Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) are generated by macrophages inside their phagolysosomes. This production is essential for phagocytosis of damaged cells and pathogens, i.e., protecting ...the organism and maintaining immune homeostasis. The ability to quantitatively and individually monitor the four primary ROS/RNS (ONOO
, H
O
, NO, and NO
) with submillisecond resolution is clearly warranted to elucidate the still unclear mechanisms of their rapid generation and to track their concentration variations over time inside phagolysosomes, in particular, to document the origin of ROS/RNS homeostasis during phagocytosis. A novel nanowire electrode has been specifically developed for this purpose. It consisted of wrapping a SiC nanowire with a mat of 3 nm platinum nanoparticles whose high electrocatalytic performances allow the characterization and individual measurements of each of the four primary ROS/RNS. This allowed, for the first time, a quantitative, selective, and statistically robust determination of the individual amounts of ROS/RNS present in single dormant phagolysosomes. Additionally, the submillisecond resolution of the nanosensor allowed confirmation and measurement of the rapid ability of phagolysosomes to differentially mobilize their enzyme pools of NADPH oxidases and inducible nitric oxide synthases to finely regulate their homeostasis. This reveals an essential key to immune responses and immunotherapies and rationalizes its biomolecular origin.
Purpose
The present study compared the safety and efficacy of oxycodone with those of fentanyl under non-intubated general anaesthesia in percutaneous microwave ablation (MWA) of a liver tumour ...abutting the capsule.
Materials and Methods
Thirty-eight patients underwent MWA of liver cancers abutting the capsule. Patients received 0.1 mg/kg oxycodone (O group) or 1 μg/kg fentanyl (F group) prior to the start of ablation. Both groups received continuous infusions of propofol for non-intubated general anaesthesia during ablation. The primary outcomes were the pain scores (11-point numeric rating scale, NRS) within 24 h after MWA. Vital signs, body movement during ablation, and opioid side effects after ablation were recorded. The need for additional analgesics was recorded 24 h after MWA.
Results
The pain NRS scores were lower in the O group than in the F group at 0.5 (
P
= 0.035), 3 (
P
= 0.002), and 6 h (
P
= 0.001) after MWA, and fewer patients required additional analgesics in the O group (6 of 20 vs. 13 of 18,
P
= 0.022) within 24 h. The average 24-h dose of dezocine was 5.5 ± 4.1 mg in the F group and 2.1 ± 3.3 mg in the O group (
P
= 0.008). A significant reduction in the respiratory rate (
P
= 0.020) and more body movements were observed in the F group (
P
= 0.027) during ablation with non-intubated general anaesthesia. No differences in post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) were observed between the two groups, but dizziness occurred significantly more often in the O group (
P
= 0.033). No significant differences in other vital signs were observed before, during, and after the procedure.
Conclusions
Oxycodone provides better analgesia and reduces post-operative opioid consumption without significant respiratory or hemodynamic instability.
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•The substitutional Mn atom is preferable to diffuse along the 〈111〉 direction during the vacancy diffusion.•The Mn atom has a higher diffusion mobility than the Cr atom in the ...ferritic Fe-25%Cr Alloy.•The diffusion coefficient of Mn atom varies from 10−15 to 10−10 m2/s under the SOFC working temperature of 600 °C–800 °C.
The doping manganese (Mn) in the ferritic Fe-Cr alloy could effectively improve its high temperature performance when applied as metallic interconnects of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). A theoretical study of Mn diffusion property in such alloy is implemented. It is found that the substitutional Mn atom prefers to diffuse along the 〈111〉 crystal direction with activation energy of about 0.40 eV. The interstitial Mn atom diffuses across the crystal between two tetrahedral interstitials with activation energy of about 1.37 eV. Under the working temperature of SOFCs at 600℃-800℃, the magnitude of diffusion coefficients mainly varies from 10-15-10-10m2/s which is qualitatively consistent with the experimental result that diffusion rate following the order of DMn > DCr. Our results reveal the diffusion mechanism of Mn atom in the ferritic Fe-Cr alloy at the atomic scale, which provide theoretical guidance for further applications of metallic interconnects in SOFCs.
