Search

Hypoxia is one of the key characteristics of solid tumors. The over-expression of azoreductase resulting from hypoxia can be used as a target to visualize hypoxic levels and a trigger of the drug release system in tumor treatment. In this work, we developed a near-infrared fluorescent probe YLOD, composed of a near-infrared fluorophore, an azo bond, and an analogue of the anti-tumor drug melphalan. In the presence of azoreductase, YLOD displayed a red emission at 620 nm and released the anti-tumor drug concomitantly, thus achieving the integrated effects of hypoxic imaging and tumor treatment. Furthermore, YLOD successfully inhibited the growth of solid tumors during the tumor suppression experiments in nude mice. Considering all the results, YLOD emerges as a new fluorescence tool that can quickly determine the location and the edges of a tumor, showing concrete potential in clinical cancer treatment.

Safety issues (e.g., burn and aerogenesis) triggered by flammable liquid electrolyte (LE) have impeded the large-scale applications of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). It is of great importance to introduce flame-retardant constituent into LMBs system to alleviate above problems. Succinonitrile (SN) is ideally suited for application as a flame-retardant additive due to the merits of excellent thermal stability and high dielectric constant. However, the severe parasitic reactions with Li anode restrict the extensive application of SN. Herein, an in-situ polymerized gel electrolyte consisting of fumaronitrile (FN), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA) is prepared. FN segment is fixed in polymer chains and shows the similar molecular structure with SN after polymerization, therefore the flame retardant effect is achieved and the parasitic reaction with Li anode is suppressed. Furthermore, the cross-linked structure contributed by ETPTA plays an important role in strengthening electrochemical performance of fumaronitrile based gel polymer electrolyte (FGPE) by inhibiting the growth of lithium dendrites and promoting the transfer of Li ions. Li/FGPE/Li symmetrical cell exhibits a great performance with the maximum voltage of about 11 mV after 7850 h, while a high reversible capacity of 147.6 mAh g−1 is maintained after 1000 cycles for LiFePO4/FGPE/Li battery.

Early diagnosis and timely surgical Kasai portoenterostomy greatly improve the survival of patients with biliary atresia (BA), a neonatal cholestatic disease, which has encouraged investigators to develop newborn screening for BA. In this study, we used ultraperformance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry-based targeted metabolomics profiling to identify potential BA biomarkers in dried blood spots (DBS) collected from BA patients (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 100). A distinctive metabolic profile comprising eight significantly differentially expressed metabolites, taurohyocholic acid (THCA), glutamic acid, 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, ketoleucine, indoleacetic acid, alpha-ketoisovaleric acid, glycocholic acid, and taurocholic acid (TCA), clearly distinguished BA infants from control neonates. Three metabolites, THCA, 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, and indoleacetic acid, were selected using linear regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and model construction. The area under the ROC curve for this model to discriminate between BA and comparison infants was 0.938 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.874-1.000). A cutoff value of -0.336 produced a sensitivity of 90.48% (95% CI: 69.62% - 98.83%) and specificity of 92% (95% CI: 84.84% - 96.48%). In conclusion, the results suggest that metabolic markers in DBS obtained from newborns have a great potential for BA screening.

Plant waste (PW) is a common and abundant renewable biomass resource whose total amount is constantly increasing and accounts for up to 50% of municipal solid waste. This study aims to develop a valorization method for PW. A two-stage treatment method combining mechanical ball milling (BM) and microwave hydrothermal treatment (MHT) was investigated. BM can effectively destroy the crystallization of cellulose and reduce the particle size to increase the specific surface area and improve the MHT efficiency. The BM-MHT process could improve the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is significantly higher than physical methods like grinding, ultrasonic and liquid nitrogen treatment. The BM conditions were further optimized by using a Box-Behnken Design with response surface methodology. The model showed that the highest HMF yield could reach 1.8% at 150 °C in MHT process after BM. An economic analysis indicated that BM-MHT offers a green treatment method with great economic benefits. It provides a novel valorization strategy for organic waste like PW.

The low-temperature processing, inherent flexibility, and biocompatibility of piezoelectric polymers such as poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based materials enable the creation of soft wearable se...

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are important bioactive carbohydrate compound such as Capsular polysaccharide (CPS). EPSs are often used as bioenrichment agents and bioabsorbers to remove environmental pollutants like di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP). Among the EPSs producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have gained the most attention. As generally recognized as safe (GRAS) microorganisms, LAB can produce EPSs with many different structures without any health risks. However, the EPSs production of LAB is usually not enough for large-scale application in industrial production. Here, capA gene (encoding CPS biosynthesis protein) was overexpressed in Lactobacillus plantarum P1 to improve the production of EPSs and further enhance the capability of the adsorption of DBP. Compared with P1, the CPS production in capA overexpressed strain was increased by 11.3 mg/L, and the EPSs thickness was increased from 0.0786±0.0224μm in P1 to 0.1160±0.0480μm in P1-capA. These caused the adsorption ratio of DBP in P1-capA to be doubled. Overall, the findings in this study provided a safe solution for the adsorption and removing of DBP.

