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Liver fibrosis (LF) is known as a result of the progressive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), and always ascribed to chronic liver diseases. Advanced liver fibrosis results in cirrhosis, liver failure, portal hypertension, and even multi-organ dysfunction and will bring up a health care burden worldwide. Cyclic AMP response-element binding protein (CREB), as a critical transcriptional factor, binds with conserved cAMP response-element (CRE), which is located in the promoter of targeted genes, to regulate the transcription. In the past decades, numerous studies have contributed to improved understanding of the links between CREB and liver fibrosis. In this review, we will summarize molecular mechanisms of CREB pathways and discuss contributions of CREB to liver fibrosis, focusing on activation and proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), proliferation of cholangiocytes, deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) and inflammation, for the development of antifibrotic therapies.

Scoparone, a naturally-occurring, bioactive compound isolated from the Chinese herb Artemisia capillaria, has been shown to ameliorate hepatotoxicity and cholestasis in liver diseases. However, the pharmacological effect of scoparone in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the protective effects and mechanisms of scoparone in NASH. In vivo, the NASH model was established in mice fed a methionine and choline-deficient (MCD) diet for 4weeks, with or without simultaneous scoparone treatment. In vitro, RAW264.7 cells induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were pretreated with or without different concentrations of scoparone. Hepatic triglycerides and serum AST and ALT levels were examined by biochemical assays. Hepatic histology was assessed by H&E, oil red O and Masson's trichrome staining methods, which were applied to analyze the protective effects of scoparone in NASH. To further explore the underlying mechanism of scoparone, immunohistochemistry, TUNEL, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting assays were applied to liver tissue or LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. We found that scoparone can effectively improve hepatic steatosis, apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrosis in an MCD diet-induced NASH murine model. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that scoparone treatment alleviates NASH- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced immune responses in macrophages partly by blocking TLR-4/NF-κB signaling in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, our results present the potential protective effects and mechanism of scoparone in NASH, suggesting a potentially beneficial drug treatment for NASH.

Background Increased percentage of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients in June 2016 was observed. P aeruginosa were also obtained from flexible bronchoscope and rinse water in the microbiological surveillance in June 2016. Methods Reprocessing procedure of bronchoscope was assessed, and environmental samples were collected. P aeruginosa isolates recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients between May and September 2016 and environment were characterized using multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Results A novel multilocus sequence type (ST) of P aeruginosa was defined as ST 2387. ST671 and ST 2387 were both cultured from bronchoscopes and connecting tube in manual reprocessing cleaning equipment. One strain from a patient was indistinguishable from the clones obtained from the bronchoscope and connecting tube revealed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Two strains from 2 patients from the burn intensive care unit were identical, and highly related to 2 other strains from the burn intensive care unit. The persistence of P aeruginosa in bronchoscopes, connecting tubes, and final rinse water was terminated by replacement of the connecting tube. Conclusions We report a pseudo-outbreak of P aeruginosa associated with bronchoscope, for which connecting tube was the hidden reservoir for contaminating bronchoscopes. This highlights that effective measures are needed to control the bacterial load in final rinsing water to protect reusable equipment from contamination in reprocessing and cleaning.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a vital role in tumourigenesis, including that of glioma. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (SNHG1) is a relatively novel lncRNA that is involved in the development of multiple human tumours. However, its underlying molecular mechanism in glioma has not been completely clarified. In this study, we show that SNHG1 is overexpressed in glioma tissues and cell lines. A series of functional assays suggested that SNHG1 promotes glioma progression in vitro and in vivo. Next, through online databases, a luciferase reporter assay and an RNA pull-down assay, we confirmed that SNHG1 functions as a sponge for miR-194, which acts as a suppressor in glioma. We also verified that pleckstrin homology like domain family A, member 1 (PHLDA1) is the functional target of miR-194. Moreover, rescue experiments demonstrated that SNHG1 regulates PHLDA1 expression in a miR-194-dependent manner. Taken together, our study shows that SNHG1 promotes glioma progression by competitively binding to miR-194 to regulate PHLDA1 expression, which may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for glioma.

This study investigated the reactions among CO

Black phosphorus (BP) was firstly and successfully synthesized in 1914. But it has given a new life after many years until the rediscovery of two-dimensional (2D) BP in 2014, which inspires the craze for studying BP once again. This review begins with the preparation of BP, which is divided into two parts: the preparation of bulk BP and 2D BP. This review highlights its catalytic potential on Oxygen Evolution Reaction no matter the morphology such as bulk BP, 2D BP and atomic doping, compared to that of the precious metals with high price. In addition, BP has excellent performance in sensors due to its special direct band gap and excellent electron mobility. BP owns specific high capacity making it stand out as a bright star as the electrode materials applied in Lithium battery. More importantly, the application restriction of BP is delicately analyzed and some suggestions are put forward. Finally, the outlook including future and development trends and application prospects lying in the road ahead of BP research are simultaneously discussed.

Micro-resolution range finder (MRRF) is an essential tool in various cutting-edge fields such as shooting macro, precision instrument, vibration monitoring and micro-collision-avoidance systems. Desirable MRRF requires micro-scale precision, high accuracy, rapid response, and long-term cycling stability. Yet conventional MRRFs based on optical feedback, precise machining, piezoelectric effects and magnetostriction are still limited by complicated designs, precise sequence of tasks, and cumbersome device volume. As such, for the first time, we present a new-type of micro-distance sensor consisting of reduced graphene oxide/high-oriented polypyrrole foam (rGO/HOPPyF) for MRRF. Based on the distance-resistance property of the as-prepared foam, the micro-distance sensor has shown advantages of easy operation, low cost, miniaturized device. Here, large-rate resistance change and great mechanical stability are realized in rGO/HOPPyF, thus allowing precise and accurate micro-distance detection. The micro-distance sensor demonstrates ultrahigh sensitivities of 386.7, 1260 and 546.7 m−1 within the step-length regions of 10 ~ 80, 80 ~ 290, 290 ~ 570 µm, respectively. Remarkably, both the precision and accuracy of our sensor are superior over those of the commercial micrometer and laser rangefinders, providing a new technological advance towards practical MRRF.

