Growth factors are a class of cytokines that stimulate cell growth and are widely used in clinical practice, such as wound healing, revascularization, bone repair, and nervous system disease. ...However, free growth factors have a short half-life and are instable in vivo. Therefore, the search of excellent carriers to enhance sustained release of growth factors in vivo has become an area of intense research interest. The development of controlled-release systems that protect the recombinant growth factors from enzymatic degradation and provide sustained delivery at the injury site during healing should enhance the growth factor’s application in tissue regeneration. Thus, this study reviews current research on commonly used carriers for sustained release of growth factors and their sustained release effects for preservation of their bioactivity and their accomplishment in tissue engineering approaches.
Physisorption is a promising technology to cut cost for separating ethylene (C
H
) from ethane (C
H
), the most energy-intensive separation process in the petrochemical industry. However, traditional ...thermodynamically selective adsorbents exhibit limited C
H
/C
H
selectivity due to their similar physiochemical properties, and the performance enhancement is typically at the expense of elevated adsorption heat. Here, we report highly-efficient C
H
/C
H
adsorption separation in a phosphate-anion pillared metal-organic framework ZnAtzPO
exploiting the equilibrium-kinetic synergetic effect. The periodically expanded and contracted aperture decorated with electronegative groups within ZnAtzPO
enables effective trapping of C
H
and impedes the diffusion of C
H
, offering an extraordinary equilibrium-kinetic combined selectivity of 32.4. The adsorption heat of C
H
on ZnAtzPO
(17.3 to 30.0 kJ mol
) is substantially lower than many thermodynamically selective adsorbents because its separation capability only partially relies on thermodynamics. The separation mechanism was explored by computational simulations, and breakthrough experiments confirmed the excellent C
H
/C
H
separation performance of ZnAtzPO
.
Flurbiprofen is a kind of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug, which has been widely used in clinic for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. It has been reported that S‐flurbiprofen ...shows good performance on clinic anti‐inflammatory treatment, while R‐enantiomer almost has no pharmacological activities. It has important practical values to obtain optically pure S‐flurbiprofen. In this work, chiral ionic liquids, which have good structural designability and chiral recognize ability, were selected as the extraction selector by the assistance of quantum chemistry calculations. The distribution behaviors of flurbiprofen enantiomers were investigated in the extraction system, which was composed of organic solvent and aqueous phase containing chiral ionic liquid. The results show that maximum enantioselectivity up to 1.20 was attained at pH 2.0, 25°C using 1,2‐dichloroethane as organic solvent, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazole L‐tryptophan (BmimL‐trp) as chiral selector. The racemic flurbiprofen initial concentration was 0.2 mmol L−1, and BmimL‐trp concentration was 0.02 mol L−1. Furthermore, the recycle of chiral ionic liquids has been achieved by reverse extraction process of the aqueous phase with chiral selector, which is significant for industrial application of chiral ionic liquids and scale‐up of the extraction process.
•Real-time observations were used to analyze impact of COVID-19 on NOx emission.•The impact in China is mainly concentrated in four industrial sectors.•Operating vent numbers and emission ...concentration are effective indicators.•COVID-19 significantly reduced the industrial NOx emissions of China.
The unprecedented cessation of human activities during the COVID-19 pandemic has affected China's industrial production and NOx emissions. Quantifying the changes in NOx emissions resulting from COVID-19 and associated governmental control measures is crucial to understanding its impacts on the environment. Here, we divided the research timeframe into three periods: the normal operation period (P1), the Spring Festival period (P2), and the epidemic period following the Spring Festival (P3). We then calculated the NOx operating vent numbers and emission concentrations of key polluting enterprises in 29 provinces and 20 industrial sectors and compared the data for the same periods in 2020 and 2019 to obtain the impacts of COVID-19 on industrial NOx emissions. We found that spatially, from P1 to P2 in 2020, the operating NOx vent numbers in North China changed the most, with a relative change rate of –33.84%. Comparing the operating vent numbers in P1 and P3, East China experienced the largest decrease, approximately –32.72%. Among all industrial sectors, the mining industry, manufacturing industry, power, heat, gas, and water production and supply industry, and the wholesale and retail industry, were the most heavily influenced. In general, the operating vent numbers of key polluting enterprises in China decreased by 24.68%, and the standardized NOx (w)5-day decreased by an average of −9.54 ± −6.00 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that COVID-19 significantly reduced the NOx emission levels of the key polluting enterprises in China.
Sewage sludge is bio-solid with high moisture content generated from wastewater treatment plants. Due to the avoidance of energy-intensive dewatering, hydrothermal conversion of sewage sludge becomes ...a promising technology to simultaneously achieve energy recovery and solid waste management. In order to obtain an entire understanding of applicability of hydrothermal gasification for hydrogen rich gas production from sewage sludge, this review article discussed hydrothermal conversion and gasification processes in terms of fundamental principles, operating conditions, partial oxidative gasification, and detrimental effects of intermediates. Furthermore, since organic compounds in sewage sludge are mainly composed of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and lignin, this article comprehensively reviewed hydrogen production from these biomass model compounds and their hydrolysis products under sub- and supercritical water. Additionally, introduction of alkali salts and heterogeneous catalysts to enhance hydrogen yield under mild temperatures and pressures in hydrothermal gasification process was also discussed. Based on bench and pilot scale studies, supercritical water gasification of sewage sludge for hydrogen production is feasible in terms of technical and economic evaluation. Given issues concerning corrosion, plugging and high operating cost, a combined supercritical water gasification and catalytic hydrothermal gasification concept is proposed as a practical strategy to directly harness hydrogen from sewage sludge in future applications.
