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Pure ZnS and Ni2+-doped ZnS nanorods (Zn1-xNixS, x=0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07, mole fraction, %) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The effects of Ni2+ doping on the phase-structure, morphology, elemental composition and optical properties of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), respectively. The photocatalytic activity of Zn1-xNixS nanorods was evaluated by the photodegradation of organic dyes Rhodamine B (RhB) in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation. The results show that all samples exhibit wurtzite structure with good crystallization. The morphologies are one-dimensional nanorods with good dispersion, and the distortion of the lattice constant occurs. The band gap of Zn1-xNixS samples is smaller than that of pure ZnS, thus red shift occurs. Ni2+-doped ZnS nanocrystals can enhance photocatalytic activities for the photodegradation of RhB. Especially, Zn0.97Ni0.03S sample exhibits better photocatalytic performance and photocatalytic stability for the decomposition of RhB.

As noble metal nanoclusters (NCs) are widely employed in nanotechnology, their potential threats to human and environment are relatively less understood. Herein, the biological effects of ultra-small silver NCs coated by bovine serum albumin (BSA) (Ag-BSA NCs) on isolated rat liver mitochondria were investigated by testing mitochondrial swelling, membrane permeability, ROS generation, lipid peroxidation and respiration. It was found that Ag-BSA NCs induced mitochondrial dysfunction via synergistic effects of two different ways: (1) inducing mitochondrial membrane permeability transition (MPT) by interacting with the phospholipid bilayer of the mitochondrial membrane (not with specific MPT pore proteins); (2) damaging mitochondrial respiration by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). As far as we know, this is the first report on the biological effects of ultra-small size nanoparticles (∼2 nm) at the sub-cellular level, which provides significant insights into the potential risks brought by the applications of NCs. It would inspire us to evaluate the potential threats of nanomaterials more comprehensively, even though they showed no obvious toxicity to cells or in vivo animal models. Noteworthy, a distinct toxic mechanism to mitochondria caused by Ag-BSA NCs was proposed and elucidated.

Background Association between metabolic syndrome (MS) and mildly reduced estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between MS and a mildly reduced eGFR in Chinese adults. Methods Anthropometric and biochemical examinations were performed in 2992 individuals. The eGFR was calculated from the creatinine level. MS was defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria as the presence of three or more risk factors. Mildly reduced eGFR was defined as a value between 60 and 90 mL/min/1.73 m2. Multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate association between metabolic syndrome and estimate glomerular filtration rate. Results After adjusting for several potential confounders, the participants with MS showed a 1.29-fold increased odds ratio for a mildly reduced eGFR compared with those without MS. Additionally, the odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)) for mildly reduced eGFR in participants with elevated triglycerides (TG), decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL), obesity and elevated fasting blood glucose (FPG) after multivariable adjustment were 1.25 (1.05–1.49), 1.23 (1.03–1.48), 1.22 (1.03–1.45) and 0.64 (0.52–0.78), respectively. The odds ratios (95% CIs) for hyperfiltration in participants with elevated FPG and HbA1c levels after multivariable adjustment were 1.53 (1.30–1.81) and 2.86 (2.00–4.09), respectively. Conclusions MS is associated with an increased risk of a mildly reduced eGFR in the Chinese population, and several individual components of MS have different impacts on eGFR levels. MS had dual roles on renal damage. Trial registration ChiCTR-TRC-14005029. Registered 28 July 2014. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12882-017-0597-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Aluminum powder, stannous oxide powder and cuprous oxide powder are used for the preparation of tin oxide nanostructure in combustion synthesis-injection method with the formula designed using combinatorial chemistry method. The composition range of tin oxide nanostructure synthesis has been studied and the best formula of tin oxide nanowires synthesis has been screened. The research shows that the effective ingredient scope of tin oxide nanostructure is Al=30%~60%, CuO2=10%~50%, SnO=20% ~50% (mol), the main form of tin oxide nanostructure is nanowire and there are also forms such as nanorod, nanoparticle and nanobelt. The formula of tin oxide nanowire which leads to high yield, high purity and high conversion is Al:SnO:Cu2O=4:2:4(mol), the diameter of the tin oxide nanowires is within the range of 10~100 nm and most of them is from 40 to 60 nm, the highest conversion rate of SnO powder to SnO2 nanowire is 25.6%(mass), the tin oxide nanostructure synthesized by combustion synthesis-injection method has high purity, good dispensability, low preparation cost and it is also suitable for mass production.