Yolk sac tumor (YST) is a common malignant primitive germ cell tumor that often exhibits differentiation into endodermal structures. They most commonly occur in childhood and adolescence and are rare after the age of 40 years. Derived from the yolk sac during the embryonic period, YSTs can occur in the gonads and germ cells because the tumor cells migrate from the yolk sac toward the gonads. Here, we present a rare case of primary gluteus YST in a 3-year-old girl. She received BEP chemotherapy (bleomycin + etoposide + cisplatin) after surgical resection. There was no evidence of recurrence 7 months after primary treatment.

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury causes acute organ damage or dysfunction, and remains a problem for liver transplantation. In the I-R phase, the generation of reactive oxygen species aggravates the injury. In the current study, a novel selenocysteine-containing 7‑mer peptide (H-Arg-Sec-Gly-Arg-Asn-Ala-Gln-OH) was constructed to imitate the active site of an antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase (GPX). The 7‑mer peptide which has a lower molecular weight, and improved water‑solubility, higher stability and improved cell membrane permeability compared with other GPX mimics. Its GPX activity reached 13 U/µmol, which was 13 times that of ebselen (a representative GPX mimic). The effect of this GPX mimic on I‑R injury of the liver was assessed in rats. The 7‑mer peptide significantly inhibited the increase in serum hepatic amino‑transferases, tissue malondialdehyde, nitric oxide contents, myeloperoxidase activity and decrease of GPX activity compared with I‑R tissue. Following treatment with the 7‑mer peptide, the expression of B‑cell CLL/lymphoma‑2 (Bcl‑2) was significantly upregulated at the mRNA and protein level compared with the I‑R group, as determined by reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry, respectively. By contrast, Bcl‑2 associated X protein (Bax) was downregulated by the 7‑mer peptide compared the I‑R group. Histological and ultrastructural changes of the rat liver tissue were also compared among the experimental groups. The results of the current study suggest that the 7‑mer peptide protected the liver against hepatic I‑R injury via suppression of oxygen‑derived free radicals and regulation of Bcl‑2 and Bax expression, which are involved in the apoptosis of liver cells. The findings of the present study will further the investigation of the 7-mer peptide as an effective therapeutic agent in hepatic I-R injury.

Summary Four methods were applied to dry yam slices, and then, starches were isolated from dried yam slices. Starch isolated from fresh yam was as the study control, and physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of starches were studied. The results showed that the amylose content ranged from 12.62% to 28.25%, water-binding capacity (WBC) from 111.67% to 262.88%, paste clarity from 2.1% to 6.23%, resistant starch (RS) from 66.60% to 88.49% and crystallinity from 11.27% to 25.52%. Compared with the control starch, hot air-drying at 60 °C significantly decreased amylose content, paste clarity, RS and crystallinity, while increasing the WBC. Low levels of rapidly digestible starch and glucose and high RS levels were found in the starch from freeze-drying yam. Digestibility of the starches was significantly correlated with amylose content, WBC, paste clarity and swelling power. The starch samples were divided into three groups by principal component analysis (PCA).

The spinel LiMn2O4 was prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method using acetone as the reductant under different hydrothermal temperatures. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated that optimal LiMn2O4 particles (LMO-120) were synthesized at the temperature of 120°C and the particles were well distributed and about 410 nm in size. Electrochemical performance showed that the as-prepared LiMn2O4 particles exhibited a higher initial discharge capacity than commercial LiMn2O4 (131.5 mAh g−1 versus 115.6 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C). An excellent discharge capacity retention rate of 94.07% was observed after 60 charge–discharge cycles. On the other hand, when cycled at the high rate of 1 C, the optimal LiMn2O4 in this work showed a high discharge capacity of 107.5 mAh g−1 in contrast to only 92.3 mAh g−1 of the commercial LiMn2O4. These results indicate that LMO-120 showed excellent electrochemical performance, especially the prolonged cycling life and high-rate performance, which suggested that this spinel LiMn2O4 has promise for practical application as a high-rate cathode material for lithium ion batteries.

