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Electrical conductivity and structure of the CaO-SiO2-based mold flux melts with various Al2O3 contents were investigated. The results show that the electrical conductivity increases with the addition of Al2O3 from 2 wt% to 4 wt%, but decreases with the further increase of Al2O3 from 4 wt% to 8 wt%. Correspondingly, the apparent activation energy reduces firstly from 55.12 ± 1.20 kJ mol to 41.09± 0.38 kJ mol, and then increases from 41.09 ± 0.38 kJ mol to 98.99 ± 1.42 kJ mol. The structure analyses suggest that complex structural units, such as Si-O-Al, Al-O0, Si-O-Si and Q3(Si), reduce first, but increase with the further addition of Al2O3. Conversely, these simple structural units, such as Al-O-, Q0(Si), Q1(Si) and Q2(Si) vary in the opposite way with the change of Al2O3 content. From the variations of electrical conductivity, activation energy and structural units, it can be found that when Al2O3 works as network breaker to simplify the melt structure, the energy barrier for transportation of conducting ions/ionic reduce, which results in the increase of electrical conductivity; while when Al2O3 becomes into network former, the conductivity increases, correspondingly.

Objective To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Compound Huangdai Tablets (Realgar-Indigo Naturalis formula, RIF) combined with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Methods This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42018108118). The relevant literatures on RIF treatment of APL were systematically searched in the following databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP Medical Information System, Chinese Biomedical Database, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and PubMed. The quality of the included studies was evaluated and Review Manager 5.3 software and Stata 13.0 software were used to perform the Meta-analysis. In addition, this study used the method of network pharmacology to conduct a preliminary exploration of the mechanism of RIF on APL. Results The study included 12 studies involving 775 APL patients. The Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05) between the RIF group and the arsenic trioxide (ATO) group for primary outcomes, secondary outcomes apart from liver dysfunction. The incidence of liver dysfunction (P = 0.006) in the RIF group were significantly lower than those in the ATO group. In addition, the cost of maintenance therapy in the RIF group was significantly lower (P ＜ 0.05) than the ATO group. Besides, the active ingredients in RIF mainly act on targets proteins such as ACHE, NCOA2, RXRA, and then play a role in the treatment of APL through regulating multiple molecular mechanisms, such as TP53 regulates transcription of cell cycle genes, nuclear receptor transcription pathway. Conclusion There was no significant difference in efficacy of oral RIF combined with ATRA compared with intravenous ATO combined with ATRA for the treatment of APL. The oral RIF exposed patients to less risk, offered more convenience and had lower prices. RIF can treat APL by multi-target and multi-pathway interventions that inducing apoptosis of APL cells and inhibiting the proliferation of APL cells, and so on. Therefore, oral RIF in the treatment of APL is worthy of further research and development.

Chemical fibers such as glass fiber and aramid cover a large proportion of sound-absorbing composite materials on the current commercial market. These materials possess superior mechanical properties but have the disadvantages of high production costs and energy consumption and difficult recovery and degradation. In this paper, jute fiber and polypropylene were selected as raw materials, and a series of jute fiber-reinforced polypropylene composite materials were prepared by a mixing-hot-pressing process. The acoustic and mechanical performances of the composites with different fiber contents and fiber residue ratios were discussed. The results showed that the sound absorption coefficient values increased with the increasing fiber content and decreasing residual gum ratio. The mechanical properties varied inversely with the residual gum rate. With the increase of fiber content, the tensile and bending strengths first increased and then decreased. Therefore, the jute fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites can possess favorable sound absorption performance with no mechanical property penalty by adjusting the parameters properly, demonstrating that the composite materials have promising applications in the acoustic field.

The conversion of chemically inert carbon dioxide and its photoreduction to value-added products have attracted enormous attention as an intriguing prospect for utilizing the principal greenhouse gas CO2. Herein, we explore the use of Ag25 clusters with well-defined atomic structures for high-selectivity photocatalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methane. Ag25 clusters, with molecular-like properties and surface plasmon resonance, exhibit competitive catalytic activity for light-driven CO2 reduction that yield an almost 100% product selectivity of methane at a relatively mild temperature (100 °C). DFT calculations reveal that the absorption of CO2 on Ag25 clusters is energetically favorable. The methanation of the Ag25 cluster catalyst has been investigated by operando infrared spectroscopy, verifying that methane was produced through a -H-assisted multielectron reaction pathway via the transformation of formyl and formaldehyde species to form surface CHx. This work presents a highly efficient strategy for high-performance CO2 methanation via well-defined metal cluster catalysts.

A novel Pd(II) ion-imprinted polymer (Pd(II)-AAP-IIP@VMWCNTs) was constructed by using 2-(N-allyl)aminopyridine (AAP), vinyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VMWCNTs), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and Na2PdCl4 as functional monomer, carrier, cross-linker and template ions, respectively. The structure, morphology, adsorption property and applicability as adsorbent in solid phase extraction were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), binding experiment and solid phase extraction (SPE) experiment, respectively. The equilibrium adsorption capacity and imprinting factor of Pd(II)-AAP-IIP@VMWCNTs for Pd(II) were found to be 9.053 mg/g and 3.46, respectively. The SPE column packed with Pd(II)-AAP-IIP@VMWCNTs displayed good adsorption selectivity to Pd(II). The adsorption rate and extraction rate of this column to Pd(II) were more than 90% and 74%, but below 40% and 15% to the other coexisting ions under the optimized SPE conditions. The obtained Pd(II)-AAP- IIP@VMWCNTs-based SPE method could be combined with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for determination of Pd(II) in environmental water. The recoveries were in the range of 87.2%–91.6% with the relative standard deviations of 2.5%–6.8%.

