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Helium (He) is commercially produced from natural gas by low-temperature condensation. The process is energy extensive because of the extremely low He concentration (

Magnesium (Mg) alloys can be regarded as the most promising biodegradable implant materials for orthopedic and stent applications due to their good biocompatibility and low Young's modulus which is near to that of natural bone. However, its applicability is hindered because it exhibits a high corrosion rate in the physiological environments. In this work, we fabricated Mg66Zn30Ca4/Fe bulk metallic glass composites via spark plasma sintering (SPS). We studied the influence of different contents of Fe on the properties of the composites. The results indicated that Fe was uniformly distributed on the surface of Mg66Zn30Ca4 metallic glass (MG) as a second phase, which led to an improvement in the corrosion resistance and mechanical strength. The standard potential of Mg66Zn30Ca4/Fe bulk metallic glass (BMG) composites increased as compared to Mg66Zn30Ca4, while their mechanical strength improved from 355 MPa to 616 MPa. Furthermore, cytotoxicity was investigated via the CCK-8 assay and calcein-AM staining, which revealed that the extraction mediums diluted 6 times (EM × 6) of the Mg66Zn30Ca4 and Mg66Zn30Ca4/Fe did not cause cell toxicity on day 3 and 5, while the EM × 6 of the Mg66Zn30Ca4 showed cytotoxicity on day 1, 3 and 5. Thus, Mg66Zn30Ca4/Fe BMG composites exhibit significant potential for fabricating implants with good mechanical strength and corrosion resistance.

Enhancing the catalytic activity for oxygen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions is critical for rechargeable metal-air batteries. Herein, coral-like Ru-doped cobalt oxide nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning and subsequent heat treatment, which reduce the charge transfer resistance of cobalt oxide and optimize its active sites. Moreover, the large specific surface area and rich porosity of the one-dimensional nanomaterials prepared by the electrospinning method markedly improved the catalytic activity. Under the same catalyst load, Ru-doped cobalt oxide nanofibers have an overpotential of 300 mV, which is smaller than that of ruthenium oxide. In the oxygen reduction reaction, the positive half-wave potential of Ru-doped cobalt oxide nanofibers and Pt/C is the same (0.81 V). This work combines the strategies of doping and the advantages of electrospinning nanofibers to make a breakthrough in the catalytic activity of doped cobalt oxide nanofibers, and provides a new basis for the design of one-dimensional nanofiber bifunctional catalysts.

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by bacteria. In this experiment, key enzymes and intracellular metabolites of Lactobacillus plantarum DNZ-4 was researched under CIP stress. The results showed that the activities of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, β-galactosidase and Na+, K+-ATPase after 1/2 minimum bacteriostatic concentration (MIC) CIP treatment were significantly decreased (P

Using a carbon-rich designer metal-organic framework (MOF), we open a high-yield synthetic strategy for iron-nitrogen-doped carbon (Fe-N-C) nanotube materials that emulate the electrocatalysis performance of commercial Pt/C. The Zr(IV)-based MOF solid boasts multiple key functions: (1) a dense array of alkyne units over the backbone and the side arms, which are primed for extensive graphitization; (2) the open, branched structure helps maintain porosity for absorbing nitrogen dopants; and (3) ferrocene units on the side arms as atomically dispersed precursor catalyst for targeting micropores and for effective iron encapsulation in the carbonized product. As a result, upon pyrolysis, over 89% of the carbon component in the MOF scaffold is successfully converted into carbonized products, thereby contrasting the easily volatilized carbon of most MOFs. Moreover, over 97% of the iron ends up being encased as acid-resistant Fe/Fe3C nanoparticles in carbon nanotubes/carbon matrices.

Purpose To evaluate the changes of cytokines and immune cells after Intra-articular hyaluronic acid(IAHA)injections in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Patients and Methods Sixteen patients were included in the study, with a total of 65 IAHA injections. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and Lysholm scores were evaluated at each visit. The immune cells and 14 cytokines of synovial fluid were analyzed at each visit. The association between immune cells and cytokines were examined. Results IL-6 and IL-8 were the most common cytokines in the synovial fluid of KOA patients. The synovial fluid was orchestrated by macrophages (69%) and Lymphocytes (18%). Neutrophils were less to count of the total cell population ( Conclusion The synovial fluid of KOA patients was orchestrated by macrophages (69%) and Lymphocytes (18%) and cytokines like IL-6 and IL-8. IAHA may play an anti-inflammatory functional role through the decreased production of IL-6 and IL-8 by macrophages through polarization. The results from this study partially revealed the effect of IAHA on cytokines and immune cells change in KOA patients, and therapies targeting pathogenic cytokines and immune cells might be used to attenuate the knee joint inflammation and release pain. Trial registration ChiCTR2100050133; date registered 17 August 2021.

