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The effects of sepiolite modified with g-aminopropyltriethoxylsilane (KH550-Sp) on thermal properties of polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and tensile test. The DSC results showed that the glass transition temperature of hard segments in PU/KH550-Sp nanocomposite increased with the increase of KH550-Sp, because sepiolite restricted the formation of hydrogen bonding within hard segments of polyurethane. TG results revealed that the thermal stability of PU was improved by KH550-Sp, and the onset decomposition temperature for PU nanocomposites with a KH550-Sp content of 3 wt% was about 20 � C higher than that for pure PU. The tensile properties of pure PU and nanocomposites before and after ageing 120

A series of polyurethaneurea (PUU) nanocomposites based on clay-like sepiolite (Sp) with the modification of γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550) were prepared via in situ polymerization from poly(propylene glycol), tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) and 3,3'-dichloro-4,4'- diamino-diphenylmethane(MOCA). Morphology and structure of nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that KH550-Sp was dispersed homogeneously in the PUU matrix, which facilitated the formation of chemical bonds between KH550-Sp and the hard segment of PUU. The thermostability and mechanical properties were studied by the thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and tensile tests. The results showed that the onset decomposition temperature and tensile strength of nanocomposites was higher than those of pure PUU.

The surface of waste rubber powder (WRP) was graft-modified with styrene (St) by bulk polymerization method. The effects of styrene content, initiator mass, time of reaction, and temperature on the graft efficiency were investigated. The results showed that the graft efficiency (%) was highest when 89 wt% styrene and 0.11 g of initiator were added for reaction time of 25 h at 85 °C. The surface of graft-modified rubber powder was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDXS) analysis, and thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) analysis. The results showed that polystyrene (PS) was grafted onto waste rubber powder, which formed a WRP/PS core–shell structure.

In recent years, much attention has been given to liposomal formulation as an efficient drug loading system (DDS) in chemotherapy of cancer. In this study, the advantages of magnetic nanoparticles and Polyethylene Glyco (PEG) materials were considered to synthesize magnetic gemcitabine long-circulating liposomes (MGLL) and the potential of MGLL as a brand new delivery system was evaluated. MGLL was prepared using the reverse-phase evaporation method. In the optimized preparation, MGLL had an average diameter of 201 nm with a narrow size distribution measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS), which could be easily dispersed in ultrapure water under a stable state for 90 days. The encapsulation efficiency of gemcitabine in MGLL reached 87.2% as determined by HPLC. In vitro MTT assay showed that MGLL had significant cytotoxicity to MCF-7 cells compared with the conventional modalities. In vivo, the inhibition of tumor growth in MGLL group was more remarkable than that of other groups (P < 0.05). In conclusion, MGLL under optimized condition could be used as an effective carrier for tumor-targeted therapy.

The polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites were prepared using organomodified sepiolite (organo-Sp) by in situ polymerization method. The clay was modified with three different organic modifiers such as γ-aminopropyltriethoxylsilane (KH550), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and lauric acid (LA). The morphology and the dispersion of organo-Sp in polyurethane were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The influence of organo-Sp on the tensile properties, water resistance and swelling rate of polyurethane composites was studied. The results showed the properties and structure of polyurethane nanocomposites were related to the kind of organic modifier.

To improve the depth of plasma active species in the skin, it is very important to develop skin disease treatment using plasma. In this article, an air plasma source was used to work directly with the skin of a mouse. A tortuous pathway, hair follicles, electroporation and a microneedle do not aid the transdermal delivery of gaseous plasma active species, therefore these gaseous plasma active species cannot penetrate mouse skin with a thickness of ~0.75 mm. The plasma activated water (PAW) produced by the air plasma source was used to study the transdermal penetration of the aqueous plasma activated species. This aqueous plasma activated species can penetrate the skin through hair follicles, intercellular and transcellular routes. The pH of the PAW did not affect the penetration efficiency of the aqueous plasma active species.

