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Introduction: This study was designed to analyze clinical and radiographic features of adult patients coexisting with NMDAR-IgG and MOG-IgG. Methods: Eleven adult patients coexisting with NMDAR-IgG and MOG-IgG were collected from Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, between June 2017 and December 2021. Fifty-five patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and 49 with MOG-AD were served as controls. Results: Onset age was 27 (IQR 20–34) years old. Seizures and psychotic symptoms were prominent symptoms. Ten of eleven patients presented abnormal T2/FLAIR hyperintensity, mainly involving the cortex, brainstem, and optic nerve. Compared with the NMDAR IgG (+)/MOG IgG (−) group, the NMDAR IgG (+)/MOG IgG (+) group showed more ataxia symptoms (27.3% vs. 3.6%, P = 0.037), while more T2/FLAIR hyperintensity lesions were found in the brainstem (54.5% vs. 7.3%, P < 0.001) and optic nerve (27.3% vs. 1.8%, P = 0.011) with more abnormal MRI patterns (90.9% vs. 41.8%, P = 0.003). In comparison with the NMDAR IgG (−)/MOG IgG (+) group, the NMDAR IgG (+)/MOG IgG (+) group had more seizures (72.7% vs. 24.5%, P = 0.007) and mental symptoms (45.5% vs. 0, P < 0.001). The NMDAR IgG (+)/MOG IgG (+) group tended to be treated with corticosteroids alone (63.6% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.009), more prone to recur (36.5% vs. 7.3%, P = 0.028) and lower mRS score (P = 0.036) at the last follow-up than pure anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Conclusion: The symptoms of the NMDAR IgG (+)/MOG IgG (+) group were more similar to anti-NMDAR encephalitis, while MRI patterns overlapped more with MOG-AD. Detecting both NMDAR-IgG and MOG-IgG maybe warranted in patients with atypical encephalitis symptoms and demyelinating lesions in infratentorial regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar shows great potential for enhancing anaerobic digestion (AD); however, the key factors for this remain unknown. This study evaluated the effects of pyrolysis temperature, porosity, and specific surface area (SSA) on the performance enhancement of biochar. The results showed that pyrolysis temperature played an essential role in enhancing the performance of biochar. The addition of cow manure biochar pyrolyzed at 400 °C (NFC-400) and mushroom bran biochar pyrolyzed at 550 °C (JKC-550) increased methane production by 81.30% and 77.59%, respectively, compared with that by the control. Therefore, NFC-400 showed increased gas production, while JKC-550 showed a shorter fermentation period. The SSA and porosity of biochar positively correlated with the pyrolysis temperature but not with biogas production, which indicated that their influence on AD performance enhancement by biochar was not critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue engineering offers a promising alternative therapy for myocardial infarction, which is associated with high mortality rates. Meanwhile, excellent biocompatibility and conductivity are indispensable features of cardiac tissue engineering scaffolds that facilitate electrical signal transmission between cardiomyocytes. In this study, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxy (TEMPO) -oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCN) were crosslinked by iron ions, then polymerized with pyrrole monomer to obtain in situ polymerized polypyrrole nanocellulose composite hydrogel scaffolds for myocardial tissue engineering. The composite hydrogel exhibited mechanical properties (50 ~ 75 kPa) and electrical conductivity (5 × 10–5 S·cm−1 ~ 1 × 10–3 S·cm−1) that match those of natural myocardial tissue, while it was non-cytotoxic (relative growth rate > 90%) and biocompatibility. At the same time, cells cultured on the TOCN-PPy scaffold showed increased expression of myocardial specific proteins such as connexin 43 and cardiac troponin T. Thus, the TOCN-PPy composite hydrogel showed a broad application prospect in the field of myocardial tissue engineering scaffold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saline wastewater has been widely used as an alternative water resource for irrigation purposes, but the long-term effect would cause salt deposition and negatively influence the soil's physicochemical properties. In this study, a mathematical model is developed to couple chemical reactions with transport processes in the porous soil. Based on the measurement of the collected wastewater samples, numerical studies are carried out to investigate the intrusion and distribution of salt in the soil during irrigation. Results show that the transport processes after irrigation water flow bring salts into deep locations in the soil, while the soil porosity and average particle size will directly influence the salt intrusion depth in the long term. Results also show that the reduction of irrigation frequency will only influence the salt concentration close to the ground surface, and the evaporation loss of water could raise the salt concentration