Multifunctional nanoparticles are attracting increasing attention as novel agents for efficient tumor therapy. In this study, a core–shell nanoparticle (NP) system is synthesized by growing ...gelatin–doxorubicin (Gel–DOX)-stabilized Prussian blue (PB) nanoshells on Fe
3
O
4
nanocores (Fe
3
O
4
@PB@Gel–DOX NP), for combined photothermal therapy and enzyme-responsive chemotherapy under magnetic field enhancement. The composite nanoparticles exhibit excellent superparamagnetism (31.6 emu g
−1
), contributing to their enhanced therapeutic effect under the magnetic field. Drug release from this nanocomplex is triggered in the presence of enzyme in solutions or in live cells. A photothermal effect is evident under near infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, owing to the high photothermal conversion efficiency of the PB nanoshell, resulting in more than 80% cell death of Hela cells treated with 40 μg mL
−1
of the nanoparticles. The effects of combining photothermal and drug-induced tumor ablation with magnetic field enhancement are evaluated using a tumor cell viability assay
in vitro
. It is expected that this nanosystem integrating superparamagnetism, photothermal therapy and chemotherapy will foster new avenues for developing the next generation of multifunctional platforms towards effective cancer treatment.
Understanding entanglement and quantum measurements from a thermodynamics point of view is a fundamental and challenging task. Recently, a two-qubit engine was put forward as an appropriate platform ...to tackle these challenges. Here we achieve an experimental simulation and provide the direct experimental proof of these findings using single photons and linear optics. Encoding the qubits by polarization and transverse spatial modes of single photons, entanglement is created through the interaction between them. We show that, upon local measurement, classical mutual information can be extracted in order to fuel a quantum measurement engine. By measuring the energy changes, we identify that the energy gain comes from the measurement channel and corresponds to the cost of erasing the quantum correlations between qubits. The scheme is further generalized to an N-qubit chain for energy upconversion. Our experimental results provide a thorough understanding of this quantum engine with entanglement and local measurements as a new kind of fuel, as well as a general platform for exploration of quantum engines.
The rotating stall is an unstable flow phenomenon of pump turbines in pump mode, which is of increasing concern to scientists and engineers working on pump turbines. However, at present, various ...studies are carried out based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation, while directly measured data and experimental research on flow fields are seldom reported. By utilizing PIV (particle image velocimetry) measuring equipment, the flow field within the guide vane zone of a low specific speed pump turbine in pump mode was measured. By measuring and analyzing the transient flow field, the evolutionary process of the rotating stall within the guide vane passages was determined. We found that for all three tested guide vane openings, regardless of whether the positive slope appeared or not, a pre-stall operating point was found for each opening in the process of decreasing the flow rate. The analysis of the loss within the flow field indicated that the dissipation-induced loss increased greatly after the rotating stall appeared. The pump performance curves at the three guide vane openings showed an inflection at the pre-stall point. When the flow rate is larger than that of the pre-stall point, the head of the pump turbine dramatically increases as the flow rate decreases. However, when the flow rate is smaller than the pre-stall point, such increases noticeably slows down. The research results showed that whether the positive slope on the pump performance curve occurred or not, instability caused by the rotating stall should be of great concern.
We aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of mollugin extracted from Rubia cordifolia L,a traditional Chinese medicine,on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in ...mice.Thirty C57BL/6 mice were divided into a control group (n=6),a model group(n=6),and three experimental groups (40,20,10 mg/kg of mollugin,n=6 each).DSS solution (3％)was given to mice in the model group and experimental groups from day 4 to day 10 to induce the mouse UC model.Mice in the experimental groups were intragastrically administrated mollugin from day 1 to day 10.Animals were orally given distilled water in the control group for the whole experiment time and in the model group from day 1 to day 3.The changes in colon pathology were detected by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining.Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the serum,and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) and interferon-y (IFN) in the tissues were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Expression levels of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differentiation factor 88 in the colon tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results showed that mollugin could significantly reduce weight loss and the disease activity index in the DSS-induced UC mouse model.HE examinations demonstrated that mollugin treatment effectively improved the histological damage (P<0.05).The overproduction of IL-1β and TNF-a was remarkably inhibited by mollugin treatment at doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg (P<0.05).Additionally,the levels of TLR4 in colon tissues were significantly reduced in mollugin-treated groups compared with the DSS group.Our findings demonstrated that mollugin ameliorates DSS-induced UC by inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory chemocytokines.
Phytochromes in Agrobacterium fabrum Lamparter, Tilman; Xue, Peng; Elkurdi, Afaf ...
Frontiers in plant science,
04/2021, Letnik:
12
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The focus of this review is on the phytochromes Agp1 and Agp2 of
. These are involved in regulation of conjugation, gene transfer into plants, and other effects. Since crystal structures of both ...phytochromes are known, the phytochrome system of
provides a tool for following the entire signal transduction cascade starting from light induced conformational changes to protein interaction and the triggering of DNA transfer processes.
An Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring system with a high-precision time reference is developed in this research. The terminals of the system power themselves through self-induction from the ...high-voltage transmission lines. The IoT system is dispatched along the transmission lines and can monitor the running status, including the temperature and humidity of the environment, the rms line current, the lines galloping, and the ground height. Besides these parameters, the system can detect the fault current in time and record the fault current waveform. The time synchronization accuracy reaches 100 ns, which guarantees the fault recognition and location along the whole transmission lines. To accurately recognize the fault type, a fault recognition method based on time-domain statistical features and support-vector machine (SVM) is proposed. First, the signal is processed with an improved wavelet denoising algorithm. Next, the temporal feature is extracted with statistical parameters in the time domain. Finally, the fault pattern is recognized by a multi-class SVM model. Experimental tests show that the terminal of the system has a positioning accuracy of centimetre level and can effectively monitor the galloping for transmission lines and can detect and record the abnormal current waveforms for the fault type recognition. Simulation experiments show that the proposed recognition method have better recognition performance.
