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•Cocatalysts in TiO2-based photocatalysts are highlighted for solar hydrogen production.•Design strategies of cocatalysts in TiO2-based photocatalysts are presented ...systematically.•Enhancements are attributed to manipulating the charge separation and surface reactions.•Challenges and perspectives of cocatalysts in TiO2-based photocatalysts are proposed.
TiO2-based photocatalysts have been maintained as the most prominent candidate for solar-driven hydrogen (H2) evolution over the past decades. However, poor separation of generated electron-hole pairs has been considered the bottle-neck issue, restricting the TiO2 activity. Coupling a TiO2 photocatalyst to cocatalyst(s) turns out to be the ideal strategy to suppress the charge recombination and offer robust active centres, boosting the H2 evolution performance. This review aims at providing the frontier investigations of cocatalysts-integrated TiO2 for photo-induced H2 evolution. Four types of cutting-edge development of cocatalysts, including metal (noble metal, non-noble metal, bimetallic), metal sulfides and metal phosphides, 2D-MXenes, and dual materials-based cocatalysts, have been successfully highlighted and discussed. The systematically provided cocatalysts, which remarkably promote the charge separation and facilitate the surface reactions, bring out a roadmap to inspire the preparation of superior TiO2-based materials for H2 evolution shortly. We expect this review could provide enriched information to tailor the TiO2 supported active sites of cocatalysts for highly photo-induced H2 evolution.
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•Facile on-chip electrospinning has been developed for preparing ZnFe2O4 nanofibers.•ZnFe2O4 nanofiber sensors can detect H2S gas down to ppb level.•Nanograin size and crystallinity ...have correlative effect on gas sensing performance.
ZnFe2O4 nanofiber gas sensors are cost-effectively fabricated by direct electrospinning on microelectrode chip with Pt interdigitated electrodes and subsequent calcination under different conditions to maximize their response to H2S gas. The synthesized nanofibers of approximately 30–100 nm in diameter show typical spider-net-like morphology of the electrospun nanofibers. The ZnFe2O4 nanofibers comprise many 10–25 nm nanograins, which results in multi-porous structures. Moreover, the nanofibers exhibit the single phase of cubic-spinel-structure ZnFe2O4. The density, crystallinity and grain size of ZnFe2O4 nanofiber that strongly affect gas-sensing properties can be optimized by controlling electrospun time, annealing temperature, annealing time and heating rate. Under optimal conditions, the ZnFe2O4 nanofiber sensors exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity to H2S at sub-ppm levels. Excellent gas-sensing performances are attributed to effects of multi-porous structure, nanograin size and crystallinity, which is explained by the sensing mechanisms of ZnFe2O4 nanofiber sensors to H2S gas.
We systematically investigated the effects of process conditions and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) loading on the H2S gas-sensing performance of the α-Fe2O3 nanofibers (NFs) fabricated via on-chip ...electrospinning. The annealing temperature and precursor solution contents strongly influenced on the morphology and structure of the α-Fe2O3 NFs that accordingly affected on the gas-sensing performance. The optimum process conditions with the annealing temperature of 600 °C and the precursor solution contents of 11 wt% PVA and 4.0 wt% Fe(NO3)3.9H2O led to the α-Fe2O3 NF sensors having a high response of ∼6.1 at 1 ppm H2S gas. The RGO loading further improved the gas response, increasing the response to 1 ppm H2S gas up to ∼9.2. Also, the RGO-loaded α-Fe2O3 NF sensors enhanced their selectivity and detection limit as compared with pure α-Fe2O3 NF sensors. The enhanced gas-sensing performance was attributed to the presence of nanograins, the increase of surface-to-volume ratio and the formation of potential barriers at nanograin homojunctions and RGO/α-Fe2O3 heterojunctions.
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•The process conditions have been optimized for α-Fe2O3 nanofiber gas sensor.•RGO-loaded α-Fe2O4 nanofiber sensors can detect H2S gas down to ppb level.•The loading RGO-loaded α-Fe2O4 can result in enhanced H2S gas response.
Stem cell-based therapy for human diseases Hoang, Duc M.; Pham, Phuong T.; Bach, Trung Q. ...
