their nearly identical physicochemical properties. This study demonstrates a synergistic 'push and pull' strategy with an ionic liquid (IL) biphasic system for significantly enhanced CA/DCA separation efficiency. Ethyl acetate was selected as the feed solvent to 'push' CA into the IL-rich extractant phase, while the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([EMIM]Cl) was chosen to 'pull' CA due to their strong hydrogen bonding interaction. This 'push and pull' system yielded a remarkable CA/DCA selectivity up to 47.8, much higher than the case using n-butanol which pulls both CA and DCA. The underlying separation mechanism was elucidated through computational screening with COSMO-RS, NMR analysis, and solvatochromic measurements. Results revealed the critical roles of specific hydrogen bonding between the chloride anion of [EMIM]Cl and the hydroxyl/carboxyl groups of CA/DCA, along with nonspecific interactions between the feed solvent and CA/DCA. Thermodynamic analysis of the phase transfer process confirmed the 'push and pull' synergy is energetically favorable for preferentially transferring CA from the ethyl acetate feed solution into the IL-rich extractant phase. Multi-stage simulation indicated that 99% purity and recovery of both CA and DCA can be obtained through this biphasic system under optimized conditions. Overall, strategically tuning both the feed solvent and IL extractant could significantly enhance the separation efficiency of structurally similar compounds while minimizing solvent and energy consumption. This 'push and pull' approach may shed light on improving separation processes for other structural analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acidic compounds constitute a group of chemicals present in mainstream cigarette smoke, among which organic acids contribute to flavoring. In order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the constituents of acidic compounds in both the particulate and gaseous phases of the mainstream smoke of commercial cigarettes, and to delineate the difference between two types of cigarettes, the yields of acidic constituents from nine cigarettes of two commercial brands (L- and M-types) were collected and analyzed in detail by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results identified and quantitatively analyzed 46 compounds, grouped according to the substituent groups. Compositional differences between the two cigarette types were evaluated with statistical approaches. Comparison between individual, grouped, and total acid contents, between the particulate and the gaseous phases, and between the commercial L- and M-type tobaccos were conducted and characterized by the p values obtained from Student's t-test. Multivariate analysis was performed using principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) models to identify the acids that enable a reliable differentiation of the two types. Seventeen acidic compounds whose p < 0.05 and variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1 were identified as key components that could discriminate between the two groups of commercial cigarettes. This study may be beneficial for the development of non-combusted tobacco products, which could serve as alternatives to traditional cigarettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maintenance of a high delivery efficiency by traditional nanomedicines during cancer treatment is a challenging task. As a natural mediator for short-distance intercellular communication, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have garnered significant attention owing to their low immunogenicity and high targeting ability. They can load a variety of major drugs, thus offering immense potential. In order to overcome the limitations of EVs and establish them as an ideal drug delivery system, polymer-engineered extracellular vesicle mimics (EVMs) have been developed and applied in cancer therapy. In this review, we discuss the current status of polymer-based extracellular vesicle mimics in drug delivery, and analyze their structural and functional properties based on the design of an ideal drug carrier. We anticipate that this review will facilitate a deeper understanding of the extracellular vesicular mimetic drug delivery system, and stimulate the progress and advancement of this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent phosphorescence eliminates the need for light excitation and thus avoids the issue of autofluorescence, holding great promise in various fields. To achieve bright phosphorescence emission, many methods were developed to confine most organic persistent phosphorescent materials in a rigid environment aiming to quench nonradiative relaxation pathways; among them, the nanocrystal method is a good candidate which can rigidify the molecules as well as offer the desirable water dispersity and size for further bioapplications. However, the current efficient preparation of phosphorescent nanocrystals still remains challenging. This study reports an efficient microemulsion-based method for the fabrication of phosphorescent nanocrystals with a desired diameter in the nanosize range (below 200 nm), a high phosphorescence quantum yield of about 6.5%, and ultralong persistent phosphorescence to the timescale after the removal of the external light source, making it easy for the commercial imaging system to detect, which is suitable for practical bioimaging. Furthermore, the synthesized nanocrystals with biocompatibility were utilized directly for in vitro imaging, showing effective cellular uptake and bright