The aims of this systematic review were to study the analgesic effect of real acupuncture and to explore whether sham acupuncture (SA) type is related to the estimated effect of real acupuncture for ...musculoskeletal pain. Five databases were searched. The outcome was pain or disability immediately (≤1 week) following an intervention. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Meta-regression was used to explore possible sources of heterogeneity. Sixty-three studies (6382 individuals) were included. Eight condition types were included. The pooled effect size was moderate for pain relief (59 trials, 4980 individuals, SMD -0.61, 95% CI -0.76 to -0.47; P < 0.001) and large for disability improvement (31 trials, 4876 individuals, -0.77, -1.05 to -0.49; P < 0.001). In a univariate meta-regression model, sham needle location and/or depth could explain most or all heterogeneities for some conditions (e.g., shoulder pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, myofascial pain, and fibromyalgia); however, the interactions between subgroups via these covariates were not significant (P < 0.05). Our review provided low-quality evidence that real acupuncture has a moderate effect (approximate 12-point reduction on the 100-mm visual analogue scale) on musculoskeletal pain. SA type did not appear to be related to the estimated effect of real acupuncture.
Malaria data in 2011-2013 were collected and statistically analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2003 software. A total of 501 malaria cases were reported, and the annual incidence was 0.2510/100,000, ...0.2486/100,000, and 0.3223/100,000, in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively, with an average of 0.2740/100,000 in Hunan Province. All these cases were imported and mainly reported from Changsha (44.3%, 222/501), Shaoyang (16.6%, 83/501), Huaihua (8.4%, 42/501), and Yiyang (8.0%, 40/501). 97.0% (486/501) of the cases were laboratory confirmed cases, while the other 3.0% (15/501) were clinically diagnosed. Among those lab confirmed, 41.3% (207/501) were vivax malaria cases, 47.9% (240/501) falciparum malaria cases, 1.4% (7/501) ovale malaria cases, 0.8% (4/501) malariae cases, 6.6% (33/501) mixed infection, and 2.0% (10/501) were unclassified cases. Most cases (202/501) occurred among persons aged 40-49 years. These patients were mainly farmers, workers, migrant workers, and cadres. 47.7% (239/501) were from Africa and 50.
•Ar-Crk expression in diapause embryos was significantly lower than non-diapause embryos.•Knockdown of Ar-Crk by RNAi induced the formation of diapause embryos.•Downregulation of Ar-Crk led to cell ...cycle arrest and metabolic suppression.
To survive under harsh environments, embryonic development of Artemia was arrested at the gastrula stage and released as the diapause embryo. Cell cycle and metabolism were highly suppressed in this state of quiescence. However, cellular mechanisms underlying diapause remain largely unclear. In this study, we found that the expression level of a CT10 regulator of kinase-encoding gene (Ar-Crk) in diapause embryos was significantly lower than non-diapause embryos at the early embryogenetic stage of Artemia. Knockdown of Ar-Crk by RNA interference induced formation of diapause embryos, while the control group produced nauplii. Western blot analysis and metabolic assays revealed that the diapause embryos produced by Ar-Crk-knocked-down Artemia had similar characteristics of diapause markers, arrested cell cycle, and suppressed metabolism with those diapause embryos produced by natural oviparous Artemia. Transcriptomic analysis of Artemia embryos revealed knockdown of Ar-Crk induced downregulation of the aurora kinase A (AURKA) signaling pathway, as well as energetic and biomolecular metabolisms. Taken together, we proposed that Ar-Crk is a crucial factor in determining the process of diapause in Artemia. Our results provide insight into the functions of Crk in fundamental regulations such as cellular quiescence.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) are important intracellular redox-active molecules involved in various pathological processes including inflammation, ...neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. However, the fast dynamic changes and mutual regulatory kinetic relationship between intracellular ROS and NADH in these biological processes are still hard to simultaneously investigate. A dual-channel nanowire electrode (DC-NWE) integrating two conductive nanowires, one functionalized with platinum nanoparticles and the other with conductive polymer, was nanofabricated for the selective and simultaneous real-time monitoring of intracellular ROS and NADH release by mitochondria in single living MCF-7 tumoral cells stimulated by resveratrol. The production of ROS was observed to occur tenths of a second before the release of NADH, a significant new piece of information suggesting a mechanism of action of resveratrol. Beyond the importance of the specific data gathered in this study, this work established the feasibility of simultaneously monitoring multiple species and analyzing their kinetics relationships over sub-second time scales thanks to dual-channel nanowire electrodes. It is believed that this concept and its associated nanoelectrochemical tools might benefit to a deeper understanding of mutual regulatory relationship between intracellular crucial molecular markers during physiological and pathological processes as well as for evaluating medical treatments.
