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Exploring highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is important for industrial water electrolysis, especially under high current densities (>1 A cm−2). High‐entropy alloy (HEA) with high surface OER activity and excellent electrical conductivity of the core is an ideal route to improve the catalytic activity. Herein, a combined theoretical and experimental approach to establish core–shell FeCoNiMoAl‐based HEA as a promising OER electrocatalyst is presented. Theoretical calculations combined with structure analyses indicate crystalline–amorphous (c–a) heterostructure of shell reduces the electron transfer resistance and generates more active sites, furthermore the crystalline core improves the conductivity and self‐supporting ability. HEA electrodes demonstrate superior OER performance with an overpotential (η) of 470 mV at 2 A cm−2 and no apparent degradation even after 330 h of continuous testing, notably, for overall water splitting the stability is more than 120 h at 2.06 V. The special core–shell structure achieves a win–win strategy for high OER activity and stability. These findings shed light on the structural design of HEA electrocatalysts and present a promising route to achieve highly efficient electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis and relevant energy conversion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although fossil‐based plastic products have many attractive characteristics, their production has led to severe environmental burdens that require immediate solutions. Despite these plastics being non‐natural chemical compounds, they can be degraded and metabolized by some microorganisms, which suggests the potential application of biotechnologies based on the mechanism of plastic biodegradation. In this context, microbe‐based strategies for the degradation, recycling, and valorization of plastic waste offer a feasible approach for alleviating environmental challenges created by the accumulation of plastic waste. This Minireview highlights recent advances in the biotechnology‐based biodegradation of both traditional polymers and bio‐based plastics, focusing on the mechanisms of biodegradation. From an application perspective, this Minireview also summarizes recent progress in the recycling and valorization of plastic waste, which are feasible solutions for tackling the plastic waste dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiglitazar (CHI) is a potent and selective peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor potentially for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). An open‐label, randomized, 3‐period crossover and self‐controlled study was conducted to investigate drug‐drug interaction potential between CHI and metformin hydrochloride (MET). Eligible subjects received a single oral dose of CHI (48 mg), MET (1000 mg), or a combination in each period, followed by serial blood sampling collected for up to 48 hours postdose, and safety was assessed throughout the trial. The area under the plasma concentration‐time curves from time 0 to 48 hours (AUC0‐48 h) of CHI was similar following administration alone or with MET (AUC0‐48h, 12 540 ng·h/mL [9811‐15 269 ng·h/mL] vs 12 130 ng·h/mL [9304‐14 956 ng·h/mL]; 90% confidence interval [CI] of its geometric mean ratio [GMR], 89.7%–103.8%), whereas the maximum concentration (Cmax) of CHI was reduced during coadministration, as its 90%CI of the GMR was slightly outside the acceptance range for bioequivalence (Cmax, 1620 ng/mL [1418‐1822 ng/mL] vs 1420 ng/mL [1049‐1791 ng/mL], 90%CI GMR, 77.%‐94.1%). However, it was not considered clinically meaningful. The MET exposures remained consistent in the absence or presence of CHI (AUC0‐48 h, 12 570 ng·h/mL [10681‐14 459 ng·h/mL] vs 13 190 [10973‐15 407 ng·h/mL); 90%CI of GMR: 99.1%‐110.5%; Cmax, 1790 ng/mL [1448–2132 ng/mL] vs 1820 ng/mL [1510‐2130 ng/mL]; 90%CI of GMR, 94.2%–110.9%). No moderate to severe adverse events were reported. Our study indicated no clinically significant pharmacokinetic drug‐drug interaction between CHI and MET and demonstrated good tolerance in subjects. These results support future application of CHI in combination with MET for treatment of T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although inhibitors targeting tumor angiogenic pathway have provided improvement for clinical treatment in patients with various solid tumors, the still very limited anti-cancer efficacy and acquired drug resistance demand new agents that may offer better clinical benefits. In the effort to find a small molecule potentially targeting several key pathways for tumor development, we designed, discovered and evaluated a novel multi-kinase inhibitor, CS2164. CS2164 inhibited the angiogenesis-related kinases ( VEGFR2, VEGFR1, VEGFR3, PDGFRα and c-Kit), mitosis-related kinase Aurora B and chronic inflammation-related kinase CSF-1R in a high potency manner with the IC50 at a single-digit nanomolar range. Consequently, CS2164 displayed anti-angiogenic activities through suppression of VEGFR/ PDGFR phosphorylation, inhibition of ligand-dependent cell proliferation and capillary tube formation, and prevention of vasculature formation in tumor tissues. CS2164 also showed induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest and suppression of cell proliferation in tumor tissues through the inhibition of Aurora B-mediated H3 phosphorylation. Furthermore, CS2164 demonstrated the inhibitory effect on CSF-1R phosphorylation that led to the suppression of ligand-stimulated monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and reduced CSF-1R+ cells in tumor tissues. The in vivo animal efficacy studies revealed that CS2164 induced remarkable regression or complete inhibition of tumor growth at well-tolerated oral doses in several human tumor xenograft models. Collectively, these results indicate that CS2164 is a highly selective multi-kinase inhibitor with potent anti-tumor activities against tumor angiogenesis, mitosis and chronic inflammation, which may provide the rationale for further clinical assessment of CS2164 as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are widely used in daily human life, and were reported to elicit biological effects such as oxidative stress either generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) or causing cell necrosis without generating ROS, whose underlying molecular mechanisms are not yet known. In this study, the role of dissolved oxygen in TiO2 catalytic activity in dark environment, and long-term cytotoxic effects of TiO2 exposure were investigated. To determine the effect of dissolved oxygen, the anatase-TiO2 nanoparticle suspension was prepared both in deoxygenated and regular