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Voacanga africana is a medicinal tree used in Ghana in West Africa for treatment of various diseases. Using MTT assay-guided separation, 6 compounds were isolated and identified. Compound 1 was a new compound, and the rest 5 compounds were 3-oxo-tabersonine (2), 3α- acetonylvoafrine B (3), lochnericine (4), 17,18-dehydrovincamine (5) and tabersonine (6). Amongst these compounds, tabersonine exhibited a remarkable cytotoxic activity and the IC50 value of tabersonine on 10 types of human cancer cell lines range from 4.8 ± 0.4 µg/mL to 22.5 ± 1.4 µg/mL. The cytotoxicity of tabersonine may be through inducing apoptosis. In conclusion, this study is the first report about the isolation and evaluation of anti-tumor components in Voacanga africana seeds. From these results, the alkaloid compound tabersonine could be considered as a potential anti-tumor agent.

Red raspberry has attracted great interest due to its inherent antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, and antihyperglycemic effects. To brew a beverage with high antioxidant capacity and desirable sensory ...

Dislocation nucleation and interface sliding are two dominant plasticity events governing the mechanical behavior of metallic nanocomposites. Recent works have shown that both events can be closely related to atomistic interface geometries, however, how compositional factors, e.g., segregated hydrogen clusters, contribute both events are nearly unknown. Herein, we demonstrate that hydrogen clusters near misfit dislocation nodes can strongly suppress dislocation nucleation and interface sliding, while clusters at other positions will contribute somehow weaker effect on dislocation nucleation but facilitate interface sliding. These findings offer a rational atomistic mechanism for the effect of hydrogen clusters on interface facilitated plasticity.

Retinoic acid receptor gamma (RARG) belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and has 90% homology to RAR alpha (RARA) and RAR beta. The promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-RARA fusion gene has been implicated in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). RARG gene rearrangement has been identified in a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that resembles APL. To date, only 10 cases of gene rearrangements involving RARG (nucleoporin [NUP]98-RARG, promyelocytic leukemia protein-RARG, cleavage and polyadenylation-specific factor 6-RARG, or nucleophosmin [NPM]1-RARG-NPM1) have been reported. These patients show characteristics similar to APL, including bone marrow morphology, coagulation abnormality, and immunophenotype; however, they are resistant to all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide treatment. Moreover, there is no optimal therapeutic regimen for this subtype of AML. In this study, we report the clinical presentation and experimental findings of a case of AML with NUP98-RARG gene fusion similar to APL and review other cases of RARG gene rearrangement described in the literature.

Bismuth antimony telluride (Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3)-based films have excellent thermoelectric (TE) properties at around room temperature. However, tremendous challenges remain for applying these materials in flexible TE devices due to their inherent brittleness and rigidity. Here we report the fabrication of flexible p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3-based heterostructure films exhibiting optimized power factor and thermal conductivity values of ∼23.2 μW cm−1 K−2 and ∼0.8 W m−1 K−1, respectively, at 300 K. It is shown that the intrinsic TE parameters can be partially decoupled for this heterostructure system, in which new phases (Te and Sb2Te3 nanoinclusions) and numerous interfaces among Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3, Te, and Sb2Te3 are introduced. High mechanical durability and flexibility with less than 10% degradation in performance after 700 bending cycles (a bending radius of 5 mm) were achieved. Finally, a flexible TE generator assembled using these Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3-based heterostructure films and traditional n-type Bi2Te3 films exhibits a high power density of 897.8 μW cm−2 at a relatively small ΔT of 40 K. This result can provide insight into the scalable fabrication of high-performance flexible TE generators for energy harvesting.

OBJECTIVE Prolapse of silicone tubes is one of the most common complications after bicanalicular intubation of the lacrimal system. This study describes a new method of repositioning prolapsed silicone tubes by using a suture-probe. METHODS This study was a retrospective chart review of 12 patients who experienced complete silicone tube prolapse after bicanalicular intubation. The silicone tube was repositioned by using a suture-probe; a double-stranded suture was placed in the lacrimal duct with a lacrimal probe with a hole in the front blunt tip, then interlocked with the prolapsed silicone tube. Subsequently, the suture loop was slowly stretched from the nasal cavity, and the silicone tube was repositioned. The silicone tube at the medial canthus was cut and loosened, then pulled out of the nasal cavity. RESULTS In all 12 cases, the silicone tube was restored with 100% success by using the suture-probe. Three patients were extubated immediately after the repositioning. For another 9 patients with an indwelling tube, extubation was performed after 3-4 months, and no patients experienced further tube dislocation during that time. CONCLUSIONS The suture-probe technique is a simple, low cost, and minimally traumatic method for repositioning a prolapsed silicone tube after bicanalicular intubation of the lacrimal system.A new technique, the suture-probe with thread interlocking the silicone tube ring can reposition the prolapsed silicone tube in lacrimal sac.

Background: The utilities of cell free nucleic acids in monitoring cancer have been recognized by both scientists and clinicians. In addition to human transcripts, a fraction of cell free nucleic acids in human plasma were proved to derived from microbes, and reported to have some relevance to cancer. Methods: To get a better understanding of plasma cell free RNAs (cfRNAs) in cancer patients, we profiled cfRNAs in ~300 plasma samples of five cancer types (colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer) and healthy donors with RNA-seq. Results: Microbe derived cfRNAs were consistently detected by different computational methods when potential contaminations were carefully filtered. Clinically relevant signals can be identified from human and microbial reads, and alteration in human cfRNA expression and virus abundance both suggests some cancer patients were immunosuppressed, as indicated by enriched KEGG pathways of downregulated human genes and higher prevalence torque teno virus. Our data supports the diagnostic value of human and microbe derived plasma cfRNAs for cancer detection, as an area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.931 for distinguishing cancer patients from healthy donors was achieved on validation set, using both human and microbial features. Moreover, these cfRNAs both have some cancer type specificity, and could distinguish tumors of different primary locations. Compared to using human feature alone, combining human and microbial features improves the average validation accuracy of between cancer type classification by 11.5%. Conclusions: In summary, this work provides evidence for the clinical relevance of human and microbe derived plasma cfRNAs, and their potential utilities in cancer detection, and determination of tumor sites.