Physicochemical and bio-functional properties of three starches including native starch (NS), the dual enzyme-treated starch (DES) and the cross-linked carboxymethyl starch (CCS) were investigated in the current study. The resistant starch (RS) contents ranged from 33.91 to 43.71%, which were decreased by modification. For the first time, the anti-constipation and hypolipidemic effect of yam starches are demonstrated. Three starches were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and FT-IR spectroscopy. DES's crystalline structure collapsed and lost its granular shape during modification, indicating that DES had a high water binding capacity and high solubility. However, only minor changes of CCS's granular surface and crystallinity were observed. Furthermore, anti-constipation effect of the three yam starches was evaluated by intestine propulsion and defecation in constipated mice. There was more short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced in colon with DES and CCS, than that with native starches. Therefore, the modified starches were proved to be better for improving the small intestine propulsion function by generating more SCFAs. Hypolipidemic effect was also evaluated by monitoring the triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels in mice. This study reports new bioactive starches, with potential applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Co3 O4 , which is of mixed valences Co(2+) and Co(3+) , has been extensively investigated as an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The proper control of Co(2+) /Co(3+) ratio in Co3 O4 could lead to modifications on its electronic and thus catalytic properties. Herein, we designed an efficient Co3 O4 -based OER electrocatalyst by a plasma-engraving strategy, which not only produced higher surface area, but also generated oxygen vacancies on Co3 O4 surface with more Co(2+) formed. The increased surface area ensures the Co3 O4 has more sites for OER, and generated oxygen vacancies on Co3 O4 surface improve the electronic conductivity and create more active defects for OER. Compared to pristine Co3 O4 , the engraved Co3 O4 exhibits a much higher current density and a lower onset potential. The specific activity of the plasma-engraved Co3 O4 nanosheets (0.055 mA cm(-2) BET at 1.6 V) is 10 times higher than that of pristine Co3 O4 , which is contributed by the surface oxygen vacancies.

SLC34A2 had been reported to be down-regulated in human NSCLC cells and patient tissues, and played a significant role in lung cancer. However, the mechanism of its unusual expressionin NSCLC has not been fully elucidated. In present study, we identified SLC34A2 was a direct target of miR-410 and could be inhibited by miR-410 transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally. MiR-410 promoted the growth, invasion and migration of NSCLC cells in vitro. An orthotopic xenograft nude mouse model further affirmed that miR-410 promoted NSCLC cell growth and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, restoring SLC34A2 expression effectively reversed the miR-410-mediated promotion of cell growth, invasion and migration in NSCLC cells. In addition, miR-410high /SLC34A2low expression signature frequently existed in NSCLC cells and tumor tissues. MiR-410 significantly increased the expression of DVL2 and β-catenin protein while decreased that of Gsk3β protein of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, while SLC34A2 partly blocked the effects of miR-410 on those protein expressions. Hence, our data for the first time delineated that unusual expression of SLC34A2 was modulated by miR-410, and miR-410 might positivelycontribute to the tumorigenesis and development of NSCLC by down-regulating SLC34A2 and activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. MiR-410 might be a new potential therapeutic target for NSCLC.

In this work, for the first time, we develop a plasma-enhanced low-temperature solid-state strategy to prepare LiMn2O4 with low energy consumption and superior performance for Li-ion batteries. The as-prepared LiMn2O4 shows a narrow particle size distribution in the range of 400–450 nm and smaller mean particle size.

In this work, a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst, Co/CoP embedded N-doped carbon (Co-NC@CoP-NC) nanopolyhedra, was derived by the thermal pyrolysis of ZIF-67 under an Ar atmosphere and a subsequent phosphidation process. The nanopolyhedra show excellent activity and stability for both the OER and ORR, which are attributed to the production of highly stable active CoP, and the intact protection of the Co by the N-doped carbon layers.

Though considered as one of the most promising materials for rechargeable Li-ion batteries, spinel LiMn2O4 suffers from fast capacity fading during cycling due to the structural instability, Jahn–Teller distortion, and Mn dissolution into the electrolyte. In order to improve the electrochemical performance, in this work, we, for the first time, realize the sulfur doping by the plasma-assisted method in LiMn2O4. Physical properties of the synthesized materials LiMn2O4–xSx are measured by XRD, SEM, and EDS, which confirm that S atoms have been successfully doped into the structure of LiMn2O4 (LiMn2O4–xSx) with the high crystalline and uniform morphology. Compared to the pristine LiMn2O4 prepared by the conventional method (800 °C, 8 h), the LiMn2O4–xSx prepared by the plasma-assisted method shows superior performance with higher capacity (125.3 mAh·g–1) and significantly improved cycling stability (maintaining 97.76% of its initial discharge capacity after 60 cycles). In addition, the sulfur-doped LiMn2O4 d...

Lithiums–sulfur battery is considered as one of the most promising energy storage devices to replace the current Li ion batteries because of its high theoretical capacity of 1675 mA h g−1. However, the poor cycle stability hinders the further development of this battery system. In order to improve the stability of Li–S batteries, the diffusion of polysulfides from electrodes into electrolyte should be suppressed. Herein, we utilize a positively charged polyelectrolyte to functionalize the electrode materials with the aim to hamper the polysulfides dissolution via electrostatic interaction between strong positively charged polyelectrolyte and negatively charged polysulfides anion. The effect of the functionalization quantity of poly(diallyl dimethylammonium) chloride (PDDA) and functionalization sequence on cycling performances is investigated in detail. It is found that the sulfur–graphene composite (SG) directly functionalized with 10 times PDDA exhibited best cycling stability. At a discharge current density of 0.2 C, much higher capacity retention was realized on the functionalized electrodes than the unfunctionalized (81% vs. 47.3%) after 120 cycles. The as-observed results demonstrate that the electrostatic interaction can effectively prolong the cycling life of Li–S batteries, which provides a new promising strategy for improving the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries.

