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Objectives: Gout (GT) belongs to a group of diseases caused by a purine metabolic disorder. GT is an inflammatory disease caused by the local deposition of uric acid in joints or adjacent tissues. The mechanism of GT is not fully explained, especially the involvement of an immune system. The objective of this study was to investigate the change in peripheral CD4+T subsets in acute and chronic GT patients. Methods: A total of 205 patients with acute and chronic GT and 87 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. The medical history improvement, clinical indicators, immune function, and peripheral CD4+T-lymphocyte detected by modified flow cytometry were collected in all subjects. Results: Compared with healthy controls, acute and chronic GT patients remarkably increased the absolute counts of T helper type 1 (Th1) cells (P < 0.05) and decreased the absolute number of Treg cells without significant difference (P > 0.05). In addition, the absolute number and percentage of Th1 cells and Th1/T helper type 2 (Th2) ratio increased significantly, and the ratio of Th2 cells decreased in patients with chronic GT compared to patients with acute GT (P < 0.05). The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed a notably negative correlation between the level of CRP and the absolute counts of peripheral Th1 and Th17 cells in patients with GT, while the levels of CD4+T sunsets had no significant correlation with ESR and uric acid. The course of the disease, the absolute number of Th1 cells, the percentage of Th1 cells and the ratio of Th1/Th2 cells were significantly associated with the progression of the disease, and the course of the disease was an independent risk factor for patients with chronic GT. Conclusion: The balance of Th1 and Th2 were involved throughout the whole stages of GT, Th17 cells then become involved in the disease process as the disease progresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalysis of molecules is a hot research topic in biological and energy-related chemistry. Here, we develop a new system to study the electrocatalytic efficiency of a single catechol molecule for NADH oxidation by single functionalized nanoparticle collision at ultramicroelectrodes (UMEs). The proposed system is composed of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with catechol molecules and a carbon-fiber ultramicroelectrode. In the absence of NADH, when a functionalized AuNP collides with an UME at a suitable voltage, a small current spike is generated due to the oxidation of catechol molecules modified on the surface of AuNP. In the presence of NADH, the current spike is significantly amplified by the combined effects of the oxidation and electrocatalysis for NADH of catechol molecules. By analyzing the variations of the average peak charges and durations without or with NADH, we calculate that around five thousands NADH molecules could be catalyzed per second by a single catechol molecule, suggesting the successful establishment of this novel catalytic system. Thus, the proposed strategy could be used as a promising platform for research of other molecular electrocatalytic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas is an extremely important bridge fuel to a low-carbon energy economy for improving local air quality. Coal to synthetic natural gas (SNG) is an effective way to convert the high-carbon energy (coal) into the low-carbon energy with rich hydrogen (natural gas). For the modern coal to SNG industry, the high-temperature methanation (HTM) catalyst plays an important role, and the advanced evaluation process should necessitate the elimination of mass transfer effect. Some simple but effective model catalysts, such as slab and sphere, can be very helpful in defining the reaction conditions, and thus facilitating the evaluation process for real HTM catalysts. In this work, slab and sphere model catalysts were adopted to derive mass transfer and reaction-coupled equations, the numerical methods were used to solve the coupled equations for the concentration profiles in catalysts, and the effectiveness factors were accordingly calculated. By taking advantage of the Thiele module w and the Weisz-Prater module F, the criteria for the elimination of mass transfer effect in the HTM catalyst evaluation process were successfully defined. This work also complements the Weisz-Prater criterion by incorporating 'negative reaction orders'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1) activity is one of the most important ways to increase the cellular influx of glucose. We previously demonstrated that increased GLUT-1 expression was an independent predictor of survival in patients with laryngeal carcinoma. Thus, GLUT-1 may present a novel therapeutic target in laryngeal carcinoma. In this study, the expression of GLUT-1, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1) and glutathione S-transferase-π (GST-π) in laryngeal carcinomas was investigated by immunohistochemistry. Additionally, possible correlations between GLUT-1 and P-gp, MRP1 