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The solid-state separation of hypoxanthine tautomers was realized by a doping strategy. The doping forms of hypoxanthine in HAmG, AG β and AG α are N7-hypoxanthine, and in GM and dehydrated-GM are N9-hypoxanthine.

Aims To investigate coping strategies and identify their associated factors among Chinese clinical nurses during the early stage of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods This study was conducted in seven designated hospitals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the coronavirus disease 2019 in the southwest of China between 1 February and 31 March, 2020. Multiple linear regression was conducted to explore the association of different factors with the coping strategies of nurses. Results Nurses’ positive coping was associated with higher psychological capital (B = 0.185, 95% CI 0.158–0.213), social support (B = 0.292, 95% CI 0.244–0.340) and lower frustration (B = −0.065, 95% CI −0.123 to −0.007). In contrast, higher frustration (B = 0.091, 95% CI 0.044–0.139), lower performance (B = −0.054, 95% CI −0.101 to −0.007) and psychological capital (B = −0.035, 95% CI −0.055 to −0.014) were associated with negative coping.

Improving the efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen is currently a hot topic in research. TiO2 nanosheets are a good carrier of photocatalytic materials and have become attractive materials in the new century because of their high active surface exposure characteristics and special morphology. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of conventional chemical and physical methods that are used for preparing TiO2 nanosheets, an optimized scheme for the preparation of TiO2 nanosheets via hydrothermal calcination was proposed. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-visible diffuse reflection absorption spectra (DRS) were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the TiO2 nanosheets, and differences in the photocatalytic water splitting hydrogen production activity of the different calcination temperatures were compared. The suitable calcination temperature of the TiO2 nanosheets was 400°C, and the hydrogen production rate was 270 μmol/h, which indicated that the sheet structure was beneficial for improving the photocatalytic water splitting hydrogen production performance of the material. It is hoped that this work will support the regulation of the surface morphology and surface modification of nanomaterials.

In our continuing effort to develop effective anti-heroin vaccines as potential medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, herein we present the design and synthesis of the haptens: 1-AmidoMorHap (1), 1-AmidoMorHap epimer (2), 1 Amido-DihydroMorHap (3), and 1 Amido-DihydroMorHap epimer (4). This is the first report of hydrolytically stable haptenic surrogates of heroin with the attachment site at the C1 position in the 4,5-epoxymorophinan nucleus. We prepared respective tetanus toxoid (TT)–hapten conjugates as heroin vaccine immunogens and evaluated their efficacy in vivo. We showed that all TT–hapten conjugates induced high antibody endpoint titers against the targets but only haptens 2 and 3 can induce protective effects against heroin in vivo. The epimeric analogues of these haptens, 1 and 4, failed to protect mice from the effects of heroin. We also showed that the in vivo efficacy is consistent with the results of the in vitro drug sequestration assay. Attachment of the linker at the C1 position induced antibodies with weak binding to the target drugs. Only TT-2 and TT-3 yielded antibodies that bound heroin and 6-acetyl morphine. None of the TT–hapten conjugates induced antibodies that cross-reacted with morphine, methadone, naloxone, or naltrexone, and only TT-3 interacted weakly with buprenorphine, and that subtle structural difference, especially at the C6 position, can vastly alter the specificity of the induced antibodies. This study is an important contribution in the field of vaccine development against small-molecule targets, providing proof that the chirality at C6 in these epoxymorphinans is a vital key to their effectiveness.

A catalytic electrode with extraordinary performances for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) should achieve a low onset potential of the bulk electrode, as well as its uniform distribution. Herein, a total internal reflection imaging (TIRi) method to characterize the onset potential distribution of the catalytic electrode surface is presented. When the potential scans toward negative in a linear sweep voltammetry, the equivalent refractive index of the electrolyte on the electrode surface will decrease due to H2 microbubbles generation, leading to the increase in optical intensity. Analysis of the relationship between the optical intensity and potential in each region results in the onset potential distribution. The TIRi method reveals poor uniformity and repeatability in the catalytic electrodes which are fabricated by depositing Pt/C catalysts on a porous carbon support with polymer binders (e.g., Nafion). Further electrochemical stability test also shows poor durability, whose HER onset potential deteriorates from the edge to the middle of these catalytic electrodes. The present TIRi method realizes direct visualization of the activity distribution on the bulk electrode surface, which provides a powerful tool for better fabrication and evaluation of large-area HER electrodes in industrial energy devices.

