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The effect of iron-containing substances with different forms on the properties of carbon-black filled natural rubber compound is discussed. The ionic iron substances (Fe[Cl.sub.2], Fe[Cl.sub.3], Fe[(SA).sub.3]) have a detrimental effect on the rubber. Based on the oxidation induction temperature values, the relative deteriorating effects of ionic iron substances on the rubber are in the order: Fe[(SA).sub.3] > Fe[Cl.sub.3] [approximately equal to] Fe[Cl.sub.2]. Not only are the metal ions ([Fe.sup.2+], [Fe.sup.3+]) with adjacent stable oxidation states catalytically active in degrading rubber, but also the counterions have an influence on the effect of oxidation, particularly the stearic anion. Ionic iron materials can decrease the molecular weight, especially for the case of Fe[(SA).sub.3] as measured by gel permeation chromatography. Due to the degrading effect on the rubber molecules, Fe[(SA).sub.3] brings about a torque decrease in moving die rheometer and evident decrease of the Mooney viscosity at 100[degrees]C, which is different from the effects of [Fe.sub.2][O.sub.3] and 304L-Fe. The insoluble iron substances behave more like hard fillers. Additionally, Fe[(SA).sub.3] remarkably alters the bound rubber content and the tensile properties after aging via two different process (scission and crosslinking). Overall, this work has a thorough comparison of effect of iron-containing materials on rubber aging and provides useful inspiration to protect the rubber from deterioration by foreign reagents and regulating the rubber stability and degradation rate via introducing degradative metal ions. KEYWORDS aging, GPC, ionic iron substances, natural rubber, OIT, 1 | INTRODUCTION Investigation of mechanism on rubber autoxidation (degradation) is important in maintaining the lifetime/stability of rubber materials and developing the easy-degradable polymer material. Rubber degradation involves chain initiation, [...]

Objective. Endometriosis, which is a common disease affecting approximately 10% of women of reproductive age, usually causes dysmenorrhea and infertility, thus seriously harming the patients' physical and mental health. However, there is a mean delay of 6.7 years between the onset of the symptoms and the surgical diagnosis of endometriosis. There is an increasing amount of evidence that suggests that epigenetic aberrations, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation, play a definite role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. This study aimed to explore the noninvasive or minimally invasive biomarkers of this disease. Materials and Methods. Six patients with surgically confirmed ovarian endometriosis and six patients who received IUD implantation for contraception without endometriosis were recruited in the East Hospital of Tongji University in 2018. The genome methylation profiling of the eutopic and ectopic endometrium of ovarian endometriosis patients and normal endometrial specimens from healthy women was determined using a methylation microarray test. The test screened methylation-differentiated 5′–C–phosphate–G–3′ (CpG) sites and then located the target genes affected by these sites following sequence alignment. Then, an additional 22 patients and 26 healthy controls were enrolled to further verify the difference in the selected genes between endometriosis patients and healthy women. The differential DNA methylation of the selected genes was validated via direct bisulfite sequencing and analysis of their messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results. Fifteen differentially methylated CpG sites were found among the patients and healthy women, and five CpG sites were mapped to the introns of the human leukocyte antigen-C (HLA-C) gene; these were highly polymorphic between different HLA-C alleles and were HLA-C ∗ 07 specific. The results indicated that the HLA-C ∗ 07 carrier patients exhibited significantly higher DNA methylation levels at the intron VII of HLA-C compared to the HLA-C ∗ 07 carrier healthy controls. High HLA-C ∗ 07 mRNA levels were also observed using qRT-PCR with HLA-C ∗ 07-specific primers, which indicated that the hypermethylation of CpG in intron VII might suppress a silencer that regulates HLA-C ∗ 07 expressions. Conclusion. Deoxyribonucleic acid hypermethylation in the intron VII of the HLA-C ∗ 07 gene appears to regulate the expression of HLA-C ∗ 07. The aberrant DNA methylation in this region was positively correlated with the occurrence of endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a multi-functional nanoplatform (PDA-DTC/Cu–MnO2) was established, which has been employed for MR imaging-guided multi-therapy (CDT, PTT and chemotherapy) for cancer treatment. The in vitro and in vivo results confirmed that the biocompatible nanoplatform could significantly induce tumor cell death and inhibit tumor growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite drug delivery nanoplatforms receiving extensive attention, development of a simple, effective, and multifunctional theranostics nanoplatform still remains a challenge. Herein, a versatile nanoplatform based on a zirconium framework (UiO‐66‐N3) was synthesized, which demonstrated a combined photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and chemotherapy (CT) for cancer treatment. A RuII polypyridyl alkyne complex (Ra) as a photosensitizer was modified into a nanoplatform by click reactions for the first time. When exposed to suitable light irradiation, the as‐prepared multifunctional nanoplatform (UiO‐Ra‐DOX‐CuS) not only demonstrated efficient 1O2 generation, but also exhibited excellent photothermal conversion ability. In particular, the nanotherapeutic agent presented a dual‐stimuli response; either acidic environment or NIR laser irradiation would trigger the drug release. The synergetic efficacy of UiO‐Ra‐DOX‐CuS combined PDT, PTT, and CT, which was evaluated by cell experiments. Moreover, the design could promote the development of RuII polypyridyl alkyne complexes based multifunctional nanoparticles and multimodal cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multiresponsivehydrogel material consisting of a commercialcationic surfactant and an azobenzene derivative functionalized withfour carboxylic acid groups was constructed. The achiral azobenzenemolecule as a gelator produces chirality at the supramolecular levelin the presence of H+. The acid-induced gelation and morphologychange of supramolecular gels were investigated in detail by cryogenictransmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), rheological measurements,circular dichroism (CD), and 1H NMR spectra. Based on theresults, a mechanism of the intermolecular H-bond-directed gelationand supramolecular chirality was proposed. Other than the pH sensitivity,the microstructure and the chirality of the hydrogel demonstrate reversibleswitching behavior in response to photoirradiation, on account ofthe photoisomerization of the azobenzene derivative. Accordingly,a chiroptical switch comprising four different states in responseto pH and light stimuli is strategically constructed. Not only doesthe present system provide a good opportunity for investigating thegelation-induced supramolecular chirality by symmetry breaking totallybased on achiral molecules, but it also proposes a new strategy tobuild multiresponsive supramolecular switches as particularly attractivefor the future development of functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a multi-functional nanoplatform (PDA-DTC/Cu-MnO2) was established, which has been employed for MR imaging-guided multi-therapy (CDT, PTT and chemotherapy) for cancer treatment. The in vitro and in vivo results confirmed that the biocompatible nanoplatform could significantly induce tumor cell death and inhibit tumor growth.