and GST-π and various clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. In this study, 52.9% (18/34), 58.8% (20/34), 20.6% (7/34) and 58.8% (20/34) of the laryngeal carcinomas were positive for GLUT-1, P-gp, MRP1 and GST-π, respectively. The expression of GLUT-1, P-gp, MRP1 and GST-π was higher in laryngeal carcinoma specimens when compared with laryngeal precancerous lesions (P<0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed correlations between GLUT-1 and P-gp (r=0.364; P=0.034), GLUT-1 and MRP1 (r=0.359; P=0.037) and P-gp and GST-π (r=0.426; P=0.012). GLUT-1 expression was found to significantly correlate with tumor-node-metastasis classification (P=0.02) and clinical stage (P=0.037). Furthermore, P-gp was found to significantly correlate with clinical stage (P=0.026). Univariate analysis showed that MRP1 expression was significantly associated with poor survival (c² =5.16; P=0.023). Multivariate analysis revealed that lymph node metastasis (P=0.009) and MRP1 overexpression (P=0.023) were significant predictors of poor survival. In the present study, the expression of GLUT-1, P-gp, MRP1 and GST-π in laryngeal carcinomas was investigated, as well as the correlations between these proteins. P-gp was found to significantly correlate with clinical stage, while MRP1 overexpression was significantly associated with poor survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real estate plate plays an important role in China's stock market, the real estate plate stock price index trend analysis helps to understand the Chinese stock market situation correctly. For the correlation between industry plates is difficult to find in the stock market and the real estate plate stock price index is hard to predict. Based on the stock market index fluctuation correlations between plates, the industry plates correlated with the real estate plate were selected by using Markov blanket algorithm. Causal analysis method was used to avoid the subjectivity of selecting relevant plate in current methods. Then from those plates above we found which plate had sequential causality with the real estate plate by Granger causality test, established timing sequence regression model with real estate plate to predict real estate plate stock price index effectively. In the end the model was analyzed by impulse response and variance decomposition. For the Shanghai stock market the experimental comparison and empirical analysis of the results showed that, this method can effectively predict the real estate plate stock index trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hygroscopic properties of supersaturated aerosols as a function of relative humidity (RH) can be determined on the molecular level by the solutes with varied structures, as well as the solvent in the state of solvated water or free water. Although the former has been investigated by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, the latter has gone mostly unnoticed. In this work, the state of water in supersaturated Mg(NO3)2and NaNO3aerosols were investigated through the application of the Raman difference spectra with respect to pure water. This technique could be developed from the observation that the Raman scattering and infrared absorbance cross sections of the molecular vibrations of interest remain practically unchanged from diluted solutions to supersaturated aerosols at low RHs. The results were expressed in terms of the percentage of free water (Wfree) as a function of RH, as well as the solvated water-to-solute ratio (WsolvatedSR) and the free water-to-solute ratio (WfreeSR) as a function of the total water-to-solute ratio (WSR). Solvated water observed in the Raman difference spectra was primarily related to the first hydration layers. In Mg(NO3)2aerosols, three phases were identified with distinct mechanisms for the transition of the state of water. One unique structure with WsolvatedSR = 4 was proposed to occur in supersaturated Mg(NO3)2aerosols at low RHs. In NaNO3aerosols, it was found that the equality of solvated and free water could not provide a necessary condition for efflorescence, in contrast to the recent investigations by fluorescence spectroscopy. According to this investigation, solvated water could be more abundant than free water not only prior to the efflorescence of supersaturated NaNO3aerosols, but also in relatively diluted droplets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual Mg(NO3)2aerosol particles deposited on a quartz substrate were investigated by confocal Raman spectroscopy. With decreasing the relative humidity (RH) from 92.0% to 1.8%, Raman spectra were obtained of Mg(NO3)2droplets with water-to-solute molar ratios (WSRs) from 43.1 to 5.2, as well as of amorphous particles. At WSR < 6.0, contact ion pairs between Mg2and NO3-occurred abundantly, while at RHs of 2.2% and 1.8% with even lower WSRs, amorphous particles appeared with quasi-lattice structures. Two components, one at 3259.0 cm-1(C1) and the other at ∼3480.0 cm-1(C2), were resolved for the water O−H stretching envelope through nonlinear curve fittings. The area