CdS quantum dots (QDs) are excellent visible-light-driven photocatalysts due to their unique small size (

Aims The primary focus of this study was to explore the effects of cyclic AMP response element-binding protein H (CREBH) on the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Materials and methods CREBH knockout (KO) and wildtype (WT) mice were averagely divided into a methionine and choline-deficient (MCD) or high fat (HF) diet group and respective chow diet (CD) groups. Mice were sacrificed after 4-week treatment for MCD model and 24-week treatment for HF model. Key findings Characteristics of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-related liver fibrosis in KO-MCD/HF group were verified by hepatic histological analyses. Compared with WT-MCD/HF group, levels of plasma ALT and hepatic hydroxyproline increased in KO-MCD/HF group. Significantly higher levels of MCP-1, αSMA, Desmin, COL-1, TIMP-1, TGF-β1, TGF-β2 were found while MMP-9 and FGF21 mRNA levels decreased in KO-MCD/HF group. There was also a distinct difference of mRNA levels of TNFα, CTGF and CCND1 in KO-HF group compared with controls. Protein levels of MCP-1, BAX, αSMA, COL-1, TGF-β1 and SMAD2/3 significantly increased in KO-MCD/HF group and CCND1 was also upregulated in KO-HF group compared to their counterparts. Significance CREBH knockout may primarily regulate the TGF-β1 signaling pathway via TGF-β2 and FGF21 resulting in more severe inflammation and fibrosis in NAFLD.

Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) has excellent CH4 production performance, however, CO2 still remains in the produced biogas at high content. For achieving in-situ CO2 sequestration and thus upgrading biogas, mineral carbonation was integrated into a MEC treating sludge hydrolysate. With 19 g/L wollastonite addition, in-situ mineral CO2 sequestration was achieved by formation of calcite precipitates. CH4 content in the biogas was increased by 5.1 % and reached 95.9 %, with CH4 production improved by 16.9 %. In addition, the removals of polysaccharide, protein, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the MEC were increased by 4.4 %, 6.7 %, and 8.4 %, respectively. The generated precipitates rarely accumulated on bio-cathode, and did not significantly affect the morphology of cathode biofilm. However, integrating mineral carbonation resulted in a higher relative abundance of Methanosarcina on anode and slightly decreased the ratio of Methanobacterium to Methanosaeta on cathode, which should be noticed. In conclusion, integrating mineral carbonation is an attractive way to improve the performance of MEC by achieving in-situ CO2 sequestration, accompanied with CH4 production enhancement.

Due to the broad application prospect, flexible and transparent electronic device has been widely used in portable wearable devices, energy storage smart window and other fields, which owns many advantages such as portable, foldable, small-quality, low-cost, good transparency, high performance and so on. All these electronic devices are inseparable from the support of energy storage device. Energy storage device, like lithium-ion battery and super capacitor, also require strict flexibility and transparency as the energy supply equipment of electronic devices. Here, we demonstrate the development and applications of flexible and transparent lithium-ion battery and super capacitor. In particular, carbon nanomaterials are widely used in flexible and transparent electronic device, due to their excellent optical and electrical properties and good mechanical properties. For example, carbon nanotubes with high electrical conductivity and low density have been widely reported by researchers. Otherwise, graphene as an emerging two-dimensional material with electrical conductivity and carrier mobility attracts comparatively more attention than that of other carbon nanomaterials. Substantial effort has been put on the research for graphene-based energy storage system by researchers from all over the world. But, there is still a long way to accomplish this goal of improving the performance for stretchable and transparent electronic device due to the existing technical conditions.

This study investigated the feasibility and performance of simultaneous in-situ CO2 sequestration and CH4 production promotion by wollastonite addition in sludge AD. A maximum CH4 yield increment of 30.8% and maximum methane production rate increment of 64.9% with wollastonite addition at dosage of 16.25 g/L were achieved. CO2 was efficient sequestered by wollastonite addition and resulted in a higher CH4 content of 81.7%–82.4%. The mechanism of CO2 sequestration by wollastonite was confirmed as Ca2+ release and subsequently carbonation based on cation and precipitates analysis. The results demonstrated that wollastonite could be applied as an effective additive for simultaneous in-situ CO2 sequestration and CH4 production promotion of sludge AD.

Wnt inhibitory factor‑1 (WIF‑1) is an important antagonist of Wnt/β‑catenin signaling by binding to Wnt ligands. The downregulation of WIF‑1 leads to the development of non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The upregulation of WIF‑1 significantly inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis by inhibiting Wnt/β‑catenin signaling in NSCLC. However, the mechanisms underlying the inhibition of Wnt/β‑catenin signaling by WIF‑1‑mediated autophagy are poorly understood. Thus, in this study, we aimed to shed some light into these mechanisms. The upregulation of WIF‑1‑induced autophagy in NSCLC cells was detected by transmission electron microscopy, acridine orange staining, punctate GFP‑LC3 and immunoblotting‑based LC3 flux assay. Subsequently, WIF‑1‑mediated autophagy was blocked in NSCLC cells and the effects of WIF‑1‑mediated autophagy blocking were examined on the proliferation and apoptosis of NSCLC cells in vitro. Western blot analysis was used to investigate the molecular mechanisms effected by WIF‑1‑mediated autophagy in NSCLC cells. Finally, combination treatment with WIF‑1 and an autophagy agonist was used to examine the tumor growth inhibitory effects of WIF‑1 in vivo. The results revealed that the upregulation of WIF‑1 induced autophagy in NSCLC cells. WIF‑1‑mediated autophagy was demonstrated to inhibit Wnt/β‑catenin signaling by downregulating dishevelled‑2 (Dvl2), which contributed to the inhibition of the proliferation and the promotion of the apoptosis of NSCLC cells. Moreover, the induction of autophagy mediated by WIF‑1 was associated with to suppression of the activation of the phosphoinositide 3‑kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Finally, we found that transfection with a WIF‑1 gene overexpression vector in combination with treatment with the autophagy agonist, everolimus (RAD001) exerted synergistic antitumor effects on A549 subcutaneous tumor xenografts and pulmonary metastasis in mice. On the whole, the findings of this study demonstrated that WIF‑1‑mediated autophagy inhibits Wnt/β‑catenin signaling by downregulating Dvl2 expression in NSCLC cells. This may a novel molecular mechanism through which WIF‑1 inhibits Wnt/β‑catenin signaling. This study may provide a theoretical basis for joint therapy of NSCLC with WIF‑1 and autophagic agonists in clinical practice.

