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Optogenetic stimulation, an effective stimulation technique, is applied to the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) to compete with the current neuromodulation technology that focuses on the electrical stimulation. Using the cortical-thalamic-basal ganglia model, we systematically study the effect of optogenetic stimulation on pathological parkinsonian rhythmic neural activity. Based on the experimental studies, four types of neurons are selected as stimulation targets. Our results indicate that both the optogenetic excitatory stimulation of D1 medium spiny neurons and inhibitory stimulation of globus pallidus internal (GPi) can directly suppress the abnormal discharge of GPi neurons. The former stimulation pattern drives the model to health state with smaller stimulation parameters, suggesting that inhibiting the GPi abnormal discharge through synaptic action seems to be more effective. Compared with electrical stimulation, it is found that 120Hz optogenetic excitatory stimulation does not accurately activate the action potential of subthalamic nucleus (STN). In contrast, only optogenetic excitatory stimulation of globus pallidus externa (GPe) can reduce the firing rate of STN and GPi simultaneously. Finally, we study the difference between the effects of high-frequency low pulse width stimulation and low-frequency high pulse width stimulation while maintaining the same pulse duty cycle. For GPe, different stimulation patterns play a positive role as long as the stimulation frequency is not in the beta-band. Although the feasibility of optogenetic stimulation remains to be clinically explored, the results obtained help us understand the pathophysiology of PD.

Background There are limited data available on regional differences in the diagnosis and management of narcolepsy. In order to better understand worldwide trends in clinical assessment and management of narcolepsy, a survey of health-care providers was conducted by the World Sleep Society Narcolepsy task force. Methods A total of 146 surveys that included items on the diagnosis and management of narcolepsy were completed by practitioners representing 37 countries. Results Most of the participants were from Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia and Latin America. A consistent approach to applying the diagnostic criteria of Narcolepsy was documented with the exception of measurement of CSF hypocretin-1, which has limited availability. While the majority of practitioners (58%) reported not using the test, 1% indicated always evaluating CSF hypocretin-1 levels. There was much variability in the availability of currently recommended medications such as sodium oxybate and pitolisant; modafinil and antidepressants were the most commonly used medications. Amphetamines were unavailable in some countries. Conclusion The results of the study highlight clinical and therapeutic realities confronted by worldwide physicians in the management of narcolepsy. While the diagnostic criteria of narcolepsy rely in part on the quantification of CSF hypocretin-1, few physicians reported having incorporated this test into their routine assessment of the condition. Regional differences in the management of narcolepsy appeared to be related to geographic availability and expense of the therapeutic agents.

Longipetalol A (1) is an unprecedented highly modified triterpenoid with a unique 1,2-seco-3-(2-oxo-phenylethyl)-17α-13,30-cyclodammarane skeleton, featuring an acetal-lactone fragment. It was isolated from Dichapetalum longipetalum along with two additional derivatives, namely, longipetalols B (2) and C (3). Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic analyses combined with single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 exhibited inhibitory effects on nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 macrophages.

In this study, the red LED with wavelength range of 625 ~ 627.5 nm and the blue LED with wavelength range of 464 ~ 467 nm are chosen as the light source in order to increase the lipid content of microalgae as well as to reduce the energy consumption. The highest lipid weight of Scenedesmus obliquus is achievedwith 5000lux light intensity, 12L:12D of photoperiod and blue continuous LED light which consuming 53.4 times less energy in term of the total lipid content per unit than that of tricolor energy-saving lamp. In addition, the highest biomass and lipid weight of Chlorella pyrenoidosa are achieved with 5000lux of light intensity, 8L:16D of photoperiod and red continuous LED light, which is 0.73 g/L and 0.552 g/L respectively. And it consumes 29.4 times less energy consumption for units of the total lipid content than that of tricolor energy-saving lamp. Furthermore, continuous LED light improves effect of municipal wastewater treatment as the better light source for Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella pyrenoidosa comparing with intermittent LED light.

BACKGROUND Diabetic kidney disease is a microvascular complication of diabetes with complex pathogenesis. Wingless signaling-mediated renal fibrosis is associated with diabetic kidney disease. Dickkopf-1, a negative regulator of Wingless, has been proven to participate in renal fibrosis, glucose metabolism, and inflammation. However, whether serum Dickkopf-1 levels are associated with diabetic kidney disease remains unclear. AIM To assess the relationship between serum Dickkopf-1 levels and albuminuria in individuals with type 2 diabetes. METHODS Seventy-three type 2 diabetes patients and 24 healthy individuals were enrolled in this case-control study. Diabetic individuals were separated into normal albuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macroalbuminuria groups based on their urinary albumin/creatinine ratios (UACRs). Clinical characteristics and metabolic indices were recorded. Serum Dickkopf-1 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS No significant difference in serum Dickkopf-1 levels was found between healthy individuals and the normal albuminuria group. However, the levels in the microalbuminuria group were significantly lower than those in the normal albuminuria group (P = 0.017), and those in the macroalbuminuria group were the lowest. Bivariate analysis revealed that serum Dickkopf-1 levels were positively correlated with hemoglobin A1c level (r = 0.368, P < 0.01) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (r = 0.339, P < 0.01), but negatively correlated with diabetes duration (r = -0.231, P = 0.050), systolic blood pressure (r = -0.369, P = 0.001), serum creatinine level (r = -0.325, P < 0.01), and UACR (r = -0.459, P < 0.01). Multiple and logistic regression showed that serum Dickkopf-1 levels were independently associated with UACR (odds ratio = 0.627, P = 0.021). CONCLUSION Serum Dickkopf-1 levels are negatively associated with UACR. Lower serum Dickkopf-1 levels could be a critical risk factor for albuminuria in diabetes.