In the field of electrochemical energy storage systems, the use of in situ detection technology helps to study the mechanism of electrochemical reaction. Our group has previously in situ detected the electrochemical reaction in vanadium flow batteries by total internal reflection (TIR) imaging. In order to further improve the detection resolution, in this study, the weak measurement (WM) method was introduced to in situ detect the electrochemical reaction during the linear sweep voltammetry or the cyclic voltammetry tests with quantitative measurement of the absolute current density, which lays a foundation for replacing the TIR for two-dimensional imaging of electrochemical reactions in vanadium flow batteries, oxygen/hydrogen evolution reaction, surface treatments, electrochemical corrosion and so on.

Developing biomimetic nanoparticles without loss of the integrity of proteins remains a major challenge in cancer chemotherapy. Here, we develop a biocompatible tumor-cell-exocytosed exosome-biomimetic porous silicon nanoparticles (PSiNPs) as drug carrier for targeted cancer chemotherapy. Exosome-sheathed doxorubicin-loaded PSiNPs (DOX@E-PSiNPs), generated by exocytosis of the endocytosed DOX-loaded PSiNPs from tumor cells, exhibit enhanced tumor accumulation, extravasation from blood vessels and penetration into deep tumor parenchyma following intravenous administration. In addition, DOX@E-PSiNPs, regardless of their origin, possess significant cellular uptake and cytotoxicity in both bulk cancer cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs). These properties endow DOX@E-PSiNPs with great in vivo enrichment in total tumor cells and side population cells with features of CSCs, resulting in anticancer activity and CSCs reduction in subcutaneous, orthotopic and metastatic tumor models. These results provide a proof-of-concept for the use of exosome-biomimetic nanoparticles exocytosed from tumor cells as a promising drug carrier for efficient cancer chemotherapy., The generation of biomimetic nanoparticles that retain the integrity of proteins has been a challenge. Here, the authors generate biomimetic nanoparticles that are exocytosed from tumour cells and show their therapeutic potential in targeting tumours and cancer stem cells in multiple mouse models.

Brain endothelial cells (BECs) are involved in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. Recently, several microRNAs (miRNAs) in BECs were reported to regulate the endothelial function in ischemic brain. Therefore, modulation of miRNAs in BECs by a therapeutic oligonucleotide to inhibit miRNA (antimiR) could be a useful strategy for treating ischemic stroke. However, few attempts have been made to achieve this strategy via systemic route due to lack of efficient delivery-method toward BECs. Here, we have developed a new technology for delivering an antimiR into BECs and silencing miRNAs in BECs, using a mouse ischemic stroke model. We designed a heteroduplex oligonucleotide, comprising an antimiR against miRNA-126 (miR-126) known as the endothelial-specific miRNA and its complementary RNA, conjugated to α-tocopherol as a delivery ligand (Toc-HDO targeting miR-126). Intravenous administration of Toc-HDO targeting miR-126 remarkably suppressed miR-126 expression in ischemic brain of the model mice. In addition, we showed that Toc-HDO targeting miR-126 was delivered into BECs more efficiently than the parent antimiR in ischemic brain, and that it was delivered more effectively in ischemic brain than non-ischemic brain of this model mice. Our study highlights the potential of this technology as a new clinical therapeutic option for ischemic stroke.

