The HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst with microspheres morphology can well transform mechanical energy into electrical energy through vibration to generate reactive species of degradation dyes.
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...•HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst shows high piezoelectric catalytic activity in dye degradation.•HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst works better than bulk CP-Bi2MoO6 in harvesting mechanic energy.•The catalytic rate of HT-Bi2MoO6 under vibration is higher than light irradiation.•The RhB degradation rate is 98.9% under vibration on flower-like HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst.
HT-Bi2MoO6 microspheres were prepared by hydrothermal method and applied in piezoelectric catalytic degradation of dye. The crystallinity, morphology, optical property, and the surface chemical state of Bi2MoO6 catalyst were characterized by XRD, SEM, UV–vis and XPS techniques, respectively. The effects of catalyst preparation method, catalyst amount, dyes type and reaction conditions were investigated on the piezoelectric catalytic performance. The highest degradation ratio of 98.9% was achieved with 10 mg of HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst after 45 min of piezoelectric catalytic vibration. In addition, a possible piezoelectric catalytic mechanism over HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst has been proposed by active species trapping experiment. ·O2− and h+ are suggested to be the main active species in the piezoelectric catalytic process. These research results show that the HT-Bi2MoO6 catalyst with flower-like microspheres morphology consisting of nanosheets can effectively transform mechanical energy into electrical energy by vibration to generate reactive species for the degradation of dyes.
Photo-immunotherapy is a novel therapeutic approach against malignant tumors with minimal invasiveness. Herein, a targeting multifunctional black phosphorus (BP) nanoparticle, modified by PEGylated ...hyaluronic acid (HA), was designed for photothermal/photodynamic/photo-immunotherapy. In vitro and in vivo assays indicated that HA-BP nanoparticles possess excellent biocompatibility, stability, and sufficient therapeutic efficacy in the combined therapy of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer therapy. Moreover, the results of in vitro showed that HA-BP down-regulated the expression of CD206 (M2 macrophage marker) by 42.3% and up-regulated the ratio of CD86（M1 macrophage marker）by 59.6%, indicating that HA-BP nanoparticles have functions in remodeling tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) phenotype (from pro-tumor M2 TAMs to anti-tumor M1 macrophages). Fluorescence (FL) and photoacoustic (PA) multimodal imaging confirmed the selective accumulation of HA-BP in tumor site via both CD44+ mediated active targeting and passive EPR effect. In vitro and in vivo studies suggested that the combined therapy of PDT, PTT and immunotherapy using HA-BP could not only significantly inhibit original tumor but also induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) and release Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which could induce maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) and activate effector cells that robustly evoke the antitumor immune responses for cancer treatment. This study expands the biomedical application of BP nanoparticles and displays the potential of modified BP as a multifunctional therapeutic platform for the future cancer therapy.
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•Novel HA-BP NPs were synthesized for photothermal/photodynamic/photo-immunotherapy.•HA-BP NPs with size around 50 nm possess remarkable enhancement of tumor targeting and accumulation ability.•HA-BP NPs could promote M2 to M1 macrophage polarization and further enhance invasion of activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.
Coal mining cities are universally confronted with the degradation of groundwater quality, and the sulfate pollution of groundwater has become a widely studied environmental problem. In this study, ...we combined multi-isotope (δ34S, δ18O-SO42- and 87Sr/86Sr) approach with hydrochemical technique and a Bayesian mixed model to clarify sources and transformations and to quantitatively assess the contribution of sulfate from potential sources. The concentrations of SO42- in groundwater ranged from 7.7 mg/L to 172.9 mg/L, and the high-value areas were located in coal mining area and residential area. The total values of δ34S and δ18O-SO42- varied from 10.6‰ to 26.9‰ and 6.9‰ to 14.1‰, respectively, in the groundwater. Analyses of SO42- and Sr isotopes and water chemistry indicated that SO42- in groundwater originated from various sources, such as atmospheric precipitation, sulfide mineral oxidation, evaporite dissolution, sewage and mine drainage. The oxidation of pyrite and bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) had no significant impact on the stable isotopes of groundwater. At the same time, the calculation results of the Bayesian mixed model showed that the sources of SO42- in groundwater mainly include evaporite dissolution in aquifer and mine drainage in the mixture of shallow and deep groundwater, with high contribution proportions of 39.8 ± 10.9% and 31.9 ± 5.7%, respectively, while the contributions of sewage (13.9 ± 8.5%), atmospheric precipitation (9.6 ± 8.6%) and the oxidation of sulfide (4.7 ± 3.3%) to SO42- were lower. The research results revealed the source of SO42- pollution in shallow groundwater in the coal mine area and provided an important scientific basis for the effective management and protection of groundwater resources.
•Combining δ34S and δ18O-SO42- and 87Sr/86Sr increase the accuracy of SO42- tracing.•Bacterial sulfate reduction did not affect the SO42- isotopics composition.•Bayesian mixed model was used to quantity SO42- sources.•Sulfate in groundwater comes from dissolution of evaporite and mine drainage.