A wide variety of leguminous plant-released (iso)flavonoids, such as genistein, are potential inducers of the nodulation (nod) genes of endosymbiotic rhizobia for the production of Nod factors, which are vital signaling molecules for triggering the symbiotic process. However, these (iso)flavonoids are generally thought to be toxic to the bacterial partner to varying degrees. Here, a novel TetR-like regulator gene of the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110, bdtR (systematic designation blr7023), was characterized. It was found to be rapidly and preferentially induced by genistein, and its mutation resulted in significantly increased expression of the neighboring bll7019-bll7021 genes, encoding a multidrug resistance efflux pump system, in the absence of this isoflavonoid. Then, the transcriptional start site of BdtR was determined, and it was revealed that BdtR acted as a transcriptional repressor of the above efflux system through the binding of an AT-rich operator, which could be completely prevented by genistein. In addition, the ΔbdtR deletion mutant strain showed higher accumulation of extracellular genistein and became less susceptible to the isoflavonoid. In contrast, the inactivation of BdtR led to the significantly decreased induction of a nodulation gene (nodY) independent of the expression of nodD1 and nodW and to much weaker nodulation competitiveness. Taken together, the results show that BdtR plays an early sensing role in maintaining the intracellular homeostasis of genistein, helping to alleviate its toxic effect on this bacterium by negatively regulating neighboring genes encoding an efflux pump system while being essentially required for nodule occupancy competitiveness. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

The differentially expressed proteins of mutated C. pyrenoidosa obtained by N+ ion implantation were isolated and identified using proteomics analysis method combining the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry techniques. The functions of these proteins were also investigated toward elucidating the fundamental mechanism by which ion implantation promotes the growth of C. pyrenoidosa and accumulation of lipids at the molecular level. In total, 17 differentially expressed proteins were identified in algae cells, including 3 up-regulated and 14 down-regulated proteins. Combining these results with the central carbon metabolism network of C. pyrenoidosa cells and the lipid metabolism pathway showed that N+ ion implantation can promote the synthesis of chlorophyll by up-regulating magnesium protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase to further improve the carbon sequestration efficiency of algae cells. These phenomena result in a greater production rate of organic material and therefore increased biomass. In addition, N+ ion implantation can enhance the glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways by down-regulating fructose-bisphosphate aldolase and transketolase. These effects ultimately promote the accumulation of lipids by C. pyrenoidosa. These findings provide a rationalization of the mechanism by which ion implantation-induced mutagenesis promoting high lipid productivity in C. pyrenoidosa CVM at the proteomics level.

Enhancement of sludge dewaterability is key for sludge management and disposal of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In this study, the Fe2+-peroxymonosulfate (PMS) conditioning approach was first used to oxidize the primary sludge from the primary sedimentation tank of a full scale WWTP. The combination of Fe2+ (0.05–0.5 g/g TSS) and PMS (0.05–0.5 g/g TSS) could significantly improve the dewaterability of primary sludge. The optimal addition amount of Fe2+ and PMS was 0.1 g/g TSS and 0.25 g/g TSS, respectively, under which the capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) of the sludge was reduced by 79% and 95%. The physicochemical properties (particle size, zeta potential, EPS composition) of the primary sludge before and after oxidative conditioning were measured. Results showed that sulfate radicals generated from Fe2+-PMS system effectively reduced organic matter in different EPS fractions, further destroying sludge floc cells. Then the bound water in the sludge flocs was released, thereby improving the sludge dewaterability. The microscopic morphology also indicated that the sludge flocs have a blocky structure with tight texture before conditioning. After conditioning, the sludge flocs become smaller, and many irregular pores are formed on the surface, which facilitates the passage of internal moisture. Economic analysis showed that Fe2++PMS conditioning is more economical than the traditional Fenton method.

To compare capillaries perfusion in macular areas at different layers and peripapillary region in radial peripapillary capillaries (RPC) between healthy subjects and subjects with obstructive sleep apnea–hypopnea (OSA) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Totally 16 eyes with mild-to-moderate OSA, 14 eyes with severe OSA and 22 control eyes were enrolled in this study. Every subject filled out the Berlin questionnaire and received a comprehensive ocular and physical examination. The clinical characteristics were collected, OCT and OCTA scans using OCTA RT XR Avanti (AngioVue software, Optovue Inc., Fremont, CA, USA) were performed and analyzed. Compared to the control group, the severe group had significantly higher VD in parafovea and perifoveal regions (p = 0.031; p = 0.029) at the level of deep capillary plexus (DCP), whereas the mild-to-moderate group had a significantly lower VD in the peripapillary region on RPC network in disc areas (p = 0.013). Blood flow changes in macular areas might first appear at the DCP layer in OSA patients. Reduced VD in the peripapillary region at the RPC layer might be associated with OSA and cause subsequent RNFL changes.