Water-soluble red afterglow imaging agents based on ecofriendly nanomaterials have potential application in time-gated afterglow bioimaging due to their larger penetration depth and nondurable excitation. Herein, red afterglow imaging agents consisted of Rhodamine B (RhB) and carbon nanodots (CNDs) have been designed and demonstrated. In these agents, CNDs act as energy donors, and RhB acts as an energy acceptor. Both of them are confined into a hydrophilic silica shell to form a CNDs-RhB@silica nanocomposite. The phosphorescence emission spectrum of the CNDs and the absorption spectrum of the RhB match well, and efficient energy transfer from the CNDs to the RhB via Forster resonant energy transfer process can be achieved, with a transfer efficiency can reach 99.2%. Thus, the as-prepared nanocomposite can emit a red afterglow in aqueous solution, and the afterglow spectrum of CNDs-RhB@silica nanocomposite can extend to the first near-infrared window (NIR-I). The luminescence lifetime and afterglow quantum yield (QY) of the CNDs-RhB@silica can reach 0.91 s and 3.56%, respectively, which are the best results in red afterglow region. Time-gated in vivo afterglow imaging has been demonstrated by using the CNDs-RhB@silica as afterglow agents.

Tobacco products are an addictive commodity. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest statistics data, tobacco kills more than eight million people each year. In 2003, the WHO proposed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to provide an effective framework for the control of tobacco products to governments around the world. In the field of tobacco products, the hardest problem is how to prevent counterfeit tobacco products and smuggling. To solve the problems, we proposed a blockchain-based traceable and verifiable logistics system for tobacco products with global positioning system (GPS) and radio-frequency identification (RFID) Technologies. In this research, we provide an overview of system architecture, and also define the protocol and the smart contract in every phase that stores data into the blockchain center. We realized a decentralized database and authentication system that uses blockchain and smart contract technology, every protocol in every phase was designed to achieve the integrity of data and non-repudiation of message. Every tobacco product’s shipping record will be completed by scanning the RFID tag and retrieving the GPS with a mobile reader, where the record will be updated and validated in the blockchain center. In the end, the security and costs of the system were analyzed, and a comparison was made with the EU’s (European Commission) method. Our system is more flexible for transportation, more secure in the communication protocol, and more difficult to tamper and forge data. In general, the proposed scheme solved the problem of tobacco products counterfeiting and tracking issues.

Smart windows can dynamically and adaptively adjust the light transmittance in non-energy or low-energy ways to maintain a comfortable ambient temperature, which are conducive to efficient use of energy. This work proposes a liquid crystal (LC) smart window with highly efficient near-infrared (NIR) response using carbon nanotubes grafted by biphenyl LC polymer brush (CNT-PDB) as the orientation layer. The resultant CNT-PDB polymer brush can provide the vertical orientation of LC molecules to maintain the initial transparency. At the same time, the smart window shows a rapid response to NIR light, which can quickly adjust the light transmittance to prevent sunlight from entering the room. Different from common doping systems, this method avoids the problem of poor compatibility between the LC host and photothermal conversion materials, which is beneficial for improving the durability of the device.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a malignant tumor with very poor prognosis. Therefore, it is important to fully understand the molecular mechanism underlying its occurrence and development. Pumilio RNA-binding family member 1 (PUM1) has been reported to function as an oncogene in ovarian cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer. However, its role and mechanism in PDAC have not been fully illuminated. Here, we found that the PUM1 protein levels were higher in PDAC tissues than in adjacent tissues and that PUM1 levels were significantly associated with TNM stage and overall survival time, indicating a correlation between high PUM1 expression and poor prognosis in patients with PDAC. In vitro and in vivo assays showed that PUM1 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), and promoted apoptosis in MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cells. Through cDNA microarrays and ingenuity pathway analysis, we found that the activation of the eIF2 signaling pathway significantly correlated with PUM1 knockdown. These results were further confirmed by the increased levels of key components of the eIF2 signaling pathway, p-PERK, p-EIF2A, and ATF4 in PUM1 knockdown cells. We also found that PUM1 levels have a significant negative correlation with p-PERK levels in PDAC tissues and that PERK overexpression inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT, and promoted apoptosis in vitro. Moreover, a PERK inhibitor alleviated the effects of PUM1 knockdown on cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion, and EMT. Taken together, our results revealed that PUM1 knockdown suppressed cell growth, invasion, and metastasis, and promoted apoptosis by activating the PERK/eIF2/ATF4 signaling pathway in PDAC cells. PUM1 could be a potential target to develop pharmaceuticals and novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of PDAC.

Capacitors with high energy density are pressingly demanded in pulsed power systems and recent achievements in polymer-based nanocomposites with increasingly high energy storage capacity demonstrat...

Angiotensin II (Ang II) modulates VSMCs phenotypic switch that play a critical role in the cardiovascular diseases. MicroRNA-27a (miR-27a) has been proven to be involved in regulating vascular remodeling; however, the functional role of miR-27a in VSMCs in response to Ang II stimulation need to be elucidated. Cell proliferation and migration were measured by Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), BrdU incorporation and scratch wound assay in VSMCs transfected with miR-27a or its inhibitor. The target of miR-27a was confirmed using bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assay. Ang II treatment time-dependently increased proliferation and migration of VSMCs accompanied with downregulation of α-smooth muscle-actin (α-SMA) and upregulation of miR-27a expression. Moreover, knockdown of miR-27a in VSMCs significantly attenuated Ang II-induced cell proliferation and migration, whereas this effect was aggravated by overexpression of miR-27a. A potential mechanistic analysis revealed that miR-27a directly targeted α-SMA, which mediated miR-27a-induced cell proliferation and migration. In conclusion, these results indicate that miR-27a acts as a novel regulator of Ang II-induced proliferation and migration by directly targeting α-SMA expression in VSMCs in vitro, and may be a potential therapeutic target for treating vascular diseases.