Herein the adsorption characteristics of zwitterionic dye pollutant Rhodamine B (Rh+B-) on a g-C3N4 surface were investigated by both an attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (ATRS) experiment and a molecular dynamics simulation (MDS). For experimental investigation, g-C3N4 was coated on a silica optical fiber (SOF) surface to fabricate an adsorption film. According to the ATRS response, adsorption thermodynamics and thermodynamics results were in situ obtained and evaluated. The isothermal Langmuir model was used to calculate the adsorption equilibrium constants (Kads) and adsorption energies (ΔGads) for Rh+B- as 27.25 × 104 M-1 and -31.01 kJ mol-1, respectively, which indicated the spontaneous adsorption behavior of Rh+B- at the g-C3N4 surface. Using dynamic Elovich modeling, the rate constants of Rh+B- were found to be k1 = 0.0063 min-1 and k2 = 0.0004 min-1, which indicated two-stage adsorption at the g-C3N4 surface. For theoretical simulation, adsorption configurations and adsorption energies were systematically calculated by a molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) . Rh+B- molecules were inclined to orient in a parallel position at the g-C3N4 surface during low concentration but a perpendicular position at the g-C3N4 surface during high concentration. Combined with experimental and calculation results, this work revealed the microscopic adsorption performance and elucidated the intermolecular interaction between localized interfaces of g-C3N4 and hazardous dye pollutant. We propose an adsorption model to explain the process of surface interaction, which is based on molecular orientation and a force-driven mechanism. Electrostatic attraction and π-π interaction dominated the adsorption interaction with an adsorption energy of ΔGlow(ads) = -38.96 kJ mol-1 for low Rh+B- concentration, and electrostatic attraction dominated the adsorption interaction with an adsorption energy of ΔGhigh(ads) = -25.76 kJ mol-1 for high Rh+B- concentration. This work can provide a fundamental basis for a dye-pollutants removal application by g-C3N4 in both adsorption and photocatalyzation.

Solar-driven nitrogen fixation is a promising clean and mild approach for ammonia synthesis beyond the conventional energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, it is still challenging to design highly active, stable, and low-cost photocatalysts for activating inert N2 molecules. Herein, we report the synthesis of anatase-phase black TiO2-xSy nanoplatelets enriched with abundant oxygen vacancies and sulfur anion dopants (VO-S-rich TiO2-xSy) by ion exchange method at gentle conditions. The VO-S-rich TiO2-xSy nanoplatelets display a narrowed bandgap of 1.18 eV and much stronger light absorption that extends to the near-infrared (NIR) region. The co-presence of oxygen vacancies and sulfur dopants facilitates the adsorption of N2 molecules, promoting the reaction rate of N2 photofixation. Theoretical calculations reveal the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and sulfur dopants on visible-NIR light adsorption and photoexcited carrier transfer/separation. The VO-S-rich TiO2-xSy exhibits improved ammonia yield rates of 114.1 μmol g-1 h-1 under full-spectrum irradiation and 86.2 μmol g-1 h-1 under visible-NIR irradiation, respectively. Notably, even under only NIR irradiation (800-1100 nm), the VO-S-rich TiO2-xSy can still deliver an ammonia yield rate of 14.1 μmol g-1 h-1. This study presents the great potential to regulate the activity of photocatalysts by rationally engineering the defect sites and dopant species for room-temperature N2 reduction.

Recently, the methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite (MAPbI3) has shown great development potential in the solar cell field, and its efficiency as a perovskite solar cell (PCE) has reached 25.2%....

Boron carbide (B4C) hybrids with different contents of graphene oxide (GO) were prepared by a heterogeneous co-precipitation method using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the cationic surfactant. The as-obtained mixtures were further hot-pressed at 1950 °C for 60 min under 30 MPa, by which B4C–reduced GO (rGO) composites were fabricated. It was found that the addition of only 0.5 wt% rGO could alter the predominance of trans-granular fracture in monolithic B4C ceramic material to mixed trans-granular and inter-granular modes in B4C–rGO composites. The flexural strength and fracture toughness of the B4C–2 wt% rGO were increased by 31% (from 350 to 455 MPa) and 83% (from 3.20 to 5.85 MPa·m1/2), respectively, compared with those of pure B4C. The improved mechanical properties are attributed to the mechanisms of pull-out and bridging of rGO and crack deflection, as evidenced by microstructural observations. The energy dissipation in the present B4C–rGO composites was further verified using two micromechanical models.

As an essential lipid, cholesterol is of great value in keeping cell homeostasis, being the precursor of bile acid and steroid hormones, and stabilizing membrane lipid rafts. As a kind of cholesterol metabolite produced by enzymatic or radical process, oxysterols have drawn much attention in the last decades. Among which, the role of 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-HC) in cholesterol and bile acid metabolism, antivirus process, and inflammatory response has been largely disclosed. This review is aimed at revealing these functions and underlying mechanisms of 25-HC.

Aim This study was designed to use in vivo and in vitro approaches to evaluate puerarin in diabetes-induced renal injury. Materials and methods SD rats were divided into NC (normal control), Model (diabetic induced renal injury model), SP-L (model rats treated with low-dose standard puerarin), SP-M (model rats treated with middle-dose standard puerarin), and SP-H (model rats treated with high-dose standard puerarin) groups. We evaluated fasting blood-glucose (FBG), urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR), body weight, and kidney index (KI) in the different groups. TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 concentrations were measured using Elisa assays. HE staining and TUNEL assays were used to evaluate pathology and apoptosis in kidney tissues, respectively. Relative gene and protein expression was measured using RT-qPCR and Western blot assays. Apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry. The correlation between miRNA-145-5p and TLR4 was assessed using dual-luciferase reporter gene assays. Results The pathology and apoptosis cell number were deteriorate in Model group; TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 concentrations, FGB, UACR and KI were increased and body weight was depressed; meanwhile, relative gene and proteins expressions (miRNA-145-5p, TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB p65) were significantly different in Model group in vivo and vitro study compared with NC group. SP treatment significantly improved the pathology and apoptosis levels in the tissues, as well as TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 concentrations, FGB, UACR, body weight, and KI. In vitro cell studies revealed that SP could prevent renal injury induced by diabetes through the miRNA-145-5p/TLR4 axis. Conclusion SP prevents diabetes-induced renal damage via miRNA-145-5p overexpression and reduces TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB (p65) pathway activation in vitro and in vivo.