Here we introduce a new kind of stable inorganic/organic hybrid photovoltaic cells with redox polymers and nanostructured inorganic semiconductors. The redox polymers based on Nafion and metal complexes (Ru(bpy)32+/3+ or Fe(bpy)32+/3+) are applied in photovoltaic cells for the first time. These redox polymers with good charge transport performance are the hole transport material and the solid-state electrolyte in the photovoltaic cells. The nanoscale structures of inorganic semiconductors of ZnO nanorods/CdSe nanoparticle films used as the light-harvesting material are easily realized by a two-step electrodeposition. In terms of the preliminary current–voltage characterizations of the complete photovoltaic device (SnO2:F/ZnO nanorods/CdSe/Nafion[Ru(bpy)32+/3+, PEG]/Au), an overall energy conversion efficiency (() about 4% is achieved. A comparable energy conversion efficiency is also obtained for the photovoltaic cell with inexpensive Fe(bpy)32+/3+ in the redox polymer. These photovoltaic cells retain 90% for their energy conversion efficiency in the first six months, showing the extended high stability. In addition, this kind of photovoltaic cells recovered easily by water due to the advantages of the Nafion-based redox polymer. These good results, joining with the easily accessible techniques of the cell fabrication, indicate that the proposed solid-state photovoltaic cells are hopefully to be a new type of ‘cheap’ and long-life photovoltaic devices for practical applications.

Background Progesterone may have clinical relevance in females with asymptomatic gonococcal infections. Aim To investigate the regulatory effect of progesterone on apoptosis and oxidative burst activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) challenged by Neisseria gonorrhoeae in vitro. Methods Isolated PMNs were incubated with progesterone or staurosporine. Staurosporine was used as a positive control for our in vitro model. Expression levels of inhibitory apoptosis proteins (IAPs), cellular IAP2 (cIAP2), and X-linked IAP (XIAP) were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition, PMN apoptosis at various time points (3, 8, 12, and 24 h) was assayed by flow cytometry. Luminol amplified chemiluminescence methods were used to quantify the oxidative burst function of PMNs challenged with N. gonorrhoeae ST2951. Results cIAP2 was upregulated significantly in PMNs with progesterone treatment in 3 h, and XIAP was upregulated slightly compared with the medium + ST2951 group, whereas cIAP2 was downregulated in staurosporine-challenged PMNs. In addition, we found that progesterone delayed the onset of apoptosis activity in N. gonorrhoeae ST2951-challenged PMNs, notably at 12 h. No statistically significant changes in PMN oxidative burst activity were observed at 10 ng/mL of progesterone. Staurosporine enhanced the production of superoxide anion (respiratory burst) of human PMNs stimulated by N. gonorrhoeae. Conclusion Progesterone plays an important regulatory role in the interaction of PMNs and N. gonorrhoeae. Delayed PMN apoptosis induced by progesterone presumably acts as a mechanism for N. gonorrhoeae to avoid the innate immune response and establish long-term, low-level infection in the female reproductive tract.

In situ polymerization method is employed to prepare sepiolite/polyurethane nanocomposite. The morphology and the dispersion of sepiolite in polyurethane have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results show the sepiolite is dispersed homogeneously in the polyurethane matrix at a nanometer scale. The tensile test shows that the tensile strength and elongation at break for the nanocomposites increase with the addition of sepiolite as compared to those of the pure polyurethane. The TGA analysis reveals that the addition of nanofillers results in the higher thermal stability.

In this work, we present a novel project called DeepCamera(DC) for recognizing places-of-interest(POI) with smartphones. Our framework is based on deep convolutional neural networks(ConvNets) which are currently state-of-the-art solutions to vision recognition tasks such as our mission. We propose a novel ConvNet by introducing a new layer called "spatial layer" which captures spatial knowledge from a geographic view. As a result, both spatial and visual knowledge contribute to generating a hybrid probability distribution over all possible POI candidates. Furthermore, we compress multiple trained deep ConvNets into one single shallow net called "shNet" which achieves competitive performance with ensemble methods. Our preliminary experiments conducted on real-world dataset have shown promising POI recognition results.

Flame-retardant polymer nanocomposites exhibiting remarkably improved flame-retardant and environmentally friendly properties have been widely utilized to replace traditional halogenated fire retardants. In this review, flame retardant mechanisms of polymer nanocomposites such as barrier effect, char formation, three-dimensional nanostructure, and radical trapping, are discussed to explain how nanomaterials can be incorporated in a polymer to reduce the polymer’s flammability. Properties that are critical in governing the flame-retardant mechanisms of polymer nanocomposites are discussed in this review. Specifically, category, surface property, and concentration of nanomaterials are critical in affecting flame-retardant properties of polymer nanocomposites and are reviewed in detail. Nanocomposite categories, especially, silicates (clays), inorganic hydroxides, carbonaceous materials, metal oxides, polysilsequioxanes, and their combinations are well described. The use of synergism and surface modi...

