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After thermal treatment at 120 °C in the presence of hydrochloric acid (thermal-acid treatment), soybean protein increased its water-insoluble network structure due to the molecular rearrangement and aggregation of unfolded protein molecules, which improved its water resistance. Modification with various crosslinkers, namely glyoxal, polyisocyanate, a glyoxal–polyisocyanate combination, waterborne epoxy latex and modified polyamide, were employed to further enhance the water resistance of the thermal-acid treated soybean protein (TSP). FTIR and DSC analyses confirmed that all of the crosslinkers could chemically react with the TSP, but the crosslinking degree varied with crosslinker species. The positive effect of crosslinker species on the water resistance and thermal stability of the TSP as evaluated by a boiling water-insoluble test and TGA analysis was in the order modified polyamide > glyoxal–polyisocyanate > polyisocyanate > epoxy latex > glyoxal. In addition, wood flour-reinforced soybean protein-based composites were successfully fabricated to investigate the possibility of manufacturing acceptable biocomposites using crosslinked and thermal-acid treated soybean protein. FTIR analysis, SEM observation and tensile property evaluation showed that all crosslinkers except glyoxal could react with wood flour to form various chemical bonds at the protein–wood interface and therefore significantly improve the water resistance and tensile strength of the obtained composites. The extent of improvement depended on the crosslinker species and crosslinking mechanism. Modified polyamide was the most preferable crosslinker for commercial applications because its modified composite had good tensile strength and the best water resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was to analyze six common agricultural and sideline products in southern China, peanut vines, evaluated pitaya vines, banana leaves, sea rice straw, zea mays straw and corn straw nutritional value. The experiment adopted a single-factor randomized design and sample materials were divided into three groups, and routine nutrient composition determination and simulated rumen in vitro fermentation experiment were carried out. The results showed that peanut vines had the highest CP content (P<0.05), banana leaves had the highest CF content (P<0.05), sea rice straw had the highest crude fiber content (P<0.05), and pitaya vines had the lowest NDF and ADF (P<0.05). The RFV, QI, GI, DE, ME and NEg of pitaya vines were significantly higher than those of other five samples (P<0.05). The highest gas production was obtained from pitaya vines after liquid external fermentation in rumen of Leizhou goats (P<0.05). The content of NH3-N was zea mays straw > pitaya vines > peanut vines > sea rice straw > corn straw > banana leaves. The IVDMD was pitaya vines > zea mays straw > corn straw > sea rice straw > peanut vines > banana leaves. The study indicates that nutritional value, feeding value and in vitro fermentation degradation results of six agricultural by-products are different, and affiliation function integrally assesses nutritional value in order of pitaya vines > peanut vines > zea mays straw > corn straw > sea rice straw > banana leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aggressive curettage has been well established for the treatment of giant cell tumors (GCTs) of the bone. The purpose of this study was to review our experience and evaluate the role of different implant materials in patients with GCTs of the extremities after aggressive curettage.Methods: A total of 119 patients with GCTs of the long bone were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University between 2004 and 2009. We excluded patients presenting metastases, recurrent tumors, and soft tissue involvement and those with Jaffe pathological grade III. The remaining 65 patients were treated with aggressive curettage using a bone graft or bone cement to fill the cavity. The recurrence rates and functional scores associated with the different fillings were analyzed.Results: Aggressive curettage and bone grafting was performed in 34 cases (52.3%), and aggressive curettage with bone cement was performed in 31 cases (47.7%). The overall recurrence rate after the aggressive intralesional procedures was 35.3% with bone grafting and 12.9% when bone cement was used as an adjuvant filling. The recurrence rate following aggressive curettage and bone grafting was higher than that following aggressive curettage with cement (p = 0.038). The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score for bone graft patients was 91.1%, which was significantly lower than that for patients treated with bone cement (94.7%).Conclusions: The use of bone cement was associated with a significantly lower recurrence rate than bone grafting following aggressive intralesional curettage to treat benign giant cell tumors of the long bone. Better MSTS functional results were also observed in