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), is one of the most fatal diseases in the world. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) catalyzes the production of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-CH3-THF), which is required for the de novo biosynthesis of methionine in bacteria. In this study, we identified Rv2172c as an MTHFR in M. tuberculosis through in vitro and in vivo analyses and determined that the protein was essential for the in vitro growth of the bacterium. Subsequently, we constructed rv2172c R159N and L214A mutants in M. tuberculosis, and found that these mutants were more sensitive to the antifolates para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Combining biochemical and genetic methods, we found that rv2172c R159N or L214A mutation impaired methionine production, leading to increased susceptibility of M. tuberculosis to PAS, which was largely restored by adding exogenous methionine. Moreover, overexpression of rv2172c in M. tuberculosis could increase methionine production and lead to PAS resistance. This research was the first to identify an MTHFR in M. tuberculosis and revealed that the activity of this enzyme was associated with susceptibility to antifolates. These findings have particular value for anti-tubercular drugs design for the treatment of drug-resistant TB.

Synovial inflammation is a major pathological feature of osteoarthritis (OA), which is a chronic degenerative joint disease. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS), localized in the synovial membrane, are specialized secretory cells. During OA synovitis, FLS produce chemokines and cytokines that stimulate chondrocytes to secrete inflammatory cytokines and activate matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in FLS. Recent studies have demonstrated that sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) performs as a key regulator in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis in OA. This study aims at ascertaining whether SIRT3 is involved in OA synovitis. The overexpression (OE) and knockdown (KD) of SIRT3 are established by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and recombinant plasmid in human FLS. The anti-inflammatory effect of SIRT3 underlying in oleanolic acid- (OLA-) prevented interleukin-1β- (IL-1β-) induced FLS dysfunction is then evaluated in vitro. Additionally, the molecular mechanisms of SIRT3 are assessed, and the interaction between SIRT3 and NF-κB is investigated. The data suggested that SIRT3 can be detected in human synovial tissues during OA, and OLA could elevate SIRT3 expression. OE-SIRT3 and OLA exhibited equal authenticity to repress inflammation and reverse oxidative stress changes in IL-1β-induced human FLS dysfunction. KD-SIRT3 was found to exacerbate inflammation and oxidative stress changes in human FLS. Furthermore, it was found that SIRT3 could directly bind with NF-κB, resulting in the suppression of NF-κB activation induced by IL-1β in human FLS, which then repressed synovial inflammation in OA. In general, the activation of SIRT3 by OLA inhibited synovial inflammation by suppressing the NF-κB signal pathway in FLS, and this suggested that SIRT3 is a potential target for OA synovitis therapy.

The ability to coordinate and confine enzymes presents an opportunity to affect their performance and to create chemically active materials. Recent studies show that polymers and biopolymers can be used to scaffold enzymes, and that can lead to the modulated biocatalytic efficiency. Here, we investigated the role of microenvironments on enzyme activity using a well-defined molecular scaffold. An enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOx), was positioned at different locations of a three-dimensional (3D) octahedral DNA scaffold (OS), allowing the enzyme's polyanionic environments to be altered. Using electrical sensing, based on a bipolar junction transistor, we measured directly and in real-time the enzyme's proton generation at these different microenvironments. We found a 200% enhancement of immobilized enzyme over free GOx and about a 30% increase in catalytic rates when the enzyme was moved on the same molecular scaffold to a microenvironment with a higher local concentration of polyanions, which suggests a role of local pH on the enzymatic activity.

Background Suppressed mitochondrial biosynthesis has been reported to be the early signal of mitochondrial dysfunction which contributes to diabetic cardiomyopathy, but the mechanism of mitochondrial biosynthesis suppression is unclear. Nitric oxide synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is closely related to diabetic cardiovascular complications. This study was to determine whether endogenous ADMA accumulation was involved in the suppression of myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis in diabetic rats and to elucidate the potential mechanism in rat cardiomyocytes. Methods Type 2 diabetic rat model was induced by high-fat feeding plus single intraperitoneal injection of small dose streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). The copy number ratio of mitochondrial gene to nuclear gene was measured to reflect mitochondrial biogenesis. The promoter activity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and its post-translational modifications were detected by dual-luciferase reporter assay and immunoprecipitation. Results Myocardial ADMA content was enhanced and associated with suppressions of myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis and cardiac function in parallel with PGC-1α downregulation and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) upregulation in the myocardium of diabetic rats compared with control rats. Similarly, ADMA and its homolog could inhibit myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis and PGC-1α expression, increase UCP2 expression and oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, ADMA also suppressed the promoter activity and PGC-1α expression but boosting its protein acetylation and phosphorylation in rat cardiomyocytes. Conclusions These results indicate that endogenous ADMA accumulation contributes to suppression of myocardial mitochondrial biogenesis in type 2 diabetic rats. The underlying mechanisms may be associated with reducing PGC-1α promoter activity and expression but boosting its protein acetylation and phosphorylation.

A ternary mixture of carbon, copper sulfide, and cobalt sulfide was used to fabricate the counter electrode (CE) in quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). The ternary-mixture-based CE achieve...

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the capacity of the bilayer polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)/TGF-β3/adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADSC) construct used to repair cartilage defects and the role of ADSCs in the repair process in vivo. Materials & methods: Defects were created surgically on the femoropatellar groove of knee joints in 64 rabbits. All the rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: defect group, PLGA group, PLGA/TGF-β3 group and PLGA/TGF-β3/ADSC group. In vivo MRI and Prussian blue staining were applied. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot methods were used to analyze the gene and protein expression. Results & conclusion: The result showed that TGF-β3 could effectively stimulate the expressions of aggrecan, collagen type II and SRY-related HMG box 9 ( SOX9). The bilayer PLGA/TGF-β3/ADSC construct showed a promising repair effect.