In pregnancy, placenta can be exposed to glucocorticoids (GCs) via several ways, which may disturb placentation and adversely affect pregnancy. Preeclampsia (PE) is thought to be attributed, in part, to impaired trophoblast development. The purpose of the present study was to confirm that GC exposure in early placentation could lead to PE in rats, with the mechanisms involving dysregulated trophoblast development. In the study, pregnant rats were administered with 2.5mg/kg Dex subcutaneously once per day from gestational day 7 to 13. Maternal systolic blood pressure and urinary albumin were increased, while both fetus and placenta were restricted after GC exposure relative to the control group. GC exposure also contributed to placental abnormalities and renal impairment. Moreover, placental oxidative damage was increased along with placental hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) overexpression after GC treatment. Mechanically, GC induced PE in rat partially through inhibiting trophoblast proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which involved phospho-extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK) downregulation. Furthermore, GC receptor was required for the inhibition of GC on trophoblast proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT in vitro. These findings suggest that GC exposure in early placentation could contribute to PE in pregnant rats, with the mechanisms involving inhibition of trophoblast proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT by GC.

Three-arm star aliphatic polycarbonates (TMP-PDTCs) were successfully synthesized via the ring-opening polymerization of 2,2-dimethyl trimethylene carbonate (DTC) initiated by trimethylolpropane (TMP) in the absence of catalysts. The structure of TMP-PDTCs was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The effects of reaction temperature, time, and the DTC/TMP molar feed ratio on the non-catalyst polymerization were investigated. The thermal behaviors of TMP-PDTCs were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41998.

Liopxin A4 (LXA4) is considered to be a crucial modulator in the inflammatory responses. In the present study, we aimed to study the effect of LXA4 on the inflammatory cytokines production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the possible mechanism in normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs). NHEKs were isolated and cultured. The expression of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), LXA4 receptor (ALXR) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in NHEKs was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The mRNA and protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were determined in NHEKs stimulated by LPS (10 μg/mL) with or without preincubation with LXA4 (100 nmol/L) for 30 min by real-time quantitative PCR (real-time qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and suppressors of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) mRNAs and proteins, and nuclear translocation of NF-kB-p65 were measured by real-time qPCR and Western blotting, respectively. The results showed that NHEKs expressed TLR4, ALXR and AhR. LXA4 significantly inhibited the mRNA and protein expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and TRAF6 induced by LPS in NHEKs, and LXA4 obviously increased the expression of SOCS2 at mRNA and protein levels. The nuclear NF-kB-p65 protein expression induced by LPS was inhibited after preincubation with LXA4 in NHEKs. It was concluded that LXA4 inhibits the LPS-induced production of TNF-α and IL-1β in NHEKs by up-regulating SOCS2 and down-regulating TRAF6.

Polyurethane/epoxy resin interpenetrating network nanocomposites containing various contents of organophilic montmorillonite (oM-PU/EP nanocomposites) were prepared by a sequential polymeric technique and an in situ intercalation method. Transmission electronic microscopy and scanning electronic microscopy analysis showed that the interpenetrating process of PU and EP increases the exfoliation degree of organophilic montmorillonite (oMMT), and that oMMT improves the compatibility and phase structure of polyurethane/epoxy resin interpenetrating polymer networks (PU/EP IPNs). Tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravity analysis proved that the mechanical and thermal properties of the oM-PU/EP nanocomposites are superior to those of the pure PU and PU/EP IPNs.

organoclay-modified polyurethane/epoxy interpenetrating network nanocomposites (oM-PU/EP nanocomposites) were prepared by adding organophilic montmorillonite (oMMT) to interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of polyurethane and epoxy resin (PU/EP) which had been prepared by a sequential polymerization technique. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the interpenetrating process of PU and EP improved the exfoliation and dispersion degree of oMMT. The effects of the NCO/OH ratio (isocyanate index), the weight ratio of PU/EP and oMMT content on the phase structure and the mechanical properties of the oM-PU/EP nanocomposites were studied by tensile testing and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Water absorption tests showed that the PU/EP interpenetrating networks and oMMT had synergistic effects on improvement in the water resistance of the oM-PU/EP nanocomposites. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis showed that PU was compatible with EP and that the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the oM-PU/EP nanocomposites increased with the oMMT content up to 3 wt%, and then decreased with further increasing oMMT content. The thermal stability of these nanocomposites with various oMMT contents was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the mechanism of thermal stability improvement was discussed according to the experimental results. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry

