The crude bio-oil was upgraded in supercritical ethanol under hydrogen atmosphere by using Pd/SO4 2−/ZrO2/SBA-15 catalyst. This is a novel way to upgrade bio-oil with the combination of ...hydrotreatment, esterification, and cracking under supercritical conditions. The results indicated that the upgrading process performed effectively and the properties of the upgraded bio-oil were improved significantly. After the upgrading process, a trace amount of tar or coke was produced and most of the organic components were kept in the upgraded bio-oil. No phase separation was observed. The amount of aldehydes and ketones decreased evidently. In particular, aldehydes were almost completely removed. Most acids were converted into corresponding esters, and at the same time many new types of esters were produced. The results of TGA and DTA indicated that macromolecular compounds were decomposed and much more volatile compounds were produced after the upgrading process. The pH value and heating value of the upgraded bio-oil increased; meanwhile, the kinematical viscosity and density decreased compared to those of the crude bio-oil.
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•The ESIPT reaction of the AHPIP-c molecules has been investigated in ACN (strong polar), THF (weak polar) and MCH (non-polar) solvents.•The geometric structures in the ground and ...excited states were full optimized and analyzed.•The ESIPT reaction of AHPIP-c molecules in ACN, THF and MCH solvents was explained by potential energy curves.•For AHPIP-c molecules, the energy potential barrier decreases with the decrease of solvent polarity in excited state.
The excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) dynamics of 2-(4′-Amino-2′-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-imidazo-4,5-cpyridine (AHPIP-c) has been studied by using density-functional theory and time-dependent density-functional theory method. Three kinds of different polar aprotic solvents, including acetonitrile (strong polar), tetrahydrofuran (weak polar) and methylcyclohexane (non-polar) have been chosen to explore solvent effects on these molecules. The calculated absorption and fluorescence spectra agree well with the experimental results for the three solvents and the dual fluorescence emission mechanism is well explained. The electron density ρ(r) and Laplacian ∇2ρ(r) at the bond critical point (BCP) have been calculated using the Atoms-In-Molecule (AIM) theory, which prove that the intramolecular hydrogen bond (O1H2⋯N3) exists in the S0 state. The geometric parameters and the infrared vibrational spectra in the OH stretching vibrational region have been calculated, which manifests the hydrogen-bond is strengthened in the S1 state. The molecular electrostatic potential surface and frontier molecular orbitals analysis demonstrate that the proton transfer prefer occurring on excited state because of the charge redistribution upon photo-excitation. The results of potential energy curves, further confirm that the proton transfer process is more likely to conduct in the S1 state due to the lower potential energy barrier than that in the S0 state. In addition, we also find that ESIPT reaction is more easily to occur as the solvent polarity decreases. Therefore, we believe that solvent effect could play an important role in controlling excited state behaviors of AHPIP-c molecules.
To explore the core mechanism of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) in the regulation of multidrug resistance of pancreatic cancer cells.
mRNA levels of GAS5, ...miR-181c-5p and Hippo pathway related genes were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Protein levels of MDR-1, MST1, YAP and TAZ were measured by western blot. Cell viability was detected by MTT assay. The combination between GAS5 and miR-181c-5p was confirmed by RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. We also established pancreatic cancer-bearing mice model and analyzed tumor volumes.
Our data showed GAS5 expression was significantly down-regulated, miR-181c-5p expression was significantly up-regulated in pancreatic cancer cells. Besides, Overexpresson of GAS5 obviously inhibited cell viability, while GAS5 knockdown showed the opposite outcome. Additionally, we also found that GAS5 negatively regulated miR-181c-5p, and miR-181c-5p dramatically promoted pancreatic cancer cell chemoresistance through inactivating the Hippo signaling. GAS5 regulated chemoresistance and Hippo pathway of pancreatic cancer cells via miR-181c-5p/Hippo. Finally, we confirmed that overexpression of GAS5 inhibited tumor growth in pancreatic cancer-bearing mice model.
GAS5 regualtes Hippo signaling pathway via miR-181c-5p to antagonize the development of multidrug resistance in pancreatic cancer cells.
Objective
To compare the short- and long-term outcomes of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) versus liver resection and chemotherapy for liver metastases from gastric cancer.
Methods
We retrospectively ...evaluated 50 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy and local treatments for liver metastases (RFA, n = 20; liver resection, n = 20; and chemotherapy, n = 10) from 2008 to 2018.
Results
The short- and long-term outcomes of each local treatment were evaluated. The median overall survival (OS) after RFA was similar to that after liver resection (20 vs. 20 months, respectively) and longer than that after chemotherapy (20 vs. 10 months, respectively). The 3-year OS and progression-free survival (PFS) rates after RFA were 20% and 10%, respectively, while those in the liver resection group were 23.5% and 23.5%, respectively. The 3-year OS rate after chemotherapy was 10%. The size and number of metastases were prognostic factors for patients with gastric cancer with liver metastasis without statistical significance.
Conclusions
Among patients with liver metastasis from gastric cancer, OS and PFS were satisfactory and comparable between RFA and liver resection but better than those of chemotherapy. RFA is an appropriate option for patients with gastric cancer who have a solitary liver metastasis measuring ≤3.0 cm.