Hsa_circ_0061395(circBACH1) and SERBP1(SERPINE1 mRNA binding protein 1) have been reported to play a carcinogenic role in HCC.In this study, circBACH1, microRNA(miR)-656–3p, and SERBP1 expression levels with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in HCC tissue specimens and cells.The protein levels of SERBP1, E-Cadherin, vimentin, and N-Cadherin were detected with western blotting.Cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis were determined with CCK-8, colony formation, transwell, and flow cytometry assays.The targeting relatio-nship between circBACH1 or SERBP1 and miR-656–3p was verified by dual-lucifer- ase reporter assay.The role of circBACH1 was validated by xenograft assay.CircBAC- H1 and SERBP1 were upregulated in HCC tissues and cells.Both circBACH1 and SERBP1 knockdown constrained proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT(epithel-ial-mesenchymal transition), and facilitated apoptosis of HCC cells in vitro.Knockdo-wn of circBACH1 reduced HCC growth in vivo. SERBP1 overexpression partially neutralized the repressive effect of circBACH1 silencing on malignant behaviors of HCC cells.CircBACH1 sponged miR-656–3p to elevate SERBP1 expression, thereby accelerating the progression of HCC.The research provided a new evidence to support the role of circBACH1 in HCC.

Calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA) has the characteristics of rapid hardening, high early strength, high corrosion resistance and high impermeability, but its ability to continue to show strength increases at middle and late ages is poor. In this study, this drawback was improved by clinker mineral design. Alite (C3S) in Portland cement clinker was used as a seed crystal to induce new C3S in CSA clinker. The role of the introduction of C3S and the effect of commonly used CSA admixtures on the setting time and hydration properties of alite-modified CSA (AMCSA) are described in this paper. Due to the hydration characteristics of C3S, it was found that its introduction effectively improved the bond strength of the mortar and the strength growth persistence in middle and late stages. Commonly used CSA admixtures (e.g. lithium carbonate and boric acid) had the same effect on the setting time and hydration properties of the AMCSA mortar. The addition of lithium carbonate accelerated the cement hydration rate and shortened the setting time, which is beneficial for super early strength of mortar and enabled compressive strengths of up to 4·67, 9·10 and 22·49 MPa at 30 min, 1 h and 4 h, respectively. The addition of boric acid retarded the cement setting time due to a reduction in the hydration rate.

The perpendicular orientation of nanowires to electric fields would greatly improve the breakdown strengths (Eb) of polymer-based nanocomposites; however, the relatively small polarization at small filler fraction, and thus the unsatisfactory discharged energy density (Ud), greatly restrict their further application. In this study, x vol.% TO@TO/PVDF nanocomposites with superior energy storage performances have been fabricated, where the ironbark-like TiO2 fillers (TO@TO) with core–shell structures lead to greatly enhanced polarization and Eb simultaneously. The former is due to the coupling effects of the increased interfacial polarization, while the latter is due to the enhanced path tortuosity of electric tree growing at small TO@TO fraction. Strikingly, an excellent Ud of 13.1 J/cm3 was achieved in the 1.5 vol.% TO@TO/PVDF nanocomposite at 383 MV/m, which is greatly increased by 220% compared with that of pure PVDF (5.98 J/cm3). The primary results might provide a strategy to design and fabricate nanocomposites with satisfactory energy storage performances as well as the flexible and easy processing ability at small filler fraction.