INTRODUCTION Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are regarded as nephrotoxins. Children commonly use NSAIDs and are susceptible to nephropathy, but the relationship between acute kidney injury (AKI) and use of NSAIDs is not well examined yet. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between AKI and use of NSAIDs in hospitalized pediatric patients who are susceptible to nephropathy. METHODS We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies by searching PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Database for articles published up to June 1, 2020. Reports included involved children (age

In this work, novel plasticizing biodegradable poly (lactic acid) (PLA) composites were prepared by melt blending of jute and tung oil anhydride (TOA), and the physical and mechanical properties of PLA/jute/TOA composites were tested and characterized. The impact strength of PLA/jute/TOA composites significantly increases with increasing the content of TOA. The SEM images of fracture surface of PLA/jute/TOA composites become rough after the incorporation of TOA. In addition, TOA changes the crystallization temperature and decomposition process of PLA/jute/TOA composites. With increasing the amount of TOA, the value of storage modulus (E′) of PLA/jute/TOA composites gradually increases. The complex viscosity (η*) values for all samples reduce obviously with increasing the frequency, which means that the pure PLA and PLA/jute/TOA composites is typical pseudoplastic fluid. This is attributed to the formation of crosslinking, which restricts the deformation of the composites.

Norepinephrine (NE) is an important neurotransmitter in the body, and stress or injury of neurons in the locus ceruleus (LC) results in the change of NE level in the body. In this work, we developed a micro-needle electrode for real-time monitoring of NE release in rat brain LC and investigating the effects of alpha 2-adrenoceptors on norepinephrine release upon LC stimulation by different drugs. The micro-needle electrode was prepared by modified both Au nanotubes (AuNTs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the substrate of the acupuncture needle (AN). Due to excellent electrochemical performance and biocompatibility of the nanostructures, highly sensitive detection of NE was realized. The results had shown that the CNTs/AuNTs/AN micro-needle was capable of real-time monitoring NE in the linear range from 0.75 μM to 25 μM with the limit of detection of 0.26 μM in the cell culture medium. Moreover, the stainless steel acupuncture needle was easy to be inserted into the tissue for in vivo monitoring NE release in rat brain with minimal damage compared to other electrode materials. The results also demonstrated that alpha 2-adrenoceptors regulated the release of NE in the brain's locus ceruleus. This stable and sensitive micro-needle sensor had the potential application in studying neural signal transmission, which could potentially provide important new insights into the deep brain study as well as the mechanism underlying neurological disease of the nervous system.

Natural product (NP) has a long history in promoting modern drug discovery, which has derived or inspired a large number of currently prescribed drugs. Recently, the NPs have emerged as the ideal candidates to combine with other therapeutic strategies to deal with the persistent challenge of conventional therapy, and the molecular regulation mechanism underlying these combinations is crucial for the related communities. Thus, it is urgently demanded to comprehensively provide the disease-specific molecular regulation data for various NP-based drug combinations. However, no database has been developed yet to describe such valuable information. In this study, a newly developed database entitled ‘Natural Product-based Drug Combination and Its Disease-specific Molecular Regulation (NPCDR)’ was thus introduced. This database was unique in (a) providing the comprehensive information of NP-based drug combinations & describing their clinically or experimentally validated therapeutic effect, (b) giving the disease-specific molecular regulation data for a number of NP-based drug combinations, (c) fully referencing all NPs, drugs, regulated molecules/pathways by cross-linking them to the available databases describing their biological or pharmaceutical characteristics. Therefore, NPCDR is expected to have great implications for the future practice of network pharmacology, medical biochemistry, drug design, and medicinal chemistry. This database is now freely accessible without any login requirement at both official (https://idrblab.org/npcdr/) and mirror (http://npcdr.idrblab.net/) sites., Graphical Abstract Graphical AbstractNPCDR: natural product-based drug combination and its disease-specific molecular regulation.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic and progressively fatal disease, but clinically available therapeutic drugs are limited due to efficacy and side effects. The possible mechanism of pulmonary fibrosis includes the damage of alveolar epithelial cells II (AEC2), and activation of immune cells such as macrophages. The ions released from bioceramics have shown the activity in stimulating soft tissue derived cells such as fibroblasts, endothelia cells and epithelia cells, and regulating macrophage polarization. Therefore, this study proposes an “ion therapy” approach based on the active ions of bioceramic materials, and investigates the therapeutic effect of bioactive ions derived from calcium silicate (CS) bioceramics on mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis. We demonstrate that silicate ions significantly reduce pulmonary fibrosis by simultaneously regulating the functions of AEC2 and macrophages. This result suggests potential clinical applications of ion therapy for lung fibrosis., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights ● A novel treatment of pulmonary fibrosis based on ion therapy using bioactive ionic solution derived from silicate bioceramics (CS) was demonstrated. ● CS solution can stimulate the alveolar epithelial cells to repair damaged lung tissue. ● CS solution can regulate immune cells to inhibit inflammatory factor secretion and reduce the number of inflammatory cells in lung tissue.

In this work, the silk fibroin/cellulose blend nanofibrous membranes modified with sodium-3-sulfobenzoate (S-SCBNM) were fabricated by electrospinning technique for lysozyme adsorption. The morphology and structure of membranes was observed. The effect of sulfate contents, pH values and concentration of lysozyme on adsorption performance were studied, respectively. The reuse capacity was evaluated. The results showed that the resultant S-SCBNM exhibited integrated properties of ultrathin fiber diameter (148 nm), fast adsorption equilibrium, excellent adsorption performance (636 mg g−1) and good reversibility. We envision that this new class of green and natural blend membranes is particularly promising for the development of proteins separation.

