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In this paper, a highly catalytic and nanosized Ag/Co3O4 composite for rhodamine B(RhB) degradation was fabricated by using the co-precipitation method at room temperature. The Ag/Co3O4 structure and catalytic properties were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) gas-sorption measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results showed that the Co3O4 nanosheets prepared by hydrothermal synthesis mainly exposed (2 2 0) and (1 1 1) facets, which played an important role in determining its catalytic oxidation performance. The Co3O4 nanosheets doped with Ag nanoparticles by a simple silver-mirror reaction exhibited a stable and well-dispersed property in dye solution. Compared to the Ag and Co3O4 nanostructure, the Ag nanoparticles with bigger diameter (10 nm) on Co3O4 surface also readily produced surface-active oxygen species and exhibited a higher catalytic activity for the degradation of RhB solution (5 mg ⋅ L-1) under the visible light. The kinetic constant K of Ag/Co3O4 catalyst for RhB degradation reaction was evaluated to 0.02724 min-1, which is relatively higher than those reported in the literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using allylamine monomer, a matrix of nanocones was fabricated by applying a low-temperature plasma plume without any catalysts and template. This nanocone acted as an adhesion layer immobilizing DNA probe for DNA hybridization assay. A simple conceptual model to describe the growth of the nanocones was also developed. The highest density of amino-labeled DNA probe was about 1.6 pM/cm2 confirmed by the dyed oligonucleotide, and each nanocone contained nearly 3×102 amine groups. This strategy provides a robust procedure to immobilize DNA, which is a very useful substrate for fabricating nanobiosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the formation process of natural thundershowers, we fabricated an organic nanocone matrix-like bamboo-shoot by using atmospheric plasma polymerization in the absence of any catalyst or template. The discharging characteristics affected the nanocone shape and distribution in an obvious way. The nanocones prepared by helium (He) plasma were about 120 nm in diameter and 80 nm high. The nanostructured surface acted as an adhesion layer immobilizing DNA probes for DNA hybridization assay. The density of NH2-DNA probes prepared by He, argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N2) plasma was confirmed by the dyed oligonucleotide and was found to be 3.2, 1.0 and 0.6 pM cm[?]2, respectively. Each nanocone prepared by helium plasma contains nearly 4 × 102 amine groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Rhizomes from Dioscorea collettii are extensively used in traditional medicine for the treatment of arthritic diseases, particularly gouty arthritis (GA). This study aims to investigate whether the total saponin of Dioscorea collettii (TSD) can attenuate monosodium urate (MSU) crystal-induced inflammatory effects by suppressing the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in vivo and in vitro. Methods. Seventy-two male Wistar rats and THP-1 cells were used in this study. Pathological examination was used to examine the ankle joints of rats. The expression levels of TLR4, NF-κB, MyD88, and IL-1β were detected by qRT-PCR, Western blotting, or immunofluorescence. Results. Compared with those in the normal group, the ankle joints of rats in the model group exhibited significant swelling, synovial tissue hyperplasia, inflammatory cell infiltration, and increased expression of IL-1β protein. The joint swelling degree of rats in the TSD high- and medium-dose groups and the colchicine group was significantly decreased, and the histopathology was obviously improved. TSD and colchicine reduced the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in synovial fluid. They also decreased the mRNA expression of TLR4, NF-κB, and IL-1β in rat joint synovial tissue and the protein expression of TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB. NF-κB protein expression in both the cytoplasm and nuclei of THP-1 cells showed the opposite trend. Furthermore, immunofluorescence showed that TSD reduced the nuclear translocation of NF-κBp65 in the model group. Conclusion. TSD exhibits an anti-inflammatory effect in the MSU-induced inflammation model, and the mechanism may be to reduce the production of cytokines by inhibiting the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) family proteins are considered to be epigenetic readers that regulate gene expression by recognizing acetyl lysine residues on histones and nonhistone chromatin factors and have been classified as curative targets for a variety of cancers. Glioma-initiating cells (GICs), which commit self-renewal, perpetual proliferation, multidirectional differentiation, and vigorous tumorigenicity, sustain the peculiar genetic and epigenetic diversification in the GBM patients, thus, GICs result in tumor recurrence. Abundant evidence demonstrates that BET proteins regulate differentiation of stem cells. However, it endures ambiguous how individual BET proteins take part in GIC