Nanocomposites with various contents of organophilic montmorillonite (oMMT) have been prepared by adding oMMT to interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of polyurethane and epoxy resin (PU/EP) which had been prepared by a sequential polymeric technique. DSC experiment indicates a novel phenomenon that the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the nanocomposites increases with the oMMT content up to 3 %, then decreases with further increasing oMMT content. In order to explain this phenomenon, crosslink density, hydrogen bonding in the hard segments, crystallization of the nanocomposites and the exfoliation degree of oMMT in the nanocomposites have been investigated by swelling method, FT-IR, XRD, SEM and TEM, respectively. The results indicate that the crosslink density and the hydrogen bonding index of the nanocomposites increase, but the crystallization degree of the nanocomposites decreases with increasing oMMT content. In addition, oMMT improves the network structure of PU/EP.

Mechanical properties and tribological behavior of epoxy resin (EP) and EP nanocomposites containing different shape nanofillers, such as spherical silica (SiO2), layered organo-modified montmorillonite (oMMT) and oMMT-SiO2 composites, were investigated. The SiO2-oMMT composites were prepared by in situ deposition method and coupling agent modification, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis shows that spherical SiO2 is self-assembled on the surface of oMMT, which forms a novel layered-spherical nanostructure. The mechanical properties test results show that oMMT obviously improves the strength of EP and SiO2 enhances its toughness, but oMMT-SiO2 exhibits a synergistic effect on toughening and reinforcing EP simultaneously. A pin-on-disc rig was used to test friction and wear loss of pure EP and EP nanocomposites. The tribological test results prove that these nanofillers with different shapes play different roles for improving the wear resistance of EP nanocomposites. Morphologies of the worn surfaces were studied further by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, and it was clarified that the EP and EP nanocomposites undergo similar wear mechanisms. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A new nanofiller containing layered organo-modified montmorillonite (oMMT) and spherical silica (SiO2) was prepared by an in situ deposition method and coupling agent modification. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy show that there are interactions between oMMT and SiO2, and the spherical SiO2 particles are self-assembled on the edge of oMMT layers, forming a novel layered–spherical nanostructure. An epoxy resin (EP)/oMMT–SiO2 nanocomposite was obtained by adding oMMT–SiO2 to EP matrix. Morphologies and mechanical and thermal properties of the new ternary nanocomposite were investigated. For purposes of comparison, the corresponding binary nanocomposites, i.e., EP modified with either oMMT or SiO2, were also tested. The results for the mechanical properties show that oMMT obviously improves the strength of EP, and SiO2 enhances the toughness of EP, but oMMT–SiO2 exhibits a synergistic effect on toughening and reinforcing of EP. The toughening and reinforcing mechanism is explained by scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the thermal resistance of EP/oMMT–SiO2 is better than that of EP/SiO2, but it is worse than that of EP/oMMT. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry

Alkylated polyparaphenylenes are synthesized with isoamyl bromide and isopropyl bromide via AlCl3-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation. The molecular structures of alkylated polyparaphenylenes are characterized using CHN elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-Vis, NMR, SEC and WXRD. The thermal properties are investigated by TGA. The results show the thermal stability of alkylated polyparaphenylenes is inferior to PPP.

Novel nanocomposites with varying contents of organophilic montmorillonite (oMMT) were prepared by intercalating oMMT to interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of polyurethane and epoxy resin (PU/EP). The PU/EP networks and the oMMT modified PU/EP IPNs nanocomposites were studied with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, scanning electronic microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, water absorption and tensile test. The results show that oMMT and the IPNs of polyurethane and epoxy resin exhibit synergistic effect on the phase structure and morphology of the IPNs nanocomposites. The addition of oMMT to the PU/EP IPNs matrix provides two fold benefits to the properties of the IPNs nanocomposites. oMMT has not a distinct effect on chemical structure of PU/EP IPNs but promotes the compatibility and phase structure of the IPNs, and the ‘forced compatibility’ of PU and EP in interpenetrating process improves the dispersion degree of oMMT. Both the mechanical properties and water resistance of the PU/EP IPNs nanocomposites are superior to those of the pure PU/EP IPNs.

Amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) powder was prepared by typical solution-based process and post-annealing process. The sample was used as sensor for detecting C₂H₅OH, H₂, and CO. Gas-sensing performance was found to be highly sensitive to C₂H₅OH gas in a wide range of concentration (0.5-1250 ppm) with the response of 2.0 towards 0.5 ppm and 89.2 towards 1250 ppm. Obvious difference of response towards C₂H₅OH, H₂, and CO was found that the response e.g., was 33.20, 6.64, and 2.84 respectively at the concentration of 200 ppm. The response time and recovery time of was 32 s and 14 s respectively towards 200 ppm concentration of C₂H₅OH gas under heating voltage of 6.5 V.

Inflammation dysregulation in placenta is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous pregnancy complications. Glucocorticoids (GCs), universally considered anti-inflammatory, can also exert proinflammatory actions under some conditions, whereas whether and how GCs promote placental inflammation have not been intensively investigated. In this paper we report the opposing regulation of rat placental inflammation by synthetic GC dexamethasone (Dex). When Dex was subcutaneously injected 1 h after we administered an intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, neutrophil infiltration and proinflammatory Il1b, Il6, and Tnfa expression in rat placenta were significantly reduced. In contrast, Dex pretreatment for 24 h potentiated rat placental proinflammatory response to LPS and delayed inflammation resolution, which involved MAPKs and NF-kappaB activation. Mechanically, Dex pretreatment promoted 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) activation and increased leukotriene B4 production, whereas it inhibited the anti-inflammatory and proresolving lipid mediator lipoxin A4 (LXA4) biosynthesis in rat placenta via downregulating ALOX15 and ALOX15B expression. Moreover, LXA4 supplementation dampened Dex-potentiated placental inflammation and suppressed Dex-mediated ALOX5 activation in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, these findings suggest that GCs exposure could promote placental inflammation initiation and delay resolution via disrupting LXA4 biosynthesis.

Inflammation dysregulation in placenta is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous pregnancy complications. Glucocorticoids (GCs), universally considered anti-inflammatory, can also exert proinflammatory actions under some conditions, whereas whether and how GCs promote placental inflammation have not been intensively investigated. In this paper we report the opposing regulation of rat placental inflammation by synthetic GC dexamethasone (Dex). When Dex was subcutaneously injected 1 h after we administered an intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, neutrophil infiltration and proinflammatory Il1b, Il6, and Tnfa expression in rat placenta were significantly reduced. In contrast, Dex pretreatment for 24 h potentiated rat placental proinflammatory response to LPS and delayed inflammation resolution, which involved MAPKs and NF-kappaB activation. Mechanically, Dex pretreatment promoted 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5) activation and increased leukotriene B4 production, whereas it inhibited the anti-inflammatory and proresolving lipid mediator lipoxin A4 (LXA4) biosynthesis in rat placenta via downregulating ALOX15 and ALOX15B expression. Moreover, LXA4 supplementation dampened Dex-potentiated placental inflammation and suppressed Dex-mediated ALOX5 activation in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, these findings suggest that GCs exposure could promote placental inflammation initiation and delay resolution via disrupting LXA4 biosynthesis.

Skin pigmentation is a complex process including melanogenesis within melanocytes and melanin transfer to the keratinocytes. To develop a comprehensive screening method for novel pigmentation regulators, we used immortalized melanocytes and keratinocytes in co-culture to screen large numbers of compounds. High-throughput screening plates were subjected to digital automated microscopy to quantify the pigmentation via brightfield microscopy. Compounds with pigment suppression were secondarily tested for their effects on expression of microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF) and several pigment regulatory genes, and further validated in terms of non-toxicity to keratinocytes/melanocytes and dose-dependent activity. The results demonstrate a high-throughput, high-content screening approach, which is applicable to the analysis of large chemical libraries using a co-culture system. We identified candidate pigmentation inhibitors from 4000 screened compounds including zoxazolamine, 3-methoxycatechol and alpha-mangostin, which were also shown to modulate expression of MITF and several key pigmentation factors and are worthy of further evaluation for potential translation to clinical use.