The direct oxidation of methane (CH4) to methanol (CH3OH) has been a focus of global concern and is quite challenging due to the thermodynamically stable CH4 and uncontrolled overoxidation of the products. Here, we provided a new viewpoint on the role of oxygen vacancies that induce a dual-function center in enhancing the adsorption and activation of both CH4 and O2 reactants for the subsequent selective formation of a CH3OH liquid fuel on two-dimensional BiOCl photocatalysts at atmospheric pressure. The key for the favorable activity lies in the simultaneous ability of the electron-trapped Bi atom in activating CH4 and the formation of •O2- radicals due to the activation of O2 at the adjacent oxygen vacancy site, which immediately attack the activated CH4 to directly produce CH3OH, in initiating the oxidation reaction. What is more, the relatively low reaction barriers and the easy desorption of CH3OH concertedly facilitate the highly selective conversion of CH4 up to 85 μmol of CH3OH, with a small amount of CO2 and CO as the byproducts over the BiOCl nanosheets with an oxygen vacancy concentration of 2.4%. This work could broaden the avenue toward the application of oxygen-defective metal oxides in the photocatalytic selective conversion of CH4 to CH3OH and offer a disparate perspective on the role of oxygen vacancy acting as the surface electron transfer channel in enhancing the photocatalytic performance.

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) play an important role in insect resistance. As a common HIPV in tea plants (Camellia sinensis), β-ocimene has shown anti-insect function in other plants. However, whether β-ocimene in tea plants also provides insect resistance, and its mechanism of synthesis and emission are unknown. In this study, β-ocimene was confirmed to interfere with tea geometrid growth via signaling. Light was identified as the key factor controlling regular emission of β-ocimene induced by the wounding from tea geometrids. β-Ocimene synthase (CsBOS1) was located in plastids and catalyzed β-ocimene formation in overexpressed tobacco. CsBOS1 expression in tea leaves attacked by tea geometrids showed a day-low and night-high variation pattern, while CsABCG expression involved in volatile emission showed the opposite pattern. These two genes might regulate the regular β-ocimene emission from tea plants induced by tea geometrid attack. This study advances the understanding on HIPV emission and signaling in tea plants.

Herba Lysimachiae inhibits synovial damage in osteoarthritis via regulating two biolabels (integrin alpha 2b/beta 3). However, the relevant active ingredients are still unknown. Here, the active ingredients of herbal medicines were analyzed based on the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technology and public bioinformatics platforms. The liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technology was used for compound analysis, and public databases (PubChem BioAssay and STRING) were applied to establish the links between herbal compounds and both biolabels, and identify which herbal compounds may regulate these biolabels. Subsequently, osteoarthritis model was used to confirm the results. Totally, ninety compounds in Herba Lysimachiae were identified based on the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry technology. Bioinformatics analysis showed that five compounds (myricetin, fisetin, esculetin, 7-hydroxycoumarin-4-acetic acid, and caffeic acid) may synergistically regulate biolabels through 11 targets, which may be the active ingredients of Herba Lysimachiae for osteoarthritis treatment. In the verification experiments, five compounds markedly suppressed the overexpression of biolabels in the synovium of the osteoarthritis model. In conclusion, the present study effectively and rapidly analyzed the active ingredients of Herba Lysimachiae for osteoarthritis treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Wearable gas sensors can improve early warning provision for workers in special worksites and can also be used as flexible electronic platforms. Here, the flexible multifunctional gas sensor was prepared by grafting graphene oxide (GO)-Ag onto cotton fabric after swelling. The maximum bacterial inhibition rate of GO-150/cotton fabric was 95.6% for E. coli and 87.6% for S. aureus, while retaining the original high moisture permeability of cotton fabric. So GO/cotton fabric can resist the multiplication of bacteria. At the same time, GO can greatly improve the UV protection performance of cotton fabric used in garments. With increase of the GO concentration, the UV protection ability of composite fabric is enhanced. Finally, GO-Ag/cotton fabric sensors had stable NH3 gas-sensitive properties and good washing stability. In conclusion, these cotton fabric sensors with antibacterial properties, UV resistance and highly sensitive gas-sensitive properties have potential applications in wearable early warning devices and textile products.

Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) have potential effects on the anaerobic digestion of excess sludge. The effects of different concentrations of Fe3O4 NPs (0, 100, 200, 400 and 600 mg/L) on enzymes and microorganisms in anaerobic digestion were studied to explore the mechanism of the effect of Fe3O4 NPs on anaerobic digestion. The results showed that 100, 200 and 400 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs could promote anaerobic digestion, and 200 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs had the most obvious promoting effect. The activities of protease, cellulase, dehydrogenase, acetic kinase and coenzyme F420 in the 200 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs group reached 120 U/mg VS, 71.75 U/g VS, 135 U/mL, 94 mol/L, 1.37 umol/g VSS, respectively, which were 3.8 times, 1.5 times, 1.2 times, 1.2 times and 1.6 times of the blank group, respectively. However, when the concentration of Fe3O4 NPs reached 600 mg/L, the activities of cellulase, dehydrogenase and acetic kinase were lower than those of the blank group, and anaerobic digestion was inhibited. The above conclusions can also be confirmed by high-throughput sequencing. The abundance of longilinea and ornatilina in the 200 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs group was 8.8% and 4.1% respectively, and methanthrix abundance was 69%, which was more conducive to decomposition acetic acid into CH4.