A series of compounds have been synthesized with a variety of substituents based on a three-carbon chain at the C9-position of 3-hydroxy-N-phenethyl-5-phenylmorphan (3-(2-phenethyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol). Three of these were found to be μ-opioid receptor agonists in the inhibition of forskolin-induced cAMP accumulation assay and they did not recruit β-arrestin at all in the PathHunter assay and in the Tango assay. Compound 12 (3-((1S,5R,9R)-2-phenethyl-9-propyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol), 13 (3-((1S,5R,9R)-9-((E)-3-hydroxyprop-1-en-1-yl)-2-phenethyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol), and 15a (3-((1S,5R,9R)-9-(2-hydroxypropyl)-2-phenethyl-2-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-5-yl)phenol) were partial μ-agonists. Two of them had moderate efficacies (E(MAX)ca. 65%) and one had lower efficacy, and they were ca. 5, 3, and 4 times more potent, respectively, than morphine in vitro. Computer simulations were carried out to provide a molecular basis for the high bias ratios of the C9-substituted 5-phenylmorphans toward G-protein activation.

Photocatalytic ammonia synthesis is of great importance but remains very challenging in photocatalysis. Here, we fabricated a photocatalytic reaction system for the efficiently photocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia under UV irradiation using PdSn/NiO/NaTaO3:La as a photocatalyst in the presence of formic acid. Several important factors of the photocatalytic performance were investigated, including initial concentration of the nitrate solution, initial pH value and cocatalyst loadings. Nitrate conversion reaches 100% and ammonia selectivity is 72% over the optimum photocatalyst with 5% bimetallic PdSn alloy and 0.2% NiO loadings. The outstanding performance of photocatalyst can be ascribed to both the strong adsorption of nitrite on NiO and the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs by PdSn bimetallic alloy. Besides as the hole scavenger, formic acid also provides not only carboxyl anion radicals for nitrate reduction but also the in-situ buffer effect on ammonia formation. These results give inspiration for designing the reactive system with efficient photocatalytic ammonia synthesis.

A novel hollow spherical 3D structure of β-SiC with an open mouth was successfully fabricated by an environmentally friendly approach starting from ethylsilicate interaction with the P123 and glucose. The proposed growth mechanism of SiC hollow spheres was revealed step by step with SEM and XRD. When the as-prepared SiC was applied for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with pure water, it was found to be highly active for the conversion CO2 into mainly CH4 hydrocarbon products due to its unique electronic structure, hollow morphology and high BET surface area. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity of the hollow spherical SiC can be greatly improved by loading Pt cocatalyst. The optimal 2.0 wt% Pt loading led to a stable CH4 evolution as high as 16.8 μmol/g/h (or 376.4 μl/g/h) with the simulated solar light irradiation, which is higher than that of many reported metal oxides (Pt/TiO2, CdS/WO3, Zn2GeO4, CeO2 and g-C3N4/NaNbO3 et al.) under similar experimental conditions. This work provides a new strategy for the architecture of thermally and chemically stable non-metallic carbide with unique hollow spherical structure to be a potential nonmetallic photocatalyst for CO2 reduction into CH4.

This work provides a simple but efficient strategy for the adjustment of texture and regular morphology of graphitic carbon nitride (CN) material by the post-synthesis of successive heat-vacuum treatment (SHVT) method without using hard templates. The modified CN displayed various hollow microtubule structure and the improvement of s-heptazine unit depending on the SHVT temperature. The best hollow microtubule morphology with highest contents of the key s-heptazine structure can be achieved by SHVT at 540 °C. These modified CN samples led to the highest photocatalytic H2 yield of 1160 μL for 4 h reaction under visible light irradiation, which is almost 10 times higher than that of the traditional CN (118 μL). The results represent an alternative approach to preparing hollow microtubule morphology and improving the s-heptazine structure in CN for enhancing photocatalytic performance. Keywords: Graphitic carbon nitride, Heat-vacuum treatment, Photocatalysis

