Burn ointment (BO) is a clinically useful medicine for the treatment of burns and scalds. However, there is no enough scientific evidence to report the effect of BO on wound healing and its analgesic ...and anti-inflammatory efficacy. The aim of this work was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy of BO and to reveal the potential wound healing properties and related mechanisms of BO. In this work, the content of active ingredients of BO was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two animal models of inflammation were used to study its anti-inflammatory activity, and a hot plate method was used to evaluate its analgesic effect. In addition, mouse incision and rat burn models were used to investigate the effect of BO on the anti-inflammatory and wound healing mechanisms. The results showed that BO was safe for topical application, and BO could significantly inhibit auricular swelling in mice and paw swelling in rats and significantly prolong the latency period of paw licking in the hot plate experiment in mice. It can also accelerate wound healing and repair scars by promoting the formation of new epithelial tissues in rat burn models. In addition, BO significantly downregulated the serum level of TNF-α and significantly increased the serum levels of VEGF and TGF-β1. Also, BO promoted the expression of collagen I and increased the ratio in p-PI3K/PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, and p-mTOR/mTOR pathways. Our results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of BO and suggest that activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway may play an important role in the promotion of wound healing by BO.
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•Chlorine disinfectants (CDs) prolonged the lag phase of mesophilic AD.•The high-dose CDs reduced the CMPu of thermophilic AD.•The inhibition effects aggravated with the increase of ...CDs concentration.•Under CDs stress, the dominant archaeal genus was Methanosarcina.•Activated carbon, zero-valent iron, and biochar could alleviate the inhibition.
The residual chlorine disinfectants (CDs) in swine slurry could negatively impact the anaerobic digestion (AD). The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of CDs on mesophilic and thermophilic AD. The results indicated that CDs exerted inhibition effects on methanogenesis at the initial stage of mesophilic AD, leading to the extension of lag time from 0.62 days for control to 0.85, 1.9, 3.8, and 5.5 days with the increasing CDs concentrations of 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/L, respectively. Under thermophilic condition, the inhibition effects reduced significantly at the initial stage but a decrease of CMPu at later stage was observed. The microbial analysis revealed that CDs resulted in the enrichment of chlorine-resistant bacteria (Clostridum_sensu_stricto_1) and archaea (Methanosarcina). Addition of activated carbon (AC), zero-valent iron (ZVI) and biochar (BC) was evaluated for alleviating the inhibitions of CDs and proved to be feasible strategies to alleviate the inhibited AD.
This research investigates the intermediate mechanism that translates brand communities into brand relationships. Using a sample of online brand communities from China, the study finds that consumer ...brand attachment plays a full mediating role between brand community commitment and brand commitment and exerts partial mediation between brand identification and brand commitment. Perceived community–brand similarity moderates both brand community identification's effect on brand identification and brand community commitment's effect on brand attachment. The findings contribute to the brand literature and provide implications for brand community management.
► We investigate how brand communities generate brand relationships. ► Consumer brand attachment plays a mediating role. ► Perceived community Cbrand similarity plays a moderating role.
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•ZrO2-supported NiFe catalysts with different Fe/Ni ratios show opposite selectivities.•Ni-ZrO2 interfaces are the most likely active sites for CH4 formation from CO2.•Ni-FeOx ...interfaces are the most likely active sites for CO formation from CO2.•Binding energy of absorbed CO is a key descriptor to predict product selectivity.
CO2 hydrogenation over ZrO2-supported NiFe catalysts is investigated to illustrate the role of Fe in controlling the activity and selectivity, and to reveal the structure-function relationship between metal-oxide interfaces and catalytic selectivities. The Ni-ZrO2 interfaces and Ni-FeOx interfaces are identified as the most likely active sites for the methanation reaction and the reverse water-gas shift reaction, respectively, using combined in-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques. The reaction mechanisms of CO2 hydrogenation to CH4 on the Ni-ZrO2 interfacial sites and to CO on the Ni-FeOx interfacial sites are further revealed by combined in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Both experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the binding energy of absorbed CO (*CO) is a key descriptor to predict CO2 hydrogenation selectivity: weak interaction (e.g., Ni-FeOx interfaces) promotes *CO desorption to increase CO selectivity, while moderate interaction (e.g., Ni-ZrO2 interfaces) facilitates further hydrogenation of *CO to produce CH4.