In recent years, with the development of RNA sequencing technology and bioinformatics methods, the epigenetic modification of RNA based on N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of bioscience. m6A is the most abundant internal modification in eukaryotic messenger RNAs (mRNAs). m6A methylation modification can dynamically and reversibly regulate RNA transport, localization, translation and degradation through the interaction of methyltransferase, demethylase and reading protein. m6A methylation can regulate the expression of proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes at the epigenetic modification level to affect tumor occurrence and metastasis. The morbidity and mortality of esophageal cancer (EC) are still high worldwide. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is the most common tissue subtype of EC. This article reviews the related concepts, biological functions and recent advances of m6A methylation in ESCC, and looks forward to the prospect of m6A methylation as a new diagnostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for ESCC.

The rapid development of the automotive industry has led to the accumulation of a large number of waste tires that contain a lot of reusable energy. Macromolecular organics in waste tires can be crack small molecule organics via pyrolysis. In this experiment, thermogravimetry (TG) and pyrolizer-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (PY-GC/MS) were used to study the pyrolysis behavior of waste tires with different particle sizes, and the effect of temperature and particle size on the pyrolysis products of waste tires under low-temperature pyrolysis conditions, respectively. The volatile substances in waste tires decomposed intensively at 300-500�C and were completely pyrolyzed at 500�C. The content of limonene in the pyrolysis product was significant, and the yield of limonene could reach 27.73% when the waste tire particles were 0.180-0.250 mm and the pyrolysis temperature was 380�C. The mechanism of limonene formation from waste tires was discussed. This study indicated that raw material particle sizes and pyrolysis temperature could change the components and content of pyrolysis products.

The development of novel sonosensitizers with outstanding reactive oxygen (ROS) generation capacity and great biocompatibility poses a significant challenge for the clinical practice of sonodynamic therapy (SDT). In this work, hemoglobin (Hb) with natural metalloporphyrin was first shown to possess great potential as a sonosensitizer. Compared with traditional organic sonosensitizers, Hb had satisfactory sono-sensitizing efficiency because four the porphyrin molecules were separated by four polypeptide chains. This effectively avoided the problem of low ROS quantum yield caused by the stacking of hydrophobic porphyrins. Meanwhile, Hb is an efficient and safe oxygen carrier that may release O2 at hypoxic tumors site, which improved tumor oxygenation and subsequently enhanced SDT efficacy. Therefore, Hb was integrated with zeolitic imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF-8) to form a nanoplatform that demonstrated a potent suppression effect on deep-seated tumors under ultrasound irradiation.

In view of the high cost and complex operation of the traditional chemical method for the determination of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process, this study investigated the feasibility of using electrochemistry analysis to determine the effect of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) on the AD process. The quantity of electric charge of Fe3O4 NPs modified graphite electrode in sodium acetate electrolyte was higher than that of graphite electrode. The addition of Fe3O4 NPs was beneficial to improve the electrochemical activity of the electrode. On this basis, enzymes and microorganisms were extracted from anaerobic reactors containing different concentrations of Fe3O4 NPs to make electrodes respectively to further investigate the effects of Fe3O4 NPs on enzyme and microbial activities in AD. The electrochemical analysis results of the enzyme electrodes and microbial electrodes showed that the quantity of electric charge produced by the group of 200 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs was the highest. The cumulative biogas production of 200 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs was 809 mL/g VS, and better than other groups. These results showed that 200 mg/L Fe3O4 NPs was the best dosage, and the electrochemical analysis has higher sensitivity in the AD detection.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of resveratrol (RSV) on bortezomib (BTZ)-resistant multiple myeloma (MM) cells, and to elucidate the underlying mechanism of action. Methods: H929 cell lines were exposed to BTZ for 8 months to establish BTZ-resistant MM cell model. Cell proliferation was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was measured using annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining while cell cycle analysis was evaluated by flow cytometry. The expression of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling proteins (sonic hedgehog (SHH), smoothened (SMO), and glioma-associated oncogene homolog (GLI)) was analyzed by western blot. Results: H929R was confirmed as a MM cell line that is resistant to BTZ. RSV enhanced the sensitivity of H929R cells against BTZ via inhibition of cell viability and colony formation, induction of cell apoptosis and regulation of expression of apoptosis-related proteins. Furthermore, RSV inhibited the expression of Hh signaling proteins (p < 0.05. Conclusion: RSV enhances the sensitivity of MM cells to BTZ, partly via Hh signaling pathway. Thus, Hh pathway is a probable target for MM treatment, and RSV has potentials for use in the clinical management of MM.

