Reactive oxygen species are important mediators exerting toxic effects on various organs during ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. We hypothesized that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) ...protect the kidney against oxidative stress and inflammatory stimuli in rat during renal IR injury.
Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (n = 24) were equally randomized into group 1 (sham control), group 2 (IR plus culture medium only), and group 3 (IR plus immediate intra-renal administration of 1.0 × 106 autologous ADMSCs, followed by intravenous ADMSCs at 6 h and 24 h after IR). The duration of ischemia was 1 h, followed by 72 hours of reperfusion before the animals were sacrificed.
Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels and the degree of histological abnormalities were markedly lower in group 3 than in group 2 (all p < 0.03). The mRNA expressions of inflammatory, oxidative stress, and apoptotic biomarkers were lower, whereas the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-apoptotic biomarkers were higher in group 3 than in group 2 (all p < 0.03). Immunofluorescent staining showed a higher number of CD31+, von Willebrand Factor+, and heme oxygenase (HO)-1+ cells in group 3 than in group 2 (all p < 0.05). Western blot showed notably higher NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 and HO-1 activities, two indicators of anti-oxidative capacity, in group 3 than those in group 2 (all p < 0.04). Immunohistochemical staining showed higher glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities in group 3 than in group 2 (all p < 0.02)
ADMSC therapy minimized kidney damage after IR injury through suppressing oxidative stress and inflammatory response.
One of the key challenges in artificial photosynthesis is to design a photocatalyst that can bind and activate the CO2 molecule with the smallest possible activation energy and produce selective ...hydrocarbon products. In this contribution, a combined experimental and computational study on Ni‐nanocluster loaded black TiO2 (Ni/TiO2Vo) with built‐in dual active sites for selective photocatalytic CO2 conversion is reported. The findings reveal that the synergistic effects of deliberately induced Ni nanoclusters and oxygen vacancies provide (1) energetically stable CO2 binding sites with the lowest activation energy (0.08 eV), (2) highly reactive sites, (3) a fast electron transfer pathway, and (4) enhanced light harvesting by lowering the bandgap. The Ni/TiO2Vo photocatalyst has demonstrated highly selective and enhanced photocatalytic activity of more than 18 times higher solar fuel production than the commercial TiO2 (P‐25). An insight into the mechanisms of interfacial charge transfer and product formation is explored.
Black titania incorporated with dual reactive sites (Ni‐nanocluster and oxygen vacancy) converts carbon dioxide selectively into acetaldehyde with sunlight and water. The enhancement in photocatalytic activity and product selectivity is attributed to the synergistic effect of the two active sites which alter the optical, electrical, and chemical properties of the black TiO2.
This study investigates the effects of five decontamination methods on the filter quality (qf) of three commercially available electret masks-N95, Gauze and Spunlace nonwoven masks. Newly developed ...evaluation methods, the overall filter quality (qf,o) and the qf ratio were applied to evaluate the effectiveness of decontamination methods for respirators. A scanning mobility particle sizer is utilized to measure the concentration of polydispersed particles with diameter 14.6-594 nm. The penetration of particles and pressure drop (Δp) through the mask are used to determine qf and qf,o. Experimental results reveal that the most penetrating particle size (MPS) for the pre-decontaminated N95, Gauze and Spunlace masks were 118 nm, 461 nm and 279 nm, respectively, and the respective penetration rates were 2.6%, 23.2% and 70.0%. The Δp through the pretreated N95 masks was 9.2 mm H2O at the breathing flow rate of heavy-duty workers, exceeding the Δp values obtained through Gauze and Spunlace masks. Decontamination increased the sizes of the most penetrating particles, changing the qf values of all of the masks: qf fell as particle size increased because the penetration increased. Bleach increased the Δp of N95, but destroyed the Gauze mask. However, the use of an autoclave reduces the Δp values of both the N95 and the Gauze mask. Neither the rice cooker nor ethanol altered the Δp of the Gauze mask. Chemical decontamination methods reduced the qf,o values for the three electret masks. The value of qf,o for PM0.1 exceeded that for PM0.1-0.6, because particles smaller than 100 nm had lower penetration, resulting in a better qf for a given pressure drop. The values of qf,o, particularly for PM0.1, reveal that for the tested treatments and masks, physical decontamination methods are less destructive to the filter than chemical methods. Nevertheless, when purchasing new or reusing FFRs, penetration should be regarded as the priority.