Besides the canonical RNA-based RNase P, pre-tRNA 5'-end processing can also be catalyzed by protein-only RNase P (PRORP). To date, various PRORPs have been discovered, but the basis underlying ...substrate binding and cleavage by HARPs (homolog of Aquifex RNase P) remains elusive. Here, we report structural and biochemical studies of HARPs. Comparison of the apo- and pre-tRNA-complexed structures showed that HARP is able to undergo large conformational changes that facilitate pre-tRNA binding and catalytic site formation. Planctomycetes bacterium HARP exists as dimer in vitro, but gel filtration and electron microscopy analysis confirmed that HARPs from Thermococcus celer, Thermocrinis minervae and Thermocrinis ruber can assemble into larger oligomers. Structural analysis, mutagenesis and in vitro biochemical studies all supported one cooperative pre-tRNA processing mode, in which one HARP dimer binds pre-tRNA at the elbow region whereas 5'-end removal is catalyzed by the partner dimer. Our studies significantly advance our understanding on pre-tRNA processing by PRORPs.
Phase change materials (PCMs) are a crucial focus of research in the field of photothermal energy storage. However, due to their inherently low photothermal conversion efficiency, traditional PCMs ...absorb solar energy scarcely. The photothermal conversion ability of PCMs are usually enhanced by incorporating photothermal conversion nanoparticles. Polydopamine (PDA) is widely used in various fields due to its excellent photothermal conversion and adhesion performance. We dispersed PDA into PEG containing CuNPs to test the effect of PDA on thermal properties of cPCMs. Our team has conducted experiments to test the thermal characteristics and photothermal conversion ability of cPCMs. Results demonstrated that the addition of PDA mitigated the enthalpy loss caused by integrating CuNPs. The enthalpy of melting of cPCMs with addition of polydopamine is greater than that without polydopamine for the composites with different mass fractions. The addition of PDA in cPCMs enhanced their photothermal conversion capacity, resulting in higher temperatures being achieved within the same exposure time compared to samples without PDA. Therefore, the cPCMs with dispersed polydopamine can store higher energy. Meanwhile, PDA also improved the overall thermal conductivity of the material. Our work provided a new method to utilize the photothermal properties of polydopamine. Meanwhile, it can reduce the cost of photothermal energy storage PCMs and further improve the potential of PCM energy storage.
•The PDA was dispersed into the PEG rather than on the surface.•The addition of PDA enhanced the photothermal conversion capacity of nano-copper in PEG.•The incorporation of PDA can mitigate the enthalpy reduction induced by nano-copper.•The dispersion of PDA can further improve the thermal conductivity of PEG containing copper nanoparticles.
In China, regional haze pollution is a serious environmental problem. The impact on ecosystem, however, is not clearly understood. This study investigates the effect of regional haze pollution on the ...yields of rice and wheat in China. The spatial and temporal distributions of aerosol optical depth (AOD) show high particulate pollution in the North China Plain region, Yangtze River Delta region, the central eastern China, and the Si Chuan Basin, coexisted largely with crop growth in time and space. The solar irradiance reaching these regions is estimated to reduce by up to 28-49%, calculated using the AOD distributions and tropospheric ultraviolet-visible (TUV) model. Reduction of solar irradiance in these regions can depress optimal yields of about 45% of rice and 75% of wheat growth in China, leading to 2% reduction in total rice production and 8% reduction in total wheat production in China. However, there are large uncertainties of the estimate related to the diffuse solar radiation. For high diffuse radiation case, the estimate reductions of rice and wheat decrease to 1% and 4.5%, respectively. A further detailed study is needed to clearly understand this effect to meet the growing food demand in the nation in the coming decades.