Phospholipids (PLs), one of the lipid categories, are not only the primary building blocks of cellular membranes, but also can be split to produce products that function as second messengers in ...signal transduction and play a pivotal role in numerous cellular processes, including cell growth, survival, and motility. Here, we present an integrated novel method that combines a fast and robust TMS-diazomethane-based phosphate derivatization and isotopic labeling strategy, which enables simultaneous profiling and relative quantification of PLs from biological samples. Our results showed that phosphate methylation allows fast and sensitive identification of the six major PL classes, including their lysophospholipid counterparts, under positive ionization mode. The isotopic labeling of endogenous PLs was achieved by deuterated diazomethane, which was generated through acid-catalyzed hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange and methanolysis of TMS-diazomethane during the process of phosphate derivatization. The measured H/D ratios of unlabeled and labeled PLs, which were mixed in known proportions, indicated that the isotopic labeling strategy is capable of providing relative quantitation with adequate accuracy, reproducibility, and a coefficient of variation of 9.1%, on average. This novel method offers unique advantages over existing approaches and presents a powerful tool for research of PL metabolism and signaling.
Recently published guidelines depend upon screening for cervical precancer risk stratification; however, colposcopy provides key information. There is no data from developing countries that could be ...used comparatively. Therefore, we assessed the potential benefits of intercalating colposcopic impressions with screening results to detect cervical precancers through a multicenter, cross-sectional study of a Chinese population. Anonymized data from 6012 women with cytologic assessment, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, colposcopic impressions, and histological results were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) cytology, HPV16/18+, and/or high-grade colposcopic impressions markedly increased cervical precancer risk, while high-grade colposcopic impressions were associated with the highest risk. The risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (CIN3+) ranged from 0% for normal/benign colposcopic impressions, <HSIL cytologies, and HPV negative to 63.61% for high-grade colposcopy, HSIL+ cytology, and HPV16/18+, across 18 subgroups. High-grade colposcopic impressions were associated with a >19% increased risk of CIN3+, even in participants without HSIL+ cytology and/or HPV16/18+. Regardless of screening outcomes, normal/benign colposcopic impressions were associated with the lowest risk of CIN3+ (<0.5%). Integrating colposcopic impressions into risk assessment may therefore provide key information for identifying cervical precancer cases. Adopting this approach may improve detection rates while also providing reassurance for women with a lower risk of developing cervical cancer.
Pre-stressed bolt anchorage is the key technology for jointed rock masses in rock tunnelling, slope treatment and mining engineering. To investigate the mechanical properties and reinforcement effect ...of jointed rock masses with pre-stressed bolts, in this study, uniaxial compression tests were conducted on specimens with different anchoring types and flaw inclination angles. ABAQUS software was used to verify and supplement the laboratory tests. The laws of the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) obtained from the numerical simulations and laboratory tests were consistent. The results showed that under the same flaw angle, both the UCS and elastic modulus of the bolted specimens were improved compared with those of the specimens without bolts and the improvements increased with an increase in the bolt pre-stress. Under the same anchoring type, the UCS and elastic modulus of the jointed specimens increased with an increase in the flaw angle. The pre-stressed bolt could not only restrain the slip of the specimens along the flaw surface but also change the propagation mode of the secondary cracks and limit the initiation of cracks. In addition, the plot contours of the maximum principal strain and the Tresca stress of the numerical models were influenced by the anchoring type, flaw angle, anchoring angle and bolt position.
Abnormally increased resorption contributes to bone degenerative diseases such as Paget's disease of bone (PDB) through unclear mechanisms. Recently, the optineurin (OPTN) gene has been implicated in ...PDB, and global OPTN knockout mice (Optn
) were shown to exhibit increased formation of osteoclasts (osteoclastogenesis). Growing evidence, including our own, has demonstrated that intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulated by receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) can act as signaling molecules to promote osteoclastogenesis. Here, we report that OPTN interacts with nuclear factor erythroid-derived factor 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), the master regulator of the antioxidant response, defining a pathway through which RANKL-induced ROS could be regulated for osteoclastogenesis. In this study, monocytes from Optn
and wild-type (Optn
) mice were utilized to differentiate into osteoclasts, and both qRT-PCR and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining showed that the Optn
monocytes exhibited enhanced osteoclastogenesis compared to the Optn
cells. CellROX
staining, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting indicated that OPTN deficiency reduced the basal expression of Nrf2, inhibited the expression of NRF2-responsive antioxidants, and increased basal and RANKL-induced intracellular ROS levels, leading to enhanced osteoclastogenesis. Coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) showed direct interaction, and immunofluorescence staining showed perinuclear colocalization of the OPTN-NRF2 granular structures during differentiation. Finally, curcumin and the other NRF2 activators attenuated the hyperactive osteoclastogenesis induced by OPTN deficiency. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel OPTN-mediated mechanism for regulating the NRF2-mediated antioxidant response in osteoclasts and extend the therapeutic potential of OPTN in the aging process resulting from ROS-triggered oxidative stress, which is associated with PDB and many other degenerative diseases.
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