Pt nanoparticles were loaded on anatase TiO 2 by the photodeposition method to investigate their photocatalytic activity for H 2 evolution in an aqueous solution containing a certain amount of ethylene glycol (EG) as the sacrificial agent. The surface properties and chemical states of the Pt/TiO 2 sample were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, and electrochemical resistance. The aqueous-phase photocatalytic EG reforming using Pt/TiO 2 and anatase TiO 2 generated not only H 2 and CO 2 , but also CO, CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , and C 2 H 4 . Moreover, the amount of formate and acetate complexes in the solution increased gradually. The EG adsorption and gas-phase intermediates during photocatalytic reaction processes were investigated by the in situ FTIR spectrum. Finally, the photocatalytic EG reforming reaction mechanism was elucidated. This helped to better understand the role of a sacrificial agent in a photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Improving the intratumoral distribution of anticancer agents remains the critical challenge for developing efficient cancer chemotherapy. Luminescent porous silicon nanoparticles (PSiNPs) have attracted considerable attention in the biomedical field especially in drug delivery. Here, we described the lysosomal exocytosis-mediated domino-like intercellular delivery of undecylenic acid-conjugated PSiNPs (UA-PSiNPs) for deep tumor penetration. UA-PSiNPs with significantly improved stability in physiological conditions were internalized into tumor cells by macropinocytosis-, caveolae-, and clathrin-mediated endocytosis and mainly colocalized with Golgi apparatus and lysosomes. Substantial evidence showed that UA-PSiNPs was excreted from cells via lysosomal exocytosis after cellular uptake. The exocytosed UA-PSiNPs induced a domino-like infection of adjacent cancer cells and allowed encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX) to deeply penetrate into both three-dimensional tumor spheroids and in vivo tumors. In addition, DOX-loaded UA-PSiNPs exhibited strong antitumor activity and few side effects in vivo. This study demonstrated that UA-PSiNPs as a drug carrier might be applied for deep tumor penetration, offering a new insight into the design of more efficient delivery systems of anticancer drugs.

Yanling Shen,1,2,* Ling Dai,1,* Haibo Tian,1,3 Runnan Xu,1 Fuying Li,4 Zhuohang Li,1 Jeremy Zhou,5 Liping Wang,5 Jianghui Dong,1,5 Liyuan Sun1,4 1Department of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, Affiliated Chenggong Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pathology, Fuling Central Hospital of Chongqing City, Chongqing 408099, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurology and Neurological Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan; 5School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, and UniSA Cancer Research Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jianghui DongDepartment of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, Guangxi, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-773-3680651Fax +86-773-3680230Email Jianghui.dong@mymail.unisa.edu.auLiyuan SunDepartment of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541004, Guangxi, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-773-5893516Fax +86-773-5898939Email sunly@glmc.edu.cnPurpose: Epidemiology research has demonstrated that magnesium (Mg) deficiency is associated with a high incidence of Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is known that the systemic administration of MgSO4 is not able to elevate the Mg concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This study aims to verify the protective effect of magnesium-L-threonate (MgT) in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model.Methods: C57BL/6J mice were orally administered MgT or MgSO4 for 4 weeks, and received MPTP in the third week. After analysis of open-field and rotarod tests on the last day, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunopositive cells and protein levels were quantified in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and striatum. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) level was evaluated. Mg concentration in serum and CSF was measured after oral administration of MgSO4 or MgT in normal mice. Mg concentration in the CSF was increased in the mice treated with MgT but not MgSO4.Results: The total distance and mean speed in open-field tests, and the time spent on rotarod in the MgT group were increased, compared with MPTP group. The MgT treatment but not MgSO4 dose-dependently attenuated the loss of TH-positive neurons, and the reduction of the TH expression in the SNpc. The MgT treatment also inhibited the expression of iNOS as measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blots. Double-immunofluorescence staining of TH and iNOS showed iNOS-positive cells were collocalized for TH-positive cells.Conclusion: The treatment with MgT is associated with an increase of Mg in the CSF. MgT, rather than MgSO4, can significantly attenuate MPTP-induced motor deficits and dopamine (DA) neuron loss.Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, magnesium-L-threonate, cerebrospinal fluid, magnesium