We report a generalized wet-chemical methodology for the synthesis of transition-metal (M)-doped brookite-phase TiO2 nanorods (NRs) with unprecedented wide-range tunability in dopant composition (M = ...V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, etc.). These quadrangular NRs can selectively expose {210} surface facets, which is induced by their strong affinity for oleylamine stabilizer. This structure is well preserved with variable dopant compositions and concentrations, leading to a diverse library of TiO2 NRs wherein the dopants in single-atom form are homogeneously distributed in a brookite-phase solid lattice. This synthetic method allows tuning of dopant-dependent properties of TiO2 nanomaterials for new opportunities in catalysis applications.
Passivation of the Mg anode surface in conventional electrolytes constitutes a critical issue for practical Mg batteries. In this work, a perfluorinated tert‐butoxide magnesium salt, Mg(pftb)2, is ...codissolved with MgCl2 in tetrahydrofuran (THF) to form an all‐magnesium salt electrolyte. Raman spectroscopy and density function theory calculation confirm that Mg2Cl3·6THF+Mg(pftb)3− is the main electrochemically active species of the electrolyte. The proper lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level of the Mg(pftb)3− anion enables in situ formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Mg anodes. A detailed analysis of the SEI reveals that its stability originates from a dual‐layered organic/inorganic hybrid structure. Mg//Cu and Mg//Mg cells using the electrolyte achieve a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.7% over 3000 cycles, and low overpotentials over ultralong‐cycle lives of 8100, 3000, and 1500 h at current densities of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mA cm−2, respectively. The robust SEI layer, once formed on a Mg electrode, is also shown highly effective in suppressing side‐reactions in a TFSI−‐containing electrolyte. A high Coulombic efficiency of 99.5% over 800 cycles is also demonstrated for a Mg//Mo6S8 full cell, showing great promise of the SEI forming electrolyte in future Mg batteries.
A perfluorinated alkoxide‐based all‐magnesium salt electrolyte is designed and synthesized. The proper lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level of the Mg(pftb)3− anions in the electrolyte enables in situ formation of a stable solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Mg anodes. With the protection of SEI, Mg//Mg cells achieve low overpotentials over ultralong‐cycle lives of 8100, 3000, and 1500 h at current densities of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mA cm−2, respectively.
Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is one of the major causes of infertility. We previously demonstrated that transplantation of menstrual blood-derived stromal cells (MenSCs) effectively improved ...ovarian function in a murine model of POI. Recent studies indicated that mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes were important components in tissue repair. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of MenSCs-derived exosomes (MenSCs-Exos) in a rat model of POI and its mechanism in restoring ovulation.
Ovaries of 4.5-day-old Sprague Dawley rats (SD rats) were cultured in vitro to evaluate the effects of MenSCs-Exos exposure on early follicle development. Furthermore, POI in rats was induced by intraperitoneal administration of 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD). Forty-eight POI rats were randomly assigned to four groups, each receiving a different treatment: PBS, MenSCs, MenSCs-Exos, and Exo-free culture supernatant of MenSCs. Estrous cyclicity, ovarian morphology, follicle dynamics, serum hormones, pregnancy outcomes, and molecular changes were investigated.
Exposure to MenSCs-Exos promoted the proliferation of granulosa cells in primordial and primary follicles in vitro and increased the expression of early follicle markers Deleted In Azoospermia Like (DAZL) and Forkhead Box L2 (FOXL2) while inhibiting follicle apoptosis. In vivo, MenSCs-Exos transplantation effectively promoted follicle development in the rat model of POI and restored the estrous cyclicity and serum sex hormone levels, followed by improving the live birth outcome. In addition, transplantation of MenSCs-Exos regulated the composition of the ovarian extracellular matrix and accelerated the recruitment of dormant follicles in the ovarian cortex and increased proliferation of granulosa cells in these follicles.
MenSCs-Exos markedly promoted follicle development in vitro and in vivo and restored fertility in POI rats, suggesting a restorative effect on ovarian functions. The therapeutic effect of MenSCs-Exos transplantation was sustainable, consistent with that of MenSCs transplantation. Our results suggested that MenSCs-Exos transplantation may be a promising cell-free bioresource in the treatment of POI.
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