phosphorescence emission, which provides a reasonable strategy to develop a phosphorescent nanocrystal for application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dry eye disease (DED) is the most common clinical ocular surface disease. Given its multifactorial etiology, no consensus has been reached on the diagnosis criteria for dry eye disease. Topical drug administration remains the mainstay of treatment but is limited to the rapid clearance from the eye surface. To address these problems, hydrogel-based materials were designed to detect biomarkers or act as drug delivery systems by taking advantage of their good biocompatibility, excellent physical and mechanical properties, and long-term implant stability. Biosensors prepared using biocompatible hydrogels can be sensitive in diagnosing DED, and the designed hydrogels can also improve the drug bioavailability and retention time for more effective and long-term treatment. This review summarizes recent advances in the use of hydrogels for diagnosing and treating dry eye, aiming to provide a novel reference for the eventual clinical translation of hydrogels in the context of dry eye disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liposomes are highly advantageous platforms for drug delivery. To improve the colloidal stability and avoid rapid uptake by the mononuclear phagocytic system of conventional liposomes while controlling the release of encapsulated agents, modification of liposomes with well-designed polymers to modulate the physiological, particularly the interfacial properties of the drug carriers, has been intensively investigated. Briefly, polymers are incorporated into liposomes mainly using "grafting" or "coating", defined according to the configuration of polymers at the surface. Polymer-modified liposomes preserve the advantages of liposomes as drug-delivery carriers and possess specific functionality from the polymers, such as long circulation, precise targeting, and stimulus-responsiveness, thereby resulting in improved pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, toxicity, and therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we summarize the progress in polymer-modified liposomes for drug delivery, focusing on the change in physiological properties of liposomes and factors influencing the overall therapeutic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crocus sativus L. is commonly used as functional food and medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, the spectrum–effect relationship was established between HPLC fingerprints and in vitro antioxidant activity of saffron to improve the quality evaluation method of saffron. The fingerprints of 21 batches of saffron collected from different regions were assessed, and the data were further analyzed by chemometric methods, including similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, principal component analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis. The spectrum–effect relationship between fingerprints and antioxidant effect of saffron was analyzed by grey relational analysis and partial least square methods to figure out the antioxidant component of saffron. Thirteen common peaks of 21 batches of saffron were included in the analysis, and peak 3 (picrocrocin), peak 7 (crocin I), and peak 10 (crocin II) were identified as the main active components responsible for antioxidant efficacy. Besides, a multi-index quality control method was developed for simultaneous determination of these three antioxidant components in saffron. Taken together, this study provided new strategies for the quality control and the development of new bioactive products of saffron in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of Internet of Things is growing exponentially, among which the ZigBee devices are being widely deployed, incurring severe collision problem in ZigBee networks. Instead of collision avoidance or packet retransmissions which introduce extra time/energy overhead, existing methods try to decompose multi-packet collision directly. For example, state-of-the-art mZig exploits collision-free chips to decompose the collided chips iteratively, however, suffers from the high bit error rate and low frame reception rate which limit the practical applications. Toward this end, we observe three major issues of existing solutions: 1) all existing solutions adopt the priori-chip-dependent decomposition pattern, leading to the error propagation; 2) the available samples for chip decoding can be scarce, resulting in severe scarce-sample errors; 3) existing solutions assume the consistent frequency offset for consecutive packets, leading to inaccurate frequency offset estimation. To solve these issues in collision decomposition, we propose FORWARD, a novel physical layer design to enable accurate collision decoding in ZigBee. The key idea is to generate all possible overlapping combinations as reference waveforms. The decomposition is determined by comparing the collided signal with the reference waveforms. Such a priori-chip-independent design has the advantages to eliminate the error propagation. To ensure sufficient samples for decoding, FORWARD always choose the longest segment as reference. Furthermore, the real-time channel estimation and frequency offset calibration ensure the accurate collision decoding. We implement FORWARD on USRP platform and evaluate its performance. Experimental results demonstrate that FORWARD reduces bit error rate by order of magnitude and increases frame reception rate by 10% ~ 50% compared with the