In this study, we aim to develop an efficient, eco-friendly and cost-effective electrolyte solvent mixture for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells (DSCs) by using a deep eutectic solvent (DES). A high-purity ...choline chloride–phenol DES was synthesized and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The resulting product was mixed with acetonitrile, a typical volatile electrolyte solvent, at various ratios for use as electrolyte in DSCs. The photovoltaic parameters (Jsc, Voc, fill factor, efficiency) of these DSC devices were monitored to investigate their long-term performance. The performance of DES-added cells was initially less efficient, but more stable after more than 1000 h, compared to that of the DES-free cells. DES helped to stabilize and improve the photovoltaic performance of DSCs, particularly the short circuit current, due to the effect of the choline and phenol groups of DES binding on the TiO2 surface, as shown by the density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The optimal results were achieved with electrolyte containing 20% DES (efficiency = 6.9% with stable performance for more than 1000 h).
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•An eco-friendly DES mixed with liquid electrolyte for stable DSC performance.•Efficiency of DSC with 20% DES increased from 6.92% to 7.75% after 1300 h.•Co-adsorption of choline and phenyl on surface of TiO2 was calculated by the DFT.•The DES helped stabilize the current and improve the voltage of the DSC devices.
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.
Exosomes are nano-scale and closed membrane vesicles which are promising for therapeutic applications due to exosome-enclosed therapeutic molecules such as DNA, small RNAs, proteins and lipids. ...Recently, it has been demonstrated that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes have capacity to regulate many biological events associated with wound healing process, such as cell proliferation, cell migration and blood vessel formation. This study investigated the regenerative potentials for cutaneous tissue, in regard to growth factors associated with wound healing and skin cell proliferation and migration, by exosomes released from primary MSCs originated from bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue (AD), and umbilical cord (UC) under serum- and xeno-free condition. We found crucial wound healing-mediated growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) in exosomes derived from all three MSC sources. However, expression levels of these growth factors in exosomes were influenced by MSC origins, especially transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) was only detected in UCMSC-derived exosomes. All exosomes released by three MSCs sources induced keratinocyte and fibroblast proliferation and migration; and, the induction of cell migration is a dependent manner with the higher dose of exosomes was used (20 μg), the faster migration rate was observed. Additionally, the influences of exosomes on cell proliferation and migration was associated with exosome origins and also target cells of exosomes that the greatest induction of primary dermal fibroblasts belongs to BMMSC-derived exosomes and keratinocytes belongs to UCMSC-derived exosomes. Data from this study indicated that BMMSCs and UCMSCs under clinical condition secreted exosomes are promising to develop into therapeutic products for wound healing treatment.
Foodborne zoonotic trematode (FZT) infections are common neglected tropical diseases in Southeast Asia. Their complicated life cycles involve freshwater snails as intermediate hosts. A ...cross-sectional study was conducted in Yen Bai and Thanh Hoa provinces in North and Central Vietnam, to investigate the diversity of cercariae of potential FZT and to construct the phylogenetic relationship of trematode cercariae based on the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) region. Among 17 snail species collected from various habitats, 13 were infected by 10 cercarial groups among which parapleurolophocercous, pleurolophocercous, and echinostome cercariae were of zoonotic importance. The monophyletic tree separated cercarial sequences into different groups following the description of the cercariae families in which Haplorchidae, Opisthorchiidae, Echinochasmidae, and Echinostomatidae are important families of FZT. The overall prevalence was different among snail species and habitats and showed a seasonal trend. Parapleurolophocercous and echinostome cercariae emerged as the most common cercariae in snails in Yen Bai, while monostome, echinostome, and megalura cercariae were most common in Thanh Hoa. Using a molecular approach, we identified
Parafossarulus striatulus
as the first intermediate snail host of
Clonorchis sinensis
in Thac Ba Lake.
Melanoides tuberculata
and
Bithynia fuchsiana
were we identified preferred intermediate snail hosts of a diverse range of trematode species including intestinal flukes (i.e.,
Haplorchis pumilio
and
Echinochasmus japonicus
) in Yen Bai and Thanh Hoa, respectively.
In agricultural production, abiotic stresses are known as the main disturbance leading to
negative impacts on crop performance. Research on elucidating plant defense mechanisms against the
stresses ...at molecular level has been addressed for years in order to identify the major contributors in
boosting the plant tolerance ability. From literature, numerous genes from different species, and from
both functional and regulatory gene categories, have been suggested to be on the list of potential candidates
for genetic engineering. Noticeably, enhancement of plant stress tolerance by manipulating
expression of Transcription Factors (TFs) encoding genes has emerged as a popular approach since
most of them are early stress-responsive genes and control the expression of a set of downstream target
genes. Consequently, there is a higher chance to generate novel cultivars with better tolerance to
either single or multiple stresses. Perhaps, the difficult task when deploying this approach is selecting
appropriate gene(s) for manipulation. In this review, on the basis of the current findings from molecular
and post-genomic studies, our interest is to highlight the current understanding of the roles of TFs
in signal transduction and mediating plant responses towards abiotic stressors. Furthermore, interactions
among TFs within the stress-responsive network will be discussed. The last section will be reserved
for discussing the potential applications of TFs for stress tolerance improvement in plants.