Utilizing CO2 as one of the monomer resources, poly(vinylcyclohexene carbonates) (PVCHCs) are used as the precursor for preparing cationic PVCHCs (CPVCHCs) via thiol‐ene click functionalization. ...Through the functionalization, CPVCHC‐43 with a tertiary amine density of 43% relative to the backbone is able to display a significantly antibacterial ability against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Blending CPVCHC‐43 with polyacrylonitrile (PAN), CPVCHC/PAN nanofiber meshes (NFMs) have been successfully prepared by electrospinning. More importantly, two crucial fibrous structural factors including CPVCHC/PAN weight ratio and fiber diameter have been systematically investigated for the effects on the antibacterial performance of the NFMs. Sequentially, a quaternization treatment has been employed on the NFMs with an optimal fibrous structure to enhance the antibacterial ability. The resulting quaternized NFMs have demonstrated the great biocidal effects against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. Moreover, the excellent biocompatibility of the quaternized NFMs have also been thoroughly evaluated and verified.
Cationic poly(vinylcyclohexene carbonates) (CPVCHCs), a CO2‐based functional polycarbonate polymer, has been synthesized through ring‐opening copolymerization and thiol‐ene functionalization. CPVCHC/polyacrynolitrile nanofiber meshes (NFMs) with an optimal fibrous structure regarding the antibacterial ability have been prepared via electrospinning. The NFMs have been quaternized, and demonstrated their great biocidal effects against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. The quaternized NFMs have also exhibited excellent biocompatibility.
Nanofiber meshes (NFMs) loaded with therapeutic agents are very often employed to treat hard-to-heal wounds such as diabetic wounds. However, most of the NFMs have limited capability to load multiple ...or hydrophilicity distinctive-therapeutic agents. The therapy strategy is therefore significantly hampered. To tackle the innate drawback associated with the drug loading versatility, a chitosan-based nanocapsule-in-nanofiber (NC-in-NF) structural NFM system is developed for simultaneous loading of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs. Oleic acid-modified chitosan is first converted into NCs by the developed mini-emulsion interfacial cross-linking procedure, followed by loading a hydrophobic anti-inflammatory agent Curcumin (Cur) into the NCs. Sequentially, the Cur-loaded NCs are successfully introduced into reductant-responsive maleoyl functional chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol NFMs containing a hydrophilic antibiotic Tetracycline hydrochloride. Having a co-loading capability for hydrophilicity distinctive agents, biocompatibility, and a controlled release property, the resulting NFMs have demonstrated the efficacy on promoting wound healing either in normal or diabetic rats.
Electrospun nanofiber membranes possess high specific surface area with small pores and thus can be developed as wound dressings for absorbing exudate and also preventing bacterial penetration. In ...this study, hydroxypropyl cellulose (H), chitosan (C) and polyethylene oxide (P) were chosen as membrane materials to increase the hydrophilicity, anti-bacterial property, and yield of nanofibers, respectively. Additionally, graphene (G) was added to enhance the anti-bacterial property of the membranes. As indicated by SEM, the HCP and HCPG solutions (containing H:4.5 wt%, C:4.5 wt%, P:0.75 wt%, without/with G:0.5 wt%) could be electrospun into HCP and HCPG nanofiber membranes with good fiber morphology using a non-toxic solvent system. Further, the membranes were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde vapor to improve the strength. The tensile strength of the membranes was 1.38–1.82 MPa with a swelling ratio up to 1330–1410%. The water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of wet HCPG membrane was about 3100 g/m
2
-day, close to the recommended WVTR of wound dressings. The anti-bacterial properties of the membranes were confirmed using three tests against
Escherichia coli
(Gram-negative bacterium) and
Staphylococcus aureus
(Gram-positive bacterium). Highly hydrophilic HCP and HCPG membranes prevented the bacterial adherence. The presence of the membranes (especially graphene-embedded HCPG membrane) also greatly reduced bacterial growth. The small pore sizes of HCP and HCPG nanofiber membranes prevented the bacterial penetration to cause infection. Taken together, the HCP and HCPG nanofiber membranes possessed good mechanical properties, appropriate WVTR and high water absorption thus suitable for absorbing wound exudate. Besides, the membranes exhibited nontoxic, anti-fibroblast adhesion and anti-bacterial properties. Therefore, HCP and HCPG nanofiber membranes have the potential to become superior anti-bacterial wound dressings.
Graphic abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) technology has been a promising treatment strategy for combating intractable diseases. However, the applications of RNAi in clinical are hampered by extracellular and ...intracellular barriers. To overcome these barriers, various siRNA delivery systems have been developed in the past two decades. The first approved RNAi therapeutic, Patisiran (ONPATTRO) using lipids as the carrier, for the treatment of amyloidosis is one of the most important milestones. This has greatly encouraged researchers to work on creating new functional siRNA carriers. In this review, the recent advances in siRNA carriers consisting of lipids, polymers, and polymer-modified inorganic particles for cancer therapy are summarized. Representative examples are presented to show the structural design of the carriers in order to overcome the delivery hurdles associated with RNAi therapies. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspective for developing RNAi as a clinical modality will be discussed and proposed. It is believed that the addressed contributions in this review will promote the development of siRNA delivery systems for future clinical applications.