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) may be the key factor in the pathology of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As a major driver in triggering CRS in patients with COVID-19, interleukin-6 (IL-6) appears to be a promising target for therapeutics. The results of inhibiting both trans- and classical- signaling with marketed IL-6 inhibitors (tocilizumab, siltuximab and sarilumab) in severe COVID-19 patients are effective based on several small studies and case reports thus far. In this review, we described the evidence of the IL-6 response in patients with COVID-19, clarified the pathogenesis of the role of IL-6-mediated CRS in severe COVID-19, and highlighted the rationale for the use of anti-IL-6 agents and key information regarding the potential features of these IL-6 inhibitors in COVID-19 patients.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy of bone marrow. In the present study, we aimed to study the function and potential mechanism of the antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 Locus (ANRIL) in MM. The expression levels of ANRIL in MM patients and healthy donors were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The effects and mechanisms of ANRIL in MM were evaluated by cell viability assay, BrdU incorporation assay, tumor xenograft model, flow cytometry, western blot, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), transcriptome RNA sequencing, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). We found that ANRIL was upregulated in MM patients and cell lines, and associated with advanced international staging system (ISS) stage and poor overall survival. Enforced ANRIL expression promoted proliferation and tumor xenograft growth of MM cells, while knockdown of ANRIL exhibited opposite effects. Moreover, ANRIL overexpression increased the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of bortezomib and reduced bortezomib-induced apoptosis in MM cells. ANRIL was found to accumulate in the nuclei of MM cells, and interact with EZH2 by RIP assay. Transcriptome RNA sequencing identified PTEN as a target of ANRIL in MM cells. In the ChIP assay, knockdown of ANRIL reduced EZH2 occupancy and H3K27me3 binding to the promoter region of PTEN. Furthermore, EZH2 knockout or PTEN restoration abrogated the effects caused by ANRIL overexpression in MM cells. Our results indicated that ANRIL exerted oncogenic functions and conferred chemoresistance of MM cells by EZH2-mediated epigenetically silencing of PTEN.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) as a sensitive detection method had attracted tremendous attention. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) were synthesized by a top–down approach, and the W18O49 samples were prepared by a solvothermal method with WCl6 as the tungsten source. The size of prepared GQDs presented a size of 10 nm and a topographic height of 1.5 nm, corresponding to 1–3 layers of graphene sheets. There were two different lattice fringes of 0.34 nm and 0.378 nm matched with the (002) and (010) lattice planes of GQDs and W18O49, respectively. After the modification of GQDs, the band gap energy of W18O49 was narrowed, and the separation and electron transport capability of W18O49 were improved due to the existence of GQDs. In this work, the detection sensitivity of SERS was effectively improved by chemical and electromagnetic field enhancement when W18O49/GQDs composites were used as SERS substrates. Therefore, it will be an effective way to improve the SERS performance of W18O49 by modifying GQDs.

Simultaneous removal of SO2, NOx and Hg0 using O3 and corn stalk bio-charcoal (CR)/coconut shell activated carbon (CS) was compared in a fixed bed. The effects of temperature, adsorption time and ratio of O3/NO on the removal efficiency of NO, Hg0 and SO2 by CR/CS were studied, and the CR and CS was characterized and analyzed. The results indicated that the oxidation rate of NO and Hg0 increased with the increase of O3/NO ratio, while the oxidation rate of SO2 first increased and then decreased slightly. The increase of temperature inhibits the oxidation of NO but promotes the oxidation of Hg0 and SO2. At 140°C and O3/NO ratio was 1.4, the oxidation rate of NO, Hg0 and SO2 is 99%, 78.6% and 3.5%, respectively. As O3/NO ratio increased from 0.4 to 1.4, the removal efficiency of CR for NOx increased from 4.6% to 93%, and CS increases from 4.5% to 79%. CR and CS can reduce part of NO2 and increase NO concentration at the outlet. NOx adsorption performance on CR is relatively better, while those of Hg0 and SO2 on CS are relatively stronger. CS has stronger physical adsorption capacity than CR. The relative content of oxygen-containing functional groups C-O and C=O on the surface of CR is higher than that of CS, while its relative content of COOH and O=C-O is lower.

BackgroundRecent study showed that individuals with type 2 diabetes have a high risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), in which Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) plays a pivotal role. We conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the relationships of circulating sRAGE, CRC and other clinical factors in type2 diabetes patients.MethodsA total of 150 type 2 diabetes patients aged 50 years and older were enrolled, including 50 patients with CRC and 100 patients without CRC. We measured Serum levels of sRAGE and interleukin-6(IL-6) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, other clinical parameters were also measured during hospitalization.ResultsType 2 diabetes patients with CRC had higher triglyceride, total cholesterol, IL-6, and circulating sRAGE levels and lower use of medicines than type 2 diabetes patients without CRC. Circulating sRAGE was associated with an increased risk for CRC (OR = 2.289 for each SD increase in sRAGE, 95% CI = 1.037–5.051;P = 0.04) among Type 2 diabetes patients after adjustment for confounders. Furthermore, circulating sRAGE levels among type 2 diabetes patients were positively correlated with triglyceride (r = 0.377,P r = 0.491,P r = 0.330,P r = 0.194,P = 0.017); and fasting serum insulin (r = 0.167,P = 0.041) and IL-6 (r = 0.311,P ConclusionsOur results suggested that circulating sRAGE is independently risk factor for CRC, and also closely related to inflammation, dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetes patients.

Proton conducting metal oxides such as Y-doped BaZrO3 have a wide application prospect as electrochemical energy converters at intermediate temperature. Understanding their proton transport mechani...