MoS

Aims The presence of viable but nonculturable (VBNC) bacterial pathogens which often fail to be detected by cultivation and can regain the cultivability if the living conditions improve were reported. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of VBNC Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. in the biosolids during anaerobic digestion and its reactivation during the cake storage. Methods and Results The occurrence of VBNC Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. during mesophilic, temperature-phased, thermophilic anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge and the subsequent storage were studied by RT-qPCR and most probable number (MPN) method. The VBNC incidence of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. during thermophilic digestion was four orders of magnitude higher than those of mesophilic digestion. Accordingly, higher resuscitation ratio of VBNC pathogens was also achieved in thermophilic digested sludge. As a result, the culturable Salmonella typhimurium contents in thermophilic digested sludge after cake storage were two orders of magnitude higher than mesophilic digestion. Both quantitive PCR and reverse transcription quantitative PCR assay results showed the two bacterial counting numbers remained stable throughout the cake storage. Conclusions The results indicate that the increase in the culturable Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. after centrifugal dewatering was attributed to the resuscitation from the VBNC state to the culturable state. Significance and Impact of the Study Thermophilic anaerobic digestion mainly induced Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. into VBNC state rather than killed them, suggesting that the biological safety of sewage sludge by temperature-phased anaerobic digestion should be carefully assessed.

Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 as a cathode material for lithium batteries is synthesized by the precursor solid-phase method. Firstly, the precursor Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3(OH)2 is prepared. And then, Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 is synthesized. In order to improve the electrochemical performance of the material, the Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 is coated with a carbon layer. Electrochemical performance shows that the as-prepared pristine Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 189.7 mAh g−1, and the specific capacity increases to 219.6 mAh g−1 modified by carbon coating. Moreover, it exhibits excellent cycling maintaining 95.04 % of its initial discharge capacity after 100 charge–discharge cycles, which is much higher than the pristine Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2. Moreover, when cycles at 1 C, the discharge of Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 is only 132.5 mAh g−1, it increases to 211.3 mAh g−1 due to the appropriate carbon layer. All the tests show that Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2/C has excellent electrochemical performance, which is attributed to avoid the core material direct contact with the acidic electrolyte and suppression of Mn+ dissolution into electrolyte via carbon layer and greatly improve the electronic and ionic conductivities.

Curve extension is a useful function in CAD systems. Disk B-Spline curve has its distinct advantages in representing a 2D region. This paper presents an algorithm for extending the disk B-Spline curve with G2 continuity. A disk Bezier segment is used to construct the extending part and G2-continuity can be used to describe the smoothness at the joint disk. Fairness of the extending disk Bezier curve segment is achieved by minimizing energy objective functions for the center curve and the radius function separately. New control disks are computed by unclamping algorithm to represent the whole extended disk B-Spline curve. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.

Spinel LiMn2O4 particle is successfully synthesized by the acetone hydrothermal method without further sintered at high temperature. The electrochemical performances of LiMn2O4 at room temperature are improved by carbon modification through a post-heat treatment. SEM exhibits that the particles are well distributed and the primary grains are 5 μm in size. TEM indicates that the LiMn2O4/C is uniformly coated with a carbon layer about 2.0 nm in size. The electrochemical performances show that the pristine sample has an initial discharge capacity of 127.9 mAh g−1, and the capacity decreases to 110.6 mAh g−1 with the losses of 14.2 % after 100 cycles. Apparently, the LiMn2O4/C exhibits an initial capacity with 134.9 mAh g−1, and capacity losses of only 4.3 % after 100 cycles. At a discharge rate of 1 C, it keeps more than 97.18 % of the reversible capacity compared with that at 0.1 C. At the same time, the sample LiMn2O4/C shows only 5.84 % discharge capacity loss at the elevated temperature. The results show that the LiMn2O4/C sample with excellent electrochemical performances should attribute to the carbon layer avoiding the core material direct contact with the acidic electrolyte and suppression of Mn+ dissolution into electrolyte.

Nine Lilium samples (belong to 6 different cultivars with different maturity stage) were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed of total phenolics (TP), total flavonoids (TF), total saponins (TS), total carbohydrates (TC, polysaccharides), and soluble proteins contents (SP), and the monomeric components were quantified utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (HPLC-PAD) associated with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Antioxidant activity (reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activity), anti-inflammatory (xylene-induced mouse ear edema detumescent assay and carrageenan-induced mouse paw edema detumescent assay), and sedative-hypnotic capacities (sodium pentobarbital-induced sleep assay) were comparatively evaluated in mouse model. Additionally, correlation analysis and principal component analysis were carried out to detect clustering and elucidate relationships between components' concentrations and bioactivities to clarify the role of effective composition. Lilium bulbs in later maturity stage preliminary evidenced higher saponins content, and lower phenolic acids and flavonoids content. The result demonstrated that Lilium bulbs generally had distinct antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and sedative-hypnotic capacities. Varieties statistically differed (P < 0.05) in chemical composition and bioactivities. Lilium varieties of Dongbei and Lanzhou presented potent sedative-hypnotic effect and anti-inflammatory activity. The antioxidant capacity was related to the phenolic acids and flavonoids contents, the anti-inflammatory and sedative-hypnotic capacities were related to the saponins content. This is first study presenting comprehensive description of common edible Lilium bulbs' chemical compositions, sedative-hypnotic, and anti-inflammatory capacities grown in China. It would informatively benefit the genetic selection and cultivated optimization of Lilium varieties to improve nutritional quality, and promote Lilium bulbs as a therapeutic functional food worldwide.

