Search

A cast-free approach is described to fabricate an implant-supported interim restoration by using the postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan to locate the placed implant. A postoperative intraoral scan was aligned to the postoperative CBCT scan through a dental implant planning software program. An attached interim abutment and implant analog complex was then scanned and superimposed on the placed implant in the postoperative CBCT scan. Once the best alignment was achieved, a virtual cast was generated, and an interim restoration with bilateral positioning wings was fabricated on the interim abutment and inserted during the second-stage surgery. This technique offers a cast-free approach to inserting an implant-supported interim restoration immediately after the second-stage surgery to guide the healing of the soft tissue that can minimize chairside time and optimize the clinical workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Discrete element method study on sand-tyre chips (STCh) with different tyre chip orientations is presented. • Rigorous calibration procedures for obtaining the microscopic parameters of STCh mixtures are presented. • The discrepancy in the reinforcement mechanism of different oriented tyre chips from a micromechanical viewpoint was studied. • It provides a theoretical reference for the design of scrap tyre chips in geotechnological application. Sand-tyre chips (STCh) mixtures are emerging civil engineering materials that have been widely studied and applied. In the sand-tyre chips system, the mechanical behavior of sand matrix is improved attributed to the excellent property of tyres. However, the effect of tyre chip orientation for STCh mixtures is not fully appreciated, especially from the microscopic scale. In this paper, the microscopic behaviors of STCh mixtures with different orientation tyre chips were investigated employing the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The tyre chips model was constructed with sufficient consideration and the microscopic parameters of STCh model were confirmed by the calibration procedure. Simulation results illustrate that horizontal tyre chips more effectively enhance the mechanical properties of mixtures. The visualization of the specimen shows that the orientation of tyre chips can influence the evolution of system contact network, formation of shear band, and bulging deformation of specimen. The microscopic mechanism including the composition of strong contacts, coordination number, average normal contact force, sliding and rolling, energy storage and dissipation, and the tensile force in tyre chips were studied to evaluate the discrepancies of different orientation tyre chips. The mechanism of the reinforcement for tyre chips can receive further understanding from this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turfy soil is a special soil with numerous undecomposed plant fibers and humus, which can be considered a soil-fiber mixture. In this paper, the macro-mesoscopic dynamic responses of turfy soil subjected to multilevel cyclic loading with different waveforms (triangular, square, sinusoidal) were investigated employing the discrete element method (DEM). The microscopic parameters of the DEM model were confirmed by laboratory tests and calibration procedures. The hysteresis between the applied and measured stress on the loading plates was discussed to determine the appropriate frequency before simulation. Macroscopically, the discrepancies, including the velocity of the loading plates, the deformation of the specimen, and sample size effect were investigated under these three waveform loadings. Microscopically, the differences in energy, coordination number, average normal contact force between pure and turfy soil, internal force alternation and bending degree of fibers in turfy soil were studied to disclose the discrepancies in macroscopic behaviors with different waveforms. Simulation results illustrate that square waveforms can excite the support of the soil matrix by plant fibers in turfy soil to a greater extent. This study is beneficial for further understanding the mechanical behaviors of soil-fiber mixtures under the action of different forms of cyclic loads in safety engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Components of Amomum tsaoko essential oil (ATEO) were characterized. • ATEO showed excellent anti-inflammatory activity of LPS-induced RAW246.7 cell. • ATEO can inhibit the release of inflammatory factors and chemokines. • ATEO can inhibit iNOS/COX-2 signaling pathway. Amomum Tsaoko Crevost et Lemarie is a kind of spices and traditional Chinese medicines with great commercial value. Traditional treatment often uses essential oils from Amomum