Signal transduction and targeted therapy,
08/2022, Letnik:
7, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
Recent advancements in stem cell technology open a new door for patients suffering from diseases and disorders that have yet to be treated. Stem cell-based therapy, including human ...pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), has recently emerged as a key player in regenerative medicine. hPSCs are defined as self-renewable cell types conferring the ability to differentiate into various cellular phenotypes of the human body, including three germ layers. MSCs are multipotent progenitor cells possessing self-renewal ability (limited in vitro) and differentiation potential into mesenchymal lineages, according to the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT). This review provides an update on recent clinical applications using either hPSCs or MSCs derived from bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue (AT), or the umbilical cord (UC) for the treatment of human diseases, including neurological disorders, pulmonary dysfunctions, metabolic/endocrine-related diseases, reproductive disorders, skin burns, and cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, we discuss our own clinical trial experiences on targeted therapies using MSCs in a clinical setting, and we propose and discuss the MSC tissue origin concept and how MSC origin may contribute to the role of MSCs in downstream applications, with the ultimate objective of facilitating translational research in regenerative medicine into clinical applications. The mechanisms discussed here support the proposed hypothesis that BM-MSCs are potentially good candidates for brain and spinal cord injury treatment, AT-MSCs are potentially good candidates for reproductive disorder treatment and skin regeneration, and UC-MSCs are potentially good candidates for pulmonary disease and acute respiratory distress syndrome treatment.
Dengue fever (DF) represents a significant health burden in Vietnam, which is forecast to worsen under climate change. The development of an early-warning system for DF has been selected as a ...prioritised health adaptation measure to climate change in Vietnam.
This study aimed to develop an accurate DF prediction model in Vietnam using a wide range of meteorological factors as inputs to inform public health responses for outbreak prevention in the context of future climate change.
Convolutional neural network (CNN), Transformer, long short-term memory (LSTM), and attention-enhanced LSTM (LSTM-ATT) models were compared with traditional machine learning models on weather-based DF forecasting. Models were developed using lagged DF incidence and meteorological variables (measures of temperature, humidity, rainfall, evaporation, and sunshine hours) as inputs for 20 provinces throughout Vietnam. Data from 1997-2013 were used to train models, which were then evaluated using data from 2014-2016 by Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE).
LSTM-ATT displayed the highest performance, scoring average places of 1.60 for RMSE-based ranking and 1.95 for MAE-based ranking. Notably, it was able to forecast DF incidence better than LSTM in 13 or 14 out of 20 provinces for MAE or RMSE, respectively. Moreover, LSTM-ATT was able to accurately predict DF incidence and outbreak months up to 3 months ahead, though performance dropped slightly compared to short-term forecasts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time deep learning methods have been employed for the prediction of both long- and short-term DF incidence and outbreaks in Vietnam using unique, rich meteorological features.
This study demonstrates the usefulness of deep learning models for meteorological factor-based DF forecasting. LSTM-ATT should be further explored for mitigation strategies against DF and other climate-sensitive diseases in the coming years.
Streptococcus suis infection, an emerging zoonosis, is an increasing public health problem across South East Asia and the most common cause of acute bacterial meningitis in adults in Vietnam. Little ...is known of the risk factors underlying the disease.
A case-control study with appropriate hospital and matched community controls for each patient was conducted between May 2006 and June 2009. Potential risk factors were assessed using a standardized questionnaire and investigation of throat and rectal S. suis carriage in cases, controls and their pigs, using real-time PCR and culture of swab samples. We recruited 101 cases of S. suis meningitis, 303 hospital controls and 300 community controls. By multivariate analysis, risk factors identified for S. suis infection as compared to either control group included eating "high risk" dishes, including such dishes as undercooked pig blood and pig intestine (OR(1) = 2.22; 95%CI = 1.15-4.28 and OR(2) = 4.44; 95%CI = 2.15-9.15), occupations related to pigs (OR(1) = 3.84; 95%CI = 1.32-11.11 and OR(2) = 5.52; 95%CI = 1.49-20.39), and exposures to pigs or pork in the presence of skin injuries (OR(1) = 7.48; 95%CI = 1.97-28.44 and OR(2) = 15.96; 95%CI = 2.97-85.72). S. suis specific DNA was detected in rectal and throat swabs of 6 patients and was cultured from 2 rectal samples, but was not detected in such samples of 1522 healthy individuals or patients without S. suis infection.
This case control study, the largest prospective epidemiological assessment of this disease, has identified the most important risk factors associated with S. suis bacterial meningitis to be eating 'high risk' dishes popular in parts of Asia, occupational exposure to pigs and pig products, and preparation of pork in the presence of skin lesions. These risk factors can be addressed in public health campaigns aimed at preventing S. suis infection.
The cao vit gibbon (Nomascus nasutus) is one of the rarest primates on Earth and now only survives in a single forest patch of less than 5000 ha on the Vietnam-China border. Accurate monitoring of ...the last remaining population is critical to inform ongoing conservation interventions and track conservation success over time. However, traditional methods for monitoring gibbons, involving triangulation of groups from their songs, are inherently subjective and likely subject to considerable measurement errors. To overcome this, we aimed to use 'vocal fingerprinting' to distinguish the different singing males in the population. During the 2021 population survey, we complemented the traditional observations made by survey teams with a concurrent passive acoustic monitoring array. Counts of gibbon group sizes were also assisted with a UAV-mounted thermal camera. After identifying eight family groups in the acoustic data and incorporating long-term data, we estimate that the population was comprised of 74 individuals in 11 family groups, which is 38% smaller than previously thought. We have no evidence that the population has declined-indeed it appears to be growing, with new groups having formed in recent years-and the difference is instead due to double-counting of groups in previous surveys employing the triangulation method. Indeed, using spatially explicit capture-recapture modelling, we uncovered substantial measurement error in the bearings and distances from field teams. We also applied semi- and fully-automatic approaches to clustering the male calls into groups, finding no evidence that we had missed any males with the manual approach. Given the very small size of the population, conservation actions are now even more urgent, in particular habitat restoration to allow the population to expand. Our new population estimate now serves as a more robust basis for informing management actions and tracking conservation success over time.