Ten compounds (1–10) were obtained from soil-derived Penicillium cremeogriseum W1-1 with the antimicrobial guided isolation procedure. Among them, 4 presented broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities and its preliminary mechanisms were evaluated. Compound 4 showed growth inhibition on drug-resistant pathogenic strains Escherichia coli and Candida albicans with post-contact effect (PCE), changed the morphology and membrane structure, killed cells with leakage, inhibited the growth of C. albicans by eradicating biofilms. Interestingly, the fraction containing 4 presented in vivo anti-pathogenic activities in mice, indicating this indole diterpenoid alkaloid could been used as potential antimicrobial agent.

Hemp fibers-reinforced polypropylene (HP/PP) composite is strengthened and toughened by chemical treatment in a melt-blending process. The surface characters of the hemp fibers (HFs) treated by alkaline, γ-valerolactone (GVL) and dodecyl bromide (C12) are studied by FTIR. To evaluate the effect of each chemical treatment on HP/PP composites, the thermal stability, crystalline property, microstructure, mechanical property and rheology property have been studied. It is found that the composites with chemical treatment have improved mechanical property and thermal stability. Among those composites, the tensile modulus and maximum decomposition temperature (Tmax) of the dodecyl bromide treated composites are highest, and increase 18 % and 10 °C when compared with raw HFs. It is reveals that dodecyl bromide treatment could improve the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. A possible reinforcing mechanical that hemp fibers react with dodecyl bromide in the composites have been proposed.

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are a class of new-generation high-energy-density rechargeable batteries. However, the persisting issues of lithium polysulfide (LiPS) dissolution and shuttling severely impedes their practical applications. To address this challenge, we synthesized hierarchical porous carbon nanonet flakes (CNNFs) decorated with a small amount of loosely distributed MoS₂, as an effective interlayer for LiPSs stabilization. Due to the special hierarchical porous structures with large abundant micro-, meso-, and macro-pores derived from the linear-PEI-templated CNNFs and the chemisorption and electrocatalytic effects for MoS₂, the shuttling of the soluble polysulfides intermediates is efficiently alleviated, accompanied by a stabilized Li⁺ transportation pathway for the cell. A high initial capacity of 1413.8 mA h·g–¹ at 0.1 C and a stable capacity of 897.5 mA h·g–¹ at 0.5 C after 200 cycles are obtained, corresponding to a capacity decay rate of 0.063% per cycle. Moreover, after 500 cycles at 1 C, a discharging capacity of 515.7 mA h g–¹ with a Coulombic efficiency of 98.7% can be obtained. The trapping of polysulfides and the synergistic maintenance of electron and ion pathway can provide an effective stabilization strategy for high-performance lithium–sulfur battery.

Multiple displacement amplification (MDA) is a popular single-cell whole-genome amplification (WGA) technique that can greatly improve the amplification efficiency of single-cell genomes. However, there is an inherent problem that cannot be completely solved, that is, the amplification bias. We here propose an improved MDA method based on low melting agarose gel, named gelMDA. Firstly, the agarose gel and solution were characterized with SEM and fluorescent reagent. Then, we used gelMDA for cDNA amplification in library preparation of RNA-seq, and conventional MDA was used as a comparison. The sensitivity, efficiency of gelMDA, and amplification bias were evaluated with fluorescence curve, product yield, and the sequencing results. Finally, gelMDA was used for single-cell transcriptome sequencing. The results showed that the sensitivity and product yield of gelMDA were significantly higher than those of conventional MDA. A lower coefficient of variation (CV) and a higher reproducibility were obtained from gelMDA sequencing results. A region of 30 μm in diameter was amplified from the tissue sections and successfully sequenced. In conclusion, gelMDA obtained higher amplification efficiency and lower amplification bias in the present study. It suggested the great potential in single-cell RNA amplification and sequencing.

Pediatric lymphoma is a kind of malignant tumor with high mortality. The complexity of pediatric lymphoma shows a great challenge for effective diagnosis and treatment. In order to meet the challenge, the combination of pseudotargeted and targeted metabolomics was used to analyze the serum metabolites in pediatric lymphoma patients and healthy controls for discovering the metabolites related to pediatric lymphoma. The serum samples were obtained from the treatment group ( n = 43 ), the control group ( n = 26 ), and the patients group ( n = 18 ). A total of 17 serum metabolites, including carnitine, leucine, creatine, urea, (6Z,9Z,12Z)-octadecatrienoic acid, linoleate, octadecenoic acid, L-palmitoylcarnitine, hexadecanoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, (9Z)-hexadecenoic acid, uric acid, glucose, 1-methylnicotinamide, hypoxanthine, L-glutamine, and taurine, were found to be related to pediatric lymphoma. They could provide a scientific diagnostic basis and therapeutic target for pediatric lymphoma and elucidate the mechanism of pediatric lymphoma.

Herein, a novel DNA cascade amplification, including double hairpin DNAs recognition-triggered single-target recycling (D-STR) and concatenated DNA structure-controlled rolling circle amplification (C-RCA), was developed as a signal amplifier to construct a highly specific and ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) DNA fragments detection, which not only revealed tremendous potential in avoiding false positive signals but also obviously promoted the amplification efficiency simultaneously compared to conventional single recognition of the target. Once the target DNA triggered the rolling circle amplification (RCA), the obtained RCA products could be anchored on the Pt-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) via the Pt-N bond, capturing massive ruthenium (Ru)-labeled ssDNA as the ECL signal tag to generate remarkable ECL emission. As a result, the proposed biosensor showed highly specific and ultrasensitive detection of the target with the detection limit down to 27.0 aM, which gives great impetus to the development of a novel specific biosensor for practical bioanalysis and diagnostic technologies.