Abstract Acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) occurs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who initially respond to TKI treatment ...but whose cancer then progresses. Recent studies have shown that Notch signal is associated with drug resistance. However, the exact mechanism of Notch during acquisition of resistance to EGFR-TKI in human lung cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we showed that the expression of Notch-1 was highly upregulated in EGFR-TKI acquired resistant lung cancer cells. More importantly, Notch-1 contributed to the acquisition of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, which was critically associated with acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI. Silencing of Notch-1 using siRNA resulted in mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET), which was associated with impaired invasion and anchorage-independent growth of lung cancer and resensitisation to gefitinib in acquired resistant NSCLC cells. Finally, gefitinib treatment of Balb/c nu/nu with acquired resistant lung cancer xenografts in combination with Notch inhibitor N - N -(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)- l -alanyl-( S )-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT) resulted in effective tumour growth retardation, with decreased proliferative activity and increased apoptotic activity. Collectively, these data suggest that Notch-1 might play a novel role in acquired resistance to gefitinib, which could be reversed by inhibiting Notch-1.
Abstract
Pathogenic drug-resistant bacteria represent a threat to human health, for instance, the methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA). There is an ever-growing need to develop ...non-antibiotic strategies to fight bacteria without triggering drug resistance. Here, we design a hedgehog artificial macrophage with atomic-catalytic centers to combat MRSA by mimicking the “capture and killing” process of macrophages. The experimental studies and theoretical calculations reveal that the synthesized materials can efficiently capture and kill MRSA by the hedgehog topography and substantial generation of •O
2
−
and HClO with its Fe
2
N
6
O catalytic centers. The synthesized artificial macrophage exhibits a low minimal inhibition concentration (8 μg/mL Fe-Art M with H
2
O
2
(100 μM)) to combat MRSA and rapidly promote the healing of bacteria-infected wounds on rabbit skin. We suggest that the application of this hedgehog artificial macrophage with “capture and killing” capability and high ROS-catalytic activity will open up a promising pathway to develop antibacterial materials for bionic and non-antibiotic disinfection strategies.
Correlative light electron microscopy prefers single probes with stable performance in both optical and electron microscopy. Now researchers have shown how to harness gold nanoparticles featuring ...exceptional photostability and four-wave-mixing nonlinearity to realize a new correlation imaging approach.
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•Superb and reusable adsorbent WSH was successfully synthesized from shrimp shells.•Maximum adsorption capacity of WSH was 755.08 mg/g at optimal pH of 4.0.•Exothermic adsorption was ...spontaneous and followed monolayer adsorption pattern.•Electrostatic interaction was mainly responsible for the prominent adsorption.
Shrimp processing and consumption generate large amounts of waste shrimp shell (WSS) rich in chitin and protein. Herein, we successfully synthesized WSS-based hydrochar (WSH) adsorbent through deproteinization and deacetylation followed by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and acid washing. For comparison, another hydrochar (CCH) adsorbent was synthesized from HTC of commercial chitosan under identical conditions. Specifically, WSH contained rich nitrogen-containing functional groups with a long aliphatic chains structure. Acid etching of calcium carbonate in WSS led to a higher specific surface area of WSH (12.65 m2/g) which was nearly 6 times higher than that of CCH (2.13 m2/g). The lower deacetylation degree of WSH was responsible for higher amide I and amino groups retained therein. Under an optimal initial solution pH of 4.0, WSH could rapidly achieve a superb adsorption capacity of 755.08 mg/g for methyl orange molecule. Moreover, the adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetics model and was well described by a monolayer adsorption pattern based on the Langmuir isotherm model with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9989. Prominent adsorption performance of WSH for methyl orange was mainly attributed to electrostatic interactions, while steric hindrance effect had a detrimental impact on the adsorption capacity of CCH. Superb adsorption capacity and excellent regeneration performance suggest WSH could be a promising and affordable adsorbent candidate for anionic dye removal.
Dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi is a diverse group of Ascomycetes fungi that colonize the plants roots, and may facilitate plant growth and fitness, however, their ecological roles need further ...clarification. This study aimed to evaluate the growth promoting effects of DSE fungi in a medicinal plant, liquorice (
), under additional organic residues. First, we isolated, identified and characterized, two DSE fungal species (
and
) harboring inside the roots of liquorice growing in arid areas of China. Second, we examined the performance and rhizosphere soil parameters of liquorice plants inoculated with these fungi under additional sterilized organic residues and unsterilized organic residue (containing
population) in a growth chamber. The results showed that two DSE strains could effectively colonize plant roots and formed a strain-dependent symbiosis with liquorice. DSE inoculation alone increased the plant biomass, and glycyrrhizic acid and glycyrrhizin content. It also improved the root system and N and P absorption by plants, consequently depleting these macronutrients in the soil. Residues alone increased soil organic matter, available phosphorus (P), and available nitrogen (N) content, and plant biomass, N, P, glycyrrhizic acid, and glycyrrhizin content. Mantel test and structural equation model (SEM) analysis demonstrated that DSE associated with residues significantly positively influenced soil organic matter, available P and available N, and plant biomass, glycyrrhizin, N, P, and root surface area. Variation in plant growth and glycyrrhizic acid and glycyrrhizin accumulation can be attributed to the effects of DSE inoculation. DSE associated with residues exhibited a general synergistic effect on the growth and accumulation of glycyrrhizic acid and glycyrrhizin of liquorice. We demonstrate for the first time, two DSE fungi in the liquorice roots that have potential use as promoter for the cultivation of medicinal plant.
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