In this study, boron carbide (B4C)-graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) composites, with enhanced strength and toughness, were fabricated by hot pressing at 1950 °C under a pressure of 30 MPa for 1 h. Microstructure analysis revealed that the GNPs are homogenously dispersed within the B4C matrix. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy showed the orientation of the GNPs in the composites. The effects of the amount of GNPs on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were also investigated. The optimal mechanical properties were achieved using 1 wt% GNPs. The relative density, Vickers hardness, flexure strength, and fracture toughness of the B4C-GNPs composite ceramic were found to be 99.12%, 32.8 GPa, 508 MPa, and 4.66 MPa m1/2, respectively. The main toughening mechanisms included crack deflection in three dimensions, GNPs pull-out, and crack bridging. The curled and semi-wrapped GNPs encapsulated individual B4C grains to resist GNPs pull-out and to deflect propagating cracks.

In this paper, we reported a rapid and simple approach to synthesize molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) materials for sensing of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) residues in environmental water and mixed juice. Initially, MIPs materials were prepared via visible light-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization at ambient temperature using 2,4-D and its analogs as template molecules, in which 4-vinyl pyridine (4-VP), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO), 2-(((dodecylthio)carbonothioyl)thio)-2-methylpropanoic acid (DDMAT) were functional monomer, cross-linker, visible light initiator and RAFT agent, respectively. Then, the morphologies of the MIPs materials were characterized by FT-IR, SEM and DLS. The results showed that the MIPs materials were well-distributed spherical particles with sizes ranging from 1 to 2 μm. Furthermore, a four-channel MIPs sensor array included four polymer microspheres with a fluorescent dye displacement procedure was developed to distinguish the templates and their chemical analogs at the ppm concentration level. With the support of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis, the four-channel MIPs sensor array proves to be a simple and effective method to recognize and distinguish the templates and nontemplates in aqueous solution with 100% accuracy. Finally, the four-channel MIPs sensor array was also found to have satisfactory accuracy in monitoring 2,4-D contaminated environmental water and mixed juice.

A (diacetoxyiodo)benzene-mediated intramolecular cycloaddition of olefins to construct tricyclic morpholines is presented. A series of substituted tricyclic morpholines were obtained in one-step simple operation under mild conditions, and the NMR studies were employed to see the interaction of reactants. The studies on stereochemistry showed that transformation of

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease, related to the overexpression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS), inflammation, and chondrocyte apoptosis. Nesfatin-1 is an adipokine, which plays an important role in the development of OA, especially in obese people. In the present study, cartilage degradation and apoptosis observed in OA patients was evaluated. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of nesfatin-1, and its underlying in vitro and in vivo mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that nesfatin-1 increased significantly the expression of collagen type II alpha 1 chain (Col2a1), and reduced the expression of MMPs, ADAMTS5, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, caspase-3, nitric oxide (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin (IL)-6, and chondrocyte apoptosis rate, which may be induced by IL-1β in rat chondrocytes. Furthermore, nesfatin-1 treatment prevented cartilage degeneration in the rat OA model. It was found that nesfatin-1 suppressed the IL-1β-induced activation of NF-κB, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and the Bax/Bcl-2 signal pathway in chondrocytes. These results suggest that in vivo nesfatin-1 could play a protective role in the development of OA and can be potentially used for its treatment.

Alkox-oxylactonization and dearomatization of 3'-hydroxy-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-carboxylic acid simultaneously promoted by hypervalent iodine have been developed using stoichiometric PhI(OAc)2 or a catalytic amount of chiral aryl-λ3-iodane generated in situ. This reaction provides a concise method to synthesize diverse polycyclic cyclohexadienones as potential inhibitors of DNA polymerase under mild reaction conditions.

The singlet oxygen quantum yields of photosensitizers in different solvents are very important for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Here, we investigated the singlet oxygen quantum yields of tetrakis (4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) in various solvents by the iodide method. Results indicate that TCPP has different singlet oxygen formation efficiency in different solvents. When compared to TCPP dissolved in water, TCPP showed higher singlet oxygen yields in methanol and ethanol, but lower singlet oxygen yields in DMF under identical conditions. In particular, TCPP rapidly precipitated in acetone after potassium iodide added in the solution. The salting out effect of TCPP by potassium iodide in acetone was confirmed by re-dissolving the precipitation in water and the characteristic absorption of TCPP was measured. The phenomenon of salting out for TCPP in acetone suggests that acetone is not a good solvent for singlet oxygen generation when evaluated by the iodide method.

Revascularization therapies for culprit arteries, regardless of percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass grafting, are considered the best strategy for improving the clinical prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Nonetheless, myocardial reperfusion following effective revascularization can trigger significant cardiomyocyte death and coronary endothelial collapse, known as myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). Usually, endothelial cells and their intercellular tight junctions cooperatively maintain the microvascular endothelial barrier and its relatively low permeability but fail in reperfusion areas. Microvascular endothelial hyperpermeability induced by ischemia/reperfusion (IR) contributes to myocardial edema, increased infiltration of pro-inflammatory cells, and aggravated intramyocardial hemorrhage, which may worsen the prognosis of ACS. The tracer used in this study-70,000 Da FITC-dextran, a branched glucose molecule labeled by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-appears too large to infiltrate the cardiac microvascular endothelium in normal conditions. However, it is capable of infiltrating a broken barrier after MIRI. Thus, the higher the endothelial permeability is, the more FITC-dextran accumulates in the extravascular intercellular space. Thus, the intensity of fluorescence from FITC can indicate the permeability of the microvascular endothelial barrier. This protocol takes advantage of FITC-dextran to evaluate the cardiac microvascular endothelial barrier functionally, which is detected by an automated quantitative pathology imaging system.