under the ground surface which will eventually lead to more salt deposition in the deep locations of the soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Summary: Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly lethal neurological tumor that presents significant challenge for clinicians due to its heterogeneity and high mortality rate. Despite extensive research, there is currently no effective drug treatment available for GBM. Research evidence has consistently demonstrated that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) promotes tumor progression and is associated with poor prognosis in several types of cancer. In glioma, EGFR abnormal amplification is reported in approximately 40% of GBM patients, with overexpression observed in 60% of cases, and deletion or mutation in 24% to 67% of patients. In our study, Sitravatinib, a potential EGFR inhibitor, was identified through molecular docking screening based on protein structure. The targeting of EGFR and the tumor inhibitory effect of Sitravatinib on glioma were verified through cellular and in vivo experiments, respectively. Our study also revealed that Sitravatinib effectively inhibited GBM invasive and induced DNA damage and cellular senescence. Furthermore, we observed a novel cell death phenotype induced by Sitravatinib, which differed from previously reported programmed death patterns such as apoptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and necrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) has been shown to participate in inflammatory autoimmune diseases. Nevertheless, the detailed underlying mechanisms and therapeutic benefits by targeting TREM-1 remain elusive, especially in myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Disorders of epigenetic processes including non-coding RNAs give rise to SLE, resulting in complicated syndromes. Here, we aim to address this issue and explore the miRNA to inhibit the activation of mDCs and alleviate the progress of SLE by targeting TREM-1 signal axis. Methods: Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between patients with SLE and healthy individuals by four mRNA microarray datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Then we identified the expression of TREM-1 and its soluble form (sTREM-1) in clinical samples by ELISA, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. Phenotypic and functional changes of mDCs elicited by TREM-1 agonist were determined. Three databases of miRNAs target prediction and a dual-luciferase reporter assay were used to screen and verify miRNAs that can directly inhibit TREM-1 expression in vitro. Moreover, pristane-induced lupus mice were injected with miR-150-5p agomir to evaluate the effects of miR-150-5p on mDCs in lymphatic organs and disease activity in vivo. Results: We screened TREM-1 as one of the hub genes closely correlated with the progression of SLE and identified sTREM-1 in serum as a valuable diagnostic biomarker for SLE. Moreover, activation of TREM-1 by its agonist promoted activation and chemotaxis of mDCs and increased the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, showing higher expression of IL-6, TNF-α, and MCP-1. We showed that lupus mice displayed a unique miRNA signature in spleen, among which miR-150 was the most significantly expressed miRNA that targeting TREM-1 compared with wild type group. Transfection of miRNA-150-5p mimics directly suppressed the expression of TREM-1 by binding to its 3' UTR. Our in vivo experiments first indicated that administration of miR-150-5p agomir effectively ameliorated lupus symptoms. Intriguingly, miR-150 inhibited the over activation of mDCs through TREM-1 signal pathway in lymphatic organs and renal tissues. Conclusions: TREM-1 represents a potentially novel therapeutic target and we identify miR-150-5p as one of the mechanisms to alleviate lupus disease, which is attributable for inhibiting mDCs activation through TREM-1 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroptosis is widely present in fibrosis-related diseases. The basic pathology of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) involves ovarian tissue fibrosis, and there are currently fewer relevant studies addressing the association between ferroptosis and POI. This study aimed to demonstrate that ferroptosis induced by cisplatin (CDDP) caused ovarian tissue fibrosis, leading to POI. Vitamin E (VE), a ferroptosis inhibitor, could repair damaged ovarian function. CDDP was used to establish a rat model of POI, and VE was administered to reverse the reproductive toxicity of CDDP. Ovarian function was assessed by histological section staining, follicle counts, sex hormone levels, as well as fertility assays. The extent of ferroptosis was assessed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), malondialdehyde (MDA), Perls staining. CCK-8, Ethynyl-2-Deoxyuridine (EdU), and scratch assays were used to determine the effect of CDDP and VE on ovarian granulosa cell (GC) viability. Western blot, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry were performed to evaluate ferroptosis-related molecular changes. Our results showed that CDDP caused follicle development disorders and ovarian tissue fibrosis, the levels of sex hormones suggested impaired ovarian function, and VE could reverse the reproductive toxicity of CDDP. The results of TEM, MDA and Perls staining suggested that the typical mitochondrial signature of ferroptosis was altered in ovarian GCs from the CDDP group, with significantly higher levels of lipid peroxidation and significant iron deposition in ovarian tissue, whereas VE mitigated the extent of ferroptosis. Molecular experiments then confirmed that the ferroptosis-related molecules acetyl CoA synthetase long chain family member 4 (ACSl4), 15-lipoxygenase-1 (ALOX15), solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were differentially expressed in each group. In summary, our study preliminarily demonstrated that CDDP may promote GCs to undergo ferroptosis, cause follicle development disorders, ovarian tissue fibrosis, and induce POI by regulating the expression of ACSl4, ALOX15, SLC7A11, and GPX4, while VE improved impaired ovarian function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) therapy during pregnancy warrants special consideration for the woman and the fetus. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of umbilical cord–derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) and bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in terms of pro-angiogenic capacity and amelioration of pregnancy outcomes. The pregnant DVT rat model was successfully established by the "stenosis" method. Three consecutive injections of both UC-MSCs and BM-MSCs improved angiogenesis and ameliorated the embryo absorption rate in pregnant SD rats with DVT, in which UC-MSCs promoted angiogenesis more significantly. Furthermore, the levels of serum vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) were significantly higher in the UC-MSC group compared to those of the BM-MSC group. Thereafter, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in thrombosed inferior vena cava tissues in the UC-MSC and BM-MSC groups were identified using transcriptome sequencing and further assessed by RT-qPCR and western blotting. The bioinformatics analysis indicated that the enriched DEG terms occurred in the cytokine activity, and the DEG pathways were significantly enriched in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. In addition, both the mRNA and protein levels of angiogenic genes and their receptors, including VEGF-A, VEGF receptor-1, EGF, and EGF receptor, were significantly higher in the UC-MSC group. In conclusion, the BM-MSCs and UC-MSCs both significantly stimulate angiogenesis and ameliorate the embryo absorption rate in pregnant SD rats with DVT, but the difference in cytokine secretion causes UC-MSCs to have more potent angiogenic effects than BM-MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese medicine formula has been the main dosage form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in clinics, which has been widely applied in China, Japan, Korea and other Asian countries or regions for thousands of years. The establishment of scientific, comprehensive and feasible quality control standard of a TCM prescription should be the essential precondition for ensuring its stability and consistent in quality. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was one of the qualitative identification methods for TCM prescriptions owing to its features being fast and simple. In this study, a systematic identification strategy with high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) for fast identification of multiple herbs in TCM prescriptions is proposed. Consecutive liquid‒liquid extraction with solvents of different polarities (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, water-saturated n-butanol) was applied to divide the water extract into three different fractions. With this strategy, the identification of herbs in the formula would be carried out systematically. The proposed strategy has been successfully applied in the qualitative identification of Daqinjiao decoction, a classic TCM formula consisting of 16 herbs. And 9 of the 16 herbs have been identified in this study by using one sample preparation procedure and three different mobile phases. The established TLC identification method was efficient, accurate, and environment-friendly to a certain extent. Results from this research may provide a possible way for similar studies on other TCM prescriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic hydrogels with excellent flexibility and good conductivity have great potential in diverse electric devices. However, it remains challenging to improve the biocompatibility of ionic hydrogels. Here, natural and environment-friendly cellulose nanofiber hydrogels were prepared without adding any organic active materials. The cellulose hydrogel networks with free metal ions (Li+/Ca2+/K+) were obtained by soaking in ion