For polymer-based nanocomposites, designing the nanostructures of fillers, their distribution inside matrix as well as interfaces with the polymer is of crucial importance to achieve high dielectric performances. One-dimensional semiconductor Bi2S3 nanorods coated with homogeneous SiO2 and polydopamine (PDA) double shell layers were imported into the poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with parallel arrangement via uniaxial stretching to form Bi2S3@SiO2@PDA/PVDF nanocomposite. The dielectric performances of oriented Bi2S3@SiO2@PDA/PVDF were studied in comparison with its counterparts employing Bi2S3 fillers without shell layers or alignment. A microcapacitor model was used to accurately estimate the dielectric constant along perpendicular direction. Coating conductive Bi2S3 nanorods with insulating SiO2@PDA double layer remarkably reduces the dielectric loss of the nanocomposite, while alignment of one-dimensional Bi2S3@SiO2@PDA nanorods endows electrical properties anisotropy, which was understood from J-V curves measured along two directions and moreover, via three-dimensional finite element analysis, unambiguously revealing the effects of aligned core-shell structured fillers on local electric field and current density distribution. This study provides a promising and facile approach for designing high performance dielectrics.

Flexible sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity to different external stimuli are highly desired in wearable electronics, especially those having more than one function. Here, we developed a flexible active dual-parameter sensor based on all organic piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) and thermoelectric polyaniline (PANI)-based composite films in a sandwiched structure, for sensitive temperature and physiological signal monitoring. Highly conductive PANI-based films working as electrodes resulted in higher electromechanical conversion than traditional metal electrodes. The functions of the device as a physiological signal active sensor were examined via human motion, including elbow bending, pronunciation, and artery pulse. The integration of high performance thermoelectric PANI-based films enabled the device to sense ambient temperature with high sensitivity (45.5 μV K−1) and a quick response (1.2 s). More importantly, a series of experiments proved that the device was capable of sensing temperature and tactile stimuli simultaneously without signal interference. Our work provided a promising prototype for an active dual-parameter sensor, which has great potential for application in wearable health-monitoring systems.

Conducting polymer-based flexible thermoelectric films are an attractive prospect in the field of low-grade heat energy conversion. However, the varieties of n-type polymers are much fewer than the p-type ones, which presents a major obstacle for developing high performance thermoelectric generators. Herein, we demonstrate an n-type polyaniline-based hybrid with Bi2S3 nanorods as fillers, showing a Seebeck coefficient of −42 μV K−1 at room temperature, which was realized by precisely controlling the major carrier concentration. Compact and flexible power generator based on solution-processed n-type PANI/Bi2S3 and p-type PANI/Te nanorod hybrid films with 7 couples of p–n legs was assembled. The output performance of the device was characterized over a wide temperature range (from room temperature to 473 K). An equivalent thermopower of 224.4 μV per K per couple was achieved at a temperature difference of 90 K. The device also showed good air stability over a one month period. This study provides an approach for integrating PANI-based p-type and n-type thermoelectric films towards efficient power generation utilizing ambient energy for wearable applications.

Developing ultrahigh stretchable, tough and self-healing electronic devices is the key component for the artificial intelligence apparatus which can produce high mechanical properties and prolong the service life. However, it has been a difficult issue to upsurge the mechanical property of hydrogel materials without declining their stretching, and toughness. Herein, we developed high stretchable and recoverable poly(e-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(e-caprolactone)/poly(acrylic acid) based Ac-PCEC/PAA-Fe(III) hydrogels with self-healable, conductive, and enhanced mechanical properties. Mechanical analysis indicates that Ac-PCEC/PAA-Fe(III) hydrogels have superior recoverable property, improved extensibility (4592 %), enhanced mechanical strength (0.38 MPa), and higher compressive performance. Simultaneously, the developed hydrogels are endowed with tunable mechanical properties by controlling the proportion of components. In addition, the designed hydrogels also exhibit self-healing and conductive properties due to the dynamic interactions (metal ions coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds) and conductivity, respectively. We hypothesize that the mechanical-reinforced, self-recoverable, self-healable and conductive hydrogels could be employed to large deformable electronics.

The specific prognostic factors and the long-term effects of different treatment options in APL remain unclear. In this retrospective study, 70 APL patients were treated with ATRA + DNR/DA or ATRA + ATO regimens for induction therapy and DA or ATRA + ATO for consolidation and maintenance therapy. The prognostic factors and treatment effects on outcome were analyzed. Results showed that the 5-year OS in low-intermediate risk and high risk groups were 95.63% and 100%, and the 5-year RFS were 95.34% and 100%, respectively, the early mortality rate was 4.28%. No significant difference was found on OS and RFS with different regimens, but side-effects and treatment-related mortality rates were lower in ATRA + ATO group. CD34 expression, FLT3-ITD mutation and PML-RARA isoform had no significance on OS and RFS. In conclusion, cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities had no influence on effect of APL patients; ATRA + ATO sequential maintenance may alleviate complications, treatment-related mortality, and the previously high risk factors.

Owing to the integration of power electronic devices and the development of flexible devices, demands for high quality thermal conductive composites have substantially increased. Thus highly flexible poly (vinylidene fluoride)/boron nitride (i.e. PVDF/BN-x) composite films were prepared in this work, and a low quantity of graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) was added to simultaneously improve the thermal and mechanical properties of the film (i.e. PVDF/BN-30/GNP-y). The synergistic effect of the two fillers has been discussed, and results show that the thermal conductivity of PVDF/BN-30/GNP-2.5 reaches up to 0.720 Wm−1K−1 compared with 0.634 Wm−1K−1 of PVDF/BN-30. And the tensile strength is also increased from 12.43 MPa to 20.21 MPa, which has been improved by 63%. In addition, the experiment results validate that the films possess high electrical insulation and satisfactory breakdown strength, which proves its applicability to high-voltage environment. Besides, the thermal conductivity of films can be preserved after 300 thermal shocks with extreme temperature changes. This study provides a kind of flexible thermal interface material with excellent comprehensive properties for application in field of power electronics.