The O-site reactivity of difluoroenoxysilanes is disclosed for the first time, which enabled the direct construction of versatile gem-difluoroalkenes through an unprecedented highly efficient addition reaction with ketenes. A series of valuable gem-difluoroenol esters were achieved in good to excellent yields. The synthetic versatility of this protocol is further demonstrated by the gram-scale synthesis and good functional group tolerance.

Chaenomeles speciosa (Sweet) Nakai is a dual-purpose Chinese herbal medicine and functional food favored by minorities in Southwest China, and its fruits are used for the treatment of dyspepsia, dysentery, enteritis, and rheumatism inflammation. Some diseases may be related to microbial infection; however, it is not known how the fruits possess antimicrobial activity. We evaluated the antimicrobial bioctivity of different evaluation extracts of C. speciosa fruits by in vitro and in vivo with colony-forming unit assays, and the strongest bioactive-guided fraction was selected for column chromatography (CC), UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS, and NMR spectroscopy to confirm the chemical constituents. The most possible antimicrobial mechanism of C. speciosa fruits was explored by metabolomics approach, fluorescence microscopy imaging, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thirty compounds, which were major characteristic ions of the bioactive fraction, were determined precisely. The bioactive fraction could inhibit 18 pathogenic microorganisms, significantly reduced, especially drug-resistant bacteria, compared to ampicillin sodium salt, fluconazole, and berberine chloride form; and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) or minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values were in the range of 0.1-1 mg/mL. The compounds 2'-methoxyaucuparin (1) and oleanolic acid (20) not only have antibacterial activity but also may have synergistic effects. Further, the bioactive fraction might inhibit the biofilm formation, enhance immunity, and restore bacterial infection damage in vitro and in vivo to kill microorganisms. The data indicated that C. speciosa fruits' major bioactive fraction enriched with triterpenes, flavonoids, and phenolics could be developed as a functional supplement for individuals to prevent and treat microbial infection.

Photothermal catalysis, which couples both solar and thermal energies, has burgeoned as a promising approach to drive catalytic reactions. However, the utilization of light irradiation to tune the ...

This study evaluated the effect of incorporating phosphorylated chitosan/amorphous calcium phosphate nanocomplex (Pchi/ACP) into an experimental light-cure composite resin on mechanical-chemical properties and human dentin remineralization. The results showed that the mechanical strength and contact angles of the resins decreased with the increase incorporation of Pchi/ACP. Release concentrations of calcium in saline solution were measured at different time points, showing the incorporation of Pchi/ACP significantly increased calcium release within 14 days, and kept steady thereafter. Finally, the demineralized dentin slabs treated with our resins for four weeks were characterized by SEM-EDS. Various amounts of apatite were formed on the dentin slabs which were treated with the resins containing Pchi/ACP, whereas no apatite was formed without Pchi/ACP. In conclusion, the Pchi/ACP-incorporating composite resin can be a promising dental material due to its favorable mechanical and remineralization properties.

The study investigated the effects of the addition of 0% (control group, CG), 0.25, 0.35, and 0.45% superfine smashed okra powder (SSOP) or carrageenan (CAR), and 0.25% SSOP – 0.35% CAR complex (OC) on the quality of chicken meatballs. Chicken meatballs fabricated with the SSOP-CAR complex showed better quality as compared to the other treatments. The lowest cooking loss was observed in the OC group, which corresponded to significantly decreased relaxation times of low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) (T 21 and T 22) (P L* and a* values of chicken meatballs were significantly decreased due to the addition of SSOP (P G′) and loss modulus of chicken meat batter upon heating (P P

The lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery is an ideal electrochemical energy storage system owing to the high theoretical energy density and acceptable cost of finance and the environment. However, some di...

Although Dongting-Biluochun tea is one of the top 10 teas in China, little research has been done on its chemical composition. The phytochemical study of leaves of Dongting-Biluochun tea resulted i...

The mechanical performance of nanomaterial-reinforced polymer nanocomposites is a prerequisite for their engineering implementations, which is largely determined by the interfacial load transfer efficiency. This work investigates the role of the nanofillers via molecular dynamics simulations under different deformation scenarios, mimicking a maximum and minimum load transfer scenario from the polymer matrix. On the basis of the polyethylene (PE) nanocomposite reinforced by a new nanofiller-carbon nanothread (NTH), we find that the loading conditions dominantly determine its enhancement effect on the mechanical properties of the PE nanocomposite. Under tensile deformation, the ultimate tensile strength of the PE nanocomposite receives around 61 to 211% increment when the filler deforms simultaneously with the PE matrix. However, such enhancement is largely suppressed when the NTH is deforming nonsimultaneously. Similar results are observed from the compressive deformation. Specifically, both morphology and functionalization are found to alter the enhancement effect from the NTH fillers, while also relying on the loading directions. Overall, this work provides an in-depth understanding of the role of the nanofiller. The observations signify the importance of establishing effective load transfer at the interface, which could benefit the design and fabrication of high-performance polymer nanocomposites.