ratio of C1to C2, that is, A1/A2, declined with the decrease of WSR, reflecting the breakage of strong hydrogen bonds induced by the hydration of NO3-. Curve fittings were also carried out for the water O−H stretching envelope of NaNO3droplets. The value of A1/A2for Mg(NO3)2droplets was always higher than that for NaNO3droplets at the same WSR, indicating a much stronger “structure-making” effect of Mg2than of Na. In the efflorescence process, aerosol particles followed different paths of phase transition from droplets to Mg(NO3)2·6H2O or amorphous states. Reversing somewhat the phase transitions in the efflorescence process, aerosol particles dissolved into droplets with the increase of RH in the deliquescence process. Heterogeneous particles prepared by dehydrating Mg(NO3)2·6H2O were investigated by the depth profiling technique. About 15 h later, the main body of particles changed into Mg(NO3)2·2H2O, a small quantity of Mg(NO3)2·6H2O scattered around particle edges, and some particles were in amorphous states. About 10 days later, a new solid phase occurred on particle surfaces, while the interiors were still Mg(NO3)2·2H2O. With increasing the RH to ∼11%, significant Mg(NO3)2·6H2O formed on particle surfaces, covering the interior Mg(NO3)2·2H2O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supersaturated MgSO4 aerosols and dilute MgSO4 solutions were studied by FTIR spectroscopic techniques (i.e., aerosol flow tube (AFT) and attenuated total reflection (ATR)). The hygroscopic properties of MgSO4 aerosols were investigated with results in good agreement with previous measurements by a scanning electrodynamic balance (SEDB). Well-defined spectral evolutions with changing relative humidity (RH) for the v3 band of SO42- and the water O−H stretching envelope could be directly related to the observed hygroscopic properties of MgSO4 aerosols. When the RH decreased from ∼55 to ∼40%, the v1 band of SO42- in supersaturated MgSO4 aerosols was observed to transform from a sharp peak at ∼983 cm-1 into a wide band at ∼1005 cm-1. The sharp peak at ∼983 cm-1 was mainly assigned to such associated complexes of Mg2+ and SO42- as double solvent-separated ion pairs (2SIPs), solvent-shared ion pairs (SIPs), and simple contact ion pairs (CIPs) in supersaturated MgSO4 aerosols, while the wide band at ∼1005 cm-1 was due to polymeric CIPs chains, probably the main component of gels formed in MgSO4 aerosols at low RHs. Relating to this v1 band transformation, the peak position of the v3 band was first shown to be a sensitive indicator of CIPs formation, spanning across ∼40 cm-1 on the formation of polymeric CIPs chains, which could also be supported by aerosol composition analysis in the form of water-to-solute molar ratios (WSR). In the water O−H stretching envelope, the absorbance intensities at 3371 and 3251 cm-1 were selected to represent contributions from weak and strong hydrogen bonds, respectively. The absorbance intensity ratio changing with RH of 3371 to 3251 cm-1 could be related to the previous observations with the v1 and v3 bands of SO42-. As a result, the formation of CIPs with various structures in large amounts was supposed to significantly weaken hydrogen bonds in supersaturated MgSO4 aerosols, while 2SIPs and SIPs were not expected to have similar effects even when occurring in abundance. In comparison with MgSO4 aerosols, the peak positions of the v3 band of SO42- in artificial seawater aerosols implied that the MgSO4 component should be contained as gels or concentrated solutions in the fissures of microcrystals of sea salts for freshly formed seawater aerosols at low RHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Safinamide reduced LPS-induced expression of IL-1α, IL-6, TNF-α, CXCL1, CCL2, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in U937 macrophages; • Safinamide prevented LPS-induced expression of COX-2, iNOS, and the production of PGE 2 and NO; • Safinamide prevented activation of NF-κB mediated by Nrf2 in U937 macrophages. Inflammation is a basal host defense response that eliminates the causes and consequences of infection and tissue injury. Macrophages are the primary immune cells involved in the inflammatory response. When activated by LPS, macrophages release various pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, inflammatory mediators, and MMPs. However, unbridled inflammation causes further damage to tissues. Safinamide is a selective and reversible monoamine oxidase B (MAOB) inhibitor that has been used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether safinamide has effects on LPS-treated macrophages. Our results show that safinamide inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1α, TNF-α, and IL-6. Furthermore, safinamide suppressed the production of CXCL1 and CCL2, thereby preventing leukocyte migration. In addition, safinamide reduced iNOS-derived NO, COX-2-derived PGE 2 , MMP-2, and MMP-9. Importantly, the functions of safinamide mentioned above were found to be dependent on its inhibitory effect on the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Our data indicates