Despite drug delivery nanoplatforms receiving extensive attention, development of a simple, effective, and multifunctional theranostics nanoplatform still remains a challenge. Herein, a versatile nanoplatform based on a zirconium framework (UiO-66-N 3 ) was synthesized, which demonstrated a combined photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and chemotherapy (CT) for cancer treatment. A Ru II polypyridyl alkyne complex (Ra) as a photosensitizer was modified into a nanoplatform by click reactions for the first time. When exposed to suitable light irradiation, the as-prepared multifunctional nanoplatform (UiO-Ra-DOX-CuS) not only demonstrated efficient 1 O 2 generation, but also exhibited excellent photothermal conversion ability. In particular, the nanotherapeutic agent presented a dual-stimuli response; either acidic environment or NIR laser irradiation would trigger the drug release. The synergetic efficacy of UiO-Ra-DOX-CuS combined PDT, PTT, and CT, which was evaluated by cell experiments. Moreover, the design could promote the development of Ru II polypyridyl alkyne complexes based multifunctional nanoparticles and multimodal cancer treatment., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Covalent grafting and electrostatic-driven assembly have been two strategies in constructing well-defined polyoxometalate (POM) assemblies to produce specific morphologies and desirable properties. The modification of anionic counter-ions of amphiphilic compounds in POM-surfactant hybrid systems is still unexploited. Herein, we report the co-assembly of a synthetic double-tailed magnetic surfactant (MagSurf), (C 18 ) 2 C 2 N + [FeCl 4 ] - , and POM, {Mo 72 Fe 30 }. The magnetic aggregate (POM/MagSurf) results from the building up hierarchical structures at a time-dependent interface. In this construct, both the MagSurfs and {Mo 72 Fe 30 } POMs contribute to and mutually strengthen the magnetization of the designed magnetic assembles. Interestingly, the POM/MagSurf aggregates are compatible with aqueous mixtures and successfully employed to serve as magnetic transporting vehicles to anchor and deliver a protein molecule, myoglobin (Mb). Upon applying a magnetic field (0.3 T), the magnetic aggregates induced a directional migration and enrichment of the Mb protein (71-90%). During this process, the protein/POM/MagSurf complexes exhibited strong interactions facilitating stable anchoring and efficient enrichment of the Mb., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Endometrial carcinoma is one of the most common gynecological malignant tumors. Recent evidence has demonstrated that miR-21 is involved in the proliferation and invasion of endometrial carcinoma. This study aims to explore the effect of biological behavior of miR-21 on endometrial carcinoma its relationship with PTEN. First, Collected endometrial carcinoma and adjacent non-tumor issues, the relative expression levels of miR-21 and PTEN mRNA were quantitated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Next, endometrial carcinoma cell line Ishikawa were transfected with miR-21 inhibitor. After transfection, real-time PCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-21. Then, the cells proliferation, the apoptotic rates and the invasion rates were detected by MTT method, flow cytometry, and Transwell assay. The expression levels of p-PTEN and PTEN proteins were detected by western blot. The results showed that miR-21 was significantly up-regulation and PTEN was down-regulation in endometrial carcinoma tissues (P < 0.05). miR-21 inhibitor were successfully transfected into Ishikawa cell. The cell proliferation activity, and the number invasion cells in the miR-21 inhibitor group was obviously lower than the miR-21 NC group and Normal group (P < 0.05). The apoptosis rate in the miR-21 inhibitor group was significantly higher than the miR-21 NC group and Normal group (P < 0.05). The expression levels of p-PTEN in miR-21 inhibitor groups were significantly higher than miR-21 NC group and Normal group (P < 0.05). Therefore, we concluded that miR-21 could promote cell proliferation and invasion ability, and inhibite cell apoptosis in endometrial carcinoma partially by regulating its target gene PTEN on post-transcriptional level. In brief, miR-21 may be a new early diagnosis mark and therapy target in endometrial carcinoma., Competing Interests: None., (IJCEP Copyright © 2017.)