Deactivation of a Pd/alumina catalyst has been observed during the hydrogenation of α-methylstyrene and styrene. In both feedstocks, deactivation is caused by an additive, 4-tert-butylcatechol (TBC...

Atherosclerosis (AS) is the leading cause of heart attacks, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Berberine (BBR), a botanical medicine, has diversified anti-atherosclerotic effects but with poor absorption. The aim of this study was to develop an effective BBR-entrapped nano-system for treating AS in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed Apoe(−/−) mice, and also explore the possible underlying mechanisms involved. Three d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol (PEG) succinate (TPGS) analogues with different PEG chain lengths were synthesized to formulate BBR-entrapped micelles. HFD-fed Apoe(−/−) mice were administered with optimized formula (BBR, 100 mg/kg/day) orally for 5 months. The artery plaque onset and related metabolic disorders were evaluated, and the underlying mechanisms were studied. Our data showed that, BT1500M increased BBR deposition in liver and adipose by 107.6% and 172.3%, respectively. In the Apoe(−/−) mice, BT1500M ameliorated HFD-induced hyperlipidemia and lipid accumulation in liver and adipose. BT1500M also suppressed HFD-induced chronic inflammation as evidenced by the reduced liver and adipose levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β); and decreased plasma level of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP), and macrophage inflammatory factor (MIP). The mechanism study showed that BT1500M changed Ampk and Nf-κb gene expression, and interrupted a crosstalk process between adipocytes and macrophages. Further investigation proved that BT1500M decreased endothelial lesion and subsequent macrophage activation, cytokines release, as well as cholesteryl ester gathering in the aortic arch, resulting in ameliorated artery plaque build-up. Our results provide a practical strategy for treating AS using a BBR-entrapped nano-system., Graphical abstract BT1500M, which increased gut-absorption and intra-cellular uptake of berberine, modulated AMPK and NF-κB expression, and improved dyslipidemia and inflammation induced by high fat diet. The endothelial injury and subsequent macrophage infiltration and cholesteryl ester gathering in the aortic arch were decreased, resulting in the inhibition of artery plaque build-up.Image 1

We report a new type of highly efficient visible light-driven photocatalyst, Sm3+-activated BiOF nanoparticles, developed by a facile solid-state reaction technology. The corresponding phase compos...

The development of earth-abundant and cost-effective electro-catalysts at the air cathodes for both oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR and OER) with sluggish kinetics are central to the overall performance of rechargeable metal-air batteries, remaining an issue that is gaining increasing interest in recent years. Herein, we report a nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon supported clustered CoOx composite catalyst (CoOx/NMC) synthesized from the anchored atomically dispersed CoOOH species by an efficient two-step nucleation method. Due to the synergistic and size effects, CoOx/NMC exhibits an enhanced bifunctional electrocatalytic performance in alkaline media than the state of the art commercial Pt/C catalyst for ORR and the OER catalyst (Ir/C). More importantly, the advanced CoOx/NMC catalyst enables recharge Zn-air batteries (ZABs) to achieve long-term cycling performance over 400 ​h by galvanostatic charge-discharge at current density of 10 ​mA ​cm−2 with high efficiency, suggesting a very promising alternative to the conventional Pt/C and Ir/C catalysts for an air cathode.

Coagulation process is highly influenced by solution pH, floc breakage, and coagulant aid. In this work, two-stage addition of alum-based coagulants, polyaluminum chloride (PACl) and aluminum sulfate (Al2(SO4)3), was compared to their one-stage addition with the same total dosage. The dose ratio of primary and secondary addition was optimised. The effects of solution pH, floc breakage and dosing timing of coagulant aid of non-ionic polyacrylamide (NPAM) on coagulation efficiency and floc property were investigated. The results showed that two-stage addition of PACl showed less sensitivity with the variation of pH. Compared to PACl, two-stage addition of Al2(SO4)3 was more sensitive to the solution pH, especially when the pH ranged from 7 to 10. For all cases, the presence of floc breakage improved the removal of colloidal particles. The coagulation mechanism of primary coagulant was charge neutralisation, while other mechanism was involved with the secondary addition of coagulant. Compared to one-stage addition, the settling performance of aggregates and particulates removal in two-stage addition was more effective with the variation of dosage or dosing timing of NPAM. The present work provides detailed operating parameters for this coagulation strategy.

Carbon nanomaterials codoped with transition metal and nitrogen have appeared as one of the most potential candidates to replace noble metal-based oxygen reduction catalyst. However, it remains a c...

Ion transport in crystalline fast ionic conductors is a complex physical phenomenon. Certain ionic species (e.g., Ag+, Cu+, Li+, F–, O2–, H+) in a solid crystalline framework can move as fast as in...