that safinamide may exert a protective effect against inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NaNO3 droplets with sizes of 1–5 μm generated from a nebulizer were deposited on a ZnSe substrate in a Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) chamber. After solidification of the droplets with dry N2 gas passing through the chamber, the solid NaNO3 particles were monitored by in situ FTIR-ATR spectra in cycles of deliquescence and efflorescence processes with varying relative humidities (RHs). With an increase in the RH, a dominant peak at ∼3539 cm-1, together with three relatively weak peaks at ∼3400, ∼3272, and ∼3167 cm-1, in the O–H stretching band of water was resolved by the high signal-to-noise ratio FTIR-ATR spectra. The dominant peak and the three relatively weak peaks were contributed by the water monomers and the aggregated water molecules adsorbed on the surfaces of solid NaNO3 particles, respectively. When the RH approached ∼72%, slightly lower than the deliquescence RH (74.5%), the band component at ∼3400 cm-1 became the main peak, indicating that the water monomers and the aggregated water molecules aggregated to form a thin water layer on the surfaces of solid NaNO3 particles. A splitting of the ν3-NO3- band at 1363 and 1390 cm-1 at the RH of ∼72%, instead of the single ν3-NO3- band at 1357 cm-1 for the initial solid NaNO3, was observed. We suggested that this reflected a phase transition from the initial solid to a metastable solid phase of NaNO3. The metastable solid phase deliquesced completely in the region from ∼87% to ∼96% RH according to the fact that the ν3-NO3- band showed two overlapping peaks at 1348 and 1405 cm-1 similar to those of bulk NaNO3 solutions. In the efflorescence process of the NaNO3 droplets, the ν1-NO3- band presented a continuous blueshift from 1049 cm-1 at ∼77% RH to 1055 cm-1 at ∼36% RH, indicating the formation of contact ion pairs between Na+ and NO3-. Moreover, in the RH range from ∼53% down to ∼26%, two peaks at 836 and 829 cm-1 were observed in the ν2-NO3- band region, demonstrating the coexistence of NaNO3 solid particles and droplets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the addition-elimination catalytic mechanism of natural pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) containing proteins, PQQ-modified hybrid nanomaterials have been increasingly developed recently as biomimetic heterogeneous electrocatalysts. However, up until now, no existing electrochemical approach was able to assess the intrinsic catalytic activity of PQQ sites, impeding the design of efficient PQQ-based electrocatalysts. Herein, in this work, we introduced a new method to calculate the turnover frequency (TOF) of any individual PQQ functional group for electrocatalytic oxidation of tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP), through the study of single PQQ-decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) collisions at a carbon fiber ultramicroelectrode by chronoamperometry. The core advantage of this approach is being able to resolve the number of PQQ catalytic sites grafted on each individual CNT, so that the charge of any CNT collision event can be accurately translated into the intrinsic activity of the respective PQQ functional groups. The resulting collision-induced current responses clearly showed that the functionalization of CNTs with PQQ could indeed enhance its catalytic performance by 3 times, reaching a TOF value of 133 s-1 at 1.0 V vs Ag/AgCl. Such a single CNT collision technique, which is proposed for the first time in this work, can open up a new avenue for studying the intrinsic (electro)catalytic performance at a molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel nanosensor was explored for the highly selective detection of intracellular carbon monoxide (CO) by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) on the basis of palladacycle carbonylation. By assembling new synthesized paliadacycles (PC) on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), SERS nanosensors (AuNP/PC) were prepared with good SERS activity and reactivity with CO. When the AuNP/PC nanosensors were incubated with a CO-containing system, carbonylation of the PC assembled on AuNPs was initiated, and the corresponding SERS spectra of AuNP/PC changed significantly, which allowed the carbonylation reaction to be directly observed in situ. Upon SERS observation of CO-dependent carbonylation, this SERS nanosensor was used for the detection of CO under physiological conditions. Moreover, benefiting from the specificity of the reaction coupled with the fingerprinting feature of SERS, the developed nanosensor demonstrated high selectivity over other biologically relevant species. In vivo studies further indicated that CO in normal human liver cells and HeLa cells at concentrations as low as 0.5 µM were successfully detected with the proposed SERS strategy, demonstrating its great promise for the analytical requirements in studies of physiopathological events involved with CO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CMS-1, mainly composed