Tsaoko in aromatherapy. In this study, researchers analyzed the composition of steam-distilled essential oil from Amomum tsaoko (ATEO) and evaluated its potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. GC–MS identified a total of 33 volatile compounds, the majority of which were alcohol (1,8-cineole and nerol) and aldehyde ((2 E)-2-decenal) compounds. Additionally, ATEO showed great anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. ATEO markedly inhibited the nitric oxide (NO) release, and decreased the expression level of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, ATEO significantly reduced the expression of iNOS, COX-2, NF-κB p-p65 and p-ERK. These results suggested that ATEO has great anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells, which will facilitate the development of ATEO as a functional food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause premature skin aging. Ishigoside (IGS) is a new glyceroglycolipid compound isolated from brown algal Ishige okamurae , However, whether it can protect the skin from (Ultraviolet-B) UVB damage has not been illuminated. The in vitro anti -photoaging effect of IGS was conducted in UVB-induced HaCaT. The HaCaT cells were divided into the following five groups: (1) cells didn't suffer from UVB irradiation or IGS treatment. (2–5) Cells were treated with various concentrations of IGS (0, 10, 50, and 100 μ M) and irradiated by 40 mJ/cm2 UVB. The Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) of photoaging process was determined by ELISA kits and the latent interaction between IGS and MMP was further performed by molecular docking. The crucial signaling pathway proteins involved in the collagen synthesis and degradation were subsequently evaluated by Western blotting, immunofluorescence and EMSA. IGS effectively suppresses the high expressions and secretions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and photo-inflammation by blocking MAPKs, AP-1 and NF-κB. Meanwhile, increasing antioxidant enzyme expression. Molecular docking results suggest that inhibition of IGS on MMPs may be attributed to its hydrogen supply and hydrophobic capacity. In addition, IGS enhanced procollagen production by upregulating the TGF-β/Smad pathways. IGS exhibited anti -photoaging activity in UVB-damage HaCaT. These effects might be a contribution by its suppression of MMPs expression via MAPKs, AP-1 and NF-κB pathway and have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, IGS has the great potential to become skin-care products or functional foods for preventing skin photoaging. [Display omitted] • Ishigoside is the functional ingredient of edible brown algae Ishige Okamurae. • Photoprotectant ishigoside has the potential to develop into healthy food. • Ishigoside reduced matrix metalloproteinases expression and alleviate inflammation via affecting the MAPK/AP-1 and NF-κB pathways. • Ishigoside can inhibitory binding with MMPs by molecular docking analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia is associated with reduced numbers of spines and dendrites from layer III of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the layer that houses the recurrent excitatory microcircuits that subserve working memory and abstract thought. Why are these synapses so vulnerable, while synapses in deeper or more superficial layers are little affected? This review describes the special molecular properties that govern layer III neurotransmission and neuromodulation in the primate dlPFC and how they may render these circuits particularly vulnerable to genetic and environmental insults. These properties include a reliance on NMDA receptor rather than AMPA receptor neurotransmission; cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) magnification of calcium signaling near the glutamatergic synapse of dendritic spines; and potassium channels opened by cAMP/PKA (protein kinase A) signaling that dynamically alter network strength, with built-in mechanisms to take dlPFC "offline" during stress. A variety of genetic and/or environmental insults can lead to the same phenotype of weakened layer III connectivity, in which mechanisms that normally strengthen connectivity are impaired and those that normally weaken connectivity are intensified. Inflammatory mechanisms, such as increased kynurenic acid and glutamate carboxypeptidase II expression, are especially detrimental to layer III dlPFC neurotransmission and modulation, mimicking genetic insults. The combination of genetic and inflammatory insults may cross the threshold into pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MMP-1, -3 and -9 were reduced by Trehalose. • Anti-photoaging effect via affected the MAPKs, AP-1 and NF-κB pathways. • Enhance procollagen