Background and Aim. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been verified to play an important role in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to clarify whether induction of HO-1 reverses steatofibrosis via suppression of the Wnt signaling pathway and to explore the potential mechanism of HO-1 on NASH-related liver fibrosis. Methods. Mice were fed with a methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet for 8 weeks to induce steatohepatitis-related liver fibrosis and were treated with HO-1 inducer Hemin and inhibitor ZnPP. Mouse sera were collected for the biochemical analysis, and livers were obtained for further histological observation and gene expression analysis. HSC-T6 cells were cultured for the in vitro study and were administrated with Hemin and si-HO-1 to induce or inhibit the expression of HO-1. qPCR and Western blot were used to assess the mRNA and protein levels of genes. Results. MCD-fed mice developed marked macrovesicular steatosis, focal necrosis, and inflammatory infiltration and pericellular fibrosis in liver sections. Administration of Hemin could significantly ameliorate the severity of steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis and also could decrease the serum ALT and AST. We demonstrated that HO-1 induction was able to downregulate the key regulator of the canonical Wnt pathway Wnt1 and the noncanonical Wnt pathway Wnt5a. The downstream factors of the Wnt pathway β-catenin and NFAT5 were inhibited by Hemin, but GSK-3β was upregulated compared to the MCD group, which were consistent with the in vitro study. Hemin markedly inhibited the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway in both in vivo and in vitro studies. Conclusion. Our study demonstrated that HO-1 inhibited the activation of canonical and noncanonical Wnt signaling pathways in NASH-related liver fibrosis. Thus, these results may suggest a new therapeutic strategy for NASH-related liver fibrosis.

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), which is widely used as detergent, is a common toxic pollutant in wastewater. Generally, biodegradation process is applied to remove LAS. However, the efficiency of traditional wastewater treatment cannot meet the growing demand. In this study, an improved biological turntable with a symbiotic system of bacteria and microalgae was primarily used to enhance the biodegradation efficiency of LAS from wastewater. The symbiotic system of bacteria and microalgae was mainly composed of Scenedesmus dimorphus and three LAS-degrading bacteria Plesiomonas sp. (L3, L7) and Pseudomonas sp. (H6). The average removal rate of LAS was up to 94.6%. The LAS concentration of the effluent of the system decreased by 81.7% after the bacterial-microalgae inoculation (the inoculation temperature was 25 oC; microalgae were inoculated at a concentration of 10% only at the start of the system; bacteria were continuously inoculated at 1‰ concentration). After bacterial-microalgae inoculation, the average effluent concentration of CODCr in the tertiary reaction tank was 24.3 mg/L, the average membrane effluent concentration was 15.8 mg/L, and the average removal rate was 90.5%. Compared with the control group without inoculation, the concentration of CODCr in the tertiary reaction tank and membrane effluent decreased by 55.7% and 46.4%. The denaturing gradient electrophoresis (DGGE) pattern analysis of the systemic flora showed that there were two dominant species of high LAS degrading bacteria. They were identified to belong to Plesiomonas sp. and Pseudomonas sp., respectively.

Alum sludge produced by drinking water plants needs to be conditioned and dewatered before final disposal. In this study, a novel ferrous iron/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) oxidation process was employed to enhance alum sludge dewaterability The effect of oxidative sulfate radicals generated by Fe2+ activated HSO5− on alum sludge was studied. The results showed that the optimal conditioning conditions for addition of Fe2+ and PMS were 0.5 g/g and 0.1 g/g TSS, respectively. Meanwhile, the capillary suction time (CST) and specific resistance to filtration (SRF) of alum sludge was reduced by 66% and 88%. Also found was that the absolute value of the zeta potential increased and the particle size decreased in alum sludge after Fe2+-PMS conditioning, which indicated that oxidative sulfate radicals destroyed the floc structure of alum sludge and smaller particles were generated. At the same time, the water contained in sludge flocs was released and enhanced sludge dewaterability, while leaching of aluminum ions also characterized decomposition of alum sludge.

The high cost of oleaginous microalgae harvesting is a major factor limiting the industrialization of microalgae biodiesel. In order to obtain an efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for harvesting microalgae, this study used Citrobacter freundii (No. W4) and Mucor circinelloides for the harvest of oil-bearing microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa. The effects of flocculation conditions, including the initial pH, bacterial dosage, fungal dosage and glucose dosage were investigated, respectively. According to the results of response surface optimization, when the initial pH was 7.0, bacteria: microalgae ratio was 1.6:1, microalgae: fungi ratio was 333:1, the glucose concentration was 1.47 g/L, the flocculation efficiency of the actual sewage cultured C. pyrenoidosa attained 97.45%. The results showed that bacteria and fungi had a good potential for the harvest of microalgae.

The separation of magnesite from dolomite using flotation is difficult owing to their similar crystal structure, chemical and surface composition, and dispulp characteristics. In this study, in the flotation system with sodium oleate (NaOL) as the collector, to improve the flotation separation efficiency, the differential floatability between both the minerals was increased using ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) (EDDHA). The results demonstrated that the selectivity of EDDHA for both minerals was high at a pH of 11.0 using 50 mg/L of EDDHA and 120 mg/L of NaOL. The recoveries of magnesite and dolomite were 92.07% and 10.82%, respectively. To observe the adsorption of EDDHA on the surfaces of the minerals and investigate its flotation mechanism, zeta potential, contact angle, ultraviolet spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were conducted. The pH adjustments in two stages in the flotation system enhanced the selectivity of EDDHA.