of imperatorin as its active compound, is a partially purified fraction of a Chinese herbal medicine, Semen Cnidium monnieri. CMS-1 has the potential to be further developed as a new treatment for hypertension. Thus, we studied its toxicity in both Sprague-Dawley rats and beagle dogs. Rats (0-900mg/kg/day) and dogs (0-450mg/kg/day) received CMS-1 orally for 30 consecutive days, followed by a 15-day recovery period. The major target organs of CMS-1 toxicity are the GI (inappetence), liver (hepatocellular necrosis, enzyme elevation), thymus (atrophy), cardiovascular (hypotension), changes in ECG T and P waveforms, elevation of nitrous oxide levels and hematological (RBC parameters disturbances) systems. Most treatment-induced adverse effects were reversible or showed a progressive recovery upon discontinuation of the treatment. The No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) was 100mg/kg/day for rats and 50mg/kg/day for dogs. This non-clinical study suggests that clinical monitoring of CMS-1 in patients should focus on the gastrointestinal system, blood tests for liver functions, electrolytes, and blood homeostasis, cardiovascular functions, and immune functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) Raman spectra of (NH4)2SO4droplets deposited on a quartz substrate were obtained from dilute to supersaturated states upon decreasing the relative humidity (RH). When the molar water-to-solute ratio (WSR) decreases from 16.8 to 3.2, the v1-SO42-band changes very little, that is, showing a red-shift of only about 1 cm-1(from 979.9 to 978.8 cm-1) and an increase of its full width at half-maximum (fwhm) from 8.3 to 9.8 cm-1. Other vibration modes such as v2- and v4-SO42-bands appear almost constantly at 452 and 615 cm-1. Such kind of a spectroscopic characteristic is different from previous observation on other cations, indicating that the interactions between SO42-and NH4in supersaturated states are similar to those between SO42-and H2O in dilute states. After fitting the Raman spectra with Gaussian functions in the spectral range of 2400−4000 cm-1, we successfully extracted six components at positions of 2878.7, 3032.1, 3115.0, 3248.9, 3468.4, and 3628.8 cm-1, respectively. The first three components are assigned to the second overtone of NH4umbrella bending, the combination band of NH4umbrella bending and rocking vibrations, and the NH4symmetric stretching vibration, while the latter three components are from the strongly, weakly, and slightly hydrogen-bonded components of water molecules, respectively. With a decrease of the RH, the proportion of the strongly hydrogen-bonded components increases, while that of the weakly hydrogen-bonded components decreases in the droplets. The coexistence of strongly, weakly, and slightly hydrogen-bonded water molecules must hint at a similar hydrogen-bonding network of NH4, SO42-, and H2O to that of pure liquid water in supersaturated (NH4)2SO4droplets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endemic fluorosis has been regarded as a severe public health issue in China since the 1960s and was listed in the management of major endemic diseases in 1979 by the former Ministry of Health. According to the different high fluoride sources, endemic fluorosis consists of three types, i.e., drinking water type, coal-burning type, and drinking brick-tea type. The latter two types only exist extensively in China. Based on the latest statistical report in 2017, the drinking water type endemic fluorosis is present in 77,290 villages, in 1,039 counties in 28 provinces, and affects 68,120,000 people; the coal-burning type endemic fluorosis affects 8,6000,000 households, in 171 counties in 12 provinces, and affects 30,650,000 people. The drinking brick-tea type endemic fluorosis is prevalent in 7 western ethnic provinces, affecting 13,100,000 people in 13,230 villages, in 229 counties. Actions to reduce the fluoride intake are the fundamental measures for the prevention and control of endemic fluorosis. The basic effective measure for controlling drinking water type endemic fluorosis is changing to a low fluoride water source and/or the defluoridation of drinking water. Endemic fluorosis caused by pollution from burning coal is managed by comprehensive prevention based both on health education and the use of more efficient stoves. The reduction of the fluoride content in brick tea is of fundamental importance for controlling the drinking brick-tea type fluorosis. China's Fluoride Content of Brick Tea, the first national health standard of its kind in the world published in 2005, requires that the fluoride content of brick tea should be no more than 300 mg/kg. From the 1960s, scattered tentative efforts to change water supplies were carried out only in parts of the provinces experiencing serious endemic fluorosis. From 1980s, supplies designed to provide low-fluoride water were carried out throughout China. In 1987-1989, the results of pilot projects to control coalburning type fluorosis in the Yangtze Three Gorges provided the foundation for the full implementation of control measures all