Cytokines play an important role in the immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, where they drive and regulate multiple aspects of ...intestinal inflammation. The imbalance between proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines that occurs in IBD results in disease progression and tissue damage and limits the resolution of inflammation. Targeting cytokines have been novel strategies in the treatment of IBD. Recent studies show the beneficial effects of anticytokine treatments to IBD patients, and multiple novel cytokines are found to be involved in the pathogenesis of IBD. In this review, we will discuss the recent advances of novel biologics in clinics and clinical trials, and novel proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines found in IBD with focusing on IL-12 family and IL-1 family members as well as their relevance to the potential therapy of IBD.
Functionalized graphene oxide (f-GO) was synthesized by a simple covalent functionalization with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS). The hybrid polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration ...membranes were then prepared by adding different ratios of graphene oxide (GO) and f-GO via phase inversion induced by immersion precipitation technique. Zeta potential demonstrated that covalent functionalization of GO with APTS was favorable for their homogeneous dispersion in organic solvents. SEM images showed that very large channel appeared in top-layer by the addition of additives. Furthermore, the PVDF/f-GO membranes exhibited superior hydrophilicity, water flux, BSA flux and rejection rate than nascent PVDF membranes and PVDF/GO membranes. Filtration results indicated that the fouling resistance parameters were significantly declined due to higher hydrophilicity of hybrid membranes. An atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis with a BSA-immobilized tip revealed that the adhesion forces between membrane and foulants increased in the following order: PVDF/f-GO<PVDF/GO<PVDF. After a ternary cycle BSA solution inner fouling process, PVDF/f-GO membranes exhibited higher water flux recovery ratio (FRR) value than that of PVDF/GO. Meanwhile, tensile strength and elongation-at-break of PVDF/f-GO membranes were increased by 69.01% and 48.38% compared with those of PVDF/GO membranes, which is believed to be attributed to the strong interfacial interaction between f-GO and matrix by covalent functionalization of GO. As a result, GO functionalization will provide a promising method to fabricate graphene-based hybrid membranes with effective reinforced permeation, antifouling and mechanical performance.
Due to reduced agglomeration of graphene oxide and enhanced interaction between additives and polymer matrix, the performances of organosilane-functionalized graphene oxide-based ultrafiltration membranes outweigh others. Display omitted
•Effect of organosilane-functionalized graphene oxide was remarkable.•Foulants tended to be deposited on the rough surface.•Permeability and antifouling performance were increased significantly.•Tensile strength was improved obviously.
This study investigated the remarkable synergetic effect between two-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) and one-dimensional oxidized carbon nanotubes (OMWCNTs) on permeation and anti-fouling performance ...of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composite membranes. Stacking of individual GO is effectively inhibited by introducing OMWCNTs. Long and tortuous OMWCNTs can bridge adjacent GO and inhibit their aggregation, which makes the materials achieve their highest potential for improving the anti-fouling performance of composite membranes. Ultraviolet–visible spectra and zeta potential study well demonstrated that the dispersion of hybrid materials is better than that of either GO or OMWCNTs. The morphology of different membranes demonstrated that modified membranes have bigger pore density, which undoubtedly played a positive role in permeation flux. Compared with the pristine PVDF (78°), the hydrophilicity of membranes with the ratio of 1:9 (GO/OMWCNTs) showed a marked improvement (52.5°) in contact angle. With a GO/OMWCNTs ratio of 5:5, the pure water flux is enhanced by 251.73% compared with pristine PVDF membranes, while improved by 103.54% and 85.68% for the PVDF/OMWCNTs and PVDF/GO membranes, respectively. The membrane fouling mechanism was studied by resistance-in-series model, and results indicated that membranes tended to be fouled by the cake layer. Additionally, an atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis with a BSA-immobilized tip indicated low adhesion force with the modified membranes, while the pristine PVDF membranes exhibited strong adhesion to the probe, consistent with the fouling properties of the membranes. The newly-developed modified membranes, especially the PVDF/GO/OMWCNTs membranes, demonstrated an impressive prospect for the anti-irreversible fouling performance in dead end filtration experiments. And the pure water flux recovery achieved 98.28% for membranes with the ratio of 5:5 (GO/OMWCNTs), which contributing to the synergistic effect of the hybrid samples. As a result, the optimum ratio of GO/OMWCNTs immobilizing membranes for ultrafiltration membrane application in terms of highest permeability and lowest fouling was 5:5. Conspicuously, the ease of synthesis and the exceptional permeability and anti-fouling performance render that the low-dimensional carbon nanomaterial modification is an attractive way of designing future ultrafiltration membranes in both conventional fields and new emerging areas.
