The effects of spraying with kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha were compared with treatments with tetrandrine in a rat silicosis model. Silica dust (50 mg) was injected into the lungs of rats, ...which were then treated with one of the experimental treatments for a month. The rats were then killed and the effects of the treatments were evaluated by examining the extent and severity of the histopathological lesions in the animals’ lungs, measuring their organ coefficients and lung collagen contents, determining the dry and wet weights of their lungs, and measuring the free silica content of the dried lungs. In addition, lavage was performed on whole lungs taken from selected rats, and the numbers and types of cells in the lavage fluid were counted. The most effective treatment in terms of the ability to reduce lung collagen content and minimize the formation of pulmonary histopathological lesions was tetrandrine treatment, followed by Chinese herbal kombucha and non-Chinese herbal kombucha. However, the lavage fluid cell counts indicated that tetrandrine treatment had severe adverse effects on macrophage viability. This effect was much less pronounced for the kombucha and Chinese herbal kombucha treatments. Moreover, the free silica levels in the lungs of animals treated with Chinese herbal kombucha were significantly lower than those for any other silica-exposed group. These preliminary results indicate that spraying with Chinese herbal kombucha preparations can effectively promote the discharge of silica dust from lung tissues. Chinese herbal kombucha inhalation may thus be a useful new treatment for silicosis and other pneumoconiosis diseases.
The application of rare earths (RE) in the Ni saving heat resistant steel was studied by metalloscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray difference ...(XRD). Because the diffusion of chromium was promoted by RE, a dense and adhesive Cr
2O
3 layer could form rapidly at the early oxidation stage, which played a effective protection role; the pinning effect of silicon dioxide was enhanced by RE in the internal oxidation layer, which had a block effect on the diffusion of metal ions and oxygen ions at later stage of oxidation and resulted in that the high temperature oxidation rate of RE heat resistant steel was decreased.
Identifying the nature of active centers and structure–performance correlations is of fundamental importance for the successful design of more energy-efficient and/or selective catalysts. Recently, ...the studies of metal-free catalysts containing sp 2 - or sp 3 -hybridized B sites have displayed an attractive prospect for N 2 reduction but have obscured the nature of the optimal active B species. Herein, with the aid of first-principles calculations, we explicitly disclose that sp 2 -hybridized B is the optimal species for providing high activity for N 2 reduction and particularly outstanding capability to suppress the competing hydrogen evolution reaction. Specifically, the system with B substituting an edge N atom in the cavity of C 2 N is proposed to be highly promising for N 2 reduction under mild conditions. The developed comprehensive insight is of clear significance for the rational design of advanced catalysts for NH 3 synthesis under mild conditions.
Small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs), ubiquitous in organisms, play key and active roles in various biological processes. Although the physical properties of the constituent lipid molecules (i.e., the ...acyl chain length and saturation) are known to affect the mechanical properties of SUVs and consequently regulate their biological behaviors and functions, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, we combined theoretical modeling and experimental investigation to probe the mechanical behaviors of SUVs with different lipid compositions. The membrane bending rigidity of SUVs increased with increasing chain length and saturation, resulting in differences in the vesicle rigidity and deformable capacity. Furthermore, we tested the tumor delivery capacity of liposomes with low, intermediate, and high rigidity as typical models for SUVs. Interestingly, liposomes with intermediate rigidity exhibited better tumor extracellular matrix diffusion and multicellular spheroid (MCS) penetration and retention than that of their stiffer or softer counterparts, contributing to improved tumor suppression. Stiff SUVs had superior cellular internalization capacity but intermediate tumor delivery efficacy. Stimulated emission depletion microscopy directly showed that the optimal formulation was able to transform to a rod-like shape in MCSs, which stimulated fast transport in tumor tissues. In contrast, stiff liposomes hardly deformed, whereas soft liposomes changed their shape irregularly, which slowed their MCS penetration. Our findings introduce special perspectives from which to map the detailed mechanical properties of SUVs with different compositions, provide clues for understanding the biological functions of SUVs, and suggest that liposome mechanics may be a design parameter for enhancing drug delivery.
Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) are advantageous for drug delivery. However, their intracellular trafficking mechanism and relevance for oral drug absorption are poorly understood. In this ...study, self-assembled core-shell lipid-polymer hybrid NPs made of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and various lipids were developed to study their differing intracellular trafficking in intestinal epithelial cells and their relevance for oral absorption of a model drug saquinavir (SQV). Our results demonstrated that the endocytosis and exocytosis of hybrid NPs could be changed by varying the kind of lipid. A glyceride mixture (hybrid NPs-1) decreased endocytosis but increased exocytosis in Caco-2 cells, whereas the phospholipid (E200) (hybrid NPs-2) decreased endocytosis but exocytosis was unaffected as compared with PLGA nanoparticles. The transport of hybrid NPs-1 in cells involved various pathways, including caveolae/lipid raft-dependent endocytosis, and clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis, which was different from the other groups of NPs that involved only caveolae/lipid raft-dependent endocytosis. Compared with that of the reference formulation (nanoemulsion), the oral absorption of SQV-loaded hybrid NPs in rats was poor, probably due to the limited drug release and transcytosis of NPs across the intestinal epithelium. In conclusion, the intracellular processing of hybrid NPs in intestinal epithelia can be altered by adding lipids to the NP. However, it appears unfavorable to use PLGA-based NPs to improve oral absorption of SQV compared with nanoemulsion. Our findings will be essential in the development of polymer-based NPs for the oral delivery of drugs with the purpose of improving their oral absorption.
Elevated interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) within pathological tissues (e.g., tumors, obstructed kidneys, and cirrhotic livers) creates a significant hindrance to the transport of nanomedicine, ...ultimately impairing the therapeutic efficiency. Among these tissues, solid tumors present the most challenging scenario. While several strategies through reducing tumor IFP have been devised to enhance nanoparticle delivery, few approaches focus on modulating the intrinsic properties of nanoparticles to effectively counteract IFP during extravasation and penetration, which are precisely the stages obstructed by elevated IFP. Herein, we propose an innovative solution by engineering nanoparticles with a fusiform shape of high curvature, enabling efficient surmounting of IFP barriers during extravasation and penetration within tumor tissues. Through experimental and theoretical analyses, we demonstrate that the elongated nanoparticles with the highest mean curvature outperform spherical and rod-shaped counterparts against elevated IFP, leading to superior intratumoral accumulation and antitumor efficacy. Super-resolution microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations uncover the underlying mechanisms in which the high curvature contributes to diminished drag force in surmounting high-pressure differentials during extravasation. Simultaneously, the facilitated rotational movement augments the hopping frequency during penetration. This study effectively addresses the limitations posed by high-pressure impediments, uncovers the mutual interactions between the physical properties of NPs and their environment, and presents a promising avenue for advancing cancer treatment through nanomedicine.
The epitopes of the capsid of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) play important roles in the construction of highly immunogenic subunit vaccines. However few epitopes have been found for FMDV ...serotype Asia1. In this study we screened for epitopes of the VP1 and VP2 proteins of FMDV serotype Asia1 isolate, YNBS/58. Fragments consisting of amino acids 133–163 of VP1 and amino acids 1–33 of VP2 contained epitopes, and both induced lymphoproliferation in guinea pigs. Only the VP1 fragment induced neutralizing antibodies but the VP2 peptide dramatically increased the neutralizing antibody response induced by the VP1 peptide.
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•Pyrolysis kinetics of microalgae with a fit quality of at least 97% was predicted.•Wet torrefaction altered the activation energy of microalga ESP-31 components.•Modification on the ...conversion rate and degree of microalga ESP-31 was detected.•Thermal decomposition temperatures of microalgae components were identified.
The experimental results of microalgae pyrolysis kinetics are beneficial to the reactor design in the biomass-to-energy process. To understand the complex pyrolysis process of microalgae, pyrolysis kinetics of microalgae components pretreated by wet torrefaction was evaluated using the independent parallel reaction model. Four and five reaction models were implemented to analyze the pyrolysis kinetics of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris ESP-31 (high-carbohydrate) and FSP-E (high-protein), respectively. Five pseudo-components were required to investigate the microalga FSP-E due to the extra carbonaceous material at temperatures higher than 600 °C. In the pyrolysis TGA curves, the first peak of microalga ESP-31 was diminished whereas only a slight decrease in the first peak of microalga FSP-E for the pretreated microalgae in water and H2SO4 solutions. From the results, pyrolysis kinetics with a fit quality of at least 97% was predicted for both species of microalgae. The activation energy of carbohydrates for microalga ESP-31 was decreased from 221.33 to 64.59 kJ mol−1 after pretreated in H2SO4. In contrast, the activation energies of proteins and lipids were increased for the pretreated microalgae ESP-31. Small changes in the activation energy range of carbohydrates, lipids, and other components were observed for microalga FSP-E compared to microalga ESP-31. On top of that, the thermal degradation temperatures and activation energies of carbohydrates and proteins for the pretreated microalgae ESP-31 and FSP-E displayed the opposite trend. In short, kinetic parameters of microalga ESP-31 could be effectively affected by low-temperature wet torrefaction compared to microalga FSP-E.
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