Doping is of key importance in enhancing the electrical transport properties of conducting polymers. Recently, several strategies were employed to optimize the carrier concentration to maximize the power factor of conducting polymers based thermoelectric (TE) materials. Here, we adopted thermal treatment on polyaniline/Te nanorod hybrid films to study the temperature dependent changes in molecular structure, crystallinity, and electrical transport behaviors. The results unambiguously indicated that the carrier concentration would be effectively tuned, and the TE performance was further enhanced via thermal treatment solely. Finally, a 20% increment in power factor has been achieved for the hybrid film treated at 180 °C compared with as-prepared film. The study provides a facile route for optimizing TE properties of polymer-based hybrid materials.

Early warning of tumor formation is crucial for the classification, treatment, and prognosis of tumor patients. Here, a new strategy is reported, aimed at realizing this goal based on imaging aerobic glycolysis processes using nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) as fluorescent probes. The intensity of the photoluminescence emitted by the N-CDs is specifically enhanced by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+ , oxidized) in the physiological environment. The N-CDs allow a few (five to ten) abnormal cells in spontaneous hepatocellular carcinoma models to be identified before the in situ development of tumor tissue. The N-CD probes can also distinguish tumor cells from normal cells and be used to evaluate their proliferation activity (with a specificity of up to 96.15% in 13 types of tumor cells and 90.90% in orthotopic xenograft models). The N-CDs are successfully used to monitor the invasion of tumor cells into neighboring tissues and body fluids in 49 clinical samples (with a sensitivity up to 79.31%). These included three vitreous body samples (from patients with retinoblastoma), 42 urine samples (22 patients clinically diagnosed with urothelium carcinoma and 20 healthy persons), and four hydrothorax samples (from patients with metastatic lesions).

Graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) are known to exhibit biocidal activities, however, the combined effect of GBNs based on physical disruption and oxidative stress on different types of bacteria remain unclear. Here, we use both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) bacteria to investigate the antimicrobial properties of vertically and horizontally aligned graphenes grown on semiconductor silicon (Si) and insulator silicon dioxide (SiO2). It is found that the bacteria show different sensitivity to isomeric-structured GBNs. Gram-negative bacteria are more vulnerable to graphene-coated Si substrates than to SiO2, because the less negatively charged membrane enhances the electron transfer effect that extracts the electrons from the microbial membranes, and Gram-positive bacteria seem to show more susceptibility to physical puncturing of vertically aligned graphene than to horizontally aligned graphene due to the nature of the compound and the shape of the membrane structure. Subsequently, the vertically aligned graphene Si substrate (G@V-Si) exerts the superior antimicrobial ability on all the bacteria. Finally, all the above GBNs show low cytotoxicity and high biocompatibility, and the robust in vivo antibacterial effect indicates that G@V-Si could serve as an ideal platform for antimicrobial treatment.

Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets have wide applications in electronic devices. Incorporation of MoS2 nanosheets into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) renders a type of dielectric composite regulated with 2D architecture. However, due to the semiconducting behavior of MoS2, the accompanying high dielectric loss prevents the composite being good dielectrics. Aluminum flakes (AFs), another 2D structure in micron scale, were thus introduced into the MoS2/PVDF composite to block leakage path as well as providing another source for electric polarization. The effects of multiscale 2D fillers on adjusting the dielectric and electrical properties of the ternary MoS2/AFs/PVDF composites were investigated systematically. The largely suppressed dielectric loss and electrical conductivity of ternary composite compared with those of MoS2/PVDF composite is ascribed to the parallel arranged self-passivated AFs, which effectively inhibit the direct connection and overlapping of MoS2 nanosheets along the electric field direction. Meanwhile, formation of numerous micro-capacitors with AFs as electrodes and MoS2/PVDF composite as dielectric medium makes an additional contribution to the high dielectric constant of the ternary composite. Furthermore, the dielectric polarization and relaxation process of composites were investigated in terms of electric modulus to explain the variation tendency of dielectric and electric property of the composites.

Differentiation of adipocytes and their aggregation to adipose tissue are critical for mammalian growth and development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that play important roles in adipogenesis and lipid metabolism. miR-128-3p may contribute to adipose tissue development according to the previous studies. However, the role of miR-128-3p in the process of preadipocyte differentiation and lipid metabolism is not yet understood. The purpose of this research was to investigate the biological function and molecular mechanism of miR-128-3p in 3T3-L1 cells. In the present study, we found that miR-128-3p was downregulated during the process of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation. Overexpression of miR-128-3p obstructed the expressions of adipogenic marker genes as well as the lipid droplets accumulation and triglyceride content, suggesting the importance of miR-128-3p for adipogenesis. Moreover, miR-128-3p could lead to the retardation of cell proliferation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Further evidences showed that, as a negative regulator of adipogenesis, miR-128-3p could directly target peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (Pparg) which resulted in the suppression of 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation, and miR-128-3p could also bind with SERTA domain containing 2 (Sertad2) which drove triglyceride hydrolysis and lipolysis. In addition, inhibition of Sertad2 with siRNA displayed the same effects as overexpression of miR-128-3p. Our research demonstrated that miR-128-3p impeded 3T3-L1 adipogenesis by targeting Pparg and Sertad2, resulting in the obstruction of preadipocyte differentiation and promotion of lipolysis. Taken together, this study offers profound insight into the mechanism of miRNA-mediated adipogenesis and lipid metabolism.