•Synergetic effect of oxidized carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide is remarkable.•Membranes tended to be fouled by the cake layer.•The composite membranes showed lower adhesion force than pristine ones.•The permeability and anti-fouling performance were increased significantly.
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a globally used and self-report scale measuring perceived stress. Three versions of PSS (PSS-14, PSS-10 and PSS-4) are available which comprise 14, 10 and 4 items ...respectively. However, the Chinese version of the PSS has not yet been validated in a large community-based general population. The aims of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese PSS in a large community-based general population and to compare the appropriateness of the three versions of PSS.
A total of 9507 adults with at least a junior high school education and completed PSS-14 from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were involved in this study. The internal consistency reliability of PSS was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis was employed to test the construct validity. Modification index was used for model extension and the critical ratio was used for model restriction.
The internal consistency coefficients were satisfactory for PSS-14 and PSS-10, but not for PSS-4. The corresponding Cronbach's alpha were 0.830, 0.754 and 0.473 respectively. A 2-factor structure was confirmed for the PSS-14 and PSS-10, and all items' standardized factor loadings exceeded 0.4 for either negative or positive factors. Given that item 12 loaded on both negative and positive factors for PSS-14 and the goodness of fit for PSS-14 was not acceptable, PSS-13 (PSS-14 excluding item 12) was studied. The construct validities of PSS-13 and PSS-10 were satisfactory, but the goodness of fit for PSS-10 were better than that for PSS-13.
PSS-13 (PSS-14 excluding item 12) and PSS-10 have satisfactory psychometric properties. PSS-10 are more applicable to measure the perceived stress than PSS-13 in a large community-based general population in China.
This work focuses on the extension of group parameters of the UNIFAC model to systems with ionic liquids. The new group parameters for ionic liquids were obtained by means of correlating the activity ...coefficients of solutes at infinite dilution in ionic liquids at different temperatures. The group parameters for 12 main groups and 24 subgroups were added into the current UNIFAC parameter matrix. It was verified that the new group parameters can be used not only for predicting the vapor−liquid equilibria of the systems with ionic liquids at finite concentration, but also for screening the suitable ionic liquids in separation processes. Since there have been only a limited number of functional groups for ionic liquids included in the UNIFAC model, the future development of this predictive model will still require much more accurate experimental data.
Poor dietary habits have been shown to be associated with a range of chronic diseases and can potentially be a major contributor to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) mortality. We therefore aimed to ...identify the prevailing dietary patterns among Chinese adults and to evaluate trends in dietary patterns from 1991 to 2015. We used data collected in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis of data from three consecutive 24 h dietary recalls. We studied 29,238 adults aged 18 and above with complete demo-graphic and dietary data. Three distinct dietary patterns were identified: southern (high intakes of rice, vegetables, and pork), modern (high intakes of fruits, dairy products, cakes, cookies, and pastries), and meat (high intakes of organ meats, poultry, and other livestock meat). The southern pattern score decreased (mean ± SD scores in 1991: 0.11 ± 1.13; scores in 2015: -0.22 ± 0.93). The modern pattern score (mean ± SD scores in 1991: -0.44 ± 0.59; scores in 2015: 0.21 ± 1.01) and meat pattern score (mean ± SD scores in 1991: -0.18 ± 0.98; scores in 2015: 0.27 ± 0.91) increased. We observed that China has experienced a shift from traditional dietary patterns to western dietary patterns.
The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in developed countries appears to be plateauing. The purpose of this study was to provide the most recent data on the prevalence and trends in ...overweight and obesity among Chinese children and adolescents from 2011 to 2015.
We used data collected in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and China Nutritional Transition Cohort Study (CNTCS). We used two waves of the survey in 12 provinces conducted in 2011 (aged 7-18 years; n = 1458) and 2015 (aged 7-18 years; n = 1084) to perform a trend analysis. We used data collected in 15 provinces (aged 7-18 years; n = 1617) to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Chinese children and adolescents in 2015.
In 2015, based on the Working Group for Obesity in China (WGOC) criteria, the prevalence of overweight and obesity were 14.0% (95% CI, 11.6-16.3) and 10.5% (95% CI, 8.4-12.6) in boys, and 9.7% (95% CI, 7.7-11.8) and 7.1% (95% CI, 5.2-8.9) in girls, respectively. The increase in BMI z-scores from 2011 to 2015 was statistically significant among adolescents (p = 0.0083), but not among children. No significant changes were observed in prevalence of overweight and obesity between 2011 and 2015, excepting adolescents aged 12-18 years (p = 0.0086).