advancement, and how do small molecule inhibitors like I-BET151 target functional autonomous BET proteins. Here, we validated that BRD4, not BRD2 or BRD3, has value in targeted glioma therapy. We announce a signaling pathway concerning BRD4 and Notch1 that sustains the self-renewal of GICs. Moreover, in-depth mechanistic research showed that BRD4 was concentrated at the promoter region of Notch1 and may be involved in the process of tumor metabolism. Furthermore, in intracranial models, I-BET151 eliminated U87 GICs' tumorigenicity. The outcomes of this research could be conducive to design clinical trials for treatment of glioma based on BRD4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total saponins extracted from Dioscorea collettii (TSD), extracts of the Chinese herb Dioscorea, are thought to exhibit therapeutic benefit in gouty arthritis. However, its exact mechanism remains unclear. The current study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms by investigating the effects of TSD on the inflammation induced by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in THP-1 macrophages. The viability of THP-1 macrophages was examined using the MTT assay and the levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL- 18 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, released by the cells were quantitatively measured using ELISA kits. The results revealed that the protein level of cluster of differentiation 11b increased in THP-1 cells treated with 100 ng/ml phorbol ester, suggesting that monocytic THP-1 cells were successfully differentiated into macrophages. TSD decreased the levels of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-a, IL- 18 and IL- 1ß, secreted by THP-1 macrophages. As the release of IL-1ß and IL- 18 is dependent on the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NALP3) inflammasome and caspase-1, the current study investigated the effect of TSD on the aforementioned proteins. The results revealed that TSD decreased the protein levels of NALP3 and apoptosis-associated speck-like, which serve important roles in the assembly of the NALP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, NALP3 inflammasome-related proteins were also decreased by TSD in rotenone induced THP-1 macrophages, TSD inhibited the activation of caspase-1 and rotenone-induced NALP3 inflammasome activation in THP-1 macrophages. The results obtained in the current study revealed that TSD attenuated MSU crystal-induced inflammation by inhibiting rotenone-induced activation of the NALP3 inflammasome and caspase-1, suggesting that these two proteins may be novel targets for the treatment of gouty arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we reported a recyclable and highly active porous catalyst of titanate nanowires (TNWs) coated with well-distributed Co3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) (Co3O4/TNWs). Sodium ions of TNWs were exchanged with hydrogen ions in the dilute nitric acid, and this protocol was very suitable for capturing cobalt ions. X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated the existence of Co3O4 phase with unique lattice planes, such as (220), (311) and (511). Electron microscopes (FE-SEM and TEM) indicated that the Co3O4 NPs with an average diameter of 22±3nm were coated uniformly on TNWs surface (average diameter: 37±5.5nm), and the Co3O4 NPs mainly exposed their (220) and (222) active planes. XPS analysis confirms the formation of Co3O4 phase by the presence of Co 2p peaks at 780.1eV (2p 3/2) and 795.5eV (2p 1/2). Methylene blue (MB) and other organic dyes (rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO)) were chosen as target compounds for catalytic degradation under indoor scattering light. Compared to the original Co3O4/TNWs catalyst, the catalytic efficiency of nanoscaled catalyst with oxone for MB was about 15 times higher, and the MB solution (10mgL-1) was completely degraded within 8min. The catalytic activity of recycled catalyst used in the sixth run still remained very active, and the degradation time for MB was only 16min. The nanosized catalyst also had a high activity for dyes of RhB (10mgL-1) and MO (10mgL-1), as the degradation efficiencies of RhB and MO after 10min of contact time were about 90.2% and 92.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a fast, versatile and adaptive-multiscale algorithm for analyzing a wide-variety of DNA microarray data. Its primary application is in normalization of array data as well as subsequent identification of ‘enriched targets’, e.g. differentially expressed genes in expression profiling arrays and enriched sites in ChIP-on-chip experimental data.We show how to accommodate the unique characteristics of ChIP-on-chip data, where the set of ‘enriched targets’ is large, asymmetric and whose proportion to the whole data varies locally.Contact:lerman@umn.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary figures, related preprint, free software as well as our raw DNA microarray data with PCR validations are available at http://www.math.umn.edu/~lerman/supp/bioinfo06 as well as Bioinformatics online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]