To promote vascularization of tissue-engineered bone, IFN-γ polarizing macrophages to M1 was loaded on 5% calcium silicate/β-tricalcium phosphate (CaSiO3-β-TCP) scaffolds. IFN-γ and Si released from the scaffold were designed to polarize M1 and M2 macrophages, respectively. β-TCP, CaSiO3-β-TCP, and IFN-γ@CaSiO3-β-TCP were fabricated and biocompatibilities were evaluated. Polarizations of macrophages were detected by flow cytometry. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells with GFP were cultured and induced on Matrigel with conditioned culture medium extracted from culture of macrophages loaded on scaffolds for evaluating angiogenesis. Four weeks after the scaffolds were subcutaneously implanted into C57B1/6, vascularization was evaluated by visual observation, hematoxylin and eosin staining, as well as immunohistochemistry of CD31. The results showed that IFN-γ@CaSiO3-β-TCP scaffolds released IFN-γ in the early stage (1–3 days) to stimulate macrophages to M1 polarization, followed by release of Si inducing macrophages to M2 polarization while scaffolds degraded. The activation of M1/M2 allows macrophages to secrete more cytokines, including VEGF, CXCL12 and PDGF-BB. The IFN-γ@CaSiO3-β-TCP scaffolds formed more blood vessels in vitro and in vivo compared to the control groups. The study indicated that the design of tissue-engineered scaffolds with immunomodulatory function utilized host macrophages to increase vascularization of tissue-engineered bone, providing a new strategy for accelerating vascularization and osteogenesis of tissue-engineered scaffolds and showing the potential for treatment of major bone defects. Statement of significance A 3-D printed immunomodulatory scaffold was designed for repair of massive bone defects. Through the release of interferon γ and silicon ions, the new immunomodulatory scaffold promoted the M1 and M2 polarization of macrophages, boosting angiogenesis. This scaffold provided a new strategy for accelerating vascularization and osteogenesis of tissue-engineered scaffolds and showing the potential for treatment of major bone defects.

A new label-free fluorescent turn-on-off mode for the sensitive detection of cysteine(Cys) and the identification of Cys over glutathione (GSH) was firstly proposed, mainly on the basis of two different combination ways between Ag+ ions and GSH-capped gold nanoclusters, or to say, two different contribution ways to the fluorescence enhancement, Ag+ ions combining with Au core structure and coordinating with carboxylate groups on the surface of gold nanoclusters, respectively (turn-on mode). The Au core-binding Ag+ ions could merely be captured by Cys for its relatively smaller steric hindrance than that of GSH, resulting in the identification of Cys over GSH. The carboxylate-binding Ag+ ions could be removed both by Cys and GSH, which, hence, could be used for the qualification of Cys and GSH (turn-off mode). Good selectivity and sensitivity for Cys over other amino acids were achieved. This new turn-on-off sensing strategy for Cys also had obvious advantages of simplicity, rapidity, ease of operation and a low cost. Under the optimized conditions, the linear range was 0.00-2.71μM with the limit of detection of 16.54nM for Cys and 15.59nM for GSH. The probe also had a good application in Cys containing health products.

Corilagin, a gallotannin, is one of the major active components of many ethnopharmacological plants. It was isolated from Caesalpinia coriaria (Jacq.) Willd. (dividivi) by Schmidt in 1951 for the first time. In the past few decades, corilagin was reported to exhibit anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities, etc. However, little attention was paid to its pharmacological properties due to the complicated and inefficient extract method. In recent years, with the development of extraction technology corilagin was much easier to obtain than before. Thus, people return to pay attention to its anti-tumor, hepatoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities, particularly as an anti-tumor agent candidate. Our research team had focused on the distribution, preparation and anti-tumor activity of corilagin since 2005. We found corilagin showed good anti-tumor activity on hepatocellular carcinoma and ovarian cancer. What's more, corilagin showed a low level of toxicity toward normal cells and tissues. Due to the extensive attention that corilagin has received, we present a systematic review of the pharmacological effects of corilagin. In this review, we summarized all the pharmacological effects of corilagin with a focus on the molecular mechanism of anti-tumor activity and show you how corilagin affected the signaling pathways of tumor cells as well as its physicochemical properties, distribution and preparation methods.

In a previous study, silkworm larvae were used as a novel model to assess the biotoxicity of ILs, which showed that ILs could cause significant physiological and biochemical changes in midguts and silk glands of the larvae, and result in the death of larvae. In order to investigate the toxicity of 1-octyl-3-methylimidazole chloride ([C8mim]Cl) to the larvae at molecular level, RNA-sequencing technology was used to construct transcriptomic profiles of midguts and silk glands in this work. Results showed that a lot of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were effectively screened out through bioinformatics software based on the transcriptome data and reference genome. To give more detail, 5118 and 2211 DEGs (926 and 822 DEGs) were obtained in the midguts (silk glands) when the larvae were exposed to [C8mim]Cl for 6 and 12 h, respectively, relative to the controls. In addition, gene ontology (GO) analysis suggested that the DEGs could be divided into three categories (i.e., biological process, cellular component, and molecular function), and were involved in multiple organelle functions and complex biological processes. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the DEGs were enriched in a variety of pathways, such as signal transduction, apoptosis, glycolysis, peroxisome, autophagy, hippo signaling pathway, arginine and proline metabolism. Results of quantitative real-time PCR and histopathological observation indicated that molecular mechanism of the larvae against [C8mim]Cl toxicology may be attributed to cell apoptosis regulation via both the mitochondrial pathway and the death receptor-initiated pathway. Thus, these results provided useful data for exploring the toxicity of ILs to insects at molecular level.

