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We report a facile approach to synthesize alumina aerogel through sol-gel reaction followed by supercritical drying, in which ASB is as co-precursors, EtOH as solvents, Etac as chelating reagent, HAc as catalysts. The as-prepared aerogel was treated at different temperatures.Moreover, the effect of the amount of ethanol and chelating agent ethylacetoacetate on the microstructures of aerogels and the changes of specific surface areas under different conditions were also discussed by SEM,XRD,FT-IR,TG-DTA and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The results indicate that the monolithic alumina aerogel has nanoporous network structure consisted of randomly connected leaf-like particles, which also has high specific surface area of 744.5m2/g and low density of 0.063g/cm3. The specific surface area of the aerogel is gradually reduced with the increase of heat treatment temperature, but it is still as high as 153.45m2/g after 2h treatment under 1200℃.After heat treatment at different temperatures,the leaf-like porous structure of alumina aerogel does not change significantly,indicating that this alumina aerogel has high temperature stability.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection poses a significant threat to public health worldwide. Targeting the function of HPV E6 and E7 proteins and activating the host immune response against these proteins represent promising therapeutic strategies for combating HPV-related diseases. Consequently, the efficient production of soluble, high-purity E6 and E7 proteins is crucial for function and host immune response studies. In this context, we selected the pMCSG19 protein expression vector for Escherichia coli to produce soluble MBP-His6 tagged HPV11/16 E6/E7 proteins, achieving relatively high purity and yield. Notably, these proteins exhibited low toxicity to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and did not compromise their viability. Additionally, the recombinant proteins were capable of inducing the secretion of multiple cytokines by immune cells in peripheral blood, indicating their potential to elicit immune responses. In conclusion, our study offers a novel approach for the production of HPV11/16 E6/E7 fusion proteins with relatively high purity and yield. The fusing HPV11/16 E6/E7 proteins to MBP-His6 tag may serve as a valuable method for large-scale protein production in future research endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Qiao-Fei. Li, Chu-Qiang. Wang, Xiao-Ming. Peng, Xu-Hua. Tang Sir, Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a promising, noninvasive, high-resolution imaging technique in the auxiliary diagnosis of many skin diseases.[1] However, [...]

Objective To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. Methods The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. Results The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9% .The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (rs=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (rs=0.196, P<0.01). Conclusions Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is a type of epithelial lung cancer that accounts for approximately 80-85% of lung carcinoma cases. Chemotherapy for the NSCLC is unsatisfactory due to multidrug resistance, nonselectively distributions and the accompanying side effects. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a kind of PTD modified paclitaxel anti-resistant liposomes to overcome these chemotherapy limitations. Method: The studies were performed on LLT cells and resistant LLT cells in vitro and on NSCLC xenograft mice in vivo, respectively. Results and discussion: In vitro results showed that the liposomes with suitable physicochemical characteristics could significantly increase intracellular uptake in both LLT cells and resistant LLT cells, evidently inhibit the growth of cancer cells, and clearly induce the apoptosis of resistant LLT cells. Studies on resistant LLT cells xenograft mice demonstrated that the liposomes magnificently enhanced the anticancer efficacy in vivo. Involved action mechanisms were down-regulation of adenosine triphosphate binding cassette transporters on resistant LLT cells, and activation of the apoptotic enzymes (caspase 8/9/3). Conclusion: The PTD modified paclitaxel anti-resistant liposomes may provide a promising strategy for treatment of the drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acteoside (verbsacoside), one of the main active phenylethanoid glycosides from Cistanche deserticola, is known to have antioxidant and neuroprotective activity, and herbs containing it are used to enhance memory. However, there is relatively little direct experimental evidence to support the use of acteoside in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of this study was to elucidate the effects of acteoside in improving learning and memory, using a mouse model of senescence induced by a combination of d-galactose and AlCl3, and investigate its potential mechanisms compared with the positive controls vitamin E and piracetam. Acteoside was administered intragastrically at doses of 30, 60 and 120 mg/kg/day for 30 days after AD was induced. Memory function was evaluated using a step-down test. The number of neuron was analysed by haematoxylin and eosin staining and the number of Nissl bodies by Nissl staining. The expression of caspase-3 protein in hippocampus was detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot. Nitric oxide and total nitric oxide synthase level in hippocampus were also assessed. Our results showed that the latency of step down was shortened in AD model mice and the number of errors decreased after treatment with all doses of acteoside. Neurons and Nissl bodies in the hippocampus were increased significantly with higher doses (60 and 120 mg/kg/day) of acteoside. The content of nitric oxide, the activity of nitric oxide synthase and the expression of caspase-3 protein were decreased by 120 mg/kg/day acteoside compared with that of the AD model group. Our results support the results obtained previously using the Morris maze test in the same mouse model of senescence, and the use of traditional medicinal herbs containing acteoside for neuroprotection and memory loss. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]