Introduction: Total bilirubin (TB) is a major prognosis predictor representing liver failure in patients with acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF). However, the cutoff value of TB for liver failure and whether the same cutoff could be applied in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients remain controversial. There is a need to obtain the quantitative correlation between TB and short-term mortality via evidence-based methods, which is critical in establishing solid ACLF diagnostic criteria.Methods: Patients hospitalized with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis (FIB-4 > 1.45) were studied. TB and other variables were measured at baseline. The primary outcome was 90-day transplantation-free mortality. Multi-variable Cox proportional hazard model was used to present the independent risk of mortality due to TB. Generalized additive model and second derivate (acceleration) were used to plot the “TB-mortality correlation curves.” The mathematical (maximum acceleration) and clinical (adjusted 28-day transplantation-free mortality rate reaching 15%) TB cutoffs for liver failure were both calculated.Results: Among the 3,532 included patients, the number of patients with cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis were 2,592 and 940, respectively, of which cumulative 90-day mortality were 16.6% (430/2592) and 7.4% (70/940), respectively. Any increase of TB was found the independent risk factor of mortality in cirrhotic patients, while only TB >12 mg/dL independently increased the risk of mortality in patients with advanced fibrosis. In cirrhotic patients, the mathematical TB cutoff for liver failure is 14.2 mg/dL, with 23.3% (605/2592) patients exceeding it, corresponding to 13.3 and 25.0% adjusted 28- and 90-day mortality rate, respectively. The clinical TB cutoff for is 18.1 mg/dL, with 18.2% (471/2592) patients exceeding it. In patients with advanced fibrosis, the mathematical TB cutoff is 12.1 mg/dL, 33.1% (311/940) patients exceeding it, corresponding to 2.9 and 8.0% adjusted 28- and 90-day mortality rate, respectively; the clinical TB cutoff was 36.0 mg/dL, 1.3% (12/940) patients above it.Conclusion: This study clearly demonstrated the significantly different impact of TB on 90-day mortality in patients with cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis, proving that liver failure can be determined by TB alone in cirrhosis but not in advanced fibrosis. The proposed TB cutoffs for liver failure provides solid support for the establishment of ACLF diagnostic criteria.

It has been found that fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGF-FGFR) signaling can regulate the expression of adipocyte differentiation genes. FGF9 is one of the members of FGFs that mainly binds receptors FGFR2 and FGFR3. FGF9 is highly expressed in the adipose tissue of humans and mice, but there are few reports on the role of FGF9 in goat intramuscular adipocyte differentiation. Therefore, this study explored the effect of FGF9 on adipocyte differentiation through cell culture, interference, and overexpression. The expression of receptors FGFR1-FGFR4 in adipocyte differentiation and their effects on differentiation were detected to screen receptor gene of FGF9. Finally, the interaction between FGF9 and the receptor was tested by cotransfection. Our results showed that FGF9 interacts with FGFR2 to inhibit goat intramuscular adipocyte differentiation by regulating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and preadipocyte factor 1 (Pref1), which is a data support for subsequent pathway research.

A simple high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid analogues (C3AA) in rat plasma and a preliminary study on pharmacokinetics. Ferulic acid (FA) was used as the internal standard substance, and coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (C3A) was used as a substitute for quantitative C3AA. After protein precipitation with methanol, the satisfactory separation was achieved on an ODS2 column when the temperature was maintained at 30 ± 2°C. The correlation coefficient r in the C3A linear equation is equal to 0.9990. Pharmacokinetic parameters for t1/2, Tmax, Cmax, area under the curve (AUC)0-t, average residence time (MRT), apparent volume of distribution (V z/F) and clearance (Cl/F) were 1.89 ± 0.03 h, 0.39 ± 0.14 h, 1.81 ± 0.10 g· mL−1 ·h, 7.88 ± 0.24 g·mL−1·h, 3.23 ± 0.14 h, 0.43 ± 0.03 (mg·kg−1)·(g·mL−1)−1·h−1, respectively. The high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array detector (HPLC-PDA) method established in this study can be used to separate and determine the content of C3AA in plasma of rats after 60% ethanol extraction by gavage. The plasma concentration-time curve and pharmacokinetic parameters reflect the absorption of C3AA in rat blood after oral administration to some extent.

A new phenolic derivative, artopithecin K (1), was isolated from the twigs of Artocarpus pithecogallus. Its structure was elucidated based on extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compound 1 was evaluated for the inhibitory activity against tyrosinase.

Circadian clocks usually run with a period close to 24 h, but are also plastic and can be entrained by external environmental conditions and internal physiological cues. Two key nutrient metabolites, glucose and vitamin B3 (nicotinamide), can influence the circadian period in both mammals and plants; however, the underlying molecular mechanism is still largely unclear. We reveal that the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase, a conserved central growth regulator, is essential for glucose- and nicotinamide-mediated control of the circadian period in Arabidopsis . Nicotinamide affects the cytosolic adenosine triphosphate concentration, and blocks the effect of glucose-TOR energy signaling on period length adjustment, meristem activation, and root growth. Together, our results uncover a missing link between cellular metabolites, energy status, and circadian period adjustment, and identify TOR kinase as an essential energy sensor to coordinate circadian clock and plant growth.

Modifications of histone tails, including lysine/arginine methylation, provide the basis of a 'chromatin or histone code'. Proteins that con-tain 'reader' domains can bind to these modifications and form specific effector complexes, which ultimately mediate chromatin function. The spindlin1 (SPIN1) protein contains three Tudor methyl-lysine/arginine reader domains and was identified as a putative onco-gene and transcriptional co-activator. Here we report a SPIN1 chemi-cal probe inhibitor with low nanomolar in vitro activity, exquisite selectivity on a panel of methyl reader and writer proteins, and with submicromolar cellular activity. X-ray crystallography showed that this Tudor domain chemical probe simultaneously engages Tudor domains 1 and 2 via a bidentate binding mode. Small molecule inhibition and siRNA knockdown of SPIN1, as well as chemoproteomic studies, iden-tified genes which are transcriptionally regulated by SPIN1 in squa-mous cell carcinoma and suggest that SPIN1 may have a roll in cancer related inflammation and/or cancer metastasis.