Hypertrophic scar formation is a fibroproliferative disorder caused by abnormal wound healing. At present, there are limited treatment strategies for hypertrophic scars. In this study, we identified ...an endogenous peptide, LYENRL, through peptidomics screening that is downregulated in scar skin tissues. The peptide exhibited concentration dependent inhibitory effects on the proliferation, migration and extracellular matrix (ECM) production of scar fibroblasts. By eukaryotic transcriptome sequencing analysis, we noted that LYENRL downregulated gene sets in scar fibroblasts were associated with the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway. Further experiments revealed that LYENRL was able to inhibit the activation of TGF-β1/Smad signaling and TGF-β1-induced activation of scar fibroblasts at the source by blocking the binding of AP-1 to the corresponding region of the Tgfb1 promoter, which in turn inhibited gene expression of Tgfb1. Taken together, we concluded that the effects of LYENRL on scar fibroblasts make it a potential peptide drug for hypertrophic scar treatment.
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To investigate the frailty, as estimated by accumulated health deficits, in association with the symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis and in relation to five-year cardiovascular (CVD) outcomes.
This ...is a five-year prospective cohort study. Secondary analysis of data from the Beijing Longitudinal Study on Aging. Community-dwelling people aged 55+ years (n = 1257) have been followed between 2009 and 2014, and having carotid ultrasonography examinations with no CVD events at baseline. Frailty was quantified using the deficit accumulation-based frailty index (FI), constructed from 37 health deficits assessed at baseline. The association between the degree of frailty and carotid atherosclerosis was examined using odds ratios (OR) with multivariate logistic regression analyses. Effects of frailty on the probability of five-year cardiovascular events and mortality were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard ratios (HR). The analyses were adjusted for demographics, baseline carotid atherosclerosis status, and CVD risk factors.
The FI showed characteristic properties and was independently associated with the major carotid atherosclerosis symptoms, including carotid artery intima-media thickening (the most frail vs. the least frail: OR = 4.39: 1.98-7.82), carotid plaque (OR = 3.41: 1.28-6.54), and carotid plaque stability (OR = 1.19, 95 % CI: 1.01-3.59). Compared with the least frail, the most frail individuals were more likely to develop a cardiovascular event in five years, including myocardial infarction (HR = 3.38, 95 % CI = 1.84-6.19), stroke (HR = 1.26, 95 % CI = 1.00-5.87), CVD death (HR = 6.33, 95 % CI = 1.69-11.02), and all-cause death (HR = 5.95, 95 % CI = 2.74-8.95).
Deficit accumulation was closely associated with carotid atherosclerosis risks and strongly predicted five-year CVD events. The frailty index can be used to help identify older adults at high risks of CVD for improved preventive healthcare.
Ordered porous polymer (OPP) materials have extensively application prospects in the field of separation and purification, biomembrane, solid supports for sensors catalysts, scaffolds for tissue ...engineering, photonic band gap materials owing to ordered pore arrays, uniform and tunable pore size, high specific surface area, great adsorption capacity, and light weight. The present paper reviewed the preparation techniques of OPP materials like breath figures, hard template, and soft template. Finally, the applications of OPP materials in the field of separation, sensors, and biomedicine are introduced, respectively.
•Breath figures involve polymer casting under moist ambience.•Hard template employs monodisperse colloidal spheres as a template.•Soft template utilizes the etched block in copolymers as template.
N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) modification is one of the commonest chemical modifications in eukaryotic mRNAs, which has essential effects on mRNA translation, splicing, and stability. Currently, there is ...a rising concern on the regulatory role of m6A in tumorigenesis. As a known component in the m6A methyltransferase complex, METTL3 (methyltransferase-like 3) plays an essential role in m6A methylation. Till now, the functions of METTL3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its relative mechanism remain to be explored. In this research, through the GEPIA database, we found that high METTL3 expression has a correlation with poor prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck. qRT-PCR displayed that METTL3 was highly expressed in OSCC cells. Functionally, METTL3 knockdown reduced the invasion, migration, and proliferation competence of OSCC cells and attenuated the activation of CD8+ T cells. In contrast, METTL3 overexpression resulted in opposite results. GEPIA, UALCAN, and SRAMP databases, PCR, western blot, and m6A RNA methylation assay confirmed the m6A modification of PRMT5 and PD-L1 mediated by METTL3. In conclusion, our results displayed that METTL3 intensified the metastasis and proliferation of OSCC by modulating the m6A amounts of PRMT5 and PD-L1, suggesting that METTL3 may be a therapeutic target for OSCC patients.
A simple solid base catalyst, ammonium aluminum carbonate hydroxide (AACH), was prepared and its structure was characterized by many technologies, including XRD, FT-IR, SEM, BET and Elemental ...Analysis. The prepared catalyst was used to catalyze the conversion of glucose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (Bmim+Cl–) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) mixtures. Various reaction conditions, including catalyst loading, reaction temperature, reaction duration and solvent, were investigated. A moderated HMF yield of 52.17 % was obtained at the mild reaction conditions (120°C for 4 h). More importantly, the catalyst could be reused for several times without the loss of its significant catalytic activities. After five reaction runs, a HMF yield about 49.34 % was also obtained.
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