I content via TGF-β/Smad pathways. • Trehalose has a therapeutic effectiveness in prevention of UVB. Ultraviolet radiation B cause photoaging of the skin by enhancing the high expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to degrade collagen and inhibit the synthesis of procollagen. Trehalose (TRE), a widely occurring natural disaccharide, has been shown to play a cytoprotective role in many pathological processes. However, few studies have evaluated whether it has anti-photoaging potential. In this study, we investigated the anti-photoaging and mechanism of action of TRE using Human immortalized keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells. The results indicated that TRE pretreatment effectively scavenges reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation induced by UVB and increases the content of certain endogenous antioxidant factors in HaCaT cells. TRE suppressed UVB-induced MMP expression by blocking mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), activator protein 1 (AP-1) and NF-κB signaling. TRE treatment increased procollagen I synthesis via activating transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad pathway and demonstrated that TRE may be a potential natural disaccharide for photoaging therapy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A glycoprotein (SGP1) was isolated from Sipunculus nudus for the first time. • SGP1 is a protein-dominate glycoprotein with O-glycosidic bonds containing 92.8% protein. • SGP1 was a predominantly β-sheet glycoprotein. • SGP1 exhibited strong immune-enhancing activity by promoting proliferation, phagocytosis and the secretions of NO, IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 on RAW264.7 cells. • SGP1 exerts immune-enhancing activity via NF-κB signaling pathway. Sipunculus nudus , an edible marine invertebrate, has long been used as traditional Chinese medicine in folk remedies. In order to assess the immunoregulatory activity of glycoproteins in Sipunculus nudus and conduct a structure–activity relationship, a glycoprotein (SGP1) with molecular mass of 9.26 kDa was purified from Sipunculus nudus , and its chemical structure as well as immune-enhancing activity was investigated in this study. Structure analysis revealed that SGP1, a protein-dominate glycoprotein with O-glycosidic bonds, contained 92.8 % protein and 3.1 % saccharide. GC–MS result indicated that the saccharide moieties of SGP1 basically consisted of lyxose (Lyx), xylose (Xyl) as well as glucose (Glu) at a molar proportion of 0.87:4.16:1.36. The fourier transform infrared specoscopy (FT-IR) result proved that SGP1 have a typical characteristic of glycoprotein. Besides, circular dichroism (CD) result showed that SGP1 contained 4.1 % α-helix, 42.5 % β-sheet, 21.4 % β-turn, and 32.0 % random coil, indicating it's mainly a β-sheet glycoprotein. The amino acid sequence of SGP1 shared a similarity to the Myohemerythrin (sp|Q5K473|HEMTM) with protein sequence coverage of 28.3 %. Moreover, the activity evaluation results showed that SGP1 exhibited significant immune-enhancing activity to the RAW 264.7 macrophages by promoting macrophages proliferation, enhancing phagocytic capacity, and simultaneously stimulating the secretions of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) via NF-κB pathways. In this study, SGP1 as a novel glycoprotein had an obvious immune-enhancing activity to macrophages, and thus could be applied in the functional foods as a potential immunopotentiator for the hypoimmune population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil washing with green eluent is an efficient technique to remediate heavy metal contaminated farmland. In addition to eluent, less is known about the roles of accompanying ions on heavy metal removal. We investigated the effects of accompanying ions including Fe3+, Mn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Si4+ and PO 4 3− on the desorption of Pb2+ and Cd2+ in paddy and arid soils using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and polyepoxysuccinic acid as eluents. The release rates of target and accompanying ions showed significant fast and slow reaction stages based on corresponding analysis and kinetic models. In fast reaction stage, Pb2+ and Cd2+ performed geochemical analogy with Ca2+, Mg2+ and PO 4 3−. The release curves of these ions were fitted well with Elovich model, indicating that they released from oxysalt surface into solution via ion exchange, and dissolution of Fe/Mn/Al/Si (hydr)oxides through H+- and ligand-promoted dissolution. In slow reaction stage, Pb2+ and Cd2+ were related to Fe3+, Mn2+, Al3+ and Si4+, which were controlled by intraparticle diffusion process. H+ slowly diffused into interlayer of phyllosilicates to displace target and accompanying ions by ion exchange. Therefore, this research filled the gap of accompanying ions driving the release behavior of heavy metal ions during leaching. [Display omitted] • Fast-slow reaction stages of ions were indicated by correspondence analysis. • Pb2+ and Cd2+ have geochemical analogy with Ca2+, Mg2+, PO 4 3− in fast reaction stage. • Pb2+ and Cd2+ fast released from soil oxysalt surface and dissolution of (hydr)oxide. • H+ entered phyllosilicate interlayer to displace target ions and Fe3+/Mn2+/Al3+/Si4+. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] This article presents the synthetic methods of double-bonded azacycles and their applications as bioisosteres in drug discovery. Our focus was on the creation of fragment (2) (1,1′,4,4′-tetrahydro-2H,2′H-3,3′-biazetylidene) and its utilization as a bioisostere in compound (34). The analysis of how FT-4202 (etavopivat), a new activator of the pyruvate kinase, and compound (34) bind with the PKR protein showed comparable interactions with the adjacent amino acids. Through biochemical and cellular evaluations, it was also demonstrated that the activities of compound (34) and its analogs align well with FT-4202. This finding points to the promising prospect of utilizing fragment (2) as a bioisostere for fragment (1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unfrozen water content (ω u) is an important parameter affecting the hydrothermal-mechanical characteristics of soil and is of important significance with regard to engineering construction and environmental effects in cold regions. In this study, a widely-distributed special humus soil called turfy soil, with poor engineering geological properties, from seasonally frozen regions of northeastern China was investigated. Soil fundamental properties were determined, and ω u under various temperatures during a freeze–thaw process was measured by the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method. Based on NMR theory and transverse relaxation time (T 2) distribution curves, two thresholds were determined to divide the types of pore water in soil. Soil freezing characteristic curves (SFCC) of the total and pore water were drawn, and changes in the internal microstructure and pore characteristics of the soil during the freeze–thaw process were analyzed. The results showed that a drastic phase change within the soil occurs during −2 °C to −4 °C, and the freezing process can be divided into three stages. The formation of small pores and the connection of large pores make the soil looser after freeze–thaw. The division of pore water and variation in ω u show that freezing starts from large pores, while thawing starts from small pores. The capillary water content significantly decreases after freeze–thaw, and the bulk water content tends to increase. At freezing Stage I, ω u is closely related to the initial properties of the soil, whereas ω u at −3 °C almost determines the value of ω u during subsequent freeze–thaw. Finally, a ω u -power function for turfy soil was proposed, and good fitting results were obtained for both freezing and thawing soil. This work can serve as the basis of studies on soil with high organic matter content as well as soil unfrozen water content during freeze–thaw cycles in cold regions. • Two T 2 cutoffs were determined to identify the pore water types of turfy soil. • Capillary water within turfy soil decreased significantly after freeze–thaw. • Pores formed and larger pores connected due to frost heaving after freeze–thaw. • ω u after drastic phase change affected ω u during the freeze–thaw process. • ω u parameterization considering of turfy soil properties showed good effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Converting solar energy into hydrogen production is a promising approach to tackle the energy crisis. However, developing excellent photocatalytic materials with properties of positive visible light response, high efficiency and photostability remain a great challenge. Herein, we developed a one-photon excitation path system by coupling 3D ZnIn 2 S 4 micro-flowers with 0D CoS 2 nanoparticles for hydrogen evolution, with an optimal hydrogen evolution rate of 22.24 mmol h−1 g−1. The systematic characterizations and DFT calculations disclose that the improved performance is ascribed to the construction of 0D/3D with multi-reflection and exposed reaction sites, as well as the incorporation of CoS 2 and ZIS via a one-photon excitation pathway, achieving the acceleration of photoinduced charge separation and transfer. This work shed light on the design of 0D/3D photocatalysts with high hydrogen evolution performance via a one-photon excitation pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]