Nanoporous gold (NPG), whose chemical and physical properties largely depend on its ligament size and pore size, is attractive for many applications. However, it is difficult to achieve NPG with ul...

Tailoring the composition and morphology of electrocatalysts has been regarded as an effective alternative to improve their catalytic performance by forming and exposing more active sites. Herein a...

Three new cyathane diterpenoids named stercorins A–C (1–3), including one with unusual 4,9-seco-carbon skeleton, together with two new drimane sesquiterpenoids named stercorins D (4) and E (5) were...

International audience; Objectives: Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) carries a risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission and hepatocellular carcinoma. As previous studies have had a limited sample size, the characteristics of OBI with genotype B and C (OBIB and OBIC) mutations relating to hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) elicited by vaccination or a limited host immune response to HBV have not been fully explored.Methods: In this study, the occurrence of OBIB or OBIC strains associated with envelope protein (pre-S/S) amino acid substitutions obtained from 99 blood donors stratified according to anti-HBs carriage were characterized extensively.Results: According to the presence of anti-HBs within each genotype, the number and frequency of substitution sites specific for anti-HBs(-) OBIB were higher than those specific for anti-HBs(+) OBIB strains (67 vs 31; 117 vs 41), but the reverse pattern was found in OBIC strains (3 vs 24; 3 vs 26). Mutations pre-s1T68I and sQ129R/L were found uniquely in 15-25% of anti-HBs(+) OBIB carriers and mutation pre-s1A54E was found preferentially in anti-HBs(+) OBIC, while 17 substitutions were found preferentially in 11-38% of anti-HBs(-) OBIB strains. In the major hydrophilic region (MHR) region, mutations sS167 in OBIB, sT118 in OBIC, and sA166 in both genotypes were possibly immune-induced escape mutation sites.Conclusions: Several mutations in pre-S/S of OBI appeared to be associated with carrier anti-HBs pressure, which might be risk factors for potential reactivation of viruses under anti-HBs selection in OBI carriers.

Polymer-based composites with high discharged energy density and energy efficiency are tremendously desired for modern electronic systems. In this study, a bilayer heterostructural composite (named...

TiO2 nanoarray (TNA) is usually used to improve the energy storage performance of the polymer composite; however, owing to the paradox between polarization and breakdown strength, the discharged en...

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid for the human body, whose intake is through the diet. Several studies support the theory that microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolite played a crucial role in maintaining the balance between gut microbiota and the mucosal immune system. Previously, we selected the Lactobacillus plantarum KLDS 1.0386 strain with high tryptophan-metabolic activity after the screening of 16 Lactobacillus strains. The current study aimed to assess the effects of L. plantarum KLDS 1.0386 combination with tryptophan in improving ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) and the potential mechanisms involved. Our results showed that L. plantarum KLDS 1.0386 combined with tryptophan (LAB + Trp) decreased DAI score, MPO level, and pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) concentration. It also increased anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) production, tight junction proteins (claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1), and mucin (MUC1 and MUC2) mRNA expressions. The level of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), an important tryptophan metabolite in the liver, serum, and colon, was elevated after LAB + Trp treatment, which further upregulated aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) mRNA expression to activate the IL-22/STAT3 signaling pathway. Moreover, the supplementation with LAB + Trp modulated gut microbiota composition. The present study provided novel insights that can be used to reduce the number of UC patients by employing a method utilizing tryptophan-catabolizing Lactobacillus strains.

Platinum (Pt) is recognized as one of the most effective catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but its large-scale application still suffers from high cost and unsatisfactory performance in alkaline solution. Herein, by properly integrating an ultralow amount of Pt with earth-abundant elements, we report a facile dealloying–oxidation–phosphidation method for synthesizing a PtCu nanocluster decorated CoP nanosheet electrocatalyst (PtCu/CoP) with an ultralow Pt loading (2.8 μg cm−2). With only 1/40 Pt loading of commercial 20% Pt/C, the as-prepared PtCu/CoP catalyst outperforms the Pt/C catalyst, requiring an overpotential as low as 20 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2, and showing a smaller Tafel slope of 28 mV dec−1 in 0.5 M H2SO4. In 1.0 M KOH, the PtCu/CoP catalyst also shows a superior performance to that of Pt/C, with an overpotential of 40 mV (10 mA cm−2) and a Tafel slope of 49 mV dec−1. Moreover, the PtCu/CoP catalyst can be continuously operated for 100 h in both acidic and alkaline media, with only insignificant degradation. This work provides an efficient strategy for designing a high performance HER electrocatalyst with ultralow Pt loadings.