Unsubstituted and methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (22 PAHs and 17 Me-PAHs) were examined in surface sediments collected from the Red River and four inner-city rivers of Hanoi City, ...Vietnam. Concentrations of total PAHs and Me-PAHs ranged from 52 to 920 (median 710) and from 70 to 2600 (median 1000) ng/g dry weight in samples of dry and wet seasons, respectively. Significant correlation was observed between total PAHs and organic carbon contents (Spearman's
ρ
= 0.782;
p
< 0.05). PAHs were more abundant than Me-PAHs in all samples and dominated by 4–6 ring compounds. The most predominant PAHs were benzo
ghi
perylene, benzo
b/j
fluoranthene, chrysene, pyrene, fluoranthene, and phenanthrene. Methylated derivatives of naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, and benz
a
anthracene were frequently detected. The patterns of PAHs indicated principal pyrogenic sources (notably gasoline exhaust) in this highly urbanized area. The occurrence of several PAHs were occasionally associated with adverse effects on benthic organisms of the inner-city rivers.
Chemical composition and bioactivities including bacterial and fungal resistance of the essential oils extracted from leaves of
Piper betle
L. (
T
) and
Cleistocalyx operculatus
L. (
V
) and aerial ...parts of
Ageratum conyzoides
L. (
H
) were investigated. The components presenting in the essential oils of the natural sources were analysized by a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Molecular docking simulation was utilised to support an antimicrobial mechanism of the essential oil compounds on
Candida albicans
fungus and
Streptococcus pyogenes
bacteria. This was based on the inhibition of the extracted compounds onto the microbial proteins, i.e. 4ESW and P0C0C7, respectively. There are 32 compounds identified in total in the three essential oils. The most effective inhibitors are the following: (i) chavicol acetate (
T3
), eugenol acetate (
T11
) and eugenol (
T4
) found in
Piper betle
L.; (ii) precocene II (
H10
) and precocene I (
H6
) found in
Ageratum conyzoides
L.; and (iii) caryophyllene oxide (
V15
) and
cis
-Lanceol (
V19
) found in
Cleistocalyx operculatus
L.. The overall antifungal and antibacterial capability of the investigated essential oils given indirect justification via their average inhabitability towards the two proteins accords with the order
Piper betle
L.
Ageratum conyzoides
L.
Cleistocalyx operculatus
L.. The results suggest these as promising natural sources for antimicrobial remedies.
(1) Background: The dysfunction and reduced proliferation of peripheral CD8
T cells and natural killer (NK) cells have been observed in both aging and cancer patients, thereby challenging the ...adoption of immune cell therapy in these subjects. In this study, we evaluated the growth of these lymphocytes in elderly cancer patients and the correlation of peripheral blood (PB) indices to their expansion. (2) Method: This retrospective study included 15 lung cancer patients who underwent autologous NK cell and CD8
T cell therapy between January 2016 and December 2019 and 10 healthy individuals. (3) Results: On average, CD8
T lymphocytes and NK cells were able to be expanded about 500 times from the PB of elderly lung cancer subjects. Particularly, 95% of the expanded NK cells highly expressed the CD56 marker. The expansion of CD8
T cells was inversely associated with the CD4
:CD8
ratio and the frequency of PB-CD4
T cells in PB. Likewise, the expansion of NK cells was inversely correlated with the frequency of PB-lymphocytes and the number of PB-CD8
T cells. The growth of CD8
T cells and NK cells was also inversely correlated with the percentage and number of PB-NK cells. (4) Conclusion: PB indices are intrinsically tied to immune cell health and could be leveraged to determine CD8 T and NK cell proliferation capacity for immune therapies in lung cancer patients.
Brønsted acidic ionic liquid was found to be an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of benzo4,5imidazo1,2-
pyrimidines and 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1
)-ones. The reactions proceeded ...smoothly with a broad scope of substrates providing the expected products in good to excellent yields under an atom-economical pathway. The low-cost recyclable catalyst, metal- and solvent-free conditions, and the ease of product isolation are the highlighted advantages in solving the issue of trace metal contamination in synthesized pharmaceuticals.
Fluorescence nanosilica-based cell tracker has been explored and applied in cell biological research. However, the aggregation of these nanoparticles at physiological pH is still the main limitation. ...In this research, we introduced a novel fluorescence nano-based cell tracker suitable for application in live cells. The silica-coated fluorescein isothiocyanate isomer (FITC-SiO
) nanoparticles (NPs) were modified with carboxymethylsilanetriol disodium salt (FITC-SiO
-COOH), integrating the dianion form of FITC molecules. This nanosystem exhibited superior dispersion in aqueous solutions and effectively mitigated dye leakage. These labeled NPs displayed notable biocompatibility and minimal cytotoxicity in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Significantly, the NPs did not have negative implications on cell migration or angiogenesis. They successfully penetrated primary fibroblasts, human umbilical vein endothelial cells and HeLa cells in both 2D and 3D cultures, with the fluorescence signal enduring for over 72 h. Furthermore, the NP signals were consistently observed in the developing gastrointestinal tract of live medaka fish larvae for extended periods during phases of subdued digestive activity, without manifesting any apparent acute toxicity. These results underscore the promising utility of FITC-SiO
-COOH NPs as advanced live cell trackers in biological research.
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![Synthesis of benzo[4,5]imid...](http://api.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/image/issn/XR4PS5YY4K/2046-2069/small "Synthesis of benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2- a ]pyrimidines and 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1 H )-ones under metal-free and solvent-free conditions for minimizing waste generation")
