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Background: Though articular cartilage stem cell (ACSC)-based therapies have been demonstrated to be a promising option in the treatment of diseased joints, the wide variety of cell isolation, the unknown therapeutic targets, and the incomplete understanding of the interactions of ACSCs with diseased microenvironments have limited the applications of ACSCs. Methods: In this study, the human ACSCs have been isolated from osteoarthritic articular cartilage by advantage of selection of anatomical location, the migratory property of the cells, and the combination of traumatic injury, mechanical stimuli and enzymatic digestion. The protective effects of ACSC infusion into osteoarthritis (OA) rat knees on osteochondral tissues were evaluated using micro-CT and pathological analyses. Moreover, the regulation of ACSCs on osteoarthritic osteoclasts and the underlying mechanisms in vivo and in vitro were explored by RNA-sequencing, pathological analyses and functional gain and loss experiments. The one-way ANOVA was used in multiple group data analysis. Results: The ACSCs showed typical stem cell-like characteristics including colony formation and committed osteo-chondrogenic capacity. In addition, intra-articular injection into knee joints yielded significant improvement on the abnormal subchondral bone remodeling of osteoarthritic rats. Bioinformatic and functional analysis showed that ACSCs suppressed osteoarthritic osteoclasts formation, and inflammatory joint microenvironment augmented the inhibitory effects. Further explorations demonstrated that ACSC-derived tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3) remarkably contributed to the inhibition on osteoarhtritic osteoclasts and the improvement of abnormal subchondral bone remodeling. Conclusion: In summary, we have reported an easy and reproducible human ACSC isolation strategy and revealed their effects on subchondral bone remodeling in OA rats by releasing TNFAIP3 and suppressing osteoclasts in a diseased microenvironment responsive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precisely manipulated π–π stacking of the hybrid catalyst favors the specific prediction of the ORR active sites, which are the iron atoms in the form of natural Fe-N 4 that bind preferentially to the oxygen. [Display omitted] Metal macrocycles with well-defined molecular structures are ideal platforms for the in-depth study of electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Structural integrity of metal macrocycles is vital but remain challenging since the commonly used high-temperature pyrolysis would cause severe structure damage and unidentifiable active sites. Herein, we propose a pyrolysis-free strategy to precisely manipulate the exfoliated 2D iron polyphthalocyanine (FePPc) anchored on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via π–π stacking using facile high-energy ball milling. A delocalized electron shift caused by π–π interaction is firstly found to be the mechanism of facilitating the remarkable ORR activity of this hybrid catalyst. The optimal FePPc@rGO-HE achieves superior half-wave potential (0.90 V) than 20 % Pt/C. This study offers a new insight in designing stable and high-performance metal macrocycle catalysts with well-defined active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (EBV+ DLBCL-NOS), is an EBV-positive clonal B-cell lymphoid proliferation and circulating EBV-DNA is a great indicator for prognosis among EBV associated disease. In this retrospective study, we report 66 EBV+ DLBCL cases among 2137 DLBCL-NOS cases diagnosed from 2013 to 2021 (prevalence of 6.0%). After a median follow-up of 27 months, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at 2 years were 39.5% ± 6.2% and 53.6% ± 6.4%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that only the biomarker of the positivity of post treatment EBV-DNA had a borderline correlation with shorter PFS and OS (PFS: P = 0.053; OS: P = 0.065). Patients were divided into three subgroups according to dynamic changes of EBV-DNA status: EBV-DNA persistently negative group, EBV-DNA persistently positive group, and EBV-DNA transformed from positive to negative group; among the three groups, patients of the persistently positive group had worst PFS and OS (P = 0.0527 and P = 0.0139, respectively). Decline in EBV copies correlated significantly with treatment response as well. In conclusion, circulating EBV-DNA level played a vital role in prognostic and monitoring marker for EBV+ DLBCL-NOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to select oil displacement agents with stronger adaptability for different formations and reduce the adsorption loss of clay minerals on surfactants taking fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene surfactants as an example the static