High-ZT materials and high-performance devices have always been hot topics in the field of thermoelectric applications. Here we present a field effect transistor (FET) based method to optimize the thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride thin films, by which Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and carrier type of the films are continuously controllable. As a result, the maximum power factor of the sample reaches 14.9 µWcm−1 K−2 in N-type and 12.5 µWcm−1 K−2 in P-type at room temperature. As compared with the bulk, the thermal conductivity of the bismuth telluride thin film is greatly reduced, which is measured to be lower than 0.37 Wm−1 K−1. The actual ZT of the sample exceeds 1.22 in N-type and 1.02 in P-type at 303 K, respectively. A π-shaped in-plane N-P pair device was built by applying different gate voltage on the bismuth telluride thin films at the two legs, which open circuit voltage is 10.5 mV and the maximum output power is 10.3 nW at a temperature difference of 30 K. By using the Te-doped bismuth telluride thin films, the intrinsic carrier concentration of the sample decreases to 1.05 × 1017/cm3 (N-type) and the films can be tuned into N-type and P-type by the opposite gate voltage symmetrically. Using this material, a thin film thermocouple with a quasi-linearly adjustable sensitivity from 2.4 to 225.5 µVK−1 by voltage was obtained. This work provides a general method to obtain high-ZT of thermoelectric materials and new ideas for fabricating performance controllable device with the same thermoelectric material, which greatly simplifies the material growth process in device manufacturing.

Flexible and lightweight thermoelectric (TE) generators have attracted increasing interest for powering wearable electronics using the temperature difference between human body and ambient air. Conducting polymers or their based composite materials are suitable for such applications; however, most conducting polymers show p-type conduction, hence, until now almost all reported flexible TE generators, which use conducting polymers or their based composite materials, are single-carrier-type (p-type) leg devices, connecting alternatively p-type legs electrically in series with silver or other metals. In this paper, both p- and n-type flexible TE materials have been developed using polymers and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The p-type TE films are prepared by integrating SWCNTs into a high conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) matrix, using a dilution-filtration method. N-type TE films with Seebeck coefficient about -35 μV/K are realized by treating SWCNTs with polyethyleneimine (PEI), and an encapsulation process has been employed to effectively preserve its n-type characteristics. Benefited from the flexibility of both the substrate and the composite films, a flexible TE prototype composed of six p-n junctions connected in series has been fabricated to demonstrate TE voltage output and power generation. The output power from the prototype is 220 nW for a 50 K temperature gradient.

Liquid swine manure was subjected to thermophilic anaerobic digestion, ammonia stripping and centrifugation in order to increase the available carbon sources and decrease the ammonia concentration and turbidity. Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX 2714) was grown on minimally diluted (2×, 3× and 4×) autoclaved and non-autoclaved pretreated anaerobic digestion swine manure (PADSM) in a batch-culture system for 7days. Results showed that C. vulgaris (UTEX 2714) grew best on 3× PADSM media, and effectively removed NH4+-N, TN, TP and COD by 98.5-99.8%, 49.2-55.4%, 20.0-29.7%, 31.2-34.0% and 99.8-99.9%, 67.4-70.8%, 49.3-54.4%, 73.6-78.7% in differently diluted autoclaved and non-autoclaved PADSM, respectively. Results of chemical compositions indicated that contents of pigment, carbohydrate, protein and lipid in C. vulgaris (UTEX 2714) changed with the culture conditions. Moreover, its fatty acid profiles suggested that this alga could be used as animal feed if cultivated in autoclaved PADSM or as good-quality biodiesel feedstock if cultivated in non-autoclaved PADSM.

Flexible electrode films play critical and fundamental roles in the successful development of flexible electronic devices. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were implanted into silver (Ag) ink to enhance the electrical conductivity and the reliability of the printed Ag electrode films. The fabricated carbon nanotubes-enriched silver (Ag-CNTs) electrode films were printed on the polyimide substrates by a facile screen printing method and sintered at a relatively low temperature. The resistivity of Ag-CNTs films was decreased by 62.27% compared with the pure Ag film. Additionally, the Ag-CNTs films exhibited excellent flexibility under a bending radius of 4 mm (strain e = 2.09%) over 1000 cycles. Furthermore, the Ag-CNTs film displayed unchangeable electrical conductivity together with a strong adhesion after an accelerated aging test with 500 thermal shock cycles. These improvements were attributed to the Ag-CNTs interconnected network structure, which can provide electronic transmission channels and prevent cracks from initiating and propagating.

Thirteen new cantharidin derivatives including six cantharimide-amino acid adducts (1–6), five cantharimide dimers (7–11) and two cantharimide-aromatic compound hybrids (12–13) were isolated from Mylabris phalerata Pallas. Compounds 1–5 represent the first natural products combined through cantharimide and neutral amino acids. Compounds 7–11 are the first cantharimide dimers consisting of two different cantharimide cores. Their structures with absolute configurations were elucidated by means of NMR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and semi-synthesis. Compound 6 showed weak cytotoxicity against HepG2, A549 and MDA-MB-231 cells with IC50 values of 15.70 ± 3.06, 20.67 ± 4.05 and 23.79 ± 4.54 μM, respectively.

Radiative cooling, a passive cooling method without energy consumption, provides a sustainable alternative for existing cooling strategies. Microstructures in porous polymers have enabled further optimization of radiative cooling efficiency through selective reflection and emission. While numerous fabrication strategies have been reported, there is still a critical need for scalable method with simplicity, low cost, and designable microstructures. Herein, we report a low-cost eco-friendly template method towards scalable production of porosity-controlled sponge emitter with high radiative cooling efficiency. We demonstrate the feasibility by preparing porous polydimethylsiloxane sponge emitter (P-PDMS) with NaCl template. By modulating the template-to-PDMS mass ratio, facile porosity control is realized and the obtained sponge-like porous structure endows PDMS with higher sub-ambient cooling ability enabled by enhanced emissivity and solar reflectivity. Furthermore, the heat transfer between hot air and the object is efficiently inhibited by the micropores. Combined theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that the PDMS sponge has a remarkable reflectivity of 95% in solar spectrum and averaged emissivity of 96.5% within the 8–13 μm range, thus realizing excellent sub-ambient temperature drop of 8.0 °C.