aqueous solution of different concentrations in order to endow tunable conductivity, thus a new kind of transparent ionic hydrogels with both excellent sensing performance obtained by a simple, low-cost and harmless process. The free metal ions locked in the negatively charged nanocellulose network through electrostatic interaction provided adjustable conductivity and sensing performance. Hydrogels doped with 4 mol L−1 lithium ions exhibited the best sensing performance with the conductivity of 4.36 × 10–4 S cm−1, and the current response value was as high as 127%. It was worth noting that the strain-sensitive performance of calcium ions was generally excellent even at low temperatures (−30 °C). The antifreezing of the hydrogel improved its service under extreme environment. This kind of hydrogel has great application prospects in artificial intelligence products, such as human healthy monitoring equipment and soft robotics at subzero temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible and stretchable artificial electronic skin (E-skin) has attracted more and more attention in recent years. The incorporation of microstructures can effectively change the contact area and increase the sensitivity of E-skin materials to some extent, but usually require expensive micromachining methods. In this work, cellulose was dissolved in a NaOH/urea aqueous solution and compounded with carbon nanotubes (CNT) to prepare regenerated cellulose (RC) -CNT composite films. Then the microstructure was introduced onto the surface of RC-CNT composite films, and assembled the composite films into an E-skin sensing device. The results indicated that the RC-CNT composite films possessed good flexibility, high tensile strength (61.6 MPa) and strain (17.7%), favorable sensing performance, and good response performance. In addition, in vitro toxicity experiments indicated that the composite films exhibited no cytotoxicity. Therefore, the flexible sensor based on RC-CNT composite films has potential applications in wearable personal health monitoring and tactile sensitive information collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection and identification of cigarette ash in fire debris can be meaningful in fire investigations caused by burning cigarettes. In this work, a novel analytical method based on negative chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (NCI/TOFMS) combined with a phosphoric-acid-enhanced evaporation strategy has been developed for the discrimination of cigarette ash samples (CAs) and common household decoration material ash samples (CHDMAs). A series of characteristic ions representing the acidified products HNCO and formic acid in the CAs were achieved, whose signal responses were enhanced with the help of mechanical agitation operation. To account for both the signal responses of the characteristic ions and acid corrosion of the ion source, the dynamic-purge gas was chosen to be 200 mL/min. The whole time for analysis was only 5 min, which is suitable for high-throughput measurements of large quantities of fire debris. As a result, a preliminary discrimination was achieved between the CAs and CHDMAs by virtue of the chemometric tool of principal components analysis (PCA) based on intensity differences of the characteristic ions. The results are encouraging and highlight the potential of NCI/TOFMS without complicated sample preparation steps for the accurate and high-throughput identification of cigarette ash on substrates in fire debris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the wave propagation speed problem on metric measure spaces, emphasizing on self-similar sets that are not post-critically finite. We prove that a sub-Gaussian lower heat kernel estimate leads to infinite propagation speed, extending a result of Lee (Infinite propagation speed for wave solutions on some p.c.f. fractals, ) to include bounded and unbounded generalized Sierpiński carpets, some fractal blowups, and certain iterated function systems with overlaps. We also formulate conditions under which a Gaussian upper heat kernel estimate leads to finite propagation speed, and apply this result to two classes of iterated function systems with overlaps, including those defining the classical infinite Bernoulli convolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A colorimetric assay is described for simultaneous detection of multiple analytes related to food safety. It is based on the use of a sandwich aptasensor and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) which produces a primer for subsequent rolling circle amplification (RCA). Two split aptamer fragments (Apt1 and Apt2) are firstly immobilized, Apt1 on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and Apt2 on magnetic beads (MBs). They are then used in a sandwich aptasensor. In the presence of analyte, two probes could specifically recognize target and form a ternary assembly, and the magnetic beads also act to separate rapidly and enrich the target. Then, the extension of template-free DNA is triggered