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Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) has been electrochemically deposited on carbon paper (CP), stainless steel mesh (SSM), stainless steel (SS), and indium tin oxide (ITO) by unipolar-pulsed method. The surface morphology, micro-structure, and electrochemical capacitance for PEDOT/substrates were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and electrochemical techniques. The electrochemical capacity measurements of the PEDOT/CP electrode in 0.5 M H2SO4 shows high mass-specific capacitance of 126.24 F/g at a 1 mA/cm2, which is consistent with the specific capacitance of 126.75 F/g at 5 mV/s. Compared with PEDOT/SSM, PEDOT/SS, and PEDOT/ITO, PEDOT/CP electrode shows better capacitive performance, which presents good rate performance of 76.78% at 5 mA/cm2 and charge-discharge stability with the capacitance retention rate of 80.57% for 5000 cycles. SEM result shows PEDOT maintained the spindle-like structure along with the threads of each carbon fiber, which are densely packed and randomly oriented forming the porous structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dongguan City, located in the Pearl River Delta economic zone of China, is famous for its rapid developing township-enterprises in the past 30 years. A total of 759 composite soil samples, including 606 surface soil samples and 153 deep soil samples, have been collected in the city. These samples have been analyzed for 13 elements (Al, As, Cu, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, and Zn) and other parameters (pH values and organic matter) to evaluate the influence of anthropic activities on the soil environmental quality and to identify the spatial distribution of heavy metals and their possible sources. The results indicate that the average concentrations of heavy metals in soil were significantly lower than the threshold of the second grade of the Soil Environment Quality Standard in China (GB15618-1995) and the soil environmental quality in this area is comparatively good. But in comparison with local soil geochemical baseline values, As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn have accumulated remarkably. Specifically, the average concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, and Hg in the small part samples of the west plain and central areas are higher than the national second-grade quality standard, indicating some level of contamination. Multivariate and geostatistical methods have been applied to differentiate the influences of natural processes and human activities on the concentration of heavy metals in surface soils in the study area. Cluster and factor analyses result in the grouping of Al, As, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Si into factor F1; Co, Mn, Pb, and Zn into F2; and Cd and Hg into F3. The spatial pattern of the three factors may be well demonstrated by geostatistical analysis. It is shown that the first factor could be considered as a natural source controlled by parent material. The second factor could be referred to as 'industrial and traffic pollution sources'. The source of the third factor is mainly controlled by long-term anthropic activities, including agricultural activities, fossil fuel consumption, and atmospheric deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:DNAs containing unmethylated CpG motifs can stimulate innate and adaptive immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunostimulatory and anti-neoplasm effects of a novel CpG oligodeoxynucleotide, ODN10, in tumor-bearing mice.Methods:B16 melanoma-bearing C57BL/6 mice were administered ip or sc with ODN10 or conventional CpG ODN1826 on the indicated days post inoculation. The animal survival rate and the inhibitory effect on tumor growth were observed in vivo. B and T lymphocyte proliferation, natural killing cell cytotoxicity and the phagocytic ability of peritoneal macrophages from the animals were determined using [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay, 4-h 51Cr release assay and neutral red chromometry method, respectively. The serum levels of IL-12, IL-4 and IgE were quantified using ELISA assays. Histological examination of tumor tissues was performed after HE staining, and the expression of PCNA, CD63, and CD80 in tumor tissues was analyzed with immunohistochemistry.Results:ODN10 (1, 5 and 25 mg/kg) significantly inhibited the growth and metastasis of the tumor, and significantly prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice, as compared with ODN1826. The immune status was suppressed in tumor-bearing mice. Both ODN10 and ODN1826 significantly reversed the suppressed immunoactivities in tumor-bearing mice, which included promoting B and T lymphocyte proliferation, enhancing NK cell and peritoneal macrophage activities, inducing IL-12 secretion and inhibiting IL-4 and IgE secretion. Further, CpG ODNs decreased PCNA and CD63 expression while induced expression of CD80. ODN10 presented more potent activity, and displayed the most prominent immunostimulatory potential.Conclusion:ODN10 produces prominent immunomodulatory effects on cellular immunity in tumor-bearing mice, which might help reverse the established Th2-type responses to the Th1-type responses, thus may be used as a potent anti-tumor immunotherapy agent or adjuvant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]