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•We propose a novel strategy for developing a dual-channel nanowire electrode (DC-NWE).•DC-NWE has been used for selective and simultaneous monitoring of ROS and NADH in single cells stimulated by resveratrol.•The production of ROS was observed to occur tenths of a second before NADH release.•This work presented the feasibility of simultaneously monitoring multiple species and analyzing their kinetics difference.
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•A novel chiral-arranged TiO2-SiO2 with high visible-light performance was prepared.•The relationship between chiral structure and photocatalytic activity was explore.•The asymmetric ...microstructures caused numerous oxygen vacancies and Ti-N bonds.•Both oxygen vacancies and Ti-N bonds promoting photocatalytic performance.•No chiral structure formed in the materials while reacting at high temperature.
Aiming at exploring the relationship between photocatalysts with nanoscale chiral structures and their photocatalytic activity, we fabricated a novel chiral-arranged TiO2-SiO2 mesoporous material with high visible-light absorption and photocatalytic performance. Through a soft template route using a chiral surfactant and a co-structure-directing agent, the mesoporous materials with helical-spherical depositions could form in under low reaction temperature (≤10 °C). The asymmetric helical microstructures introduced numerous oxygen vacancies and Ti-N bonds into the materials, thus significantly promoting their visible-light response and photocatalytic performance. The chiral-arranged TiO2-SiO2 mesoporous material had high substantial visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance, including the degradation for rhodamine B in water and the production of hydrogen with a sacrificial reagent. The optimal removal rate of chiral-arranged TiO2-SiO2 materials for rhodamine B exceeded 97% irradiated by visible light. With increasing reaction temperature, the formation of TiO2 agglomerations could not deposit with the silica chiral frames and no chiral structure formed in the materials, thus exhibiting no visible-light response of TiO2-SiO2 materials.
The aim of this study was to validate the preventive effects of koumine (KM), a monoterpene indole alkaloid, on gouty arthritis (GA) and to explore its possible mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice were ...intraperitoneally administered KM (0.8, 2.4 or 7.2 mg/kg), colchicine (3.0 mg/kg) or sterile saline. One hour later, a monosodium urate (MSU) suspension was injected into the right hind paws of the mice to establish an acute gout model. Inflammation symptoms were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h, and the mechanical withdrawal threshold was evaluated at 0, 6 and 24 h. After 24 h, the mice were euthanized, and the joint tissue, kidney and blood were collected for subsequent experiments. Histological examination and antioxidant enzyme, kidney index and serum uric acid (UA) measurements were taken. The expression levels of the signalling pathway components were determined. KM effectively alleviated the symptoms of redness, swelling and pain; counteracted inflammatory cell infiltration; and increased antioxidant enzyme levels, reduced kidney index and seru UA levels through regulating UA excretion in MSU-induced mice. The expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)/nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain, leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) signalling pathway proteins and mRNA were reduced in the KM group. These results suggest that KM may be effective in alleviating GA through the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway.
Porous iron oxide nanowhiskers with diameter of about 50–150 nm, and lengthen about 6–10 μm were successfully synthesized by a self-assembly method. The pore size distribution calculated from ...desorption branch by using the density functional theory method revealed that the Fe2O3 whiskers was composed of pores with diameter of bout 6, 8, 10.5, 13.5 nm respectively. On the basis of all the observations, we propose that the porous Fe2O3 nanowhiskers formation was directed by the in-situ oxidation of self-assembly ferric fluoride whiskers.
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•Porous iron oxide nanowhiskers were successfully synthesized by a self-assembly method.•The Porous iron oxide nanowhiskers possess diameter of about 50–150 nm, and length about 6–10 μm.•Fe2O3 whiskers was composed of pores with diameter of bout 6, 8, 10.5, 13.5 nm respectively.•The porous Fe2O3 nanowhiskers formation was directed by the in-situ oxidation of self-assembly ferric fluoride whiskers.
Porous iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanowhiskers with diameter of about 50–150 nm, and lengthen about 6–10 μm were successfully synthesized by a self-assembly method. The pores structure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy. The pore size distribution calculated from desorption branch by using the density functional theory method revealed that the Fe2O3 whiskers was composed of pores with diameter of bout 6, 8, 10.5, 13.5 nm respectively. On the basis of all the observations, we propose that the porous Fe2O3 nanowhiskers formation was directed by the in-situ oxidation of self-assembly ferric fluoride whiskers. The integrated thin carbon layer was considered to be critical to keep the integrity of the porous Fe2O3 nanowhiskers
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