the bone cement group compared to the bone graft group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upgrade of the laser pump time‐resolved X‐ray probes, namely time‐resolved X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (TR‐XAS) and X‐ray diffraction (TR‐XRD), implemented at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, is described. The improvements include a superbunch fill, a high‐efficiency fluorescence collection, an efficient spatial overlap protocol and a new data‐acquisition scheme. After upgrade, the adequate TR‐XAS signal is now obtained in a 0.3 mM solution, compared with a 6 mM solution in our previous report. Furthermore, to extend application in photophysics, the TR‐XAS probe is applied on SrCoO2.5 thin film. And for the first time, TR‐XAS is combined with TR‐XRD to simultaneously detect the kinetic trace of structural changes in thin film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to extend the applications of wood composites and products bonded by soybean protein adhesive from interior to exterior fields of application, this study proposes a novel approach for improving the water resistance of soybean protein-based wood adhesives using thermo-chemical treatment of soybean protein. The soybean protein formed stable three-dimensional networks due to repolymerization or self-crosslinking during thermo-chemical treatment, confirmed by both increases in the water-insoluble content of the treated soybean protein and the improved hydrothermal-aged wet bond strength of the resulting soybean protein adhesive. Thermo-chemical treatment in the presence of 1 wt% sodium sulfite (which cleaves disulfide bonds) and 1 wt% sodium dodecyl sulfate (which destroys the hydrophobic interactions of proteins) released active groups buried within the globular structure of soybean protein via unfolding. This release both promoted the repolymerization of the soybean protein molecules and exposed more active sites for effective crosslinking by the post-added crosslinker EMPA. Plywood bonded by the optimal soybean protein adhesive possessed a good hydrothermal-aged bond strength of 1.22 MPa, exceeding the value required for structural use according to the JIS K6806-2003 commercial standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cinobufagin, a major component of cinobufacini (huachansu), is an important cardenolidal steroid. Several studies have suggested that cinobufagin has potent anti-cancer effects. The present study examines the apoptosis-inducing activity and the underlying mechanism of action of cinobufagin in osteosarcoma (OS) cells. Our results showed that cinobufagin potently inhibited the proliferation of U2OS, MG63 and SaOS-2 cells. Significant increases in G2/M cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in OS cells were also observed. The expression levels of several apoptotic proteins were assessed after cinobufagin treatment in U2OS cells. Among them, xIAP, cIAP-1, survivin and Bcl-2 levels decreased remarkably, while the levels of Bax and cleaved-PARP increased. Furthermore, we validated the inhibition of GSK-3β/NF-κB signaling following cinobufagin treatment. Western blots showed a decrease in nuclear p65 protein expression after exposure to different concentrations of cinobufagin, while the phosphorylation of GSK-3β was simultaneously increased. Transduction with constitutively active forms of GSK-3β could protect against the downregulation of p65 and upregulation of cleaved-PARP that are induced by cinobufagin treatment. However, combined treatment with cinobufagin and SB216367 resulted in a significant reduction in p65 and an increase in cleaved-PARP in U2OS cells. Altogether, these results show that cinobufagin is a promising agent for the treatment of OS. These studies are the first to reveal the involvement of the GSK-3β/NF-κB pathway in cinobufagin-induced apoptosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Europium doped gadolinium orthoborate nanorods and nanoribbons were morphology-controlled grown on the porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template surface via a hydrothermal process combined with high-temperature calcination. The morphologies, crystal structures and luminescent properties of the as-prepared nanomaterials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The morphologies of the nanomaterials were controlled by the calcination temperature. If calcined at 1000°C, the morphology of the GdBO3:Eu3+ one-dimensional materials is nanorods; when calcined at 800 and 600°C, the shapes of the Eu-doped GdBO3 are nanoribbons. If treated at 900°C, the as-prepared samples are composed of nanorods and nanoribbons. The changed morphologies of the as-prepared nanomaterials obtained from different calcination temperatures were explained according to the structural phase transition of GdBO3. The PL spectrum shows that the characteristic emission of GdBO3:Eu3+ one-dimensional nanomaterials is the 5D0 → 7F1 transition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]