On the basis of magnesiothermy, with Mg powder, TiO2 powder and B2O3 powder as mixed reactants, relatively pure TiB2 powder was prepared by self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) after leached in diluted hydrochloric acid with the suitable concentration. The product after leached was examined by XRD for qualitative and quantitative analysis, SEM for morphology analysis and infrared spectroscopy for transmittance analysis. It was found that diluted hydrochloric acid could decrease most of the impurities, and the proportion of TiB2 phase in the product is more than 99%, which was hexagonal shape crystal with the grain size of 200-300 nm. Compare with the infrared spectrogram of the middle infrared spectral region of the product of before and after acid pickling, it was found that the transmittance of TiB2 is extremely low in the range of 2000-4000 cm-1, which can be excellent infrared absorption material in the corresponding wave band.

Polyimide (PI) was chosen as the matrix of the composites, barium titanate/polyimide (BT/PI) nanocomposite films were prepared with in-situ polymerization. The morphology of the samples was obtained by SEM. The factors affecting the dielectric properties are discussed. When the mass fraction of BT is 70%, the dielectric constant will be 19.32, and loss 0.00254 (at 103 Hz). The optimal solvent content and ultrasonic time were 9.2 ml and 30 min respectively. TG analysis shows that the film is stable below 500°C. The AC breakdown strength were 42 MV·m-1 and 64 MV·m-1 for 70% BT/PI and 60% BT/PI respectively, and corresponding energy storage density were 0.17 J·cm-3 and 0.30 J·cm-3 respectively.

Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is probably the most widely used intravenous hypnotic agent in daily practice. However, its anti-inflammatory properties have seldom been addressed. In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity and mechanisms of propofol on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in vivo and in vitro and found that propofol markedly inhibited LPS-induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). At the same time, the expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor-1α (HNF-1α) and apolipoprotein M (APOM) was inhibited by treatment with LPS and LPS-induced down-regulation of HNF-1α expression and APOM expression could be compensated by propofol treatment. However, propofol could not compensate LPS-induced down-regulation of APOM expression by treatment with HNF-1α siRNA and the suppressive effect on LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines production by propofol was significantly compensated by treatment with APOM siRNA. These results provide evidence that propofol may first up-regulate APOM expression by enhancing HNF-1α expression and then inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine production in LPS-stimulated cells. Therefore, our study may be useful in understanding the critical effect of propofol in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

Silver materials have been widely used as antimicrobial agents. Notably, silver nanoparticles have emerged as a new generation of nanoproducts for biomedical and environmental applications in recent years. However, ultrasmall silver nanoclusters (NCs) (∼2 nm) have rarely been used to kill bacteria and their antibacterial mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Herein, we studied the antibacterial activities of bifunctional fluorescent DHLA-AgNCs against three types of bacteria. The results showed that DHLA-AgNCs exhibited excellent antibacterial activities against Gram-negative E. coli, which could efficiently inhibit the growth of E. coli DH 5α and E. coli DSM 4230 cells at a concentration of 15 and 10 μg mL-1, respectively. Meanwhile AgNCs demonstrated no apparent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive S. aureus. Then, the antibacterial mechanisms of AgNCs were systematically investigated. We found that AgNCs affected the growth of different E. coli strains in different ways. AgNCs inhibited the growth of E. coli DH 5α mainly through damaging the outer cellular membrane and permeating into the cells, followed by the antibacterial effect of the internalized AgNCs and released silver ions. AgNCs, however, inhibited the growth of E. coli DSM 4230 cells mainly through diffusing into E. coli DSM 4230 cells and damaging their respiratory chain. These results clearly indicated that different bacterial strains (e.g. different E. coli strains) should be taken into consideration in future studies. Our work facilitates further investigation of the design of new antibacterial silver nanomaterials with different sizes.

To further evaluate the potential renal targeting profile of low molecular weight hydroxyethyl chitosan (LMWHC) we developed before, prednisolone (Pre) was conjugated with LMWHC by EDC/NHS chemistry to improve the therapeutic effect of glucocorticoids in vivo. The conjugate was denoted as LMWHC-Pre. The prednisolone content of the conjugate was determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with Kromasil C18 column. The results showed that the average coupling degree of prednisolone to LMWHC was 76.7±3.2 μg·mg(-1). The stability and physicochemical characterization of LMWHC-Pre under various conditions were also investigated. To study the fate of LMWHC-Pre after intravenous (i.v.) administration, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was coupled to the conjugate to explore the renal targeting efficacy. The in vivo results showed that significant amount of the conjugate was accumulated into the kidneys while negligible signal could be detected when the mixture of FITC-LMWHC and prednisolone was co-administered. The preliminary pharmacodynamics study of LMWHC-Pre showed that the conjugate could effectively alleviate the nephrotic syndrome of rats induced by minimal change nephrosis (MCN) model. Toxicity study also revealed that there was little glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis by LMWHC-Pre upon 20 days of treatment. From this study, LMWHC-Pre may be employed as an effective potential drug candidate for the treatment of chronic renal disease.

