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Although gene therapy is an attractive option for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, the ideal gene delivery systems are still under investigation and must meet the following criteria: safety, adequate gene transfer efficiency, and stable expression of the transgene for a duration appropriate for treating the disease. In this study, we developed a cationic phosphorylcholine-containing diblock copolymer, namely MPC30-DEA70, as carrier systems to deliver a chemically synthesized transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-β1) antisense oligonucleotide (AS-ODN) into cardiomyocytes (CMs) to observe the cell transfection efficiency of MPC30-DEA70 and the inhibition effect on the expression of TGF-β1. MPC30-DEA70/TGF-β1 AS-ODN complexes were formed through complexation between copolymer MPC30-DEA70 (N) and AS-ODN (P) at different N/P ratios and were characterized by DNA electrophoresis. Notably, the cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition assay showed that the MPC30-DEA70 had low cytotoxicity to CMs within the effective transfection dosage range (<20 μL/mL). CLSM/TEM images displayed that most of the AS-ODN molecules engulfed by cells were located around the cell nuclei, and a few entered into the cell nuclei without harming the organelles in the cell. Transfection studies from CMs indicated a steady increase of transfection efficiency with increasing N/P ratios. The expression levels of TGF-β1 mRNA and protein in CMs were significantly inhibited at high N/P ratios. This study shows that MPC30-DEA70 can function as an effective transgenic vector into CMs and that TGF-β1 AS-ODN delivered by MPC30-DEA70 can silence the expression of the TGF-β1 gene efficiently and specifically and thereafter antagonize TGF-β1-mediated biological function in cardiomyocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing the sintering of nano‐catalyst is crucial to maintain their performance especially for high‐temperature reactions such as CO2 reforming of methane (DRM) reaction. In this paper, we design CeO2 nanorod@Ni phyllosilicate (CeO2@NiPhy) catalysts with different NiPhy shell thickness to simultaneously preserve the morphology of CeO2 nanorod and prevent the sintering of Ni. Compared with Ni/CeO2 supported catalyst, CeO2@NiPhy core‐shell catalyst with a shell thickness of 9 nm exhibits much better performance for DRM with stable CH4 and CO2 conversions of 75 % and 80 % respectively and lower carbon deposition due to high Ni sintering resistance and higher thermal stability of CeO2 during calcination and DRM reaction thereby higher oxygen vacancies concentration. In‐situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra result demonstrates that DRM reaction takes place with a bi‐functional mechanism on CeO2@NiPhy. This design strategy can be applied to prepare other nano‐catalysts with high sintering resistance of both active metal and catalyst support for high‐temperature applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid progress of seawater desalination technology, concentrated brine has not been effectively used due to the lack of mature development and treatment process. Direct emissions of concentrated brine are seriously harmful to the ecological environment. At the same time, massive emissions of carbon dioxide have exacerbated the greenhouse effect. Aiming at the resource utilization of concentrated brine and carbon dioxide, combined with the previous research basis of using calcium hydroxide as the precipitant to prepare magnesium hydroxide, this paper proposes a carbonization technical process to prepare magnesium bicarbonate using magnesium hydroxide as the precursor from low magnesium systems. The research focused on the carbonization process of magnesium hydroxide, investigating the influence of liquid-solid ratio, temperature, carbon dioxide gas velocity, stirring speed, and raw material difference on the carbonization process, and monitoring the change of calcium and magnesium ion concentration and pH value during the carbonization process. It was found that under room temperature and atmospheric pressure, the carbonization effect was the best when the liquid-solid ratio was 40, the carbon dioxide gas velocity was 400 mL/min, and the stirring speed was 300 r/min, the concentration of Mg2+ in the carbonization solution from magnesium hydroxide (AR) was 0.315 mol/L and there existed no Ca2+, the concentration of Mg2+ in the carbonization solution from self-made magnesium hydroxide was 0.203 mol/L, the concentration of Ca2+ was 3.2 x 10-4 mol/L, calcium impurities were basically separated. The particle size and dispersion of magnesium hydroxide had a significant impact on the carbonization effect, smaller particle size and better dispersion promoted the carbonization process. The shrinking core model of magnesium hydroxide was briefly discussed at the same time, the fits of the carbonization process at different slurry temperatures showed good linearity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple rhodamine-based compound CK was designed and synthesized as a fluorescent chemosensor for Sn2+ based on Sn2+-mediated cyclization. The optical investigation indicated that the probe could quantitatively detect Sn2+ in a concentration range of 10–30 μM, with a detection limit of 118 nM. Moreover, probe CK, with low cytotoxicity, was successfully applied for imaging of Sn2+ in HeLa cells and mice, exhibiting excellent biocompatibility and cell membrane permeability. For on-site monitoring, CK-hybridized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and