Anticancer therapies with profound efficacy but negligible toxicity are a fundamental pursuit that has been made humanly possible through either targeting or tumor-selective therapeutic (TST) approaches. Herein, we developed a targeting-enhanced tumor-selective cancer therapy aimed at integrating the two approaches by preparing cerium oxide (CeO2) nanocubes with glucose oxidase (GOx) modified on the cube surface and cancer cell membrane (CCM) camouflaged outside. The immune escape and homotypic binding of camouflaged CCM enable targeted delivery of the resultant CeO2-GOx@CCM nanoparticles mostly into cancer tissue, while its acidic environment (pH < 6.6) activated a cascade reaction, in which the glucose was first catalyzed by GOx into H2O2 and then by CeO2 into highly cytotoxic ˙OH killing cancer cells. In the case of off-targeting, when very few CeO2-GOx@CCM nanoparticles were accidentally delivered into normal tissue, its neutral pH environment (pH = 7.4) triggered a protective reaction, in which the H2O2 generated was catalyzed by CeO2 into non-toxic H2O and O2. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that this targeting-enhanced TST achieved the most remarkable antitumor performance with negligible toxic side effects.

Stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders are often accompanied by dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), increased sensitivity of glucocorticoid negative feedback has regularly been observed. The single prolonged stress (SPS) paradigm was developed to model increased negative feedback and other aspects of PTSD in rats. In this study, we used a setup that precluded the evaluation of negative feedback but rather served to test the hypothesis of the enhanced glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling in higher brain areas. We injected corticosterone or vehicle 7 days after SPS and evaluated plasma corticosterone, as well as gene expression in the dorsal hippocampus and amygdala. We observed a strikingly rapid change in the expression of established GR target genes (t = 30 min) only in the SPS group on exogenous corticosterone injection. Our results extend the notion of increased GR sensitivity in PTSD to include transcriptional responses in the hippocampus.

Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and other regions like the occipital cortex (OC) exhibit abnormal neural activity in major depressive disorder (MDD). Their relationship to specific biochemical, psychophysical, and psychopathological changes remains unclear, though. For that purpose, we focus on a particular subregion in OC, namely middle temporal (MT) visual area that is known to mediate the perception of visual motion. Using high-field 7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including resting state functional MRI and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of the blood oxygen level-dependent signal in MT, MT-seeded functional connectivity (FC), and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in MT were investigated. Applying the vision motion psychophysical task, the motion suppression index of subjects was also examined. We demonstrate significantly elevated neural variability (as measured by ALFF) in MT together with decreases in both MT GABA and motion suppression in our MDD sample. Unlike in healthy subjects, MT neural variability no longer modulates the relationship of MT GABA and motion suppression in MDD. MT also exhibits reduction in global inter-regional FC to MPFC in MDD. Finally, elevated MT ALFF relates to specifically retardation in behavior as measured by the Hamilton subscore. Together, MT provides a strong candidate for biomarker in MDD.

2,4,6-Tri(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (tpt) is a widely used ligand for functional coordination compounds. In this work, tpt has shown unprecedented photochromism in the crystalline state. Experimental and theoretical data has revealed that the photocoloration of tpt very likely originates from intramolecular charge separation and the formation of a triplet diradical product. This finding demonstrates a new simple, neutral photochromic molecule and endows the tpt molecule and related compounds with potential optical applications.

Oxygen vacancy engineering is effective for improving the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of electrodes. However, such a protocol has not yet shown impressive success for ZnO photoanodes due...

In this study, the waste V2O5–WO3/TiO2 denitrification catalysts from the coal-fired power plant were washed with water or nitric acid, followed by impregnating different contents of V2O5. The effects of the HNO3 concentration and the additional amount of vanadium on the low-temperature selective catalytic reduction denitrification activity were investigated under the condition of high concentration of SO2 and H2O. The catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, X-ray powder diffraction , N2 adsorption/desorption, H2-temperature-programmed reduction, NH3-temperature-programmed desorption , Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , and Raman spectroscopy. The evaluation results revealed that optimum activity was achieved by using 0.8 mol/L HNO3 solution and loading 1.60 wt % V2O5 to make the total V2O5 reach 2.3 wt %. The characterization results showed that nitric washing can remove most of the ammonium salts deposited on the surface of the waste catalyst and produce crystalline WO3, which can effectively inhibit the agglomeration of vanadium species in the process of impregnation. Furthermore, it can also increase the amount of oligomeric VOx, which can improve the denitration activity.

Photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer and the formation of diradicals for neutral nonclassical viologens, pyridine N-oxides, were observed for the first time which broadens the understandin...

In the present study, the effect of trace metal nutrients on biomass and lipid productivity of Scenedesmus obliquus cultured in municipal wastewater was evaluated. Lipid productivity of S. obliquus significantly increased by 18.63%, 19.21%, and 27.95% by adding trace metals of Mo, Mn, and Fe, respectively, with the highest lipid productivity of 24.69 mg/(L·d) in case of Fe (3.00 mg/L FeSO4·7H2O). GC analysis of the lipids showed that the control (WW) and ferrous sulfate–treated cultures had very similar compositions, and both of them contained considerable proportions C16-18, showing their suitability for biodiesel production. Moreover, using FeSO4·7H2O enhanced the removal rates of total phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, and total nitrogen in municipal wastewater, which attained 94.7%, 99.2%, and 95.8%, respectively.