This paper presents a novel strategy for synthesis of carbon nanomaterials using the Cstaple biomaterials – starch as the starting materials. The carbonhydrate were vaporized by arc under helium, which leads to a large amount of monodispersive carbon nanoballs with range of 30-70nm in diameter. In addition to carbon nanoballs, some carbon nanocapsules were occasionally observed in products. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed to characterizing products. The growth mechanism of carbon nanoballs is discussed briefly in terms of the precursor composition and process parameters.

Ag nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method under the polyol system combined with traces of sodium chloride, Silver nitrate(AgNO3) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) acted as the silver source and dispersant respectively. The samples by this process were characterized via X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) adsorption equation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) to determine the chemical composition, particle size, crystal structure and morphology. The experiment results indicate that the crystal structure of the samples is face centered cubic (FCC) structure as same as the bulk materials, The specific surface area is 24 m2/g, the particle size distribution ranging from10 to 50 nm, with an average particle size about 26 nm obtained by TEM and confirmed by XRD and BET results.

In this paper, Silver nitrate(AgNO3) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) acted as the silver source and dispersant respectively, the silver nanowires including a small amount of folded structure of silver nanowires, were synthesized by hydrothermal method under the polyol system combined with traces of sodium chloride. The nanowires were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), selected area electron diffraction(SAED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDAX) and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition, crystal structure, morphology,and the generation mechanism of Ag nanowires was also analysed. The experimental results showed that the crystal structure of the as-prepared Ag nanowires was fcc structure with uniform width, smooth surface, the diameter about 200nm,the average length about 15μm,and the aspect ratio up to 75.The folded structure of silver nanowires synthesized were due to the straight silver nanowires were connected in an end-to-end manner, with obvious spacing between them.

Two new acetylated kaempferol glycosides were isolated from the seeds of Camellia semiserrata Chi, their structures were elucidated as kaempferol 3- O -[(3- O -acetyl)-α- l -rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 3)(4- O -acetyl)- α - l -rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 6)- β - d -gluco-pyranoside] ( 1 ) and kaempferol 3- O -[(2- O -acetyl)- α - l -rhamnopyranosyl (1 → 3)(4- O -acetyl)- α - l -rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 6)- β - d -gluco-pyranoside] ( 2 ) by spectral experiments (including ESI-MS, 1D- and 2D-NMR).

Helical structure ZnS were successfully prepared via solvothermal method by the reaction of zinc acetate and sodium sulphide. The composition, morphology, and microstructure of the sample were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), the corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and X-ray energy spectrum (EDS). The experiment results show that the sample is 1-D hexagonal crystal ZnS and grows along the [002] direction, and is helical structure, with lengths in the range of 100-200 nm, the diameter about 5-15 nm, and pitch about 20nm.

In this study, a novel series of chiral 1,2-propanediol derivatives with different terminal alkyl chain length were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and DSC. After doped into a nematic liquid crystal host, all the chiral dopants induced chiral nematic liquid crystals exhibiting a helix inversion with temperature variation. The results indicate that terminal alkyl chain length has a prominent influence on helical twisting property of the chiral dopants. With increasing the terminal alkyl chain length, the molecular twisting power increases, the helix inversion temperatures varies slightly while the phase transition temperature decreases. An odd–even effect may exist in the molecular twisting power of the chiral dopants.

Two new flavonol glycosides and three known flavonoids were isolated from seeds of Camellia semiserrata Chi. The structures of these new flavonol glycosides were established as kaempferol 3-O-[(2'''''',3'''''',4''''''-triacetyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1--3)(2'''',4''''-diacetyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1--6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside] and kaempferol 3-O-[(3'''''',4''''''-diacetyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1--3)(2'''',4''''-diacetyl)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1--6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside] by spectroscopic methods. The estrogenic activity of these compounds was investigated by a recombinant yeast screening assay.

We have previously demonstrated that peptide fragments of human serum albumin can be developed into potential renal targeting drug carriers. However, the interactions of these peptide fragments with red blood cells and plasma components are not evaluated well and there is yet no report on the evaluation of the hemocompatibility of peptide fragments. In this study, three kinds of peptide fragments were prepared and identified by amino acid analysis, and the blood compatibility of the peptide fragments was investigated by measuring blood coagulation, platelet and complement activation and hemolysis activity. Results indicated that all the peptide fragments prepared were highly hemocompatible without causing any clot formation, red blood cell aggregation or immune response. In addition, data from the cytotoxicity assay using HeLa cells and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells suggested that these peptide fragments do not induce toxicity towards either cell lines at concentrations up to 5 mg/ml. Therefore, it can be concluded that peptide fragments exhibit good hemocompatibility with no unwanted effect on the viability of renal cells, preliminarily demonstrating that it is safe to use peptide fragments as renal targeting drug carriers.