Four iridium (III) complexes Ir1-Ir4 were synthesized and characterized. Possessing high singlet oxygen production ability and specific mitochondria-localization, Ir1 was developed as a mitochondria-targeting photosensitizer. Ir1 exhibited strong phototoxicity against cancer cell line A549 and its corresponding cisplatin-resistant one A549R. In contrast, Ir1 showed low cytotoxicity toward normal cell HLF. This selectivity resulted from the different uptake amount. With 405 nm irradiation, Ir1 induced mitochondria-mediated cell death in A549R cells, achieving the overcome of drug-resistant.

Abstract Plasticizers belong to hormone-like substances existing widely in the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency of China, they are considered to be the fourth class of toxic chemicals due to their harmful effects on normal endocrine system in human bodies. In the recent published work of our lab, Lactobacillus plantarum CGMCC18980 (strain P1) could reduce the toxicity of di-butyl phthalate (DBP) in rats effectively. The purpose of this study is to further explore the adsorption mechanism of di-butyl phthalate to L. plantarum CGMCC18980, based on optimizing the adsorption conditions. As a consequence, the adsorption effect of L. plantarum CGMCC18980 attributed to relationships between exopolysaccharide, membrane protein, and the cell wall. Experimental results demonstrated that exopolysaccharide and the cell wall were devoted to DBP binding. An obvious adsorption layer was observed outside of L. plantarum CGMCC18980 through scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that the functional groups involved in adsorption were mainly C=O, C-N, and C-O, which related to lipids and polysaccharides. Zeta potential analysis indicated that DBP adsorption had no significant relationship with surface charge. These results revealed that exopolysaccharide may be the key factor of strain CGMCC18980 in DBP adsorption. Key points • Lactobacillus plantarum CGMCC18980 has the ability to adsorb di-butyl phthalate, reaching to 58.63%. • Exopolysaccharide is considered to play a key role in adsorption process. • Membrane protein, cell wall, and surface charge do not contribute to adsorption.

A new xanthene dye, namely ImX, has been facilely prepared by reaction of 4-(1H-Imidazol-1-yl)benzaldehyde with N, N-diethyl-3-aminophenol in concentrated propionic acid, and then treated by p-chloranil. ImX presents the maximum absorption and emission band centered at 562 nm and 583 nm in water, respectively. Fluorescent spectra investigations demonstrate that ImX shows viscosity-selective fluorescent response and emission enhancement when the solvent viscosity increases from 1.1 cp. (water) to 1248 cp. (98 % glycerol). In addition, this viscosity-selective fluorescence response covers a wide pH range from 2.5 to 10.0. More significantly, ImX demonstrates low cytotoxicity and can be employed as tracer for the detection of Monensin-triggered viscosity enhancement by cell imaging.

Transition-metal oxide photocatalysis has attracted increasing attention in environmental remediation and solar energy conversion. Surface lattice oxygen is the key active site on the metal oxide, but its role and activation mechanism in the photocatalytic VOC mineralization are still unclear. In this work, we have demonstrated that Sr2Sb2O7 exhibits an excellent photocatalytic activity and stability compared to TiO2 (P25) in gaseous toluene mineralization because the lattice oxygen on Sr2Sb2O7 can be activated efficiently. The lattice oxygen of Sr2Sb2O7 promotes the adsorption and activation of O2 and H2O molecules and enhances the production of •O2- and •OH radicals, as confirmed by the electron spin resonance and DFT calculations. The in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy spectra are applied to dynamically monitor the intermediate activation and selective conversion. Combined with DFT calculation, the role and the mechanism of lattice oxygen in photocatalysis have been revealed. Owing to the promoted surface lattice oxygen, the selectivity for benzoic acid formation is enhanced and final product desorption is promoted, which could largely advance the ring opening and mineralization of toluene. This work reveals the origin of lattice oxygen activation and the role for efficient VOC degradation at the atomic scale.

Levan is a polymer of fructose synthesized by levansucrase using sucrose as the substrate, which is employed as a viscosifier, stabilizer, emulsifier, and gelling or water-binding agent for diverse...

Ni-rich layered oxide LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) is one of the most promising cathode candidates for high-energy-density lithium batteries. However, the extensive application of NCA is hindered due to the notorious electrode/electrolyte interfacial issues. To address the above bottleneck, a new gel polymer electrolyte is prepared with maleic anhydride/hexafluorobutyl methacrylate/methyl methacrylate at a ratio of 1 : 1 : 1 via in situ polymerization. A high electrochemical stability window of 5.5 V vs. Li+/Li and ionic conductivity of 1.1 × 10−3 S cm−2 are achieved, which suggest the superior high-voltage stability and fast ion migration dynamics of poly(maleic anhydride–hexafluorobutyl methacrylate–methyl methacrylate) (PMHM) electrolyte that are contributed by C–F and ester/acid anhydride groups in the polymer chain. As a result, the NCA/PMHM/Li battery delivers stable cycling performance with a capacity retention of 91.8% after 200 cycles at 0.5C, and a high capacity retention of 77.7% after 500 cycles at 1C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results reveal the stability of interfacial chemistry and the integrity of cathode structure. This work indicates that the in situ polymerized hexafluorobutyl methacrylate-based electrolyte is imperative to address the interfacial issues and boost the development of high-energy lithium metal batteries with a Ni-rich cathode.