In the development of CO2 capture and utilization, the physical and transport properties of the binary systems are significant, because these can affect the gas absorption and desorption processes. Thus, we report the densities and viscosities of two binary systems: 2-ethoxyethanol (ECS) + water (H2O) and ECS + dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), with various compositions at temperatures from (298.15 to 318.15) K. On the basis of these data, excess molar volumes ( $$V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}}$$ ) and viscosity deviations (Δη) were calculated. The $$V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}}$$ values of the two binary mixtures are negative and decrease with increasing temperatures; Δη values are positive at all compositions and decrease with increasing temperatures. The $$V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}}$$ and Δη values were fitted with the Redlich–Kister equation. The physico-chemical properties of the two binary systems, including activation enthalpy and entropy, were calculated from the kinematic viscosity. In addition, various spectral results offer evidence for the formation of weak interactions between ECS and DMSO or H2O.

The remarkable limitations in photocatalysis still remain: low utilization of visible light, poor charge transfer and separation, and insufficient active sites. To address these issues, herein, Au–...

“Paper” plays an important role in the development and spread of civilization. However, massive use of paper has led to nonnegligible negative influence on environment. Recently, great progresses have been made in the fields of rewritable paper that has enormous potential in alleviating the increasing demand for paper. Therefore, we report a new photochromic tetraphenylethene-based Schiff base derivative 2-ethoxy-6-(((4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)imino)-methyl)phenol (TPENOEt). TPENOEt exhibits reversible photochromic behavior, fast response, simple synthetic step, lower cost and excellent fatigue resistance. The bleaching rate of TPENOEt is tunable by longer wavelength light, white light irradiation and elevated temperature. The fluorescence of TPENOEt is weak in solid state, which increases obviously after grinding with a pestle accompanied by reduced photochromic efficiency and longer response time. These results provide a new view to get insight into the relationship between packing style and fluorescence/photochromism property of Schiff base derivatives. TPENOEt is successfully applied as a visible light driven rewritable paper, 410 nm violet light can serve as a pen, while 420–590 nm visible light and white light is employed as the eraser. The recorded information will be erased in about 15 s after white light irradiation and will be self-erased in 20 min in daylight and in about 15 days in dark. Moreover, TPENOEt can also serve as a UV strength sensor for naked eye detection of UV radiation pollution.

Solubility data were determined using a laboratory scale reaction kettle for dilute SO2 in 2-Butoxy ethanol (BOE) (1) + water (H2O) (2) binary system at a temperature range of 298.15–308.15 K under...

Mutagenetic breeding is an efficient technique for the enhancement of lipid productivity from microalgae. In this study, oil-rich microalga Scenedesmus obliquus were treated by Laser-UV composite mutagenesis. Among the 35 mutant strains, X5 was primely screened. Afterwards, a twice UV mutagenizing was operated on X5, and the optimal mutant strain X5-H13 was obtained. The growth rate, dry weight, lipid yield and lipid content of X5-H13 were 0.698×107 cells/mL·d, 0.99 g/L, 0.49 g/L and 48.8% while cultivated in municipal wastewater, respectively, which were increased by 45%, 58%, 109% and 32% than the original strain. The results of the subculture of repeated mutant showed that the biomass and lipid content of strain X5-H13 were up to 0.99 g/L and 48.8%. The growth of each generation was stable. Furthermore, the random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis indicated that the mutant strain X5-H13 was different from the starting strain, with their genetic similarity coefficient value of 0.815.

Efficient cost effective lipid extraction from microalgae is a challenging topic for large scale production of microalgae-based biodiesel. In this study, a microwave-assisted lipid extraction process was applied to the oil-rich green microalga Scenedesmus obliquus grown on municipal wastewater. N-hexane/isopropanol solvent was used as alternative solvent. Optimal extraction parameters were determined as: operational temperature of 130 °C, extraction time of 0.25 h, solvent ratio of N-hexane/isopropanol of 3:2 (V:V), phase ratio of co-solvent/biomass was 50:1 (mL:g). Relative extraction rates of lipid and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) achieved using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were 88.25% and 95.58%, respectively, which is higher than traditional water bath heating extraction process (WHE). In addition, compared with WHE, the apparent first order rate constant of MAE was enhanced by 18 times compared to traditional methods. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy indicated that disruption of the cell wall of Scenedesmus obliquus by microwave led to the enhancement of solvents’ penetration and lipid extraction.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by accumulating deposition of lipids in the arterial intima. Notably, macrophages participate centrally in the pathogenesis of this deadly disease. In this study, we established AS mouse models in order to investigate the effect of microRNA-133b (miR-133b) on vulnerable plaque formation and vascular remodeling in AS and explore the potential functional mechanisms. The expression of miR-133b was altered or the Notch-signaling pathway was blocked in the AS mouse models in order to evaluate the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of macrophages. It was observed that miR-133b was upregulated in AS, which might target MAML1 to regulate the Notch-signaling pathway. AS mice with downregulated miR-133b or inhibited Notch-signaling pathway presented with a reduced AS plaque area, an increased positive rate of macrophages, and a decreased positive rate of vascular smooth muscle cells. Moreover, Notch-signaling pathway blockade or miR-133b downregulation inhibited the macrophage viability and migration and accelerated the apoptosis. This study provides evidence that downregulated miR-133b expression may inhibit the immune responses of macrophages and attenuate the vulnerable plaque formation and vascular remodeling in AS mice through the MAML1-mediated Notch-signaling pathway, highlighting miR-133b as a novel therapeutic target for AS., Graphical Abstract