As one of the most serious types of psoriasis, pathogenesis of erythrodermic psoriasis (EP) is unclear so far. In this study, we aimed to detect the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokine-associated transcription factors and T-lymphocyte clone in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from EP patients, and gene expression level of T-bet/GATA-3 in skin lesion. The potential role of Th1/Th2 reaction pattern played in the pathogenesis of EP was also discussed. Serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were quantified by ELISA among 16 EP patients, 20 psoriasis vulgaris (PV) patients and 15 healthy controls. The expression levels of T-bet/GATA-3 in the skin lesion and PBMCs were examined by real-time qPCR. The ratio of Th1/Th2 was measured by flow cytometry. The levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10 were higher in EP patients than in the healthy controls. The levels of IL-4 and IL-10 were 69.44±11.45 and 12.62±4.57 pg/mL, respectively, in EP patients, significantly higher than those in PV patients and healthy controls (P

The follicular hybrid is composed of more than two components of pilosebaceous unit. There are several studies of hybrid cyst, combination of trichilemmal and epidermoid cyst was the most frequently reported. In this paper, we reported one case of hybrid cyst composed of bullous pilomatricoma and epidermoid cyst. A 14-year-old girl was complaint of a solitary flesh-colored to erythematous nodule with flaccid appearance sized 3.2 × 1.8 cm in diameter on her right upper back for one year. The histologic findings showed there were edema and proliferation of capillaries in the superficial dermis, a cyst in the middle to deep dermis. There were laminated keratins in the cystic space. The cyst wall was composed of two different components, one was composed of epithelial cells containing of granular layer, and another consisted of basophilic cells, transient cells and shadow cells. The cyst not related with Gardner's syndrome. Hybrid cyst such as trichilemmal cyst, epidermoid and pilomatricoma cysts maybe have same clinical features or mimicking each others, but we can distinguish them from histopathology evaluation.

Aquaporin 3 (AQP3) is an aquaglyceroporin which transports water, glycerol and small solutes across the plasma membrane. Its functions are not limited to fluid transport but also involve the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, skin hydration, wound healing and tumorigenesis. While AQP3 has been reported to play an important role in keratinocyte proliferation, its role in differentiation remains controversial. Our study demonstrated that the expression of AQP3 was regulated during differentiation and that it participated in keratinocyte differentiation control. We further revealed that AQP3 was a transcriptional target of Notch signaling, a critical pathway regulating keratinocyte differentiation and tumor suppression, and it regulated differentiation through a reciprocal negative feedback loop with Notch1. When the expression level of AQP3 was elevated, impaired barrier integrity and increased pro-inflammatory cytokine production ensued, mimicking the pathological conditions in Notch deficient mice and in atopic dermatitis. Dysregulation of AQP3 and Notch receptors has been reported in several skin diseases, including skin cancer. Our discovery of the novel AQP3-Notch1 axis may provide insight into epidermal homeostasis control and possible translational applications, including its potential use as a biomarker for molecular diagnosis in environmental studies.

A self-powered graphene-based photodetector with high performance is particularly useful for device miniaturization and to save energy. Here, we report a graphene/silicon carbide (SiC)-based self-powered ultraviolet photodetector that exhibits a current responsivity of 7.4 mA/W with a response frequency of over a megahertz under 325-nm laser irradiation. The built-in photovoltage of the photodetector is about four orders of magnitude higher than previously reported results for similar devices. These favorable properties are ascribed to the ingenious device design using the combined advantages of graphene and SiC, two terminal electrodes, and asymmetric light irradiation on one of the electrodes. Importantly, the photon energy is larger than the band gap of SiC. This self-powered photodetector is compatible with modern semiconductor technology and shows potential for applications in ultraviolet imaging and graphene-based integrated circuits.

The expression of the interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4) and the IRF-4-binding protein (IBP) in psoriatic skin lesions was investigated. The expression of IRF-4 and IBP in skin lesions of 20 patients with psoriasis vulgaris were immunohistochemically dectected. Normal skin from 10 healthy people was used as normal control. The study showed that expression of IRF-4 was increased significantly in keratinocytes and inflammatory cells in the lesions of psoriasis vulgaris than that in the normal control. The detection revealed that IBP expression in keratinocytes, lymphocytes, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands in normal skin was significantly lower than that in the lesions of psoriasis vulgaris (P

In recent years, much attention has been given to liposomal formulation as an efficient drug loading system (DDS) in chemotherapy of cancer. In this study, the advantages of magnetic nanoparticles and Polyethylene Glyco (PEG) materials were considered to synthesize magnetic gemcitabine long-circulating liposomes (MGLL) and the potential of MGLL as a brand new delivery system was evaluated. MGLL was prepared using the reverse-phase evaporation method. In the optimized preparation, MGLL had an average diameter of 201 nm with a narrow size distribution measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS), which could be easily dispersed in ultrapure water under a stable state for 90 days. The encapsulation efficiency of gemcitabine in MGLL reached 87.2% as determined by HPLC. In vitro MTT assay showed that MGLL had significant cytotoxicity to MCF-7 cells compared with the conventional modalities. In vivo, the inhibition of tumor growth in MGLL group was more remarkable than that of other groups (P0.05). In conclusion, MGLL under optimized condition could be used as an effective carrier for tumor-targeted therapy.