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of myo-inositol (MI) on growth, photosynthetic activity, and chemical compositions of Chlorella sorokiniana. Results showed that a maximum value of cell density was obtained when this alga was cultivated in BG11 media with 1000 mg L−1 MI, which was 1.37 times greater than that in the controls. Moreover, it was observed that MI had a negative effect on algal photosynthetic activity, which could be alleviated by regulating the contents of chemical compositions, such as chlorophyll a (Chl a). In the BG11 media with MI, contents of Chl a in the algal cells were in the range of 0.30–0.35 μg 10−6 cells, which were about 1.75 times greater than that in the controls during microalgae cultivation. The accumulated Chl a would be used to capture and deliver more photons during algal photosynthesis. In addition, contents of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins varied with the changes in MI concentrations. Thus, it is concluded that MI could promote the algal growth and play an important role in regulating the biochemical compositions in algal cells. These data would provide basic theory and technical support for large-scale cultivation and biomass production of microalgae by adding MI to culture media.

Phase-transition and orientation of liquid crystal (LC) are two crucial factors for LC application. In this work, a long rod-like LC compound containing double azobenzene (M1) is successfully designed and synthesized. The combing technologies of nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR, 13C NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are used to identify the chemical structure of the molecule. Additionally, the polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and one-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction (1D WAXD) experimental results show that M1 exhibits an ultrawide range of LC phases and a stable LC structure even at ultrahigh temperature, which indicates that this LC can be applied in some especial devices. Further, the compound M1 is used to tune the LC temperature range of the commercial LC 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl (5CB). A series of samples 1–7 are obtained through doping different contents of M1, which show different LC temperature ranges that are dependent on the composition ratio of M1 and 5CB. More interestingly, all resultant samples show spontaneous vertical orientation on the hydrophilic glass substrate. Meanwhile, due to the effect of azobenzene in the compound M1, a reversible transition between homeotropic to random orientation of the LC molecules is achieved when these LC cells are alternately exposed to UV irradiation and visible light, which implies that this material shows potential application in especial display and optical storage technologies.

Preparation of high performance flexible thermoelectric thin films would promote applications of flexible thermoelectric device. In this work, antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films were directly deposited on polyimide substrate. The crystalline structures and morphologies of the thin films were analyzed, and the mechanism of crystal growth influenced by sputtering pressure was discussed. We also investigated the effects of microstructure on their thermoelectric properties, where Hall effect measurement was conducted to provide further insight into the enhancement of thermoelectric properties. The mean free path of the carrier was calculated on the basis of carrier concentration and mobility. Our results showed that with (015) crystal preferential orientation, the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of Sb2Te3 thin films were simultaneously increased, and a maximum power factor of 6.0 μW cm−1 K−2 was achieved, which was increased by 75% compared with the ordinary thin film. Meanwhile, due to the reduced lattice thermal conductivity and increased power factor, the estimated figure of merit (ZT) value was largely enhanced to 0.42.

Design of layered structures in polymer-based dielectric composites would result in regionalized distribution of fillers which is important in determining the electrical properties of the composites. Here, BaTiO3/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (BT/PVDF, denominated as B) composite layer and pure PVDF (denominated as P) layer were stacked in five different sequences to investigate the influence of interfaces formed between adjacent layers in sandwich structure on the breakdown strength of composites. B/P/B film showed the highest breakdown strength, suggesting that breakdown strength could be simply enhanced via forming two hetero-interfaces by inserting a pure polymer layer in the composite with filler homogenously distributed. Thus; the dielectric behavior and energy storage capability of B/P/B sandwich-structured composites with various BT volume fractions were studied. The significantly improved dielectric polarization and breakdown strengths were observed in B/P/B sandwich structure, where the interfaces between adjacent layers play the crucial role. Maximum discharged energy density near breakdown field was achieved at ultralow BT loading of 1 vol%. The results highlight the benefit from structural design of multilayer composites towards high-performance pulsed power systems.

Recently, some researchers have pointed out that the threats of ionic liquids (ILs) to aquatic environment cannot be ignored. Thus, this study investigated the potential toxicity of 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C12mim]BF4) on a marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum at population, biochemical and physiological levels using 96h growth tests with a batch-culture system. Results showed that [C12mim]BF4 was very stable in aquatic environment during 96h of exposure. The growth of P. tricornutum was significantly inhibited by [C12mim]BF4 with 24, 48, 72 and 96h EC50 values of 0.63, 0.61, 0.68 and 0.72mgL-1, respectively. Although there were no significant differences between the controls and treatments with 0.1 and 0.5mgL-1 [C12mim]BF4, the effective quantum yields (ΦPSII) of the diatom in 1, 2.5, 5 and 10mgL-1 [C12mim]BF4 treatments were 61.48, 17.04, 2.96 and 0.74% of that in the controls at 96h of exposure, respectively. Chl a content of the diatom was decreased by 34.86, 47.79, 49.81, 59.21, 79.82 and 86.98% compared with that of the controls at 96h of exposure in 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10mgL-1 [C12mim]BF4 treatments, respectively. Relative to the controls, soluble sugar content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities of the diatom increased with increasing [C12mim]BF4 concentrations at 96h of exposure, and reached their maxima (1.46μg106cell-1, 7.48FU107cell-1, 3.35nmol108cell-1, 33.41 and 7.23Umg-1 proteins, respectively) in 5mgL-1 [C12mim]BF4 treatments. While the maximum soluble protein content (1.56μg106cell-1) of the diatom was obtained in 0.5mgL-1 [C12mim]BF4 treatments, and then decreased with increasing [C12mim]BF4 concentrations from 0.5 to 10mgL-1. These findings provide strong evidence for the potential toxicity of ILs to marine diatoms.