MilliQ water, and a ~ 9-fold higher ROS in regular MilliQ samples was observed compared to deoxygenated samples while in the dark, which suggested dissolved oxygen as the driving agent behind the TiO2 catalytic reaction. On the other hand, the differential cell viability and endogenous ROS activity was demonstrated through a sensitive macrophage-based assay, on a dose- and time-dependent manner. Both the cell number and endogenous ROS activity increased with increase in time till 48 h, followed by a reduction at 72 h exposure period. Long-term exposures to these nanoparticles even at low concentrations were found detrimental to cells, where late apoptosis until 48 h and necrosis at 72 h leading to cell death were noted. Late apoptotic events and cell membrane cytoskeletal actin rearrangement observed were hypothesized to be induced by particle-mediated cellular ROS. This in addition to radical generation ability of TiO2 in the dark will help further in better understanding of the toxicity mechanism in cells beyond ROS generation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nervous and vascular systems, although functionally different, share many common regulators of function maintenance. Long non-coding RNAs (lnc RNAs) are important players in many biological processes and human disorders. We previously identified a role of MALAT1 in microvascular dysfunction. However, its role in neurodegeneration is still unknown. Here, we used the eye as the model to investigate the role of MALAT1 in retinal neurodegeneration. We show that MALAT1 expression is significantly up-regulated in the retinas, Müller cells, and primary retinal ganglion cells ( RGCs) upon stress. MALAT1 knockdown reduces reactive gliosis, Müller cell activation, and RGC survival in vivo and in vitro. MALAT1- CREB binding maintains CREB phosphorylation by inhibiting PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation, which leads to continuous CREB signaling activation. Clinical and animal experimentation suggests that MALAT1 dysfunction is implicated in neurodegenerative processes and several human disorders. Collectively, this study reveals that MALAT1 might regulate the development of retinal neurodegeneration through CREB signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dried, immature fruit of Citrus aurantium L., 'Zhiqiao' in Chinese, has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Naringenin and hesperetin and their glycosides present in considerable amounts (about 10∼15%) in the herb. The aim of this study is to test whether naringenin and hesperetin influence adiponectin expression, which plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism with antiatherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Treatment with naringenin and hesperetin enhanced adiponectin transcription in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Both naringenin and hesperetin induced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ-controlled luciferase expression in a dose-dependent manner (20-160 µM), whereas only naringenin possessed significant activity to activate PPAR α. These results suggested the two flavonoids might exert antiatherogenic effects partly through activating PPAR and up-regulating adiponectin expression in adipocytes. Our findings give new insight for the molecular explanations for the therapeutic effects of Zhiqiao. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: biodegradation; biological activity; environmental chemistry; plastic recycling; plastic valorization EN biodegradation biological activity environmental chemistry plastic recycling plastic valorization 3975 3975 1 10/07/21 20211005 NES 211005 B The Front Cover b shows the possible cycle of plastic waste biodegradation, recycling, and valorization. Biodegradation, biological activity, environmental chemistry, plastic recycling, plastic valorization. [Extracted from the article]

Efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts play a pivotal role in water electrolysis, notably for industrial high current densities (>1000 mA cm−2). Crystalline/amorphous heterostructure interfaces have proven to be advantageous for enhancing the OER activities of electrocatalytic materials. However, the constructing and tailoring for crystalline/amorphous interfaces still remain a great challenge due to the destruction of active substrates by intricate post‐treatment. Here, a strategy to tailor nanocrystalline/amorphous (N/A) interface and optimize the electrocatalytic performance of as‐cast N/A alloys by adjusting the size of nanocrystals is proposed. The N/A alloy fibers obtained based on this strategy exhibit superior OER performance with an overpotential of 227 mV (@10 mA cm−2), maintaining stability for over 1000, 600, and 240 h under high current densities of 500, 1000, and 1800 mA cm−2, respectively. Theoretical calculations and material characterizations reveal that N/A interfaces, facilitated by appropriately sized nanocrystals possessing a loose atomic arrangement, favorable surface electronic structure, advantageous local coordination, and optimal O‐contained intermediate adsorption, can yield abundant active sites without compromising stability. This study not only provides a deeper understanding of the tailoring mechanism of N/A interfaces but also offers a new design perspective for the development of cost‐effective, industrial‐grade electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is important for industrial water electrolysis, especially under high current densities (>1 A cm−2). High‐entropy alloy (HEA) with high surface OER activity and excellent electrical conductivity of the core is an ideal route to improve the catalytic activity. Herein, a combined theoretical and experimental approach to establish core–shell FeCoNiMoAl‐based HEA as a promising OER electrocatalyst is presented. Theoretical calculations combined with structure analyses indicate crystalline–amorphous (c–a) heterostructure of shell reduces the electron transfer resistance and generates more active sites, furthermore the crystalline core improves the conductivity and self‐supporting ability. HEA electrodes demonstrate superior OER performance with an overpotential (η) of 470 mV at 2 A cm−2 and no apparent degradation even after 330 h of continuous testing, notably, for overall water splitting the stability is more than 120 h at 2.06 V. The special core–shell structure achieves a win–win strategy for high OER activity and stability. These findings shed light on the structural design of HEA electrocatalysts and present a promising route to achieve highly efficient electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis and relevant energy conversion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]