by TdT at the exposed 3′-hydroxy terminals of Apt1. This produces polyA sequences that serve as primers for subsequent RCA. The product of RCA is hybridized with a complementary horse radish peroxidase (HRP) DNA probe. HRP catalyzes the H2O2-mediated oxidation of tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and forms a blue chromogenic product. After magnetic separation, the absorption values of the blue product in the supernatant are measured at a wavelength of 600 nm. Based on this dual amplification mechanism, the assay was applied to multiplexed determination of enrofloxacin (ENR), lead(II), Escherichia coli O157:H7 and tropomyosin. Exemplarily, ENR is detectable at concentrations down to 2.5 pg mL−1 with a linear range that extends from 1 pg mL−1 to 1 μg·mL−1. The assay was validated by analysis of spiked fish samples. Recoveries range between 87.5 and 92.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogels are mostly used in biomedical sciences such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and in vitro diagnostics. Nanocellulose hydrogels have multiple advantages because of their biodegradability, non-toxic properties, high water content and inherent biocompatibility. Moreover, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl(TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNs) are completely individualized cellulose nanofibrils which have high aspect ratios, high elastic moduli, high strengths, high thermal stability, large surface areas, and large numbers of carboxylate groups on their surfaces. Here, the doubly cross-linked (DC) nanocellulose hydrogels with both ionic and chemical crosslinks were prepared and exhibited more improvement in mechanical properties than singly cross-linked nanocellulose hydrogels. The singly Fe3+ cross-linked nanocellulose hydrogel and chemically cross-linked nanocellulose hydrogel were broken at stresses of 117 kPa (strain = 80%) and 17 kPa (strain = 40%), respectively. The DC nanocellulose hydrogel exceeded a compressive strength of 450 kPa and a compressive strain of 90% without cracking. This greatly expands the application of nanocellulose hydrogels. Additionally, these nanocellulose hydrogels had good optical transparency and high swelling degree to meet the needs of practical applications. These DC nanocellulose hydrogels have great application prospects in the field of biomedical materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phycocyanin (PC) is a light-harvesting protein isolated from Spirulina and has health benefits for a range of diseases including pulmonary fibrosis (PF). In this study, a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model was used to determine whether PC attenuates PF and modulates the intestinal microbiota. The results showed that PC intervention attenuated the pulmonary fibrosis, demonstrated by hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE), Masson's trichrome staining, and lung dry-wet weight ratio, and PC significantly inhibited the production of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Additionally, intestinal microbiota analysis revealed that PC intervention significantly increased the bacterial diversity and richness. Correlation analysis indicated that 9 families and 17 genes were significantly associated with at least 1 physiological index. And PC intervention significantly decreased the bacteria which is related to inflammation and dramatically increased the SCFAs-producing bacteria and probiotics. These data indicated that PC can decrease the pro-inflammatory cytokines and regulate the intestinal microbiota in BLM-induced PF mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abnormal dendritic sprouting and synaptic remodelling are important pathological features of temporal lobe epilepsy. BC1 RNA is a translation repressor involved in the regulation of the dendritic protein synthesis and mRNA transport, which is essential for dendritic development and plasticity. The expression alteration of BC1 RNA in the pilocarpine induced epilepsy model remains unknown. It is unclear if the interactions between BC1 RNA and eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) exists in this model. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression changes of BC1 RNA and its interactions with eIF4A post-status epilepticus (SE). Chloride lithium and pilocarpine were used to induce the SE rat model. Either a whole brain or hippocampus tissues were collected at different time points after SE. The expression patterns of BC1 was detected by qPCR and in situ hybridization. The levels of eIF4AI/II protein expression were analyzed via western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The BC1 RNA-eIF4AI/II interaction was determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). We found that the BC1 RNA levels decreased in hippocampus 3d, 1w and 2w post-SE before the levels recovered. The eIF4AI/II began to rise 3d post-SE and reached the maximum level 1w post-SE. After 1w post-SE the levels decreased in the hippocampal CA1, CA3 and DG subregions. EMSA analysis showed that BC1 RNA specifically interacted with the eIF4AI/II. The BC1 RNA-eIF4AI/II complex reduced to the lowest level 1w post-SE. Our results suggested that BC1 has a negative regulatory correlation with eIF4AI/II, where BC1 RNA could be involved in epileptogenesis by regulating dendritic protein synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological studies have shown that chronic sleep disturbances resulted in metabolic disorders. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between chronic sleep deprivation (CSD) and the glucose homeostasis in rats. Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into CSD group and control (CON) group. The CSD rats were intervened by a modified multiple platform method (MMPM) to establish an animal model of chronic sleep disturbances. After 3-month intervention, all rats were subjected to an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and an insulin tolerance test (ITT), and the body weight, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine, lipid profile group, and homeostasis model assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) were measured. Both the CSD and CON groups had an attenuation of weight gain after 3-month intervention. The plasma glucose level of CSD group was higher than that of the CON group during the IPGTT ( P < 0.01). The CSD rats showed a marked increase in HOMA-IR and ITT compared with the CON group ( P < 0.01). There were no significant differences of AST, ALT, creatinine, and most lipid parameters between the CSD and CON groups ( P > 0.05). The CSD has a marked effect on glucose homeostasis, comprising glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinant SjCystatin (rSjCystatin), a recombinant protein of Schistosoma japonicum cystatin, has been reported to have an effect on immunoregulation mediated by IL-10 induction. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune inflammatory arthropathy, and recombinant immune-modulating drugs for RA treatment are under development. We aimed to study the putative immune regulation of rSjCystatin and its prophylactic/therapeutic effects on murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CIA was induced in DBA/1 mice by inoculation with bovine collagen II (CII). rSjCystatin was administered prior or post development of CIA. The severity of CIA was assessed using established clinical and histopathological scoring systems. The incidence was also determined. The CII-specific antibodies in sera and cytokines in splenocyte culture supernatants were measured by ELISA. Th1/Th2/Th17 cells and Tregs development in splenocytes were monitored by flow cytometry. The inflammatory mediators in the diseased joint were semiquantitated by qPCR. Prophylactic injection of rSjCystatin attenuated paw clinical scores, incidence, and histopathology scores of joints in CIA mice. The arthritis-alleviative effects were closely associated with the augmentation of IL-4, IL-10, and collagen-specific IgG1, and with the distinct reduction of IFN-γ, collagen-specific IgG2a, and the marked decrease of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-17, and TNF-α and RANKL. The data indicate that rSjCystatin may prevent cartilage destruction and inflammation of joints in CIA mice. The effects are related to the inhibitory modulation of Th1 and Th17 and upregulation of Tregs and Th2 via a shift of cytokines profiling from Th1 to Th2 response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Series sorbents of Cu, Zn, Ni, Ce and Ag metal components supported on γ-AlO carrier for removing thiophene from benzene were prepared by conventional and ultrasound-assisted incipient-wetness impregnation method. The static adsorption experiments were carried out in the thiophene-benzene solution with thiophene concentration of 500 mg/L. The results show that the desulfurization activity of all γ-AlO sorbents modified by different metal components obviously increase, among which the sorbent modified by silver nitrate has the best performance. The active components of sorbents from Cu, Zn, Ni, Ce nitrates loaded on γ-AlO carrier are their oxides. Besides AgO, the products of silver nitrate thermal decomposition in sorbent prepared still have Ag and Ag-O-Al species. The assistant ultrasound in the process of sorbent preparation can not only shorten the impregnation time, but also enrich the pore structure of sorbent and improve the size and distribution of the Ag species, which is favorable to the removal of thiophene from benzene. The desulfurization capacity of sorbent changes with the Ag content loaded. The sorbent with 15 % quality content of Ag prepared by ultrasound-assisted impregnation method has the highest desulfurization efficiency. It could reduce the thiophene concentration to 1.7 mg/L from 500 mg/L at room temperature and ambient pressure, with the desulfurization efficiency of more than 99 %, when the ratio of sorbent to solution was 1:4 (g/mL). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]