state-of-the-art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZigBee is a widely used wireless technology in low-power and short-range scenarios such as the Internet of Things, sensor networks, and industrial wireless networks. However, the traditional ZigBee supports only one data rate, 250 Kbps, which thoroughly limits ZigBee’s efficiency in dynamic wireless channels. In this paper, we propose Mrs. Z, a novel physical layer design to enable multi-rate selection in ZigBee with lightweight modification on the legacy ZigBee modules. The key idea is to change the single spectrum spreading length to multiple ones. Correspondingly, to support the rate adaptation to the channel variations, we propose a bit-error-based rate selection scheme, which predicts BER by leveraging the physical properties of ZigBee to calculate the confidence for each symbol in transmission. Then, the receiver selects the rate based on the negative impact on throughput incurred by bit errors and gives feedback to the transceiver. We implement Mrs. Z on USRPs and evaluate its performance in different scenarios. Experiment results demonstrate that Mrs. Z achieves about 1.15, 1.2, and 1.8 $\times$ average throughput compared to the classic smart pilot, softrate, and the traditional ZigBee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solubilities of formononetin and daidzein in methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol and acetone were measured by a static equilibrium method at temperatures range from 293.2 to 323.2 K. The solubilities of formononetin and daidzein increased with rising temperature. At a given temperature, the solubility expressed in mole fraction was recorded highest in acetone (e. g., 5.2735 × 10–4 for formononetin and 7.4678 × 10 – 4 for daidzein at T = 293.2 K, respectively.) followed by n-propanol, isopropanol , ethanol, and methanol, and the solubility in different solvents mainly depended on the polarity and hydrogen-bond acceptor (HBA) basicity of the solvents. Moreover, the experimental solubility data in all solvents could be reasonably correlated by ideal model, the modified Apelblat equation, λh equation and van't Hoff equation (the relative average deviations (RAD)were all < 3.29%.), wherein the modified Apelblat model showed the best correlation (RAD < 2.94% ). The dissolution thermodynamic properties, including enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs energy of formononetin and daidzein in the dissolution process were evaluated using the van't Hoff equation. In addition, the COSMO–RS model was also applied to predict the solubilities of the two solutes and take insight into the intrinsic solvation mechanism within the systems, and the results confirmed that daidzein had relative higher values of solubility in the solvents as compared to formononetin due to the stronger hydrogen-bond interaction between daidzein and the solvents. The COSMO–RS model showed relative good agreement with the experimental values in tested solvents, especially in alcohols, and could provide excellent qualitative agreement with experimental dissolution behavior both for temperature dependence and for effect of molecular structures of the solutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal‐free organic systems with persistent room temperature phosphorescence (pRTP) have attracted considerable attention due to their long‐lived emission (over 0.1 s) after removal of the excitation, plus their advantages of good biocompatibility and facile functionality.[1] Thus, organic pRTP materials show great potential applications in bioimaging, information storage, and optical sensing. A variety of organic pRTP materials have been developed by promoting the intersystem crossing and suppressing the non‐radiative decay as much as possible. However, their pRTP emissions were generally in the spectral region of below 600 nm, for whether crystalline phosphors or polymeric systems, let alone emission in NIR region of over 750 nm.[2] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thedesign of a biphasic system is important for the developmentof liquid–liquid extraction and biphasic catalysis. In thiswork, we report a series of ternary biphasic systems that consistof hydrophilic ionic liquid (IL), water, and ethyl acetate. The effectsof the structure of the ILs (cation, anion, and substituent group),IL/water ratio, and temperature on the phase equilibrium of thesebiphasic systems were investigated. The mutual solubility was lowerin the IL/water–ethyl acetate biphasic system than in the water–ethylacetate system when ILs with strong hydration ability were introduced,such as [EMIm]OAc, [EMIm]Cl, [EMIm]NO3, [EMIm]EtSO4, and [HOEMIm]Cl. In addition, the hydrogen-bonding basicityof the IL-containing phase could be tuned by changing the IL structureor IL/water ratio. These novel IL/water-ethyl acetate biphasic systemsmay present another option in addition to hydrophobic IL–waterand aqueous biphasic systems for liquid–liquid extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separation of high value bioactive compounds is a viable route to make full use of the biomass resources and improve the profitability. However, the sparing aqua- and lipo-solubility of the bioactive compounds makes their separation really challenging. Considering that ionic liquids show good solubility of biomass and could easily form biphasic systems with organic solvents, an ionic liquid (IL)-based biphasic system consisting of ionic liquid, water and ethyl acetate is proposed in this study. Ginkgolide homologues were selected as model compounds to evaluate its