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Correlation between periodontitis and atherosclerosis is well established, and the inherent mechanisms responsible for this relationship remain unclear. The biological function of growth arrest‐specific 6 (gas6) has been discovered in both atherosclerosis and inflammation. Inhibitory effects of gas6 on the expression of inflammatory factors in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated by Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (P. gingivalis‐LPS) were reported in our previous research. Herein, the effects of gas6 on monocytes‐endothelial cells interactions in vitro and their probable mechanisms were further investigated. Gas6 protein in HUVECs was knocked down with siRNA or overexpressed with plasmids. Transwell inserts and co‐culturing system were introduced to observe chemotaxis and adhering affinity between monocytes and endothelial cells in vitro. Expression of gas6 was decreased in inflammatory periodontal tissues and HUVECs challenged with P. gingivalis‐LPS. The inhibitory effect of gas6 on chemotaxis and adhesion affinity between monocytes and endothelial cells was observed, and gas6 promoted Akt phosphorylation and inhibited NF‐κB phosphorylation. To our best knowledge, we are first to report that gas6 inhibit monocytes‐endothelial cells interactions in vitro induced by P. gingivalis‐LPS via Akt/NF‐κB pathway. Additionally, inflammation‐mediated inhibition of gas6 expression is through LncRNA GAS6‐AS2, rather than GAS6‐AS1, which is also newly reported., Schematic representation for mechanisms of bi‐directional regulation between gas6 and P gingivalis‐LPS in HUVECs. Expression of MCP‐1, IL‐8, ICAM‐1 and E‐selectin induced by P gingivalis‐LPS was inhibited by gas6 via Akt/NF‐κB pathway; Gas6 expression in HUVECs was inhibited by P gingivalis‐LPS through NF‐κB/GAS6‐AS2 pathway.

This study aimed to explore the role of transcription factor 12 (TCF12) in the process of gastric cancer (GC) and to elucidate its possible regulatory mechanism. The expression data of GC tissues and matched normal tissues were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Survival analysis for GC patients with different levels of TCF12 was performed by the Kaplan-Meier analysis. In addition, TCF12 was suppressed in human GC cell lines AGS and MKN-45, followed by detecting cell biological processes (proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion). Moreover, the association between TCF12 and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signal was elucidated. Besides, the potential micro RNAs that could target TCF12 expression were explored. The results showed that TCF12 was highly expressed in GC tissues and TCF12 upregulation was associated with poor prognosis of GC patients. In addition, suppression of TCF12 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of both AGS and MKN45 cells, as well as induced apoptosis of the two cell lines. Moreover, suppression of TCF12 significantly decreased the expression of p-AKT, cyclin D1, p-P70, and β-catenin in both AGS and MKN45 cells. Besides, TCF12 was target regulated by miR-183 in GC cells. Our findings reveal that TCF12 is upregulated in GC and its upregulation is associated with poor prognosis of GC patients. To sum up, downregulation of TCF12 may inhibit GC development via being target regulated by miR-183 and inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signal. TCF12 may function as a potential therapeutic target for GC.

The effect of liquid viscosity on hydrodynamics and bubble behaviour of an external-loop airlift reactor within air–water system were studied by an electrical conductivity probe. Carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) was used to change liquid viscosity (1.00–51.25 cP). Gas holdup increased with superficial gas velocity increasing, as well as bubble Sauter diameter and bubble rise velocity. With liquid viscosity increasing, average gas holdup increased first then decreased, while bubble Sauter diameter was opposite, with critical viscosity µl ≈ 3.7 cP. The cross-sectional average bubble Sauter diameter increased obviously after µl > 3.7 cP, and its size distribution was wider within the higher viscosity. Bubble rise velocity increased significantly and nearly unchanged after µl > 10.3 cP. Gas holdup first increased then remained unchanged with the axial height increasing. The radial profile of local gas holdup presented a central peak distribution, and the value at inlet was smaller than that at the higher position. Average gas holdup was correlated greatly with superficial gas velocity and liquid viscosity.

The kinetics of the extraction schisandrin of Schisandra chinensis was investigated. Based on the assumption of a second-order mechanism for the extraction, a conventional extraction model and an ultrasonic extraction model were developed to predict the extraction rate constant, the extraction capacity, and the initial extraction rate with various temperatures and ultrasound powers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The models of conventional extraction and an ultrasonic extraction based on the assumption of a second-order mechanism can interpret and give guidance to the leaching process of traditional Chinese medicine qualitatively and quantitatively. The three-dimensional predictive model not only helped to understand the process of ultrasonic extraction, control and optimize parameter of process, but also evaluate the capacity of leaching at all times and temperatures.

Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) hydrophobic flat-sheet membranes were fabricated for use in vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) through a thermally induced phase-separation process with dispersing hydrophobically modified SiO2 nanoparticles in the casting solution to achieve a higher hydrophobicity and to sustain a stable flux in VMD. The contact angle (CA) measurements indicated that the incorporation of nano-SiO2 into a casting solution mixture containing 20 wt % iPP had a 20.9% higher CA relative to that of SiO2-free membranes. The addition of nano-SiO2 also induced morphological changes in the membrane structure, including changes in the pore size distribution, porosity, and suppression of macrovoids. The pore size distribution of the iPP–SiO2 membranes became narrower compared with that of the SiO2-free membranes, and the porosity also improved from 35.45 to 59.75% with SiO2 addition. The average pore size and maximum pore size of the iPP–SiO2 membranes both decreased. The ability of the membranes to concentrate an astragalus aqueous solution (a type of traditional Chinese medicine) with VMD was investigated. The surface hydrophobicity and antifouling performance of the iPP–SiO2 membranes improved with nano-SiO2 addition to the membrane casting solution. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42615.

Numerical simulation is an effective method to get the optimal operating parameters in the chemical engineering process. In this work, the transport mechanism of vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) process was simulated and predicted by mathematical model, which was established based on the convective heat transfer coefficient, and 0.5M aqueous NaCl solution was concentrated with isotactic polypropylene (iPP) hydrophobic microporous membrane prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) in the VMD process. The as-presented mathematical model simulated the effects of different operating parameters on the VMD performances for aqueous NaCl solution, such as feed temperature, feed flow rate, absolute pressure of membrane permeate side, temperature coefficient, membrane thickness, and porosity. A comparison between experimental data and simulated data was also considered to verify the proposed mathematical model. Additionally, the salt rejection of aqueous NaCl solution production water in VMD was higher than 99.9%. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41632.