Photocatalytic splitting of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) for hydrogen evolution is a promising method to solve the energy and environmental issues. In this work, S,N-codoped carbon dots (S,N-CDs)/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheet is synthesized by hydrothermal method as an efficient photocatalyst for the decomposition of H2S. In addition to the characterization of the morphology and structure, chemical state, optical and electrochemical performances of S,N-CDs/g-C3N4, hydrogen evolution tests show that the activity of g-C3N4 is improved by introducing S,N-CDs, and the enhancement depends strongly on the wavelength of incident light. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of S,N-CDs/g-C3N4 composite reaches 832 μmol g−1h−1, which is 38 times to that of g-C3N4 under irradiation at 460 nm. Density functional theory calculations and electron paramagnetic resonance as well as photoluminescence technologies have altogether authenticated that the unique wavelength-dependent photosensitization of S,N-CDs on g-C3N4; meanwhile, a good match between the energy level of S,N-CDs and g-C3N4 is pivotal for the effective photocatalytic activity. Our work has unveiled the detailed mechanism of the photocatalytic activity enhancement in S,N-CDs/g-C3N4 composite and showed its potential in photocatalytic splitting of H2S for hydrogen evolution.

Since the discovery of carbocations in 1901, the past 120 years have witnessed many marvelous advances in the chemistry of carbocations. The state-of-the-art research in this field is to overcome the intrinsic instability and high reactivity of the prochiral carbocationic intermediates to develop catalytic asymmetric reactions. Such transformations enable the facile synthesis of structurally diverse value-added products from readily available starting materials such as alkenes, alcohols, and carbonyl derivatives, and enjoy high and even perfect atom-economy in most cases. Notably, such allows catalytic stereoconvergent synthesis from racemic substrates and can realize regioselectivity in olefin functionalization reactions complementary to radical processes. With the rapid developments in modern asymmetric organocatalysis, a variety of highly enantioselective protocols evolving prochiral carbocationic intermediates have been achieved by employing three strategies, namely chiral ion-pairing, chiral nucleophile, or chiral carbenium ion strategy. This feature article aims to summarize the exciting advances in this emerging area and briefly showcase the possible mechanisms. The advantages and limitations of each strategy are presented as well as their synthetic applications in the synthesis of natural products or bioactive compounds.

Polymer nanocomposites with high thermal conductivity have been increasingly sought after in the electronic industry. Based on molecular dynamics simulations, this work assesses the thermal transport in polyethylene (PE) nanocomposites with the presence of a new one-dimensional nanofiller-a carbon nanothread (NTH). It is found that the axial thermal conductivity of PE nanocomposites increases linearly with the content of regularly aligned NTH fillers, while the aggregated pattern suppresses the enhancement effect. This phenomenon is explained by a stronger filler-filler interaction that reduces the intrinsic thermal conductivity of the NTH. Results show that the randomly dispersed NTHs can hardly promote heat transfer because effective heat transfer channels are lacking. Strikingly, surface functionalization has an adverse effect on the thermal conductivity due to the presence of additional voids. The presence of voids answers a long-standing open question that functionalization of the heat conductive filler only slightly improves the thermal conductivity of the polymer composite. Additionally, the transverse thermal conductivity degrades in the presence of the NTH and exhibits no clear correlation with the filler content or the distribution pattern. Overall, this study provides an in-depth understanding of the heat transfer within the polymer nanocomposites, which opens up possibilities for the preparation of highly conductive polymers.

Chiral polycyclic chromanones are important heterocyclic frameworks that constitute the core structures of many natural products and bioactive molecules. As starting materials, the chromone-based reactants are very efficient building blocks in the synthesis of these scaffolds, which could be achieved in one step via catalytic asymmetric annulation reactions and is difficult to duplicate with other strategies. In this review, the catalytic asymmetric domino annulation of polycyclic chromanones is summarized and classified according to the types of chromone-based reactants for the first time. Both organocatalysis and metallic organocatalysis of the asymmetric domino annulation reaction were described along with the catalytic mechanisms and related transformations.

Fe2+-baicalein-polyethylene glycol (Fe-BaP) nanoparticles were synthesized by a room temperature wet chemical method via coordination between Fe2+ and baicalein. Fe-BaP possessed high photothermal conversion efficiency (η = 45.6%) and excellent antitumor efficacy was achieved with the synergistic photothermal/chemodynamic tumor therapy.

Specialized metabolites in tea (Camellia sinensis) are fundamental quality factors. It is important to characterize gene function in vivo to identify key enzymes and reactions involved in the biosynthesis of such metabolites. Here we report a transient expression method to analyze gene function in isolated tea mesophyll protoplasts. This method is an alternative approach to traditional genetic transformation for studies on gene function in vivo. We screened several tea cultivars and different digestion conditions to optimize protoplast isolation. Digestion of newly emerged leaves of C. sinensis ‘Zhongbai 4’ with 3% cellulase R-10 and 0.3% macerozyme R-10 for about 12 h yielded approximately 107 mesophyll protoplasts. Genes encoding enzymes involved in secondary metabolite synthesis were transiently expressed in the protoplasts, and their subcellular locations were determined. With further improvements in the transfection efficiency, this transient expression system will contribute greatly to the analyses of in vivo gene function in tea.