practicality. Adequate distribution coefficients, relatively high extraction capacity and selectivity were obtained with the novel biphasic system. The improved distribution coefficients of the ginkgolides are mainly attributed to the multiple interactions between ginkgolide and IL, which were confirmed by means of quantum chemistry calculations. Moreover, the effect of the interactions between ginkgolides and the extraction solvent on the selectivity coefficient was studied by measuring the Kamlet–Taft parameters of the extraction solvent. Based on the results of fractional extraction, which was simulated by calculation and validated by experiments, as well as the comparison of organic solvent consumption, the employed IL-based extraction would be a valid and clean method as an alternative to chromatographic methods for separating bioactive compounds in large-scale operations. It is noteworthy that the amount of organic solvents consumed with this method was supposed to be less than 1/11 of the most widely used chromatographic method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent degenerative joint disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Currently, clinical nonsurgical treatments of OA are only limited to pain relief, anti-inflammation, and viscosupplementation. Developing disease-modifying OA drugs (DMOADs) is highly demanded for the efficient treatment of OA. As OA is a local disease, intra-articular (IA) injection directly delivers drugs to synovial joints, resulting in high-concentration drugs in the joint and reduced side effects, accompanied with traditional oral or topical administrations. However, the injected drugs are rapidly cleaved. By properly designing the drug delivery systems, prolonged retention time and targeting could be obtained. In this review, we summarize the drugs investigated for OA treatment and recent advances in the IA drug delivery systems, including micro- and nano-particles, liposomes, and hydrogels, hoping to provide some information for designing the IA injected formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocellulose is of increasing interest for a range of applications relevant to the fields of material science and biomedical engineering due to its renewable nature, anisotropic shape, excellent mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, tailorable surface chemistry, and interesting optical properties. We discuss the main areas of nanocellulose research: photonics, films and foams, surface modifications, nanocomposites, and medical devices. These tiny nanocellulose fibers have huge potential in many applications, from flexible optoelectronics to scaffolds for tissue regeneration. We hope to impart the readers with some of the excitement that currently surrounds nanocellulose research, which arises from the green nature of the particles, their fascinating physical and chemical properties, and the diversity of applications that can be impacted by this material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral cancer (OC), characterized by malignant tumors in the mouth, is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide. Chemotherapy is a commonly used treatment for OC; however, it often leads to severe side effects on human bodies. In recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising solution for managing OC using nanomaterials and nanoparticles (NPs). Nano-drug delivery systems (nano-DDSs) that employ various NPs as nanocarriers have been extensively developed to enhance current OC therapies by achieving controlled drug release and targeted drug delivery. Through searching and analyzing relevant research literature, it was found that certain nano-DDSs can improve the therapeutic effect of drugs by enhancing drug accumulation in tumor tissues. Furthermore, they can achieve targeted delivery and controlled release of drugs through adjustments in particle size, surface functionalization, and drug encapsulation technology of nano-DDSs. The application of nano-DDSs provides a new tool and strategy for OC therapy, offering personalized treatment options for OC patients by enhancing drug delivery, reducing toxic side effects, and improving therapeutic outcomes. However, the use of nano-DDSs in OC therapy still faces challenges such as toxicity, precise targeting, biodegradability, and satisfying drug-release kinetics. Overall, this review evaluates the potential and limitations of different nano-DDSs in OC therapy, focusing on their components, mechanisms of action, and laboratory therapeutic effects, aiming to provide insights into understanding, designing, and developing more effective and safer nano-DDSs. Future studies should focus on addressing these issues to further advance the application and development of nano-DDSs in OC therapy.

Generally, a typical mechanochromophore produces color change through chemical transformation into one or two identical new chromophores/fluorophores under applied mechanical force. Herein, we introduce a novel mechanophore based on an anthracene-aminomaleimide Diels-Alder (DA) adduct featuring two distinct and latent fluorophores. This nonfluorescent mechanophore undergoes retro-DA reaction upon mechanochemical activation in solution and the solid state, generating the respective anthracene and aminomaleimide fragments simultaneously, both of which are highly emissive with different fluorescent colors. In addition, the aminomaleimide fluorophore exhibits sensitive fluorescence on-off response to protic solvents or polar solvents, which enables dual-color mechanochromism from this single mechanophore.