Copper nanowires (CuNWs) are used to prepare flexible, transparent conducting substrates due to their low cost and ease of fabrication on a large area. A CuNW/polymer composite substrate was prepared and vulcanized to create a novel flexible nano-Cu2S/polymer composite substrate. The physical and photovoltaic properties of the substrate can be controlled by tuning the concentration of CuNW dispersion during the preparation of CuNWs and nano Cu2S films. The nano-Cu2S-based composite substrate was used as an effective flexible counter electrode of a quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) and resulted in a maximum cell efficiency of 1.01%.

By screening an epigenetic compound library, we identified that UNC0638, a highly potent inhibitor of the histone methyltransferases G9a and GLP, was a weak inhibitor of SPIN1 (spindlin 1), a methyllysine reader protein. Our optimization of this weak hit resulted in the discovery of a potent, selective, and cell-active SPIN1 inhibitor, compound 3 (MS31). Compound 3 potently inhibited binding of trimethyllysine-containing peptides to SPIN1, displayed high binding affinity, was highly selective for SPIN1 over other epigenetic readers and writers, directly engaged SPIN1 in cells, and was not toxic to nontumorigenic cells. The crystal structure of the SPIN1–compound 3 complex indicated that it selectively binds tudor domain II of SPIN1. We also designed a structurally similar but inactive compound 4 (MS31N) as a negative control. Our results have demonstrated for the first time that potent, selective, and cell-active fragment-like inhibitors can be generated by targeting a single tudor domain.

There are residual polymers in the oily wastewater produced from polymer flooding (OWPF); keeping the residual polymer in the water during the flocculation is meaningful and challenging. In this paper, a selective flocculant (denoted as PDC10) which can remove the oil while keeping partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) in water was prepared by copolymerization of decyl two methyl vinylbenzyl ammonium chloride (C10MVBA) and dimethyl aminopropyl methacryamide (DMAPMA). By using oil removal and HPAM retention as evaluation indexes, the synthesis condition of PDC10 was optimized. The optimum PDC10 exhibited oil removal of 98.0% and HPAM retention of 80.5%. Its HPAM retention is much higher than that of a regular cationic flocculant. Measurements of zeta potential, interfacial tension, interfacial dilational modulus and a dual polarization interferometry (DPI) test were carried out for investigating the flocculation mechanism of PDC10. The mechanism of PDC10 was that it can bridge and flocculate oil droplets by electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction. It also preferred to distribute at the interface, and its interaction with HPAM in bulk water was weak, which confirms its selective flocculation properties.

Acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is a membrane lipid hydrolase, acting to generate ceramide and regulate cell functions and inflammatory responses.The roles of ASM in mediating T cell functions are postulated whereas its function in regulation of macrophages remains uncertain. The study was performed to explore ASM activity in control of macrophage functions. RAW 264.7 cells were pretreated with desipramine, an ASM inhibitor, prior to LPS challenge in vitro. LPS initiated ASM activity in RAW 264.7 cells. Conversely, inhibition of ASM activity by desipramine diminished LPS induced ASM activities and TNF production of RAW 264.7 cells. The DSS colitis in mice was induced, and desipramine was administered to the mice two days post induction of colitis. Murine colitis was characterized by elevation of ASM activities in colon tissues. Desipramine administration overrode ASM activities in colon, and ameliorated DSS-induced colitis evidenced with the reduced disease activities and the decreased cytokine levels. Together, our data show a crucial role of ASM activity in regulation of macrophage functions and responses, and suggest that ASM represents a novel therapeutic approach for the management of immune diseases.

Heavy oil sludge usually exists in the form of stable W/O emulsion, in which the water droplets were stabilized by natural surfactants and small solid particles. The oil recovery from the oil sludge is valuable, but the demulsification by using regular demulsifiers could be hindered by the solids. Therefore, the solid separation is important for oil recovery. In this paper, firstly, properties of heavy oil sludge produced from the Liaohe Oilfield were analyzed. Then, a multistage chemical treatment was proposed and chemicals were screened for solid separation. Limonene, sodium sulphate solution, (dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide + citric acid) were chosen for different purposes at different stages, respectively. At last, the rational separation conditions were investigated. After the treatment, the solid content in oil decreased from 18.57% to be 0.9% by mass. In addition, the mixture of recovered oil and fresh crude oil can be dehydrated easily by using regular demulsifiers.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), an extraordinary enzyme, can catalyze the dephosphorylation of small molecules, proteins and nucleic acids. ALP has been confirmed as a crucial serum diagnostic indicator, since the abnormal level of ALP is closely related to a variety of pathological processes, especially in the early diagnosis and screening of cancer. Herein, we designed a "turn-on" sensor to detect ALP and ascorbic acid (AA) based on the redox reaction between manganese dioxide (MnO2) coated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and AA. Firstly, 2 nm sized NaYF4:Yb3+,Tm3+ UCNPs were synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. Then MnO2 coated UCNPs were prepared via electrostatic interactions between MnO2 nanosheets and UCNPs. MnO2 nanosheets could absorb blue light emitted by UCNPs near 471 nm under laser excitation at 980 nm, and so the luminescence of UCNPs was quenched based on luminescence energy transfer (LET). In the presence of AA, the luminescence was recovered again by the redox reaction between AA and MnO2 coated UCNPs. MnO2 nanosheets were reduced to Mn2+ and UCNPs were released. Furthermore, the "turn-on" sensor was applied to monitor ALP since the phosphate group of 2-phospho-l-ascorbic acid (AAP) was removed by ALP to yield AA. The bio-assay showed a good linear relationship between the restored luminescence intensities (ΔI = I-I0) and ALP concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 150 mU mL-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.045 mU mL-1 and between ΔI and AA concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 250 μM with an LOD of 0.29 μM. The luminescent sensor was also successfully applied for detection of ALP and AA in human serum samples with recoveries from 94.9% to 104.6% and 99.4% to 104.9%.