adsorption method was used to study the adsorption law of nonionic surfactants on different clay mineral surfaces and the effects of different EO addition numbers different carbon chain numbers critical micelle concentration and Zeta potential on nonionic surfactants and their adsorption mechanism were discussed. The results show that there is always a positive feedback effect between carbon chain length-hydrophobicity-adsorption amounts during the adsorption procees; the relationship between EO addition number-hydrogen bondandhydrophobicity-adsorption amounts depends on the relationship between hydrogen bond strength and hydrophobicity strength. Which is concluded that lauryl polyoxyethylene ether-- is a nonionic surfactant with good anti adsorption property and it also provides a basis for the selection of chemical agents in the tertiary oil recovery process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigments produced by micro-organisms could contribute to their pathogenesis and resistance. The investigation into the red pigment of R. mucilaginosa and its ability to survive and resist has not yet been explored. This study aimed to investigate the survival and resistance of the R. mucilaginosa CQMU1 strain following inhibition of pigment production by naftifine and its underlying mechanism. The red-pigmented Rhodotorula mucilaginosa CQMU1 yeast was isolated from an infected toenail of a patient with onychomycosis. Cultivation of R. mucilaginosa in liquid and solid medium showed the effect of naftifine after treatment. Then, analysis of phagocytosis and tolerance to heat or chemicals of R. mucilaginosa was used to evaluate the survival and resistance of yeast to different treatments. Naftifine reversibly inhibited the pigmentation of R. mucilaginosa CQMU1 in solid and liquid media. Depigmented R. mucilaginosa CQMU1 showed increased susceptibility toward murine macrophage cells RAW264.7 and reduced resistance toward different types of chemicals, such as 1.5-M NaCl and 0.5% Congo red. Inhibition of pigment production by naftifine affected the survival and growth of R. mucilaginosa and its resistance to heat and certain chemicals. The results obtained could further elucidate the target of new mycosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient photocarrier generation and collection are highly desirable for solar‐fuel conversion systems. However, the latter is challenging for many photoelectrodes due to carrier losses happening in the semiconductor‐electrolyte interface and the semiconductor‐substrate interface. To overcome it, a novel Au/CuBi2O4 (CBO)/PtSe2 van der Waals heterojunction photocathode has been developed to boost photocarrier collection. As a result, the ohmic contact at Au/CBO interface shows a low resistance for hole transfer. Meanwhile, while promoting electron transfer, the Van der Waals heterojunction of CBO/PtSe2 interface with energy barrier‐blocked holes. Concurrently, the composite photocathode exhibits significantly enhanced performance: a photocurrent of −0.59 mA cm−2 at 0.5 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode and an H2O2 generation rate of 2.39 mol (Lhm2)−1. This work demonstrates the charge regulation role of Van der Waals heterojunctions in the solar‐fuel system. More broadly, Van der Waals heterojunctions provide an excellent bond‐free approach to creating versatile optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand the seasonal levels, formation mechanism and atmospheric chemical behaviours of water-soluble ions of PM10 in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, aerosol samples were collected from January 2nd to December 28th, 2017 at a WMO/GAW regional background station in Lin’an. The concentrations of PM mass and nine water-soluble inorganic ions were obtained. The annual average concentration of PM10 was 59.9±33.9 μg m−3, lower than those reported in previous studies, indicating air quality of YRD region was improved. Nine water-soluble inorganic ions was accounted for 30.2-45.1% of the total PM mass, while ammonium (NH4+), sulfate (SO42+), as well as nitrate (NO3-) were the major ions which contributed 86.3% to total ions. The NO3- concentration was lowest in summer but highest in winter, suggesting it was likely influenced by thermodynamics. The levels of SO42- in spring and winter were related to photochemical reaction and regional transportation. Except for the SNA, Ca2+ was highest in four seasons likely due to sand storm and road fugitive dust. The annual mean ratio of [NO3-]/[SO42-] was nearly to 1, indicating mobile and stationary sources were equally important in Lin’an. The mean nitrogen oxidation ratio (NOR) and sulfur oxidation ratio (SOR) were 0.22±0.13 and 0.41±0.13, respectively, suggesting secondary formation was significant in the atmosphere at the background station of YRD region.