FFCA was achieved in high selectivity by photocatalytic oxidation of HMF over g-C3N4/NaNbO3 under visible light.
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•HMF can convert to FFCA by a green photocatalytic selective oxidation ...process.•g-C3N4/NaNbO3 exhibits good photocatalytic performance under visible light.•High selectivity to FFCA can be achieved using water as solvent.
The g-C3N4/NaNbO3 photocatalyst was synthesized by simply calcining the mixture of NaNbO3 and melamine. The synthesized composite exhibits high photocatalytic performance in the selective oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (FFCA) when using water as solvent. The structure and composition of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 photocatalysts were characterized by TG, XRD, SEM, UV–Vis, FT-IR, and XPS methods, and the optical and electrochemical properties were investigated by EIS, PC, and PL techniques. O2− was inferred to be the primary active species in this process based on the active species trapping experiment. Heterostructure formation of g-C3N4/NaNbO3 composites efficiently promoted the separation of photo-generated electron-hole pairs and accelerated the electron transfer rate, thus reduced the formation of OH, and sequentially improved the selectivity of FFCA. The highest HMF conversion of 35.8% with FFCA selectivity of 87.4% was achieved on C/N-59.6 photocatalyst under the irradiation of visible light. The possible mechanism and reaction route were also proposed.
Metastatic peritoneal carcinoma (mPC) is a deadly disease without effective treatment. To improve treatment of this disease, a recently developed hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has ...emerged as the standard of care. However, the efficacy of this approach is limited by inefficient drug penetration and rapidly developed drug resistance. Herein, a nanotechnology approach is reported that is designed to improve drug delivery to mPC and to augment the efficacy of HIPEC through delivery of chemoimmunotherapy. First, the drug delivery efficiency of HIPEC is determined and it is found that chemotherapy agents cannot be efficiently delivered to large tumors nodules. To overcome the delivery hurdle, genetically engineered exosomes‐thermosensitive liposomes hybrid NPs, or gETL NPs, are then synthesized, and it is demonstrated that the NPs after intravenous administration efficiently penetrates into mPC tumors and releases payloads at the hypothermia condition of HIPEC. Last, it is shown that, when granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) and docetaxel are co‐delivered, gETL NPs effectively inhibit tumor development and the efficacy is enhanced when HIPEC is co‐administered. The study provides a strategy to improve drug delivery to mPCs and offers a promising approach to improve treatment of the disease through combination of locoregional delivery of HIPEC and systemic delivery of chemoimmunotherapy via gETL NPs.
In this study, a CD47 over expressed exosomes–liposomes hybrid nanoparticle (gETL NP) delivery system is developed for granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) and docetaxel co‐delivery. Combined with standard hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) therapy to metastatic peritoneal carcinoma (mPC), the gETL NP achieves HIPEC‐mediated chemotherapy and CD47‐ and GM‐CSF‐mediated immunotherapy.
Highlights
Gene-engineering tumor cell membrane with CD47 over-expression is achieved to improve the macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of tumor cells by blocking CD47 immune checkpoint.
A ...cascade-enzyme nanoreactor combining tumor enzyme dynamic therapy, phototherapy, and deoxygenation-activated chemotherapy is proposed.
Glucose oxidase and chloroperoxidase can generate sufficient HClO to kill normoxic tumor cells, and tirapazamine can be subsequently activated to kill hypoxic tumor cells.
The enzyme-mediated elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the tumor sites has become an emerging strategy for regulating intracellular redox status for anticancer treatment. Herein, we proposed a camouflaged bionic cascaded-enzyme nanoreactor based on Ti
3
C
2
nanosheets for combined tumor enzyme dynamic therapy (EDT), phototherapy and deoxygenation-activated chemotherapy. Briefly, glucose oxidase (GOX) and chloroperoxidase (CPO) were chemically conjugated onto Ti
3
C
2
nanosheets, where the deoxygenation-activated drug tirapazamine (TPZ) was also loaded, and the Ti
3
C
2
-GOX-CPO/TPZ (TGCT) was embedded into nanosized cancer cell-derived membrane vesicles with high-expressed CD47 (m
e
TGCT). Due to biomimetic membrane camouflage and CD47 overexpression, m
e
TGCT exhibited superior immune escape and homologous targeting capacities, which could effectively enhance the tumor preferential targeting and internalization. Once internalized into tumor cells, the cascade reaction of GOX and CPO could generate HClO for efficient EDT. Simultaneously, additional laser irradiation could accelerate the enzymic-catalytic reaction rate and increase the generation of singlet oxygen (
1
O
2
). Furthermore, local hypoxia environment with the oxygen depletion by EDT would activate deoxygenation-sensitive prodrug for additional chemotherapy. Consequently, m
e
TGCT exhibits amplified synergistic therapeutic effects of tumor phototherapy, EDT and chemotherapy for efficient tumor inhibition. This intelligent cascaded-enzyme nanoreactor provides a promising approach to achieve concurrent and significant antitumor therapy.