Background To investigate the effects of serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced inflammation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). SAA1 expression was detected in LPS induced VSMCs at different concentrations for different time by using Western blotting. After pre-incubation with recombinant SAA1 protein, VSMCs were treated with 1 μg/ml LPS for 24 h. The VSMCs were then divided into Control, SAA1 siRNA, Nox4 siRNA, LPS, LPS + SAA1 siRNA, LPS + Nox4 siRNA and LPS + SAA1 siRNA + Nox4 groups. MTT was performed to observe the toxicity of VSMCs. Lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence method was used to detect superoxide anion (O2 −) production and NADPH oxidase activity. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to determine expressions of inflammatory factors. Western blotting was used to determine expressions of NOX-4 and p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway related proteins. Results LPS promoted SAA1 protein expression in a concentration−/time-dependent manner. Recombinant SAA1 protein could increase NOX4/ROS production and promote the release of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, TNF-α and MCP-1) in LPS (1 μg/ml) - induced VSMCs. Besides, both SAA1 siRNA and NOX-4 siRNA could not only enhance the O2 − production and NADPH oxidase activity, but also up-regulate the protein expression of NOX4, the release of inflammatory factors, and the levels of p-p38 and p-NF-κB p65 in LPS-induced VSMCs. However, no significant differences in each index were observed between LPS group and LPS + SAA1 siRNA + Nox4 group. Conclusion SAA1-mediated NOX4/ROS pathway could activate p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway, thereby contributing to the release of inflammatory factors in LPS-induced VSMCs.

Lipid extraction is a key step of biodiesel production from microalgae, however, the application of traditional extraction methods was limited due to the difficulties of cell disruption as well as solvent toxicity. In this work, pretreatment method using pulsed electric field (PEF), was primarily applied to lipid extraction process from microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa grown in wastewater. After the pretreatment with PEF, the yields of fatty acid methyl esters from C.pyrenoidosa was 12.0% higher than traditional pretreatment with ultrasonic. The results indicated that PEF was an effective method for cell disruption. Fluorescence staining and scanning electron microscopy showed that the integrity of the cell membrane of microalgae was damaged under pulsed electric field, which enhanced the penetration of solvents and lipid extraction.

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have a demonstrative therapeutic potential in aging-associated facial nerve regeneration, in which ASCs work as a source of Schwann cells therapy as an alternative to autologous nerve grafts. However, the transplantation of ASCs may induce local fibrosis, which causes inferior outcome. Here, we aimed to use genetic modification approaches to reduce the fibrogenic properties of ASCs to improve their therapeutic effects on facial nerve regeneration. Since procollagen-lysine 1, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1) is essential for hydroxylation of lysine residues in collagen telopeptides and for collagen pyridinoline cross-link formation during fibrosis, and since we found that ASCs expressed high levels of PLOD1, we depleted PLOD1 in ASCs by expression of either a short-hair interfering RNA for PLOD1 (shPLOD1) or a microRNA-449 (miR-449), the latter of which targets PLOD1 mRNA to suppress protein translation. Transplantation of either ASCs-shPLOD1 or ASCs-miR-449 or ASCs-control to repair a 6mm-gap in rat facial nerve was compared. Either ASCs-shPLOD1 or ASCs-miR-449 exhibited a better facial nerve function. Mechanistically, ASCs-shPLOD1 or ASCs-miR-449 significantly and similarly reduced the fibrosis in the injured region, likely through suppression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of myofibroblasts.

Synergistic cancer starvation/ROS-mediated/chemo-therapy is developed through a cascade reaction with enzyme glucose oxidase (GOX) modified on the surface of an Fe-based metal organic framework (MOF(Fe)) and drug camptothecin (CPT) loaded into the cavities of MOF(Fe). Once internalized by tumor cells, GOX catalyzes endogenous glucose into hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and gluconic acid (H+) enabling starvation therapy through choking off energy (glucose) supply. Meanwhile, the acidic micro-environment of tumor enhanced by the generated H+ degrades the MOF(Fe) simultaneously releasing CPT for chemotherapy and Fe3+, catalyzing H2O2 into one of the strongest reactive oxygen species (ROS) ˙OH enabling ROS-mediated therapy. Both in vitro and in vivo results show remarkable tri-modal synergistic anticancer effects. This work may shed some light on the development of novel multi-modal cancer therapies without any external intervention.

Two different polymorphs of a new tetraphenylethene-based Schiff base 4-methoxy-2-(((4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)imino)methyl)phenol (TPENOMe) were obtained, which exhibit totally different photochromic and fluorescence properties. The square block-like crystal (TPENOMe-a) exhibits very weak fluorescence and reversible photochromic behavior, while the needle-like crystal (TPENOMe-b) emits relatively stronger orange fluorescence without photochromism. Detailed investigations of the crystal structures, fluorescence spectra and femtosecond transient absorption spectra of the two different polymorphs demonstrate that the different photoinactivation ways resulting from significantly different crystal packing styles may be responsible for the unprecedented various properties. Moreover, TPENOMe-a can be applied as visible light responsive rewritable paper with inkless writing and self-erasing properties. For the rewritable paper, 450 nm blue light can serve as the pen, while 460 to 570 nm light and white light are employed as the eraser. TPENOMe-b combined with TPENOMe-a can be used as a reusable data encryption material with both static and dynamic encryption–decryption processes.