High quality epitaxial thin films of the quasi-one dimensional conductor K 0.3 MoO 3 have been successfully grown on SrTiO 3 (100), SrTiO 3 (110), and SrTiO 3 (510) substrates via pulsed laser deposition. Scanning electron microscopy revealed quasi-one dimensional rod-shaped structures parallel to the substrate surface, and the crystal structure was verified by using X-ray diffraction. The temperature dependence of the resistivity for the K 0.3 MoO 3 thin films demonstrates a metal-to-semiconductor transition at about 180 K. Highly anisotropic resistivity was also observed for films grown on SrTiO 3 (510)., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by extensive tumor heterogeneity at both the pathologic and molecular levels, particularly accelerated aggressiveness, and terrible metastasis. It is responsible for the increased mortality of breast cancer patients. Due to the negative expression of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, the progress of targeted therapy has been hindered. Higher immune response in TNBCs than for other breast cancer types makes immunotherapy suitable for TNBC therapy. At present, promising treatments in immunotherapy of TNBC include immune checkpoints (ICs) blockade therapy, adoptive T-cell immunotherapy, and tumor vaccine immunotherapy. In addition, nanomedicines exhibit great potential in cancer therapy through the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Immunotherapy-involved combination therapy may exert synergistic effects by combining with other treatments, such as traditional chemotherapy and new treatments, including photodynamic therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and sonodynamic therapy (SDT). This review focuses on introducing the principles and latest development as well as progress in using nanocarriers as drug-delivery systems for the immunotherapy of TNBC.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a burgeoning health problem but no drug has been approved for its treatment. Animal experiments and clinical trials have demonstrated the beneficial of saffron on NAFLD. However, the bioactive ingredients and therapeutic targets of saffron on NAFLD are unclear. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the bioactive ingredients of saffron responsible for its effects on NAFLD and explore its therapy targets through network pharmacology combined with experimental tests. Methods: Various network databases were searched to identify bioactive ingredients of saffron and identify NAFLD-related targets. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment were conducted to enrich functions and molecular pathways of common targets and the STRING database was used to establish a protein-protein interaction network (PPI). The effect of crocetin (CCT) on NAFLD was evaluated in a mouse model of NAFLD by measuring the biomarkers of lipid, liver and renal function, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Liver histopathology was performed to evaluate liver injury. Nuclear factor erythroid-related factor (Nrf2) and hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1) were examined to elucidate underlying mechanism for the protective effect of saffron against NAFLD. Results: A total of nine bioactive ingredients of saffron, including CCT, with 206 common targets showed therapeutic effects on NAFLD. Oxidative stress and diabetes related signaling pathways were identified as the critical signaling pathways mediating the therapeutic effects of the active bioactive ingredients on NAFLD. Treatment with CCT significantly reduced the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), malondialdehyde (MDA), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (CR), and uric acid (UA). CCT significantly increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Histological analysis showed that CCT suppressed high-fat diet (HFD) induced fat accumulation, steatohepatitis, and renal dysfunctions. Results of ELISA assay showed that CCT decreased the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and increased the expression of HO-1 and Nrf2. Conclusion: This study shows that CCT is a potential bioactive ingredient of saffron that treats NAFLD. Its mechanism of action involves suppressing of oxidative stress, mitigating inflammation, and upregulating Nrf2 and HO-1 expression., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Xu, Lin, Gong, Feng, Cao, Li, Jiang, You, Tong and Wang.)

A wide range of phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids with different degrees of unsaturation has been identified in the human synovial fluid and on the cartilage surface. The outstanding lubricity of the articular cartilage surface has been attributed to boundary layers comprising complexes of such lipids, though to date, only lubrication by single-component PC-lipid-based boundary layers has been investigated. As distinguishable lubrication behavior has been found to be related to the PC structures, we herein examined the surface morphology (on mica) and the lubrication ability of binary PC lipid mixtures, 1,2-dipalmitoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a surface force balance (SFB). These two PC lipids are among the most abundant saturated and unsaturated PC components in synovial joints. Small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) prepared from DPPC-POPC mixtures (8:2, 5:5, and 2:8, molar ratios) ruptured and formed bilayers on mica. The normal and shear forces between two DPPC-POPC bilayer-coated mica surfaces across the corresponding SUV dispersions show good boundary lubrication (friction coefficients ≤ ca. 10 -4 ) up to contact stresses of 8.3 ± 2.2 MPa for 8:2 DPPC-POPC and 5.0 ± 1.7 MPa for the others. Hemifusion induced at high normal pressures was observed, probably because of the height mismatch of two components. Reproducible successive approaches after hemifusion indicate rapid self-healing of the mica-supported bilayers in the presence of the SUVs reservoir. This work is a first step to provide insight concerning the lubrication, wear, and healing of the PC-based boundary layers, which must consist of multicomponent lipid mixtures, on the articular cartilage surface.

The separation of a compound of interest from its structurally similar homologues is an important and challenging problem in producing high-purity natural products, such as the separation of genistein from other soybean isoflavone aglycone (SIA) homologues. The present work provided a novel method for separating genistein from its structurally similar homologues by ionic liquid (IL)-based liquid-liquid extraction using hydrophobic IL-water or hydrophilic IL/water-ethyl acetate biphasic systems. Factors that influence the distribution equilibrium of SIAs, including the structure and concentration of IL, pH value of the aqueous phase, and temperature, were investigated. Adequate distribution coefficients and selectivities over 7.0 were achieved with hydrophilic IL/water-ethyl acetate biphasic system. Through a laboratory-scale simulation of fractional extraction process containing four extraction stages and four scrubbing stages, genistein was separated from the SIA homologues with a purity of 95.3% and a recovery >90%.