It is not easy for liquid cationic flocculant diallyldimethyl-ammonium chloride (DM) homopolymer to simultaneously exhibit both low viscosity and high polymer content, which limited its application in offshore oilfield. In this paper, sodium allylsulfonate (XS) and sodium formate were used in the aqueous solution polymerization of DM. An amphoteric flocculant (PDMXS) with the properties of high polymer content (about 55 wt%) and low viscosity (efflux time measured by an Apply 4 viscometer was less than 100 s) was prepared. The optimum reaction conditions were identified as follows: the mass ratio of XS/DM was 10 wt%, the concentration of sodium formate was 2000 mg·L− 1, reaction temperature was 55 °C, the concentration of KPS was 0.5 wt% and the reaction time was 4 h. The polymerization kinetics was discussed. The results showed that Rp ∝ [M]1.97[I]0.68[CTA]0.71 and the apparent activation energy was 72.55 kJ·mol− 1.

Translating chemogenetic techniques from nonhuman primates to potential clinical applications has been complicated in part due to in vivo conversion of the chemogenetic actuator, clozapine N-oxide (CNO), to its pharmacologically active parent compound, clozapine, a ligand with known side effects, including five boxed warnings from the Food and Drug Administration. Additionally, the limited solubility of CNO requires high concentrations of potentially toxic detergents such as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). To address these concerns, pharmacokinetic profiling of commercially available CNO in DMSO (CNO-DMSO, 10% v/v DMSO in saline) and a water-soluble salt preparation (CNO-HCl, saline) was conducted in rhesus macaques. A time course of blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of CNO and clozapine was conducted (30-240 minutes post-administration) following a range of doses (3-10 mg/kg, i.m. and/or i.v.) of CNO-DMSO or CNO-HCl. CNO-HCl resulted in 6- to 7-fold higher plasma concentrations of CNO compared to CNO-DMSO, and relatively less clozapine (3%-5% clozapine/CNO in the CNO-DMSO group and 0.5%-1.5% clozapine/CNO in the CNO-HCl group). Both groups had large between-subjects variability, pointing to the necessity of performing individual CNO pharmacokinetic studies prior to further experimentation. The ratio of CNO measured in the CSF was between 2% and 6% of that measured in the plasma and did not differ across drug preparation, indicating that CSF concentrations may be approximated from plasma samples. In conclusion, CNO-HCl demonstrated improved bioavailability compared with CNO-DMSO with less conversion to clozapine. Further investigation is needed to determine if brain concentrations of clozapine following CNO-HCl administration are pharmacologically active at off-target monoaminergic receptor systems in the primate brain.

The cross-dehydrogenative coupling strategy for metal-free phosphonation and cyanation of secondary N-alkyl anilines has been developed firstly under mild reaction conditions. Based on detailed optimization of reaction conditions, the substrate generality of N-alkyl anilines and various hydrogen phosphonates has been investigated, and a series of versatile α-aminophosphonates and α-aminonitriles were therefore furnished in good to excellent yields. A plausible collective reaction mechanism through dehydrogenation to imine formation, then to respective α-aminophosphonates and α-aminonitriles was proposed.

Accelerated blood clearance (ABC) is a phenomenon where the blood clearance rate of the carrier system is substantially raised. It can be induced by repetitive injections of polyethylene glycol (PEG) (molecular weight 2000)-modified micelles (PM2000). To determine whether the PEG chain length and PEGylated micelle injection dose can have an effect on the ABC phenomenon, micelles were modified with PEGs of varying molecular weights; PEGs with molecular weights of 350, 550, 2000, 5000, 10,000, and 20,000 were used to generate the PEGylated micelles PM350, PM550, PM2000, PM10000, and PM20000, respectively. One special carrier, MCT-PM2000, was prepared with the original PM2000 formulation but also included extra medium-chain triglycerides. Our experimental results showed that PM2000 and PM5000 exhibit superior storage stability compared to that of PM350, PM550, PM10000, and PM20000. MCT-PM2000 demonstrated stronger dilution stability than PM2000. As expected, PM2000 and PM5000 induced the strongest enhancement in blood elimination rate compared to that of PM350, PM550, PM10000, and PM20000; MCT-PM2000 exhibited more intense ABC phenomenon compared to that of PM2000. In addition, induction of the ABC phenomenon by PM2000 and MCT-PM2000 was augmented when the injection dose was increased from 0.05 to 5 μmol phospholipid·kg−1. Based on our findings, we suggest that there is a positive linear relationship between stability of PEG-modified micelles and susceptibility to the ABC phenomenon. The results may be valuable for designing PEGylated micelles for multiple drug therapy.

A novel demulsifier (noted as PSADP) having high molecular weight and branch structure was prepared via one-pot synthesis by using two PEO-PPO demulsifiers (SP-1 and DMEA-1), acrylic acid (AA), and...

To develop a convenient method for sensitive and selective determination of Ce3+ in aqueous phase with complicated matrices, a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with ion imprinted polymers (IIPs) were fabricated. The polymers were prepared by precipitation polymerization using Ce3+ as template, allyl phenoxyacetate (APA) as monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinker and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator under the molar ratio of Ce3+, APA and EGDMA as 1:4:40, respectively. Ce3+ was detected directly by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPASV) and its oxidation peak appears at about 0.93 V. All parameters affecting the sensor's response are optimized and a calibration curve is plotted at a linear range of 1.0 × 10−6–1.0 × 10−5 mol/L and 1.0 × 10−5–2.0 × 10−4 mol/L with the detection limit of 1.5 × 10−7 mol/L. All other rare earth ions have no interference with the determination of Ce3+ even at a concentration 500 times higher than that of Ce3+. This sensor was successfully applied to determination of Ce3+ in two catalyst sample solutions with RSD≤3.3% (n = 5) and recoveries in the range of 99.2%–106.5% at our optimal conditions.