Reduced graphene oxide-wrapped silver nanoparticles (Ag@rGO) were synthesized by a simple photochemical process with the GO nanosheets as both a stabilizing and reducing agent. The synthesized Ag@rGO ...nanohybrids were used as a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) colorimetric sensor for the detection of chromium(
vi
) and carbaryl. For chromium(
vi
), the result showed a color change from yellow to colorless and linear-dependence of the absorption intensity on the concentration of Cr(
vi
) in the range 0.1-25 μM. For carbaryl, the calibration curve presented a high level of linearity in the range of 0.1-50 μM corresponding to color changes from yellow to purple. The limits of detection (LODs) for Cr(
vi
) and carbaryl were found to be 31 nM and 42 nM, respectively. The novel Ag@rGO nanohybrids will become an excellent platform for colorimetric probes in the detection of Cr(
vi
) ions and carbaryl or other heavy metal ions/pesticides.
The Ag@rGO nanohybrid can be used as a colorimetric sensing platform for ultrasensitive detection of Cr(
vi
) ions and the carbaryl pesticide.
Antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance in surface water are issues of global concern, especially in developing countries. In this study, the occurrence of seven antibiotics and one ...antiparasitic agent was determined in surface water samples collected from four rivers running through Hanoi urban area in the Red River Delta, northern Vietnam. The pharmaceuticals in water samples were analyzed by solid-phase extraction combined with liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. The concentrations of pharmaceuticals in our samples ranged from 3050 to 16,700 (median 7800) ng/L, which were generally higher than levels found in river water from many other locations in the world. Amoxicillin, oxfendazole, and lincomycin were the most dominant and frequently detected compounds (detection rate 100%), which together accounted for 76 ± 14% of total concentrations. Sulfacetamide and sulfamethoxazole were detected at moderate concentrations in more than two-thirds of the analyzed samples. The remaining antibiotics (i.e., azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin) were found at lower detection frequency and concentrations. Antibiotic concentrations in the water samples were not significantly different between the investigated rivers. Meanwhile, levels of pharmaceuticals in the samples collected in February 2020 were higher than those found in the remaining samples, largely due to the sharp decrease in sulfamethoxazole and azithromycin concentrations of the samples collected in March and April. Considerable ecological risks of antibiotics in surface water were estimated for some compounds such as amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and ofloxacin.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Vietnamese women, but its mutational landscape and actionable alterations for targeted therapies remain unknown. After treatment, a sensitive ...biomarker to complement conventional imaging to monitor patients is also lacking. In this prospective multi‐center study, 134 early‐stage breast cancer patients eligible for curative‐intent surgery were recruited. Genomic DNA from tumor tissues and paired white blood cells were sequenced to profile all tumor‐derived mutations in 95 cancer‐associated genes. Our bioinformatic algorithm was then utilized to identify top mutations for individual patients. Serial plasma samples were collected before surgery and at scheduled visits after surgery. Personalized assay tracking the selected mutations were performed to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the plasma. We found that the mutational landscape of the Vietnamese was largely similar to other Asian cohorts, showing higher TP53 mutation frequency than in Caucasians. Alterations in PIK3CA and PI3K signaling were dominant, particularly in our triple‐negative subgroup. Using top‐ranked mutations, we detected ctDNA in pre‐operative plasma in 24.6–43.5% of the hormone‐receptor‐positive groups and 76.9–80.8% of the hormone‐receptor‐negative groups. The detection rate was associated with breast cancer subtypes and clinicopathological features that increased the risk of relapse. Interim analysis after a 15‐month follow‐up revealed post‐operative detection of ctDNA in all three patients that had recurrence, with a lead time of 7–13 months ahead of clinical diagnosis. Our personalized assay is streamlined and affordable with promising clinical utility in residual cancer surveillance. We also generated the first somatic variant dataset for Vietnamese breast cancer women that could lay the foundation for precision cancer medicine in Vietnam.
The authors determine, for the first time, the somatic variant landscape of Vietnamese women with breast cancer, and establish a personalized tumor‐informed assay (K‐Track®) to detect ctDNA in liquid biopsy. This assay is streamlined and affordable, with promising clinical utilities in both residual cancer surveillance and actionable mutation profiling for breast cancer patients.
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