In this study, molecularly imprinted technology, combined with fluorescence measurement and computer simulation, was used to detect contaminant p-nitrophenol. Seven molecular dynamics simulations of molecular imprinting prepolymerization systems were performed to optimize the imprinting shell. Results indicated that the system with a p-nitrophenol (4-NP): 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES): tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) mole ratio of 8 : 8 : 12 led to the best stable template–functional monomer clusters and the hybrid SiO2 layer with CdS-like clusters on the surface of CdTe was synthesized by a simple reflux procedure. The prepared imprinted materials (CdTe@SiO2-MIPs) on the surface of silica contained CdTe nanoparticles (CdTe@SiO2) by surface imprinting and Stober method polymerization were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible analysis and X-ray diffraction. A linear relationship between relative fluorescence intensity and the concentration of 4-NP was obtained with a limit of detection of 0.08 μmol L−1 and the imprinting factor (IF) was 2.23 which indicated that special binding sites with binding property to p-nitrophenol were created on the surface of the CdTe@SiO2-MIPs materials. Ultimately, the feasibility of the fluorescent materials was successfully evaluated through the analysis of 4-NP in tap water and lake water. The recoveries were above 97.3%.

We, for the first time, prepared layered Li(Ni1/3Co1/3Mn1/3)O2 by a novel oxygen plasma-assisted solid-state approach, which almost shows the best performance among ternary cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. More importantly, the developed strategy is time- and energy-saving, and thus promising for large-scale and cost-effective application.

In order to improve the electrochemical performance of Li-ion batteries, especially at elevated temperatures, we, for the first time, modified the separator with the oxygen plasma method. Physical characterization including the contact angle measurement and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer analysis indicate that the O2 plasma treatment can generate oxygen-containing groups on the surface of separator. The Li-ion battery using the O2 plasma modified separator shows superior performance with a higher initial capacity (135.7 mA h g−1) and significantly improved cycling stability (maintaining 96.98% of its initial discharge capacity after 100 cycles), because of the presence of oxygen containing groups such as carbonyl and hydroxyl on the surface of the separator after the plasma modification. Moreover, when cycled at 1C, the discharge capacity of the Li-ion battery using a normal separator is only 86.7 mA h g−1 whereas the Li-ion battery with the modified separator shows a much higher discharge capacity of 135.7 mA h g−1, indicating an excellent rate performance due to the electrostatic repulsion between electronegative oxygen functional groups on the surface of modified separator. When tested at an elevated temperature (55 °C), the capacity retention of the cell using the modified separator is much higher (85.39%) than that of the normal separator (53.69%). All the tests show that the oxygen functional groups on the surface of the separator by the oxygen plasma modification play a critical role in improving the electrochemical performance of the Li-ion battery.

To reduce the shuttle effect of lithium sulfur (Li–S) batteries and improve the cycling stability, the surface of the commercial separator in an Li–S battery was modified by the O2 plasma treatment, which generated lots of electronegative oxygenic functional groups such as –COOH and –OH on the surface of the separator. In order to confirm the existence and the effect of the electronegative oxygenic functional groups on the modified separator, the contact angle measurement and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) were investigated. The charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests of the Li–S battery assembled with the normal and the O2 plasma treated separator were analyzed. The surface characterization demonstrated that the oxygenic functional groups on the surface of the separator by the plasma modification played a critical role in improving the wettability and increasing electrical insulating properties. The cycling performance of Li–S batteries with the plasma treated separator had an obvious improvement owing to the electrostatic repulsion between electronegative oxygenic functional groups on the surface of O2 plasma treated separator and electronegative polysulfide. The battery assembled with O2 plasma treated separator had a higher capacity retention (48.53%) than that of the normal separator (24.51%).

BACKGROUND Dioscorea resources with vital medicinal and functional values are abundant in south-west regions of China, especially in Sichuan Province. However, the resource in this region has received less attention compared with that of the north. D. zingiberensis, D. collettii, D. kamoonensis cv. Emei and Jinfo, and D. melanophyma from Sichuan Province and Chongqing City were studied with regard to the most abundant carbohydrate (starch) to search for new medicinal and food resources. RESULTS The starches were small round granules or small oval granules and large elongated granules, except D. zingiberensis starch granules, which were disc-like in shape. D. zingiberensis and D. collettii starches showed higher values in total starch content, water-binding capacity and infrared ratio of absorbance bands at 1047/1035 and 1047/1022 cm−1. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis demonstrated a higher gelatinisation temperature required more energy during the gelatinisation process. D. zingiberensis and D. collettii starches showed higher resistant starch content of 724.0 and 693.2 g kg−1, respectively, with lower hydrolysis index and estimation of glycaemic index. All the starches exhibited an A-type pattern except D. melanophyma starch, which showed a C-type pattern evaluated by X-ray diffraction. CONCLUSION These results showed that the starches with their low hydrolysis index values possessed potential values as healthy food. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

A novel cyclohexanone hydrothermal method had been firstly adopted to synthesize LiMn2O4, which was then modified with carbon coating through a post-heat treatment. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited that the particles were well-distributed and the primary grains were about 0.8 μm in size. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) indicated the LiMn2O4/C was uniformly coated with a carbon layer about 1.5 nm in thickness. The as-prepared bare LiMn2O4 exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 127.9 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, and the specific capacity increased to 138.5 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C by carbon coating. Moreover, it exhibited more excellent cycling maintaining 97.76% of its initial discharge capacity after 100 charge–discharge cycles. All the tests showed that LiMn2O4 with a carbon layer had excellent electrochemical performance, which was attributed to the carbon layer avoiding the core material direct contact with the acidic electrolyte and suppression of Mn+ dissolution in...