Background: Forest therapy has been proven to have beneficial effects on people with depression and anxiety. However, it remains unknown whether the waterfall forest environment (WF) affects the physical and psychological health of patients with chronic fatigue and how the WF regulates chronic stress.Methods: Twenty-four patients with chronic fatigue were randomly divided into two groups: the WF group and the urban (U) group. Scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14) were evaluated before and after environmental intervention. Detection of physiological indexes and inflammatory factor levels and immunological analysis were also performed. In addition, the chronic stress rat model was constructed, and the effects of the WF on hopelessness and liver damage of rats were investigated.Results: Patients with chronic fatigue in the WF group showed a significant decrease in FS-14, HAMA, and HAMD scores compared with the U group. The expression levels of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were remarkably higher in the WF group than in the U group. However, the expression levels of malondialdehyde and inflammatory factors (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10) were remarkably decreased after the intervention of the WF. In addition, animal experiments confirmed that the WF improved hopelessness, liver damage, and excitability of neurons of chronic stress rats. Mechanistically, the WF reduced the liver damage caused by chronic stress in rats by inhibiting the NOX4/ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway.Conclusions: Collectively, the WF had a positive effect on immune enhancement and physical and psychological health in patients with chronic fatigue and might inhibit chronic stress by regulating the NOX4/ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Aconiti Radix Cocta (AC) is clinically employed to expel wind, remove dampness, and relieve pain. We evaluated the antirheumatoid arthritis (RA) activities and underlying mechanisms of AC. The chemical constituents of AC were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using three reference compounds (benzoylaconitine, benzoylmesaconine, and benzoylhypacoitine). The anti-RA effects of AC were evaluated in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats by hind paw volume and histopathological analysis. The effects of AC on inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-17A) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The regulation of cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and/or COX-2) was determined by Western blot and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses. AC significantly reduced paw swelling, attenuated the inflammation and bone destruction in joint tissues, and reduced IL-1β and IL-17A in the serum. Moreover, AC downregulated the expression of COX-1 and COX-2 in the synovial tissues. We also identified that AC possesses significant anti-RA activities on AIA, which may be ascribed to the regulation of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-17, as well as to the inhibition of arachidonic acid signaling pathways. Our findings provide theoretical support for AC as an effective nature-derived therapeutic agent for RA treatment.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is one of the most common intraocular malignancies in children, which causes vision loss and even threatens life. Eriodictyol is a natural flavonoid with strong anticancer activity. Some studies have shown that eriodictyol exerts anticancer effects in glioma, colon cancer, and lung cancer; however, no studies have reported the anticancer effects of eriodictyol on RB. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the anticancer activity of eriodictyol against the RB Y79 cell line and its potential mechanism of action. Interestingly, we found that eriodictyol inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of Y79 cells in a dose-dependent manner and decreased the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins in the cells. In addition, eriodictyol-induced apoptosis in Y79 cells was assessed by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Here, our study revealed that eriodictyol dose dependently inhibited the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Notably, the effect of eriodictyol on RB apoptosis was reversed by a PI3K agonist 740 Y-P. In conclusion, our study shows that eriodictyol effectively inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion and induces apoptosis in RB cell lines, which may be the result of blocking the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Thus, eriodictyol may provide a new theoretical basis for exploring targeted antitumor natural therapies.

This paper proposes a process for fabricating a poly-dopamine-silk fibroin sponge (PDA-SF) by using dopamine self-assembly and coating the skeleton of a silk fibroin sponge. The PDA-SF sponge was characterized by SEM, TEM, XPS, XRD and FT-IR. It was found that the sponge exhibits sheet structures with a pore size of 60 ± 20 μm and poly-dopamine adhered to the surface of pure silk fibroin through noncovalent bond forces. With a hierarchical porous structure, the derived sponge provides fast flow channels and abundant active sites, which will benefit the diffusion and removal of cationic dyes. Batch adsorption and dynamic adsorption of crystal violet (CV) were studied. The batch adsorption capacity of the PDA-SF sponge for CV increased with its PDA content. Under a dynamic adsorption mode, the adsorption efficiency of the PDA-SF sponge for CV (5 mg/L, 200 mL) can reach up to 98.2% after 12 min, whereas it is only 90.2% under stationary mode after 72 h. Furthermore, the sponge shows an outstanding smart adsorption performance. More importantly, the composite sponge still keeps high separation and adsorption efficiencies after 20 cycles, and the appearance remains good.

Tendinopathy is a common musculoskeletal disorder that mainly affects athletes and people of older age. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an important role in initiating tendinopathy. Tectorigenin, an extract component of Belam-canda Chinesis, possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis activity. The present study was established to investigate the role of tectorigenin against the pathogenetic effects of TNF-α on tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) in vivo and in vitro. The findings indicated that TNF-α is able to induce TDSC inflammation, apoptosis, and ossification, as well as activate nuclear factor-kappa B and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Furthermore, the results confirmed that tectorigenin is able to inhibit the TNF-α-induced inflammation, apoptosis, and ossification. Tectorigenin treatment decreases activation of NF-kappa B and MAPK signaling in TDSCs. Tectorigenin ameliorates tendinopathy in the in vivo rat model. Thus, these data reveal that tectorigenin can serve as a potential treatment for tendinopathy.

Catalytic combustion of VOCs is one of the most promising technologies for removal of VOCs. Developing new and highly performance catalyst is very important for the application of this technology. Here, we report the fabrication of catalysts Ir/Ce/γ-Al2O3 for complete oxidation of toluene, via confining the particles size of CeO2 additives. The catalysts are analyzed by XRD, H2-TPR, O2-TPD, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, Raman and in-situ DRIFTS. The catalyst Ir/Ce(A)/Al2O3 contains small CeO2 nanoparticles (