over the country. In this new century, China's government attaches great importance to the prevention and control of endemic fluorosis. Supported by special central funds from the Ministry of Health, the distribution of high fluoride water sources and the prevalence of drinking tea type fluorosis were investigated in detail and comprehensive measures for the control of coal-burning fluorosis were fully implemented. At the same time, plans for water improvement for the control of endemic disease in the western regions, the National Eleventh Five-year Plan, and the Twelfth Five-year Plan for the construction of safe drinking water projects in rural areas were carried out successively by the Ministry of Water Resources, which promote in a major way the progress for the control of drinking water fluorosis in China. At the present time, great achievements have been achieved for the prevention and control of endemic fluorosis in China. A total 595 drinking water fluorosis counties, out of 1039, and 146 coal-burning fluorosis counties, out of 171, have reached the control standard. However, the low-fluoride brick tea was able to be accessed in only 10% of the total drinking brick-tea type of fluorosis villages evaluated. Effort should be taken to promote the popularization of low-fluoride brick tea in endemic areas. Meanwhile, surveillance and evaluation should and will be continued in the areas with all three types of endemic fluorosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Middle and early Late Triassic of southern China is well known for a remarkable diversity of marine vertebrates, particularly reptiles, including an abundance of intriguing new forms (e.g., Jiang et al., 2005; Hu et al., 2011; Li et al., 2016). Here we describe a new diapsid from Yunnan Province. It possesses an elongate neck that exhibits a remarkable similarity to that of many Protorosauria, yet in other respects the skull and postcranium are much less derived. The new taxon is part of the so-called Panxian-Luoping Fauna and the deposits correspond to the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation, comprising thin to medium bedded, gray to dark-gray laminated marly limestone and limestone, with several layers of bentonite intercalated in the fossil level at Panxian (Wan, 2002; Motani et al., 2008; Jiang et al., 2009). Their age is Pelsonian (middle Anisian, Middle Triassic) as is indicated by the conodont Nicoraella kockeli Zone (Sun et al., 2006; Zhang et al., 2009). A recent U-Pb study indicates the absolute age of these middle Anisian beds to be close to 244 Ma (Wang et al., 2014). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NLRP3 inflammasome (NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3) is an intracellular protein complex that plays an important role in innate immune sensing. Its activation leads to the maturation of caspase-1 and regulates the cleavage of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. Various studies have shown that activation of the immune system plays a pivotal role in the development of fatigue. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between immune activation and fatigue remained elusive, and few reports have described the involvement of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in fatigue. Methods: We established a mouse fatigue model with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 3 mg/kg) challenge combined with swim stress. Both behavioural and biochemical parameters were measured to illustrate the characteristics of this model. We also assessed NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the mouse diencephalon, which is the brain region that has been suggested to be responsible for fatigue sensation. To further identify the role of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the pathogenesis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), NLRP3 KO mice were also subjected to LPS treatment and swim stress, and the same parameters were evaluated. Results: Mice challenged with LPS and subjected to the swim stress test showed decreased locomotor activity, decreased fall-off time in a rota-rod test and increased serum levels of IL-1β and IL-6 compared with untreated mice. Serum levels of lactic acid and malondialdehyde (MDA) were not significantly altered in the treated mice. We demonstrated increased NLRP3 expression, IL-1β production and caspase-1 activation in the diencephalons of the treated mice. In NLRP3 KO mice, we found remarkably increased locomotor activity with longer fall-off times and decreased serum IL-1β levels compared with those of wild-type (WT) mice after LPS challenge and the swim stress test. IL-1β levels in the diencephalon were also significantly decreased in the NLRP3 KO mice. By contrast, IL-6 levels were not significantly altered. Conclusions: These findings suggest that LPS-induced fatigue is an IL-1β-dependent process and that the NLRP3/ caspase-1 pathway is involved in the mechanisms of LPS-induced fatigue behaviours. NLRP3/caspase-1 inhibition may be a promising therapy for fatigue treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple method on fabricating a novel structure of microlens-micromirrors array (MMA) with 100% fill factor and smooth surface profile is presented. The MMA has a special structure, which has a microlens array with foot diameter of 35 μm on the upper layer and a micromirrors array with top width of 50 μm and bottom width of 30 μm on the lower layer. These two arrays are connected by a thin layer of silicon. The new structure has potential to integrate with infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs). An analytical optical model is established and experimentally verified; results show that all of the incident infrared lights within a certain range can be absorbed by the photosensitive surface of IRFPAs with this structure. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:879-884, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26722 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chronic effects low-dose 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) were examined on protein expression profiles in rat testis, sperm, and serum gonadal hormones. A total of 32 male rats were randomly divided into three TCDD-exposed groups, administered either 140, 350, or 875 ng TCDD/kg/week for 29 weeks, respectively, and one control group receiving only corn oil. The proteins from rat testis were separated and analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. TCDD induced significant decreases in sperm counts and serum gonadal hormone levels compared with controls. TCDD altered testicular protein expression levels. Several interesting volume-altered proteins that were related to the reproductive toxicities or other toxicities of TCDD were identified. Among these proteins, PERF15 was the only down-regulated protein; sperm protein SSP411, ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L-3, and eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 gamma were up-regulated by TCDD. The differentially expressed proteins and other data provide further insight into the mechanisms of reproductive toxicity mediated by low-dose TCDD exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the investigation of the phase separation of individual seawater droplets in the efflorescence processes with the spatially resolved Raman system. Upon decreasing the relative humidity (RH), CaSO4·0.5H2O separated out foremost from the droplet at an unexpectedly high RH of ∼90%. Occasionally, CaSO4· 2H2O substituted for CaSO4·0.5H2O crystallizing first at ∼78% RH. Relatively large NaCl solids followed to crystallize at ∼55% RH and led to the great loss of the solution. Then, the KMgCl3·6H2O crystallites separated out from the residual solutions, adjacent to NaCl at ∼44% RH. Moreover, a shell structure of dried sea salt particle was found to form at low RHs, with the NaCl crystals in the core and minor supersaturated solutions covered with MgSO4 gel coating on the surface. Ultimately, the shielded solution partly effloresced into MgSO4 hydrates at very dry state (<5% RH). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a new strategy for single supersaturated droplet analysis, i.e., the complicated hygroscopic properties of MgSO4 aerosols under supersaturated state were studied through the micro-Raman observation on an individual MgSO4 droplet deposited on a quartz substrate in a relative-humidity-controlled chamber. Upon reduction of the ambient relative humidity (RH), MgSO4 droplets with tiny volume lost water but did not effloresce. Thus, a detailed spectral evolution of the symmetric stretching vibration band (v1-SO4²-) from free ions (at ∼983 cm-1) to monodentate (∼995 cm-1) and then to bidentate contact ion pairs (CIPs) or more complex chain-structural compositions (∼1021 cm-1) was observed with the high signal-to-noise (S/N) confocal Raman spectra of the droplet with a diameter of ∼80 microns. Such a transition process could be well-described by the changes of relative intensity at 983, 995, and 1021 cm-1. Four steps, i.e., concentrated step, monodentate CIPs step, bidentate CIPs step, and gel step, were roughly observed in the dehumidifying-humidifying cycle according to the intensity ratios of I995/I983 and I1021 /I983. Even though the area ratio of the O-H stretching band of water molecules to the v1-SO4²- band seemed reversible in the dehumidifying and humidifying processes, the intensity ratios of I995/ I983 and I1021/I983 showed a hysteresis in the decomposition of CIPs in the humidifying process with the RH < 40%. The O-H stretching envelope of the MgSO4 droplet was also observed to be sensitive to the structural changes of the hydrogen bonding of water molecules in the four steps. The intensity ratio of Raman scattering for the components with strong hydrogen bonds to those with weak ones, i.e., I3224/I3431, was used to understand the effects of CIPs on the water structures of the first hydration layer of Mg²+. Good consistency on the hysteresis in the humidifying process was also observed from the ratio of I3224/I3431 changing with RH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]