Lenvatinib is a multi-kinase inhibitor for widely treating thyroid cancer. However, little studies have been done about it or its toxicity on embryonic development of vertebrate. In this study, we used zebrafish to assess the effect of lenvatinib on early embryonic development. Exposure of zebrafish embryos to 58, 117, 176 nM lenvatinib induced abnormal embryonic development, such as decreased heart rate, pericardial edema, delayed yolk absorption, and bladder atrophy. Lenvatinib exposure reduced liver area and down-regulated liver developmental related genes. The proliferation of hepatocytes and the expression of apoptosis-related genes were significantly reduced.by Lenvatinib. Furthermore, the imbalance of liver metabolism and abnormal liver tissue structure were observed in adult zebrafish after Lenvatinib exposure. Oxidative stress was up-regulated by lenvatinib and astaxanthin partially rescued hepatic developmental defects via downregulating oxidative stress. After lenvatinib exposure, Wnt signaling was down-regulated, and activation of Wnt signaling partially rescued hepatic developmental defects. Therefore, these results suggested that lenvatinib might induce zebrafish hepatotoxicity by down-regulating Wnt signaling related genes and inducing oxidative stress. This study provides a reference for the potential hepatotoxicity of lenvatinib during embryonic development and raises health concern about the potential harm of exposure to lenvatinib for foetuses.

The development of visible light responsive photocatalysts for simultaneous production of hydrogen (H2) fuel and value-added chemicals is greatly promising to solve the energy and environmental issues by improving the utilization efficiency of solar energy. Herein, the three-component Ni/(Au@CdS) core–shell nanostructures were constructed by the hydrothermal synthesis followed with photodeposition. The intimate integration of plasmonic Au nanospheres and visible-light responsive CdS shells modified with Ni cocatalyst facilitated the generation and separation of electron-hole pairs as well as reduced the overpotential of hydrogen evolution. The Ni/(Au@CdS) photocatalyst exhibited excellent performance toward the selective transformation of benzyl alcohol under anaerobic conditions, and the yields of H2 and benzaldehyde reached up to 3882 and 4242 μmol·g−1·h−1, respectively. The apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) was determined to be 4.09% under the irradiation of 420 nm. The systematic studies have verified the synergy of plasmonic effect and metal cocatalyst on enhancing the photocatalysis. This work highlights the desirable design and potential application of plasmonic photocatalysts for solar-driven coproduction of H2 fuel and high-value chemicals.

Coupled Map Lattice (CML) usually serves as a pseudo-random number generator for encrypting digital images. Based on our analysis, the existing CML-based systems still suffer from problems like limited parameter space and local chaotic behavior. In this paper, we propose a novel intermittent jumping CML system based on multiple chaotic maps. The intermittent jumping mechanism seeks to incorporate the multi-chaos, and to dynamically switch coupling states and coupling relations, varying with spatiotemporal indices. Extensive numerical simulations and comparative studies demonstrate that, compared with the existing CML-based systems, the proposed system has a larger parameter space, better chaotic behavior, and comparable computational complexity. These results highlight the potential of our proposal for deployment into an image cryptosystem.

Purpose To evaluate and determine age‐related changes in rat brains by studying the diffusion kurtosis imaging results among different age groups of rats. Methods Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats underwent conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion Kurtosis Imaging (DKI). Two diffusion values of mean kurtosis (MK) and kurtosis (K⊥) were measured and analyzed based on laterality, brain regions and age groups. The MK and K⊥ data were plotted against different age groups. Results No laterality was found for the MK or K⊥ values in the cerebral cortex (CT), external capsule (EC), or caudate putamen (CPu) regions. In contrast, significant changes in these values were observed among different age groups. Changes of the MK and K⊥ values were significant in both hemispheres in the EC, the CT, and the CPu brain regions. The changes in the MK and K⊥ values showed a parabolic relationship with ages in all the brain regions. Conclusion No laterality in the MK and K⊥ values was observed for the EC, CT, or CPu regions of the rat brain. Significant changes in MK and K⊥ values were both observed among different age groups, thus suggesting diffusion kurtosis imaging as an efficient tool for studying brain aging in rats., No laterality in the MK and K⊥ values was observed for the EC, CT, or CPu regions of the rat brain. Significant changes in MK and K⊥ values were both observed among different age groups, thus suggesting diffusion kurtosis imaging as an efficient tool for studying brain aging in rats.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an extremely metastatic tumor. Sialic acids (SAs) are associated with cancer development and metastasis. NEU4 is a sialidase that removes SAs from glycoconjugates, while the function of the NEU4 in HCC has not been clearly explored. In our research, we found the NEU4 expression was significantly down-regulated in HCC tissues, which was correlated with high grades and poor outcomes of HCC. The NEU4 expression could be regulated by histone acetylation. In the functional analysis of NEU4, the cell motility was inhibited when NEU4 was overexpressed, and restored when NEU4 expression was down-regulated. Similarly, NEU4 over-expressed HCC cells showed less metastasis in athymic nude mice. Further study revealed that NEU4 could inhibit cell migration by enzymatic decomposition of SAs. Our results verified a NEU4 active site (NEU4E235) and overexpressing inactivates NEU4E235A that weakens the inhibition ability to cell migration. Further, 70 kinds of specific interacting proteins of NEU4 including CD44 were identified through mass spectrum. Moreover, the α2,3-linked SAs on CD44 were decreased and the hyaluronic acid (HA) binding ability was increased when NEU4 over-expressed or activated. Additionally, the mutation of CD44 with six N-glycosylation sites showed less sensibility to NEU4 on cell migration compared with wild-type CD44. In summary, our results revealed the mechanism of low expression of NEU4 in HCC and its inhibitory effect on cell migration by removal of SAs on CD44, which may provide new treatment strategies to control the motility and metastasis of HCC.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is the natural microenvironment of stem cells survival, as well as proliferation, differentiation and metastasis, containing a variety of biological molecular complexes secreted by the resident cells in tissues and organs. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) is a major component of ECM, containing one or more covalently attached heparan sulfate chains. The heparan sulphate chains have high affinity with growth factors, chemokines and morphogens, acting as cytokine-binding domains with great importance in development and normal physiology. Herein, lentiviral single-guide RNA vectors were constructed to activate the endogenous HSPG2 expression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts based on CRISPR/Cas9 synergistic activation mediator system, and then HSPG2 functional cell-derived ECM (ECM HSPG2 ) was fabricated. The ECM HSPG2 is capable to enrich cytokines effectively, such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which was about 3-flod stronger than binding with negative control ECM. With encapsulating abundant bFGF, ECM HSPG2 could maintain the neural stem cells (NSCs) stemness and promote the NSCs proliferation and differentiation in culture. These findings provide a novel and precise design strategy of smart and special functional cell-derived ECM for the biomaterials research and regenerative medicine.