Design of core–shell nanoarchitectures is powerful approach to obtain advanced high-k polymer nanocomposites. Core–shell nanoparticles with uniform amorphous Al2O3 shell layer encapsulating BaTiO3 (BT) particles were fabricated through an effective, facile and low-cost heterogeneous nucleation method. The dielectric behaviors of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanocomposite films were adjusted by varying BT@Al2O3 nanoparticles loadings. The effects of Al2O3 shell and the arising interfaces on the dielectric and electric properties in comparison with bare BT nanoparticles were studied. Due to the highly insulating Al2O3 shell with proper dielectric constant, the local electric field distribution around interfaces between polar BT nanoparticles and PVDF were greatly modified leading to obvious dielectric loss suppression yet maintaining high dielectric constant. The study provides a solution for obtaining high-k dielectric composite with low loss and high breakdown strength, which is highly desired in high power systems.

Scalable fabrication of water-dispersible graphene (W-Gr) is highly desirable yet technically challenging for most practical applications of graphene. Herein, a green and mild oxidation strategy to prepare bulk W-Gr (dispersion, slurry, and powder) with high yield was proposed by fully exploiting structure defects of thermally reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) and oxidizing radicals generated from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Owing to the increased carboxyl group from the mild oxidation process, the obtained W-Gr can be redispersed in low-boiling solvents with a reasonable concentration. Benefiting from the modified surface chemistry, macroscopic samples processed from the W-Gr show good hydrophilicity (water contact angle of 55.7°) and excellent biocompatibility, which is expected to be an alternative biomaterial for bone, vessel, and skin regeneration. In addition, the green and mild oxidation strategy is also proven to be effective for dispersing other carbon nanomaterials in a water system.

An uncommon microporous metal–organic framework (MOF), {[Zn5(L)2(DMF)2(μ3-H2O)]·2DMF} (1), was successfully constructed using a less exploited symmetrical pentacarboxylate ligand, 3,5-di(3′,5′-dicarboxylphenyl)benzoic acid (H5L). The MOF 1 features a trinodal (4,5,5)-connected topology having a Schlafli symbol of (42·63·8)(45·65)2(46·64) and is stable in air as well as in acidic/basic aqueous media at room temperature. The MOF 1 behaves as a luminescent sensor for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Fe3+, Fe2+, Cu2+ and Ag+ ions and o-nitrophenol (MNP), p-nitrophenol (PNP), 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) and 4-nitrotoluene (4-NT). Furthermore, the photocatalytic properties of 1 for the degradation of Methyl violet (MV) and Rhodamine B (RhB) have been explored. The possible quenching of the emissions of 1 in the presence of nitroaromatics has been addressed by theoretical calculations and the photocatalytic activity of 1 against organic dyes has been addressed using density of states (DOS) calculations.

It is very important to have a good understanding of the biological effects of nanoparticles (NPs) on marine diatoms. In this study, the physiological and biochemical responses of a marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to titanium dioxide NPs (nano-TiO2) and cerium oxide NPs (nano-CeO2) were compared and evaluated using 96h growth tests in a batch-culture system. At 96h of exposure, the growth inhibition rate (IR, %) of P. tricornutum increased from 5.46 to 27.31% with increasing nano-TiO2 concentrations from 2.5 to 40mgL-1. The maximum IR of 49.59% occurred in 40mgL-1 nano-TiO2 treatments at 48h of exposure. Growth of the diatom was increased in low nano-CeO2 treatments (≤5mgL-1), but was inhibited in high nano-CeO2 treatments (≥10mgL-1). Large aggregates of NPs were attached to the cells of P. tricornutum in 20 and 40mgL-1 nano-TiO2 and nano-CeO2 treatments. In addition, the effective quantum yields (ΦPSII) of P. tricornutum in 40mgL-1 nano-TiO2 and nano-CeO2 treatments were 83.33 and 71.13% of that in the controls at 96h of exposure, respectively. Compared with that of the controls at 96h of exposure, chlorophyll a content, soluble sugar content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, SOD and POD activities of P. tricornutum in 40mgL-1 nano-TiO2 and nano-CeO2 treatments increased by 57.56, 142.97, 373.25, 698.76, 204.85% and 21.43, 89.41, 194.97, 340.05, 502.86%, while soluble protein content decreased by 70.38 and 28.64%, respectively. These findings will be helpful to understand the effect mechanisms of NPs on marine organisms.

Herein, a new red phosphor Na3GaF6:Mn4+ has been designed and synthesized by a facile two-step co-precipitation method at room temperature. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the fluoride Na3GaF6 crystallizes in the P2(1)/n space group with a = 5.4760 A, b = 5.6862 A, c = 7.9009 A, β = 90.309°, and z = 2. Upon blue or UV light excitation, the obtained phosphor Na3GaF6:Mn4+ emits intense and pure red fluorescence. The effects of raw materials, doping concentration and environmental temperature on its luminescence properties and crystal structure have been investigated and discussed in detail. Such a newly synthesized red phosphor shows excellent anti-thermal quenching behavior (∼118.8% of emission intensity at 150 °C relative to 25 °C) and good color stability upon blue light (∼467 nm) excitation. By using the Na3GaF6:Mn4+ phosphor as a red light component, a high-power stable warm white light-emitting diode (WLED, Ra = 81, CCT = 2966 K, luminous efficacy = 56.73 lm W−1) was fabricated, further evidencing the potential of the as-synthesized Na3GaF6:Mn4+ phosphor for white LED applications.

We developed a universal method to prepare hydrophilic carbon nitrogen (C3N4) nanosheets. By treating C3N4 nanosheets with oxygen plasma, hydroxylamine groups (N–OH) with intense protonation could be introduced on the surface; moreover, the content of N–OH groups increased linearly with the oxygen-plasma treatment time. Thanks to the excellent hydrophilicity, uniformly dispersed C3N4 solution were prepared, which was further translated into C3N4 paper by simple vacuum filtration. Pure C3N4 paper with good stability, excellent hydrophilicity, and biocompatibility were proved to have excellent performance in tissue repair. Further research demonstrated that the oxygen-plasma treatment method can also introduce N–OH groups into other nitrogen-containing carbon materials (NCMs) such as N-doped graphene, N-doped carbon nanotube, and C2N, which offers a new perspective on the surface modification and functionalization of these carbon nanomaterials.