Search

The metalloid arsenic, known for its toxic properties, is widespread presence in the environment. Our previous research has confirmed that prolonged exposure to arsenic can lead to liver fibrosis injury in rats, while the precise pathogenic mechanism still requires further investigation. In the past few years, the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome has been found to play a pivotal role in the occurrence and development of liver injury. In this study, we administered varying doses of sodium arsenite (NaAsO 2) and 10 mg/kg.bw MCC950 (a particular tiny molecular inhibitor targeting NLRP3) to Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for 36 weeks to explore the involvement of NLRP3 inflammasome in NaAsO 2 -induced liver injury. The findings suggested that prolonged exposure to NaAsO 2 resulted in pyroptosis in liver tissue of SD rats, accompanied by the fibrotic injury, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and liver dysfunction. Moreover, long-term NaAsO 2 exposure activated NLRP3 inflammasome, leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in liver tissue. After treatment with MCC950, the induction of NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly attenuated, leading to a decrease in the severity of liver fibrosis and an improvement in liver function. To summarize, those results clearly indicate that hepatic fibrosis and liver dysfunction induced by NaAsO 2 occur through the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis, shedding new light on the potential mechanisms underlying arsenic-induced liver damage. [Display omitted] • Prolonged exposure to arsenite triggered pyroptosis in the liver cells of rats. • Prolonged exposure to arsenite caused fibrotic changes and dysfunction in the liver of rats. • The NLRP3 inflammasome in liver tissue of rats was activated upon prolonged exposure to arsenite. • MCC950 alleviated arsenite-induced pyroptosis in liver cells, ameliorated liver fibrosis and dysfunction in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Novel eye-sensitive Ba 3 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :Tb3+/Mn4+ were synthesized by simple co-precipitation strategy. • Red phosphor presents extremely strong ZPL at ∼ 625 nm and high color purity. • Red and green phosphors exhibit inherently outstanding thermal stability and moisture resistance. • Red and green phosphors coated directly on UV chip can achieve white emission. • The fabricated WLED devices show excellent electroluminescent properties. Novel eye-sensitive Ba 3 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :Tb3+ green and Ba 3 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :Mn4+ red oxyfluoride phosphors with extremely strong absorption in the UV region were designed and synthesized by simple co-precipitation strategy. Particularly, Tb3+ ions were doped in this matrix for the first time, which greatly improves their absorption efficiency in the near ultraviolet region (367 nm) and emits sharp green light (544 nm). In addition, the Ba 3 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :Mn4+ red phosphors have strong zero phonon line (ZPL) emission at 625 nm, which is conducive to improving the sensitivity of human eye and color purity. Meanwhile, the optical properties of the red phosphor are significantly enhanced via doping K+ cations as charge compensators. Crystal field environment and nephelauxetic effect of the as-prepared phosphors before and after K+ cation doping were systematically analyzed. Moreover, these synthesized red/green phosphors have good thermal stability and moisture resistance. Remarkably, the as-prepared Ba 3 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :5%Mn4+ or K 0.9 Ba 2.1 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :5%Mn4+ red phosphors can be directly mixed with the as-synthesized Ba 3 Nb 2 O 2 F 12 (H 2 O) 2 :13%Tb3+ green phosphor coating on 365 nm near-ultraviolet LED chip to package WLED devices with excellent electroluminescence performance. These findings are conducive to opening an avenue for screening the unique structure of optical materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Fine-tuning the surface structure of transition metal oxides at the atomic level is a promising way to improve the catalytic properties of materials. However, the influence of crystal surface structure on electrode reaction kinetics is still limited. In this study, we propose an in-situ synthesis strategy to obtain two-dimensional carbon/cerium oxide core–shell nanosheets by thermal decomposition of Ce-MOF nanosheets grown on the surface of carbon nanostructures, and fine-tuning the surface structure by introducing oxygen vacancies through defect engineering during the oxide nucleation process is conducted to obtain controllable exposed {1 1 1} and {1 1 0} surface CeO 2 @C composites. Both experiments and theoretical calculations show that the {1 1 0} -dominated nanocomplex (CeO 2 @C-350S) has better kinetic behavior and catalytic activity due to its abundant surface defects, which is manifested in higher active surface area, richer carrier concentration, and better promotion of diffusion and adsorption. In addition, CeO 2 @C-350S electrode has an extremely wide linear range and good stability in the electrochemical detection of nitrite. After 1000 times of the accelerated cycle experiments, CeO 2 @C-350S electrode still maintains 79.3 % of its initial current response, and recovers to 87.3 % after 10 min of stopping the test. The electrode stability is excellent, which is attributed to the clever carbon shell structure of the material. This synthesis strategy can be extended to other carbon-based oxide composite catalysts to improve the electrocatalytic performance and overall stability by adjusting the surface structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]