In this study, the Ni nanoparticles grafted TiO2 nanotubes electrode improved by surface reconstruction (s-Ni/TiO2/Ti) shows the facile hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the alkaline and chloride ...solutions. Nickel nanoparticles were electrochemically grafted on the anodic TiO2 nanotubes under different conditions. The heat treatment of TiO2 nanotubes contributes to the enhancement of electrical conductivity and template adherence. The surface reconstruction is indicated to create heterojunction intermediates, Ni(OH)2 and NiOOH, on the surface of Ni nanoparticles. An extremely low overpotential of 126 mV is required for HER on the s-Ni/TiO2/Ti electrode in 1.0 M KOH solution, showing higher activity than Pt/C. Besides, the developed electrode exhibits an overpotential of 127 mV for HER in 1.0 M KOH + 0.5 M NaCl solution. The long-term stability over 100 h suggests a highly active and inexpensive material choice for substituting the precious electrocatalysts in corrosive media such as seawater.
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•Surface reconstruction develops reactive intermediates on the electrode surface.•The s-Ni/TiO2/Ti reaches low overpotential in alkaline and chloride solutions.•The enhanced performance is due to the presence of heterojunction interfaces.•The long-term stability suggests that s-Ni/TiO2/Ti is a promising candidate.
To increase the electrocatalytic activity of graphite felt (GF) electrodes in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) toward the VO2 +/VO2+ redox couple, we prepared a stable, high catalytic activity ...and uniformly distributed hexagonal Ta2O5 nanoparticles on the surface of GF by varying the Ta2O5 content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the amount and distribution uniformity of the electrocatalyst on the surface of GF. It was found that the optimum amount and uniformly immobilized Ta2O5 nanoparticles on the GF surface provided the active sites, enhanced hydrophilicity, and electrolyte accessibility, thus remarkably improved electrochemical performance of GF. In particular, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that the Ta2O5-GF nanocomposite electrode with a weight percentage of 0.75 wt % of Ta2O5 to GF exhibited the best electrochemical activity and reversibility toward the VO2 +/VO2+ redox reaction, when compared with the other electrodes. The corresponding energy efficiency was enhanced by ∼9% at a current density of 80 mA cm–2, as compared with untreated GF. Furthermore, the charge–discharge stability test with a 0.75 wt % Ta2O5-GF electrode at 80 mA cm–2 showed that, after 100 cycles, there was no obvious attenuation of efficiencies signifying the best stability of Ta2O5 nanoparticles, which strongly adhered on the GF surface.
There is increasing evidence has indicated that long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in the tumorigenesis and development of colorectal cancer (CRC). Nevertheless, the clinical significances ...and functions of FENDRR in CRC remain unknown. In this study, we reveal that lncRNA FENDRR is downregulated in CRC and negatively correlated with advanced stage and poor clinical outcomes of patient with CRC. Overexpression of FENDRR represses the proliferation, migrate and invasive capacities of CRC cell in vitro, and upregulation of FENDRR inhibits the growth and distant metastatic capacity of CRC cell in vivo. Mechanistically, FENDRR interacts with miRNA‐18a‐5p (miR‐18a‐5p) and subsequently regulates the expression of inhibitor of growth 4 (ING4) in CRC cell. Interestingly, ING4 repression or miR‐18a‐5p rescues FENDRR induced proliferation and aggressive phenotypes inhibition of CRC cell. Altogether, our findings suggest that FENDRR exerts an inhibitory role in CRC by interacting with miR‐18a‐5p and future increases ING4 expression.
FENDRR is downregulated in CRC FENDRR restrains CRC aggressiveness.
Abstract
Background
Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is a common complication in patients with diabetes. It is related to ischemic nerve damage and the increase in the levels of proinflammatory ...mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β). Neural mobilization may have the potential to alleviate PDN, but it has not yet been tested. Also, the physiological mechanism of neural mobilization is unclear.
Objective
The objective of this study was to investigate treatment effect and physiological mechanism of neural mobilization.
Design
This was an experimental study using rats with streptozocin (or streptozotocin)-induced type 1 diabetes.
Methods
Three groups were used in the study, the control group (vehicle), the diabetes group (PDN group), and the neural mobilization treatment group (PDN-NM group) (n = 6). Rats in the vehicle group were healthy rats. Rats in the PDN and PDN-NM groups were rats with diabetes. Rats in the PDN-NM group received treatment in the right sciatic nerve, whereas rats in the PDN group did not. Mechanical pain sensitivity and the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in the sciatic nerve branches and trunk, the L4 to L6 dorsal horn ganglion, and the spinal cord dorsal horn were measured.