Background: Accumulating evidence shows that the novel anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-35 can efficiently suppress effector T cell activity and alter the progression of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The two subunits of IL-35, EBI3 and p35, are strongly expressed in human advanced plaque, suggesting a potential role of IL-35 in atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the plasma levels of IL-35 in patients with CAD have yet to be investigated., Methods: Plasma IL-35, IL-10, TGF-β1, IL-12 and IL-27 levels were measured using an ELISA in 43 stable angina pectoris (SAP) patients, 62 unstable angina pectoris (UAP) patients, 56 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and 47 chest pain syndrome patients as a control group., Results: The results showed that plasma IL-35 levels were significantly decreased in the SAP group (90.74±34.22 pg/ml), the UAP group (72.20±26.63 pg/ml), and the AMI group (50.21±24.69 pg/ml) compared with chest pain syndrome group (115.06±32.27 pg/ml). Similar results were also demonstrated with IL-10 and TGF-β1. Plasma IL-12 and IL-27 levels were significantly increased in the UAP group (349.72±85.22 pg/ml, 101.75±51.42 pg/ml, respectively) and the AMI group (318.05±86.82 pg/ml, 148.88±68.45 pg/ml, respectively) compared with chest pain syndrome group (138.68±34.37 pg/ml, 63.60±22.75 pg/ml, respectively) and the SAP group (153.84±53.86 pg/ml, 70.84±38.77 pg/ml, respectively). Furthermore, lower IL-35 levels were moderately positively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in CAD patients (R = 0.416, P<0.01), whereas higher IL-27 levels were weakly negatively correlated with LVEF in CAD patients(R = -0.205, P<0.01)., Conclusions: The results of the present study show that circulating IL-35 is a potentially novel biomarker for coronary artery disease. Regulating the expression of IL-35 also provides a new possible target for the treatment of atherosclerosis and CAD.

In 2002 to approximately 2004, an investigation was made on the bee population dynamics and its relationships with the ecological environment in four ecological regions of Anhui Province. The results indicated that in the mountainous areas of south and west Anhui, there were 46 and 37 species of nectariferous plants, and the distribution density of Apis cerena cerena population was 2.01 and 1.95 colony x km(-2), respectively. In Jianghuai area and Huaibei plain, there were 17 and 12 species of nectariferous plants, which had concentrated and short flowering period and fitted for Apis mellifera Ligustica oysterring and producing, and the distribution density of Apis cerena cerena population was 0. 06 and 0. 02 colony x km(-2), respectively. Bee population fluctuation and distribution was affected by wasp predation. The breeding proportion of Apis cerena cerena to local apis population was 41.5%, 36.8%, 3.1% and 1.1%, and that of Apis mellifera Ligustica was 58.5%, 63.2%, 96.9% and 98.9% in the mountainous areas of south and west Anhui, Jianghuai area, and Huaibei plain, respectively.

Objective: To evaluate efficacy and optimal cut-off-point through cerebral vascular hemodynamic indexes (CVHI) examination to predict stroke., Methods: A number of 20,333 people at 35 years old and over were checked by CVHI and accumulative score was calculated according to the value of detected indexes. Risk factors of stroke were investigated simultaneously. One hundred and sixty-eight patients with stroke occurred during 4-year following up. Typical syndromes and signs stroke were used as golden standard to evaluate screening efficacy of CVHI., Results: Score of optimal cut-off-point of cerebral vascular hemodynamic indexes was under 75 in ROC curve analyses. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios as well as Youden's index for predicting stroke within 4 years after examination were found to be 87.50%, 67.70%, 67.86%, 2.21%, 99.85%, 2.71, 0.18 and 0.55 respectively. Sensitivity and positive predict values for predicting cerebral vascular thrombosis were superior to predicting cerebral hemorrhage. Positive predicting value in risk exposure population was higher than that of overall population. Coefficiency of variation of cerebral vascular hemodynamic examination was 4.03%. The agreement rate of examination between two physicians was 97.62% and Kappa value was 0.94., Conclusion: The score of optimal cut-off-point of cerebral vascular hemodynamic indexes examination was 75. Both Efficacy and reliability for predicting stroke seemed to be good, especially for predicting cerebral vascular thrombosis.