// Xixian Ke 1 , Yue Yuan 1 , Chenglin Guo 2 , Yan Yang 1 , Qiang Pu 2 , Xueting Hu 1 , Kui Tang 1 , Xinmei Luo 1 , Qianqian Jiang 1 , Xiaolan Su 1 , Lunxu Liu 2 , Wen Zhu 1 , Yuquan Wei 1 1 State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center/National Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China 2 Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China Correspondence to: Wen Zhu, email: zhuwen@scu.edu.cn Lunxu Liu, email: lunxu_liu@aliyun.com Keywords: miR-410, stemness, Wnt/β-catenin, non-small cells lung cancer Received: June 06, 2016 Accepted: December 27, 2016 Published: January 05, 2017 ABSTRACT Our previous research indicated miR-410 played a critical role in promoting the tumorigenesis and development of NSCLC (non-small cells lung cancer). MiR-410 has been recently reported to be crucial for development and differentiation of embryonic stem cells. But it remains elusive whether miR-410 stimulates the stemness of cancer until now. Herein, we identify miR-410 induces the stemness and is associated with the progression of NSCLC. We demonstrate miR-410 increases the levels of stem cells marker Sox2, Oct4, Nanog, CXCR4 as well as lung cancer stem cells surface marker CD44 and CD166. MiR-410 promotes stem cells-like properties such as proliferation, sphere formation, metastasis and chemoresistance. Moreover, Gsk3β is directly targeted and post-transcriptionally downregulated by miR-410. Also, the expression levels of miR-410 and Gsk3β may be correlated to clinicopathological differentiation in NSCLC tumor specimens. Additionally, we demonstrate miR-410 induces stemness through inhibiting Gsk3β but increasing Sox2, Oct4, Nanog and CXCR4, which binds to β-catenin signaling. In conclusion, our findings identify the miR-410/Gsk3β/β-catenin signaling axis is a novel molecular circuit in inducing stemness of NSCLC.

Scattered data fitting is always a challenging problem in the fields of geometric modeling and computer aided design. As the skeleton based three-dimensional solid model representation, the Ball B-Spline Curve is suitable to fit the tubular scattered data points. We study the problem of fitting the scattered data points with Ball B-spline curves (BBSCs) and propose the corresponding fitting algorithm based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. In this process, we face three critical and difficult sub problems: (1) parameterization of the data points, (2) determination of the knot vector and (3) calculation of the control radii. All of them are multidimensional and nonlinear, especially the calculation of the parametric values. The parallelism of the PSO algorithm provides a high optimization, which is more suitable for solving nonlinear, nondifferentiable and multi-modal optimization problems. So we use it to solve the scattered data fitting problem. The PSO is applied in three steps to solve them. Firstly, we determine the parametric values of the data points with PSO. Then we compute the knot vector based on the parametric values of the data points. At last, we get the radius function. The experiments on the shell surface, the crescent surface and the real-world models verify the accuracy and flexibility of the method. The research can be widely used in the computer aided design, animation and model analysis.

Combinatorial approaches in directed evolution were proven to be more efficient for exploring sequence space and innovating function of protein. Here, we presented the modular assembly of secondary structures (MASS) for constructing a combinatorial library. In this approach, secondary structure elements were extracted from natural existing protein. The common linkers were flanking secondary structure elements, and then secondary structure elements were digested by Hinf I restriction endonuclease that was used in the construction of combinatorial library for the first time. The digested DNA fragments were randomly ligated in the sense orientation, then in sequence to be amplified by PCR and transformation. This approach showed that different DNA fragments without homologous sequences could be randomly assembled to create significant sequence space. With the structure analysis of recombinants, it would be beneficial to the rational design, even to the design of protein de novo, and to evolve any genetic part or circuit.

Structural and functional properties of starches isolated from Ginkgo biloba L. (GBL), Angelica dahurica (Fisch. ex Hoffm.) Benth. et Hook. f. (ADB) and Bletilla sfriata (Thunb.) Reiehb. f. (BSR) have been studied using a range of characterization methods including amylose content, water-binding capacity, paste clarity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), amylose leaching, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in vitro digestion. Considerable differences in these properties were observed. Amylose content varied from 16.7% to 30.5%, while paste clarity was in the range of 8.03–25.3%. Moreover, the shape of starch granules varied from spherical, elliptical to irregular or polygonal with different sizes. ADB displayed a B-type pattern, while GBL and BSR showed a C-type pattern. In addition, amylose leaching (AML) varied linearly with temperature for BSR, while the AML of other samples increased gradually below 60 °C, but increased dramatically beyond 60 °C. The three starch samples had similar gelatinization temperature ranging from 63.0 to 76.7 °C, but showed lower enthalpy values (0.90–3.96 J/g) than most of conventional starch. GBL and ADB possessed much higher slowly digested starch (SDS) content in vitro digestion, which made them suitable candidates for dietary starch.

Lycium barbarum L. fruits (Chinese wolfberries) were differentiated for their cultivation locations and the cultivars by ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting techniques combined with chemometrics analyses. The partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied to the data projection and supervised learning with validation. The samples formed clusters in the projected data. The prediction accuracies by PLS-DA with bootstrapped Latin partition validation were greater than 90% for all models. The chemical profiles of Chinese wolfberries were also obtained. The differentiation techniques might be utilized for Chinese wolfberry authentication.