Results
Techanical allodynia was alleviated after treatment, but the effect was limited to the treatment side. The concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines were decreased in the nerves that received treatment compared with those on the other side, indicating that neural mobilization may reduce mechanical sensitivity by decreasing the concentrations of local sensitizing agents.
Limitations
A limitation of this study was that no direct measurement of nerve blood flow was done.
Conclusions
The results of this study showed that neural mobilization effectively alleviated mechanical allodynia in rats with PDN. The side that received treatment had lower concentrations of TNF-α and IL-1β in the sciatic nerve branches and sciatic nerve trunk; this result may have been related to the alleviation of mechanical allodynia.
Abstract
Objective
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of neural mobilization (NM) in the management of sensory dysfunction and nerve degeneration related to experimental painful diabetic ...neuropathy (PDN).
Methods
This is a pre-clinical animal study performed in the streptozocin-induced diabetic rat model. Three groups were included: a treatment group of rats with PDN receiving NM under anesthesia (PDN-NM, n = 10), a sham treatment group of rats with PDN that received only anesthesia (PDN-Sham, n = 9), and a vehicle control group with nondiabetic animals (Vehicle, n = 10). Rats in the PDN-NM and PDN-Sham groups received 1 treatment session on days 10, 12, and 14 after streptozocin injection, with a 48-hour rest period between sessions. Behavioral tests were performed using von Frey and Plantar tests. Evaluation for peripheral nerve degeneration was performed through measuring protein gene product 9.5-positive intra-epidermal nerve fiber density in hind-paw skin biopsies. All measurements were performed by a blinded investigator.
Results
The behavioral tests showed that a single NM session could reduce hyperalgesia, which was maintained for 48 hours. The second treatment session further improved this treatment effect, and the third session maintained it. These results suggest that it requires multiple treatment sessions to produce and maintain hypoalgesic effects. Skin biopsy analysis showed that the protein gene product 9.5-positive intra-epidermal nerve fiber density was higher on the experimental side of the PDN-NM group compared with the PDN-Sham group, suggesting NM may mitigate the degeneration of peripheral nerves.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated that NM may be an effective method to manage experimentally induced PDN, potentially through mitigation of nerve degeneration. Further studies are needed to develop standardized protocols for clinical use.
Impact
These findings provide neurophysiological evidence for the use of NM in PDN and can form the basis for the development of physical therapy-based programs in clinics.
Accurate vessel track prediction is key for maritime traffic control and management. Accurate prediction results can enable collision avoidance, in addition to being suitable for planning routes in ...advance, shortening the sailing distance, and improving navigation efficiency. Vessel track prediction using automatic identification system (AIS) data has attracted extensive attention in the maritime traffic community. In this study, a combining density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN)-based long short-term memory (LSTM) model (denoted as DLSTM) was developed for vessel prediction. DBSCAN was used to cluster vessel tracks, and LSTM was then used for training and prediction. The performance of the DLSTM model was compared with that of support vector regression, recurrent neural network, and conventional LSTM models. The results revealed that the proposed DLSTM model outperformed these models by approximately 2–8%. The proposed model is able to provide a better prediction performance of vessel tracks, which can subsequently improve the efficiency and safety of maritime traffic control.
To deliver three-dimension (3D) video services through the current two-dimension (2D) broadcasting systems, the frame compatible packing formats of views with depth maps will be an effective ...approach. With texture and depth information, the 3D videos with a depth image-based rendering engine can easily support all glasses and glasses-free 3D displays. In this paper, we propose a new YCbCr color depth packing method based on the centralized texture-depth packing (CTDP) formats to deliver effective 3D video services. Simulations show that the CTDP formats with YCbCr color depth packing method can achieve better objective and subjective texture and depth quality than the 2D-plus-depth packing (2DDP) formats. The benefits from using CTDP include light complexity and maturity and wide application of existing video codec. The packing scheme is compatible with any video codecs. Before the 3D-HEVC-based video broadcasting system, the proposed CTDP formats with YCbCr color depth packing method could help to deliver 3D videos in the current 2D broadcasting systems simply and efficiently.