The present study evaluated the effect of non-thermal plasma on skin wound healing in BalB/c mice. Two 6-mm wounds along the both sides of the spine were created on the back of each mouse (n=80) by using a punch biopsy. The mice were assigned randomly into two groups, with 40 animals in each group: a non-thermal plasma group in which the mice were treated with the non-thermal plasma; a control group in which the mice were left to heal naturally. Wound healing was evaluated on postoperative days (POD) 4, 7, 10 and 14 (n=5 per group in each POD) by percentage of wound closure. The mice was euthanized on POD 1, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28 and 35 (n=1 in each POD). The wounds were removed, routinely fixed, paraffin-embedded, sectioned and HE-stained. A modified scoring system was used to evaluate the wounds. The results showed that acute inflammation peaked on POD 4 in non-thermal plasma group, earlier than in control group in which acute inflammation reached a peak on POD 7, and the acute inflammation scores were much lower in non-thermal group than in control group on POD 7 (P0.05). The amount of granular tissue was greater on POD 4 and 7 in non-thermal group than in control group (P0.05). The re-epithelialization score and the neovasularization score were increased significantly in non-thermal group when compared with control group on POD 7 and 10 (P0.05 for all). The count of bacterial colonies was 10(3) CFU/mL on POD 4 and20 CFU/mL on POD 7, significantly lower than that in control group (10(9) CFU/mL on POD 4 and10(12) CFU/mL on the POD 7) (P0.05). It was suggested that the non-thermal plasma facilitates the wound healing by suppressing bacterial colonization.

Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein-1 (SATB1), a new type of gene regulator, has been reported to be expressed in several human cancers and may have malignant potential. However, no data on SATB1 expression and its relationship to tumor progression in cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) has yet been reported.We examined the immunohistochemical expression of SATB1 in CMM to determine whether it could serve as a prognostic marker.A total of 97 samples of primary CMM and controls were immunostained for SATB1. The following clinicopathologic variables were evaluated: age, gender, subtype, SATB1 expression, Breslow thickness, Clark level, presence of ulceration, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and survival. Statistical analyses were performed to assess for associations. Several parameters were analyzed for survival using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional-hazards model.Forty cases (85.1%) of CMM showed positive staining for SATB1 by immunohistochemistry. The intensity of SATB1 staining was significantly higher in CMM than in nevus NV and normal skin (NS) (P0.01). High SATB1 expression was significantly correlated with Breslow thickness, Clark level, mortality, presence of ulceration, and lymph node metastasis (P0.01). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that SATB1 overexpression was significantly associated with worse survival (P0.01). Further univariate analysis and multivariate regression analysis indicated that SATB1 expression was an independent prognostic marker for CMM (P = 0.03).The overexpression of SATB1 correlated with metastatic potential of CMM and is a novel independent prognostic marker for predicting outcome.

The contribution of the E-cadherin transcriptional repressors Snail and Slug to invasion and metastasis has strengthened the evidence for the importance of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in carcinoma progression. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has described the immunohistochemical staining of the EMT-related proteins Snail/Slug in skin tumors and the correlation between Snail/Slug and tumor suppressor p53/p63.We performed immunohistological staining of Snail, Slug, E-cadherin, p53 and p63 in 20 archived specimens each of seborrheic keratosis (SK), actinic keratosis (AK) and squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCIS), and 53 specimens of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). Fifteen normal skin (NS) specimens served as controls.Significant negative correlations were observed between Snail and E-cadherin expression and between Slug and E-cadherin expression (Snail: R(2) = 0.5432, p0.01; Slug: R(2) = 0.4666, p0.01).The staining intensities of Snail and Slug are associated with decreased E-cadherin staining in SCC and this may promote EMT. However, the staining intensities of p53 and p63 are not significantly correlated with the loss of E-cadherin.