The effect of alkali-treatment for 0, 15, and 30 days at 35 °C on amylose content, morphological properties, crystalline properties, swelling power, solubility, absorbance spectra and in vitro digestibility of starches from Dioscorea zingiberensis , Dioscorea persimilis and Dioscorea opposita were investigated. The amylose content of all the three starches decreased after 15 days of alkaline treatment and then increased after 30 days of alkaline treatment. There were similar changes in relative crystallinity for D. zingiberensis and D. persimilis starches. It was observed that the three starches displayed a reduction trend in swelling power with a significant increase in solubility. Adhesion among some of the starch granules was observed after alkali-treatment for 30 days in D. zingiberensis and D. opposita starches, while D. persimilis starch showed some hollows on the granule surface. The rise in the absorbance ratio of 1047/1035 and 1047/1022 cm −1 from FT-IR was observed during alkali-treatment for D. persimilis and D. opposita starches. Alkali-treatment elevated the in vitro digestibility with resistant starch values climbing up from 50.16% to 64.95% and from 66.14% to 70.74% for D. zingiberensis and D. persimilis starches, respectively, but there was no significant change in resistant starch value for D. opposita starch.

FUS1 is one of the most important tumor suppressor genes in lung cancer, as well as an important immunomodulatory molecule. Interleukin (IL)-12 has attracted considerable interest as a potential anti-tumor cytokine. Cationic liposome has been shown to effectively deliver therapeutic genes to the lungs and control metastatic lung tumors when administered intravenously. Here we evaluated the enhanced efficacy of cationic liposome-mediated delivery of FUS1 and human IL (hIL)-12 eukaryotic coexpression plasmid (pVITRO2-FUS1-hIL-12) against the human lung cancer in HuPBL-NOD/SCID mice model by local and systemic administration, and explored the related molecular mechanism. Our study demonstrated that FUS1-hIL-12 coexpression could more sufficiently inhibit tumor growth and experimental lung metastasis, significantly prolong the survival of experimental lung metastasis mice. Moreover, FUS1-hIL-12 coexpression performed higher antitumor activity and lower toxicity in the inhibition of experimental lung metastatic tumor compared to cisplatin. We further identified that FUS1-hIL-12 coexpression could induce strong antitumor immune response by secreting much higher levels of human interferon-γ (hIFN-γ) and hIL-15, enhancing expression of MHC-I and Fas, increasing infiltration of activated human CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. FUS1-hIL-12 coexpression could also obviously induce tumor cell apoptosis and inhibit tumor cell proliferation partly by higher activation of STAT1 signal pathway and upregulation of p53. In addition, FUS1-hIL-12 coexpression also superiorly reduced the angiogenesis in tumors, which might be associated with downregulation of VEGF and VEGFR, and upregulation of human IP-10. Our results therefore suggest that cationic liposome-mediated FUS1-hIL-12 coexpression may be a new promising strategy for lung cancer treatment in clinical studies.

A novel hydrothermal stripping technique is developed to synthesize pure LiFePO4 and LiFePO4/C cathode materials. The pure sample is directly synthesized by the cation exchange between the organic phase which is prepared with FeSO4·7H2O and naphthenic acid, and aqueous phase prepared with H3PO4 and LiOH. SEM exhibits that the primary sizes of the well-distributed LiFePO4 and LiFePO4/C particles are about 150 nm and 100 nm in diameter, respectively. TEM indicates the LiFePO4/C is uniformly coated with a carbon layer about 2.7 nm in size. The as-prepared LiFePO4 exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of 135.5 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, and the LiFePO4/C composite sintered at 650 °C for 4 h exhibits the best electrode properties with discharge capacities of 151.7, 154.8, 149.8 and 139.1 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, 0.2 C, 0.5 C and 1.0 C rates, respectively. In addition, the LiFePO4/C also shows excellent capacity retention and cycle performances.

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding single-stranded RNAs with a length of ∼21 nucleotides. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may affect the function of miRNAs, resulting in a variety of disorders in vivo. Recently, diabetes mellitus (DM) has become a global healthcare problem, and several studies have reported that 2 common polymorphisms (miRNA 146a rs2910164 and miRNA 27a rs895819) are related to susceptibility to diabetes. Given that no consensus had been reached regarding the association of the 2 polymorphisms with diabetes, we conducted this meta-analysis. METHODS Four databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science) were searched up to January 9, 2019. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the association strength. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also performed. RESULTS Six studies involving 2585 cases and 2435 controls for miR146a rs2910164 and 5 studies involving 2922 cases and 2781 controls for miR27a rs895819 were ultimately analyzed in our meta-analysis. Based on pooled results, no statistical significance in association between rs2910164 and diabetes in Caucasians, Asians, or type 2 diabetes was observed in any genetic models. Nevertheless, we found a significant correlation between miRNA27a rs895819 and diabetes in the homozygote model (CC vs TT: OR = 0.58, 95%CI [0.35,0.98]) and recessive model (CC vs CT + TT: OR = 0.59, 95%CI [0.36,0.97]). By performing subgroup analysis, we also observed that C allele conveyed a significant protective effect against diabetes development in Caucasians (C vs T: OR = 0.67, 95%CI [0.52,0.85]). CONCLUSION In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicated that miRNA27a rs895819 might play a protective role in diabetes, and miRNA146a rs2910164 likely had no association with diabetes.