In this study, to mitigate the permeability-selectivity trade-off effect, Pluronic F127 (F127) and HKUST-1 were employed to construct high-performance membranes based on the reverse thermally induced phase separation (RTIPS) method. F127, as a hydrophilic modifier, was applied to increase permeability and resist polyethersulfone (PES) membrane fouling, while the collapse of HKSUT-1 caused by its instability in pure water improved the permeability and selectivity of the membrane. Characterizations demonstrated the successful synthesis of HKUST-1, together with the successful introduction of HKSUT-1 and F127 in PES membranes. It was observed that the membrane prepared by the RTIPS process possessed a uniformly porous surface and sponge-like cross-section with excellent mechanical properties, higher permeability, and selectivity compared to the dense skin and finger-like cross-section of the membrane prepared by the nonsolvent induced phase separation (NIPS) method. Moreover, the permeation and bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection rate of the optimal membrane reached 2378 L/m2 h and 89.3%, respectively, which were far higher than those of the pure membrane. Hydrophilic F127 and many microvoids formed by the collapse of HKUST-1, played an important role in excellent antifouling properties, high permeability, and selectivity by pure water flux (PWF), flux recovery rate (FRR), BSA flux, and COD removal rate tests. Overall, the membrane with F127 and HKSUT-1 prepared via the RTIPS method not only obtained excellent antifouling properties but also mitigated the permeability-selectivity trade-off.

The widespread use of polyethylene (PE) mulch films has led to a significant accumulation of plastic waste in agricultural soils. The biodegradation of plastic waste by microorganisms promises to provide a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly alternative for mitigating soil plastic pollution. A large number of microorganisms capable of degrading PE have been reported, but degradation may be further enhanced by the cooperative activity of multiple microbial species. Here, two novel strains of Arthrobacter sp. and Streptomyces sp. were isolated from agricultural soils and shown to grow with PE film as a sole carbon source. Arthrobacter sp. mainly grew in the suspension phase of the culture, and Streptomyces sp. formed substantial biofilms on the surface of the PE film, indicating that these strains were of different metabolic types and occupied different microenvironments with contrasting nutritional access. Individual strains were able to degrade the PE film to some extent in a 90-day inoculation experiment, as indicated by decreased hydrophobicity, increased carbonyl index and CO2 evolution, and the formation of biofilms on the film surface. However, a consortium of both strains had a much greater effect on these degradation properties. Together, these results provide new insights into the mechanisms of PE biodegradation by a microbial consortium composed of different types of microbes with possible metabolic complementarities.

A molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for the detection of serum amyloid A (MAA) in milk was established for early diagnosis of subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. The electrochemical sensor was initially constructed using a nanocomposite material (reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticles, AuNPs@rGO) to modify the working electrode. The template protein, MAA, was then immobilized using pyrrole as the functional monomer to carry out the electropolymerization. Finally, the template protein was removed to form a molecular imprint film with the capability to qualitatively and quantitatively signaling of MAA. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the modification process of the molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensors. Under optimized conditions, the sensor shows two well-behaved linear relationships in the MAA concentration range 0.01 to 200 ng/mL. A lower detection limit was estimated to be 5 pg/mL (S/N = 3). Other parameters including the selectivity, reproducibility (RSD 3.2%), and recovery rate (96.1-103%) are all satisfactory. Compared with the traditional methods, detection of MAA to determine the subclinical mastitis of dairy cows can efficiently be diagnosed and hence prevent an outbreak of dairy cow mastitis. The electrochemical sensor can detect MAA more rapidly, sensitively, and inexpensively than the ELISA-based MAA detection. These advantages indicate that the method is promising for early diagnosis of dairy cows.