Vinegar is a traditional fermented condiment, and the microbial diversity of DaQu makes the quality of vinegar products. Recently, turbidity spoilage of vinegar sharply tampered with the quality of ...vinegar. In this study, the relation between the microbial diversity of DaQu and turbidity spoilage of vinegar was analyzed by plating technique, PCR–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The 16S rRNA sequencing and DGGE analysis indicated that Bacillus (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and Bacillus thuringiensis) and Lactobacillus (including Lactobacillus acidipiscis and Lactobacillus pobuzihii) species were the dominant contaminants in vinegar products. Meanwhile, DGGE analysis showed that the dominant bacteria in DaQu belonged to genera Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, Weissella, Saccharopolyspora, Enterobacter, and Pantoea. However, only two yeast species (Pichia kudriavzevii and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera) and seven mold species including Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus candidus, Rhizopus microspores, Eurotium herbariorum, Absidia corymbifera, and Eupenicillium javanicum were detected in the DaQu. The population level of fungi was below 5 log CFU/g in DaQu. The chemical and physical properties of vinegar and sediments were also determined. On the basis of a combined microbial diversity-chemical analysis, we demonstrated that turbidity spoilage of vinegar was a result of cooperation among the low population level and abundance of fungal species in DaQu, the suitable climate conditions, and the contaminants in vinegar. This is the first report to analyze the relation between the microbial diversity of DaQu and turbidity spoilage of vinegar.
Amplification and/or activation of the c‐Myc proto‐oncogene is one of the leading genetic events along hepatocarcinogenesis. The oncogenic potential of c‐Myc has been proven experimentally by the ...finding that its overexpression in the mouse liver triggers tumor formation. However, the molecular mechanism whereby c‐Myc exerts its oncogenic activity in the liver remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) cascade is activated and necessary for c‐Myc‐dependent hepatocarcinogenesis. Specifically, we found that ablation of Raptor, the unique member of mTORC1, strongly inhibits c‐Myc liver tumor formation. Also, the p70 ribosomal S6 kinase/ribosomal protein S6 and eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E‐binding protein 1/eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E signaling cascades downstream of mTORC1 are required for c‐Myc‐driven tumorigenesis. Intriguingly, microarray expression analysis revealed up‐regulation of multiple amino acid transporters, including solute carrier family 1 member A5 (SLC1A5) and SLC7A6, leading to robust uptake of amino acids, including glutamine, into c‐Myc tumor cells. Subsequent functional studies showed that amino acids are critical for activation of mTORC1 as their inhibition suppressed mTORC1 in c‐Myc tumor cells. In human hepatocellular carcinoma specimens, levels of c‐Myc directly correlate with those of mTORC1 activation as well as of SLC1A5 and SLC7A6. Conclusion: Our current study indicates that an intact mTORC1 axis is required for c‐Myc‐driven hepatocarcinogenesis; thus, targeting the mTOR pathway or amino acid transporters may be an effective and novel therapeutic option for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with activated c‐Myc signaling. (Hepatology 2017;66:167–181).
Chinese chestnut (
Castanea mollissima
Blume) is one of the earliest domesticated plants of high nutritional and ecological value, yet mechanisms of
C. mollissima
underlying its growth and ...development are poorly understood. Although individual chestnut species differ greatly, the molecular basis of the formation of their characteristic traits remains unknown. Though the draft genomes of chestnut have been previously released, the pan-genome of different variety needs to be studied. We report the genome sequence of three cultivated varieties of chestnut herein, namely Hei-Shan-Zhai-7 (H7, drought-resistant variety), Yan-Hong (YH, easy-pruning variety), and Yan-Shan-Zao-Sheng (ZS, early-maturing variety), to expedite convenience and efficiency in its genetics-based breeding. We obtained three chromosome-level chestnut genome assemblies through a combination of Oxford Nanopore technology, Illumina HiSeq X, and Hi-C mapping. The final genome assemblies are 671.99 Mb (YH), 790.99 Mb (ZS), and 678.90 Mb (H7), across 12 chromosomes, with scaffold N50 sizes of 50.50 Mb (YH), 65.05 Mb (ZS), and 52.16 Mb (H7). Through the identification of homologous genes and the cluster analysis of gene families, we found that H7, YH and ZS had 159, 131, and 91 unique gene families, respectively, and there were 13,248 single-copy direct homologous genes in the three chestnut varieties. For the convenience of research, the chestnut genome database
1
was constructed. Based on the results of gene family identification, the presence/absence variations (PAVs) information of the three sample genes was calculated, and a total of 2,364, 2,232, and 1,475 unique genes were identified in H7, YH and ZS, respectively. Our results suggest that the
GBSS II-b
gene family underwent expansion in chestnut (relative to nearest source species). Overall, we developed high-quality and well-annotated genome sequences of three
C. mollissima
varieties, which will facilitate clarifying the molecular mechanisms underlying important traits, and shortening the breeding process.
Highly enantioselective organocatalytic Michael addition of ketones to vinyl sulfone catalyzed by a cinchona alkaloid-derived primary amine is reported for the first time; the described synthetic ...methodology was applied to the synthesis of sodium cyclamate.
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