An isolated bacterium TBE-8, was identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides according to the sequences of 16S rDNA and the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region. The probiotic properties of the L. ...mesenteroides TBE-8 strain were characterized and revealed that TBE-8 could utilize various carbohydrates, exhibited high tolerance to sucrose's osmotic pressure and acidic conditions, and could mitigate the impact of the bee pathogen Paenibacillus larvae. In addition, we found that the TBE-8 broth increased the expression of the nutrition-related genes major royal jelly protein 1 and vitellogenin in bees by approximately 1400- and 20-fold, respectively. The expression of genes encoding two antibacterial peptides, hymenoptaecin and apidaecin, in the bee abdomen was significantly increased by 17- and 7-fold in bees fed with the TBE-8 fermented broth. Furthermore, we fed four-frame bee colonies with 50% sucrose syrup containing TBE-8 and can detect the presence of approximately 2 × 10
16S rDNA copies of TBE-8 in the guts of all bees in 24 h, and the retention of TBE-8 in the bee gut for at least 5 days. These findings indicate that the L. mesenteroides TBE-8 has high potential as a bee probiotic and could enhance the health of bee colonies.
Although the weight ratio of electron conductive additives and the binder to porous carbons in the electrode component of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC) is minimal, however, without them the ...electrochemical performances of EDLC would decay quickly. In this work, we present a one-step approach for manufacturing a unique conductive carbon material that shows highly connecting hollow structures as well as approximate oxygenated surface groups to create a synergy effect with aqueous binder and the main component, porous carbon. The as-prepared carbon nanospheres (HCNs) were generated from a typical carbon black-PC20 in air (denoted as PC20HT) at mild temperatures ranging from 400 to 700 °C for 2–4 h at a massive scale of approximate 1 kg h−1. The as-prepared PC20HT displays a high specific surface area of 657 m2 g−1 (the pristine PC20 has 112 m2 g−1) with a pore volume of 0.71 cm3 g−1, and an oxygen content of 14.10 wt%. Interestingly, a premixing of PC20HT and porous carbon is required before making the electrode pastes. The well-premixed carbon materials and a water-soluble binder-polyacrylic acid are composed into highly-stable components as EDLC electrodes in an organic electrolyte. As consequently, the PC20HT-assisted electrodes demonstrate highly stable life cycles (charge-discharge behaviors), with a retention rate 82.13 % over 50,000 cycles at a narrow voltage window of 2.5–2.7 V at 0.5 A g−1 when compared to two conventional conductive carbons, BP2000 (68.45 %) and Super P (67.46 %). Thermal annealing at 900 °C in Ar reduces the oxygen content of PC20HT to 4.25 wt% (referred to as TPC20HT), increasing the retention rate of life cycle to 88.89 % after the same cycles. TPC20HT-assisted EDLC electrodes exhibit a superior energy density of 34.76 Wh kg−1, which is higher than CB-BP2000 and Super P-assisted EDLC electrodes. The transforming of structural morphologies as well as the surface oxygenated and graphitic structures of the as-prepared HCS, PC20HT, and TPC20HT were also described before and after long-term cycling. This simple route for producing conductive carbons is applicable in an aqueous binder system for preparing EDLC electrodes with a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach.
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Susceptibility or resilience to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) depends on one's ability to appropriately adjust synaptic plasticity for coping with the traumatic experience. Activity-regulated ...mRNA translation synthesizes plasticity-related proteins to support long-term synaptic changes and memory. Hence, cytoplasmic polyadenylation element-binding protein 3-knockout (CPEB3-KO) mice, showing dysregulated translation-associated synaptic rigidity, may be susceptible to PTSD-like behavior. Here, using a context-dependent auditory fear conditioning and extinction paradigm, we found that CPEB3-KO mice exhibited traumatic intensity-dependent PTSD-like fear memory. A genome-wide screen of CPEB3-bound transcripts revealed that Nr3c1, encoding glucocorticoid receptor (GR), was translationally suppressed by CPEB3. Thus, CPEB3-KO neurons with elevated GR expression exhibited increased corticosterone-induced calcium influx and decreased mRNA and protein levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf). Moreover, the reduced expression of BDNF was associated with increased GR level during fear extinction in CPEB3-KO hippocampi. Intracerebroventricular delivery of BDNF before extinction training mitigated spontaneous fear intrusion in CPEB3-KO mice during extinction recall. Analysis of two GEO datasets revealed decreased transcriptomic expression of CPEB3 but not NR3C1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of humans with PTSD. Collectively, this study reveals that CPEB3, as a potential PTSD-risk gene, downregulates Nr3c1 translation to maintain proper GR-BDNF signaling for fear extinction.
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