successfully employed for the visual detection of Sn2+ in actual samples. All the results demonstrated that the chemosensor could be a promising tool for the detection of Sn2+ in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rising need for efficient and flexible short-distance urban transportation, more vehicle sharing companies are offering one-way car-sharing services. Electrified vehicle sharing systems are even more effective in terms of reducing fuel consumption and carbon emission. In this article, we investigate a dynamic fleet management problem for an Electric Vehicle (EV) sharing system that faces time-varying random demand and electricity price. Demand is elastic in each time period, reacting to the announced price. To maximize the revenue, the EV fleet optimizes trip pricing and EV dispatching decisions dynamically. We develop a new value function approximation with input convex neural networks to generate high-quality solutions. Through a New York City case study, we compare it with standard dynamic programming methods and develop insights regarding the interaction between the EV fleet and the power grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eco-friendly functionalized TiO2/polymer antifouling (AF) coating was successfully synthesized by dispersing TiO2 nanoparticles in waterborne epoxy-modified tung oil resin. The AF effectiveness of coating was evaluated toward Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, ATCC6538), Escherichia coli (E. coli, ATCC8739) and diatom (Cyclotella sp., FACHB-1635). The nanoTiO2/polymer AF coating showed good antimicrobial activity both under the light and dark conditions by comparison with the pristine TiO2 nanoparticles and bulk polymer. Under light irradiation for 50 min, the AF coating showed only 8.4% and 8% survival rate for S. aureus and E. coli. In addition, The AF coatings exhibited favorable inhibition efficacy toward the growth and adhesion of Cyclotella sp., and the efficacy was enhanced with the increase of TiO2 content. It can be concluded that TiO2 nanoparticles endow the AF coatings with promoted fouling resistance properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Osteoporosis and sarcopenia are major health issues in postmenopausal women due to their high prevalence and association with several adverse outcomes. However, no biomarkers may be used for screening and diagnosis. The current study investigated potential biomarkers for osteoporosis and/or sarcopenia in postmenopausal women.Methods: A cross-sectional study on 478 healthy community-dwelling postmenopausal women aged 50-90 years was performed. Osteoporosis and sarcopenia were defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS).Results: Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) was related to muscle strength (β = 0.19, p = 0.041) and function (β = 0.58, p = 0.004). Follistatin (β = - 0.27, p = 0.01) was related to muscle mass. Oxytocin (β = 0.59, p = 0.044) and DHEA (β = 0.51, p = 0.017) were related to bone mass. After adjusting for age, oxytocin (odds ratio (OR) 0.75; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.63-0.98; p = 0.019) was associated with osteoporosis, and DHEA (OR 0.73; 95% CI 0.51-0.96; p = 0.032) and follistatin (OR 1.66; 95% CI 1.19-3.57; p = 0.022) were associated with sarcopenia.Conclusions: Postmenopausal women with sarcopenia were more likely to have lower DHEA levels and higher follistatin levels, and postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were more likely to have lower oxytocin levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Five non-fully-fused ring acceptors were designed by end-cap modification strategy. • The various characteristics of original and designed molecules were compared. • The designed acceptors have more excellent properties than the reference acceptor. • Functional group substitution outdo halogen replacement in boosting molecular property. End-capped modification is an efficacious strategy for developing high-performance acceptor materials. In this paper, the experimentally synthesized A-D-A'-D-A type non-fully-fused ring acceptor IDTBT-4F (R) was used as a reference molecule, and five small molecule acceptors for R1-R5 were investigated by changing R's terminal functional groups. By using DFT/B3PW91/6-31G (d,p) method, the ground-state structures of all molecules were studied. The absorption spectra of these acceptors were gained by the TD-DFT/MPW1PW91/6-31G (d,p) approach. Meanwhile, the charge density difference and transition density matrix were analyzed effectively. It can be observed that, compared to the R molecule, all developed molecules exhibited narrower energy gaps, larger absorption wavelengths, more red-shifted absorption spectra, lower excitation energies, higher dipole moment and greater electron-accepting capacity. The strategy of functional group substitution is superior to halogen substitution in improving the aforementioned parameters. Both terminal π-extension and end-group chlorination strategies can synergistically enhance molecular performance. In addition, we also calculated the electron mobility of the dimers constructed by all the molecules, among which R1 and R4 molecules designed with –COOCH 3 functional group substitution and R2 molecule with terminal chlorination achieved superior electron mobility compared to R molecule due to their significant electronic coupling. Overall, the study shows that the designed molecules can be highly effective candidates for applications of organic solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]