Since 2011, overweight has remained stable, and obesity has stabilized in children, though not in adolescents. Although levels of childhood overweight and obesity in China are not high compared to other developed countries, they remain concerning enough that effective policies and interventions need to be sustained and intensified for lowering rates of childhood overweight and obesity.
Ice accretion on aircrafts or their engines can cause serious problems and even accidents. Traditional anti-icing and de-icing systems reduce engine efficiency, which can be improved by the use of ...hydrophobic/icephobic coatings or surfaces that reduce the amount of bleed air or electric power needed. These hydrophobic/icephobic coatings or surfaces are eroded by high-speed air flow, water droplets, ice crystals, sand, and volcanic ash, resulting in the degradation, material loss, or deterioration of the coating's waterproof and anti-icing properties. Thus, the durability of hydrophobic micro/nanostructured surfaces is a major concern in aircraft applications. However, the mechanism responsible for material loss in hydrophobic micro/nanostructured surfaces resulting from high-speed erosion remains unclear. In this paper, hydrophobic titanium alloy surfaces with cubic pit arrays are fabricated by photoetching and tested using a high-speed sand erosion rig. Under the same impact conditions, the erosion rates of the micro/nanostructured titanium surfaces were similar to those of smooth titanium alloy, implying that the hydrophobic surface fabricated on the bulk material had erosion-resistant capabilities. The material loss mechanisms of the micro/nanostructures under different impact angles were compared, providing useful information for the future optimization of micro/nanostructures with the goal of improved erosion resistance.
Limited knowledge currently exists regarding the dynamics of generational shifts in food consumption among adult residents in China. This study aimed to investigate the generational differences in ...dietary status among different generations of Chinese adult residents aged 20 years and older. Survey participants from four waves (1991, 2000, 2009, and 2018) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) cohort were included in the study (N = 40,704), providing three-day 24 h dietary data. Participants were categorized into six age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and ≥70 years old), each corresponding to specific generations (Gen 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90) based on their age at the time of the survey. This study examined generational differences in the intake of cereals, animal-based foods, vegetables, fruits, dairy, energy, and the contribution of macronutrients to energy using chi-square tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests. All analyses were stratified by gender. Our findings revealed that younger generations exhibited lower daily intake of cereals, vegetables, energy, and contribution of carbohydrates to energy, compared to their older counterparts, regardless of gender. Conversely, regardless of male or female, younger generations showed higher daily consumption of animal-based foods, average fruit and dairy intake, fruit and dairy consumption rates, as well as contributions of protein and fat to energy, compared to older generations. The magnitude of generational differences in food consumption varied by age and gender. In addition, cereal and vegetable intake, energy intake, and contribution of carbohydrates to energy declined with age across all generations, while average dairy intake, fruit and dairy consumption rates, and the contribution of fat to energy tended to increase, regardless of gender. In conclusion, generational differences in food consumption were evident among different generations of Chinese adult residents, characterized by an increase in animal-based food intake and the contribution of fat to energy among generations. Attention should be directed towards addressing the eating behavior of younger generations.
This study examines regional disparities in the association between cereal consumption and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Chinese adults. We used data from the longitudinal China Health and ...Nutrition Survey (CHNS) for 2892 healthy adults aged 18⁻75 years (1088 in northern China, 1804 in southern China) who had no non-communicable chronic diseases or MetS at the initial visit in 2009 and the follow-up in 2015. We used a 74-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess the dietary intake. We defined MetS according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Multiple logistic regressions stratified by region were performed to estimate the association between cereal consumption and the risk of MetS, and the quantile regression analyzed the relationship between cereal consumption and individual components of MetS in 2015. The rice consumption in southern China (9.00 kg/month) was more than twice that in northern China (3.60 kg/month). Consumption of wheat and wheat products in northern China (4.20 kg/month) was more than twice that in southern China (1.50 kg/month). After we adjusted for potential confounders, rice consumption was inversely associated with a risk of MetS 0.709 (95% CI: 0.458⁻1.003), the intake of wheat and wheat products was positively associated with a risk of MetS 1.925 (95% CI: 1.292⁻2.867) in southern China. We found no association between the intake of cereal and the prevalence of MetS in northern China. The quantile regression showed that various cereals were differentially associated with the components of MetS. The association between cereal consumption and the risk of MetS, and the components of MetS varied across these two regions of China.
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