In this study, the sterilizing effect of atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasmas (APNPs) on Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae) was preliminarily examined and the possible mechanisms were explored. N. gonorrhoeae FA1090, FA19 and MS11 were treated by APNPs and their survival rate was analyzed by using CFUs counting and structurally studied by laser scanning confocal microscopy. The morphological changes of bacterial cell membrane and wall were studied under TEM. Our results showed that APNPs had strong sterilizing effect on N. gonorrhoeae. The survival rate of MS11 in N. gonorrhoeae liquid medium was 60.65% after disinfection with the APNPs for 5 min, whereas, the survival rate of FA19 was 92.60% and the rate of FA1090 was 96.40%. The survival rate of MS11 was 21.13% after exposure to APNPs for 6 min, whereas the survival rate of FA19 was 31.60% and the rate of FA1090 was 91.00%. N. gonorrhoeae was structurally damaged after treatment with APNPs. It is concluded that APNPs is able to effectively and quickly kill the N. gonorrhoeae, and the killing effect is related to the architectural damage of cell membrane.

Progesterone has nongenomic effects on inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which is mediated by mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. This effect is supposed to have some potential association with asymptomatic gonococcal infections in women by immunological depression. In this study, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) challenged by gonococci were used to study the nongenomic effects of progesterone. The activation of iNOS was assessed by measuring [(3)H] L-arginine converses to [(3)H] L-citrulline, and the activity of MAPK was detected by Western blot. It was found that the activity of iNOS and the yields of NO were enhanced significantly in gonococci-challenged PMNs compared with the controls (P0.01). Progesterone could repress the activation of iNOS through P38MAPK pathway within PMNs (P0.05), which could be blocked by SB203580 (P0.01), but not by actinomycin D (P0.05). It was also found subsequently that in the serum specimens collected from gonococci-infected but asymptomatic women, the progesterone level was higher than that in women with severe symptoms (P0.01). Moreover, the yield of NO had an inverse correlation with progesterone. With these results it suggested that the rapid nongenomic effects of progesterone may inhibit iNOS activation and NO yields mediated by P38MAPK pathways, which were supposed to be concerned with asymptomatic women infected with gonococci.

RSD (Reversely Switched Dynistor), a high-power semiconductor switch, is similar in design to thyristor with pnpn-regions. Instead of a conventional gate structure, RSD's anode consists of alternating n+ and p+ sections. In this paper, the RSD turn-on condition is systematically investigated. Analyses and simulations reveal that the trigger charge must be sufficient to assure RSD normal turn-on. To explore the potential application of RSD, several turn-on characteristics are experimentally evaluated. Results indicate that RSD has advantages in fast voltage-falling, great capability of handling high current and high di/dt.

Auteur(s) : Lin WANG1,2,a, Yanni XIANG3,a, Yonghui ZHANG3, Yating TU1, Jiawen LI1, Hongxiang CHEN1,b hongxiangchen@hotmail.com 1 Department of Dermatology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China 2 Department of Pathology, The Miriam Hospital, Brown Medical School, RISE Building, 14 Third Street, Providence RI 02906, USA 3 Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, [...]

Background Genome-wide RNA interference screening study revealed that loss of expression of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) is a critical step in development of a malignant melanoma (MM), and this secreted protein plays a central role in apoptosis of MM. In this study we constructed pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 to obtain high expression of IGBPF7 and to inhibit the growth of MM in C57BL/6J mice. Methods pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 was transfected into B16-F10 cell, the expression of IGFBP7 was detected by RT-PCR and western blot. The proliferations and apoptosis rates of transfected and control cells were measured by CCK8 and FCM, respectively. The tumorigenicity and tumor growth in both pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 group and control groups were studied in C57BL/6J mice model. IGFBP7, caspase-3, and VEGF expressions in tumor tissue were measured by immunohistochemistry. Apoptosis of tumors were detected by TUNEL. Results We demonstrated this plasmid inhibited proliferation of B16-F10 melanoma cells efficiently in vivo, exploiting the high expression of IGFBP7. More importantly, in-vivo transfection of pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7 inhibited MM growth in C57BL/6J mice. The inhibition of MM growth was proved owing to apoptosis and reduced expression of VEGF induced by pcDNA3.1-IGFBP7. Conclusions These results suggest a potential new clinical strategy for MM gene treatment.