The design and development of inexpensive and highly efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen production from water splitting are highly crucial for green energy and the hydrogen economy. Herein, we ...report phosphine reduced an iron-doped tungsten oxide nanoplate/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (Fe-WOxP/rGO) as an excellent electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. This electrocatalyst was synthesized using a hydrothermal method, followed by reduction with phosphine (PH3), which was generated from sodium hypophosphite. The catalyst onset potential, Tafel slope, and stability were investigated. Accordingly, Fe-WOxP/rGO exhibited impressively high electrocatalytic activity with a low overpotential of 54.60 mV, which is required to achieve a current density of 10 mAcm−2. The Tafel slope of 41.99 mV dec−1and the linear sweep voltammetry curve is almost the same as 2000 cycles and electrolysis under static overpotential (54.60 mV) is remain for more than 24 h in 0.5 M H2SO4. The catalytic activity and conductivity of Fe-WOxP/rGO were higher than WOXP, Fe-WOxP and WOxP/rGO. Such an outstanding performance of the Fe-WOxP/rGO nanocomposite is attributed to the coupled synergic effect between high oxygen vacancies formation on tungsten oxide in the nanoplate-like structure of Fe-WOxP and rGO nanosheet, making it as an excellent electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction.
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•Fe-WOXP/rGO was synthesized by hydrothermal followed by CVD method.•Electrocatalytic activity of Fe-WOXP/rGO for HER was studied.•Coupled synergistic effect of Fe-WOXP and rGO support enhances the performance.•Fe-WOXP/rGO attains lower overpotential of 54.60 mV for 10 mA cm−2 and 41.99 mV dec−1.•Fe-WOXP/rGO was stable at 0.5 M H2SO4 at 10 mA cm−2 for more than 24 h.
Superenhancers drive abnormal gene expression in tumors and promote malignancy. However, the relationship between superenhancer‐associated long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and abnormal metabolism is ...unknown. This study identifies a novel lncRNA, fatty acid synthesis‐related lncRNA (FASRL), whose expression is driven by upstream stimulatory factor 1 (USF1) through its superenhancer. FASRL promotes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, FASRL binds to acetyl‐CoA carboxylase 1 (ACACA), a fatty acid synthesis rate‐limiting enzyme, increasing fatty acid synthesis via the fatty acid metabolism pathway. Moreover, the expression of FASRL, USF1, and ACACA is increased, and their high expression indicates a worse prognosis in HCC patients. In summary, USF1 drives FASRL transcription via a superenhancer. FASRL binding to ACACA increases fatty acid synthesis and lipid accumulation to mechanistically exacerbate HCC. FASRL may serve as a novel prognostic marker and treatment target in HCC.
This study identifies a novel lncRNA, fatty acid synthesis‐related lncRNA (FASRL), whose expression is driven by upstream stimulatory factor 1 through a superenhancer. FASRL binding to acetyl‐CoA carboxylase 1 increases fatty acid synthesis and lipid accumulation to mechanistically exacerbate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). FASRL serves as a novel potential prognostic marker and treatment target in HCC.
Abietic acid (AA), an antibacterial terpenoid, was initially isolated from rosin which has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat psoriasis. In our previous works, we found that ...water-processed rosin (WPR) can alleviate imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like inflammation in mice. However, the efficacy of AA, the main component of WPR, against psoriasis remains unclear.
In this study, we confirmed the anti-psoriasis efficacy of AA (40 mg/kg daily for 7 days) in IMQ-induced psoriasis-like inflammation BALB/c mouse model by the psoriasis area severity index (PASI), flow cytometry, ELISA, histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis. Furthermore, we detected the relative abundance of gut microbe using high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to validate whether AA modulate gut microbe.
Oral administration of AA ameliorates IMQ-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation through reducing PASI scores, regulating the balance of Th17/Treg cells in the mouse spleen, and downregulating the level of serum cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-17A, TGF-1β, and IL-23. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the relative abundance of gut bacteria related to inflammation, such as, Anaerotruncus and Christensenella at genus level were decreased, while Kurthia, Citrobacter, and Klebsiella at genus level were increased in AA group mice. Additionally, the correlation analysis illustrated that the key microbiota had a close relationship with the psoriasis-like inflammation related indexes.
AA might exert the anti-psoriasis effect via inhibiting Th17-related immune responses, hinting that it might be a candidate for treating psoriasis. Meanwhile, the alteration of intestinal microbiota by AA treatment is another possible explanation for the amelioration of imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like inflammation.
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