Background To examine whether elevated glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is associated with hyperfiltration in a middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. Methods Anthropometric and biochemical examinations were performed in 2491 individuals from the general population, aged 40–79 years, who participated in the Huaian Diabetes Prevention Program. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated from creatinine levels using the CKD-EPI formula. Hyperfiltration was defined as eGFR >90th percentile. Results After adjustment [for age, gender, waistline, body mass index, blood pressure, smoking, alcohol consumption, cholesterol, log(triglycerides), high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, serum uric acid, sodium intake, hypertension, and use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers], HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were found to be independently positively associated with eGFR. Additionally, after multivariate adjustment, the odds ratios (95 % CI) for hyperfiltration calculated for a 1-unit increase in HbA1c and FPG were 1.396 (1.089–1.790) and 1.306 (1.117–1.526), respectively. Compared with participants with HbA1c levels

We have previously demonstrated that peptide fragments (PFs) of the human serum albumin could be developed as potential renal targeting carriers, in particular, the peptide fragment, PF-A299-585 (A299-585 representing the amino acid sequence of the human serum albumin). In this paper, we conjugated triptolide (TP), the anti-inflammatory Chinese traditional medicine, to PF-A299-585 via a succinic acid spacer to give TPS-PF-A299-585 (TP loading 2.2% w/w). Compared with the free TP, TPS-PF-A299-585 exhibited comparable anti-inflammatory activity in the lipopolysaccharide stimulated MDCK cells, but was significantly less cytotoxic than the free drug. Accumulation of TPS-PF-A299-585 in the MDCK cells in vitro and in rodent kidneys in vivo was demonstrated using FITC-labeled TPS-PF-A299-585. Renal targeting was confirmed in vivo in a membranous nephropathic (MN) rodent model, where optical imaging and analyses of biochemical markers were combined to show that TPS-PF-A299-585 was capable of alleviating the characteristic symptoms of MN. The collective data affirm PF-A299-585 to be a useful carrier for targeting TP to the kidney.

To develop the proper renal targeting carrier for clinical therapy, human serum albumin, as starting material, was firstly cleaved into albumin fragments and Superdex 75 and CM-Sepharose FF were used to separate and purify the degradation products. Consequently, three peptide fragments (PFs) with certain sequence named PF-A 1–123 , PF-A 124–298 and PF-A 299–585 were obtained as candidates of renal targeting carrier. Then, cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of three PFs was studied preliminarily. The results showed that three PFs had no adverse effects on the HeLa and MDCK cell even up to 5.00 mg/mL and PF-A 299–585 exhibited highest affinity to MDCK cells. After that, we found that PFs selectively accumulated in the kidneys, especially in the renal tubules after intravenous injection in mice by optical imaging study. Finally, Tissues distribution in vivo was utilized to verify the renal targeting profiles of PFs. Three PFs exhibited renal accumulation characteristics. In particular, about 40% injected doses of PF-A 299–585 were specifically distributed into kidneys for 1 h. The mean area under the curve (AUC) of PF-A 299–585 in kidneys increased 13 times compared with those of PF-A 1–123 and PF-A 124–298 . Therefore, PFs can be applied as prospective carriers for renal targeting and PF-A 299–585 may be the optimal carrier.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) to chemotherapeutic agents is a major obstacle to successful treatment in patients with breast cancer. Besides overexpression of MDR1, the member of the ABC transporter family, glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) which allows cellular escape from ceramide-induced cellular apoptosis by mediating ceramide glycosylation was considered to be related with multidrug resistance (MDR) in breast cancer. To specifically and efficiently reverse MDR of breast carcinoma cells, two small interference RNA (siRNA) targeted multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) and GCS mediated by plasmids were constructed and co-transfected into the MDR breast cancer cell line MCF-7/ADM. The results showed that both transient transfection and stable transfection of the two siRNA-expression plasmids could greatly decrease the relative expression of GCS mRNA and MDR1 mRNA, significantly lower than the controls (p0.01). Evaluation of chemosensitivity displayed a 96-fold reduction in drug resistance for Adriamycin. And the reversing effects could keep for a long period (at least 3 w). Our results demonstrated that co-inhibition of MDR1 and GCS could more effectively reverse MDR in drug resistant breast carcinoma cells in vitro.

A multivariable hybrid experimental model of a solid oxide fuel cell stack is developed in this paper. The model consists of an improved radial basis function (RBF) neural network model and a pressure-incremental model. The improved RBF model is built to predict the stack voltage with different temperatures and current density. Likewise, the pressure-incremental model is constructed to predict the stack voltage under various hydrogen, oxygen, and water partial pressures. We combine the two models together and make a powerful hybrid multivariable model that can predict the voltage under any current density, temperature, hydrogen, oxygen, and water partial pressure. The validity and accuracy of modeling are tested by simulations, and the simulation results show that it is feasible to build the hybrid multivariable experimental model.