Background Depression among college students is common, exercise interventions are valued as one of the most widely prescribed interventions for depressed college students, however, it is especially difficult for university administrators to determine which exercise intervention is most effective, and efficacy of exercise interventions among depressed college students have not been evaluated. Objectives To systematically review and compare the efficacy of Seven Exercise interventions for Symptoms of depression in college students. Method A network of meta-analysis was conducted to fill the objectives. PubMed, Embase databases, and two Chinese language electronic databases WANFANG and CNKI were searched for the related articles. Eligibility criteria Randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy of Seven Exercise interventions with usual care of college students with depression were included in the review. Main outcomes The Primary outcome of the present study were standardized mean difference(SMD) and the mean change of depressive symptoms. Results 14 trials were identified, including 2010 depressed college students. The result of direct meta-analysis of this review indicated exercise interventions overall had a significantly lower mean depression scores (SMD=-1.13) when compared with usual care. The result of NMA indicated when comparing with badminton intervention, yoga(SMD=-7.7, 95%CI -14 to -0.93) and tai chi (SMD=-9.4, 95%CI -16 to -2.7) can significantly decrease depression scores of the depressed college students. The rank of seven exercise interventions with respect to efficiently decrease symptom of depressed undergraduates was Tai chi > Yoga > Volleyball > Dance > Run> Basketball> Badminton, respectively. Conclusions Tai chi exhibited the highest probability that became the most efficacy intervention among the comparions, and Yoga showed the second most effectiveness to alleviate depressive symptoms of depressed college students, and dance ranks the third, followed by run, volleyball, basketball, badminton respectively.

Reconciling the conflicting needs for a prolonged circulation time, enhanced cellular uptake by bulk tumor cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs), and extensive tumor tissue penetration remains a major challenge for current nano drug delivery systems. Here we describe smart poly( N-isopropylacrylamide)-based nanogels with a fast adaptive hydrophobicity to solve these contradictory requirements for enhanced cancer chemotherapy. The nanogels are hydrophilic in the blood to prolong their circulation time. Once they accumulate at tumor sites, they rapidly become hydrophobic in response to tumor extracellular acidity. The adaptive hydrophobicity of the nanogels facilitates tumor accumulation, deep tumor penetration, and efficient uptake by bulk tumor cells and CSCs, resulting in a greater in vivo enrichment in tumor cells and side population cells. Together with lysosomal pH-regulated charge reversal and redox-responsive intracellular drug release, the nanogels escape from lysosomes and release their cargo doxorubicin. Thus, the nanogels significantly improve the in vivo anticancer efficacy and decrease side effects of doxorubicin. Strikingly, the ratio of CSCs is greatly decreased after treatment with the nanogels loaded with doxorubicin. Our current study provides new insights into designing effective anticancer drug delivery systems.

A unique Rh/TiO2 solid acid catalyst modified with H2SO4 was synthesized and evaluated in the esterification reaction of propylene glycol methyl ether and decomposition of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous phase under halogen lamp irradiation. For this purpose, rhodium (Rh) nanoparticles were loaded on SO42 −/TiO2 via the photo-deposition method. It was found that SO42 −/Rh–TiO2 exhibited stronger catalytic activity than SO42 −/TiO2. The new catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results from XRD and BET show that SO42 −/Rh–TiO2 has higher specific surface area and smaller pore size than SO42 −/TiO2. The distribution of loaded Rh was found to be uniform with a particle size of 2–4 nm. Data from XPS reveal that Rh primarily exists as Rh0 and Rh3 + in Rh–TiO2 and SO42 −/Rh–TiO2. These valence forms of Rh likely contribute to the enhanced catalytic activity. Furthermore, FT-IR spectra of the catalysts show an abundance of surface hydroxyl groups, which help the formation of hydroxyl radicals and the enhancement of surface acid density. The results show that more acid sites are formed on the sulfated Rh–TiO2, and these acidic sites are largely responsible for improving the catalytic performance. This superior SO42 −/Rh–TiO2 catalyst has potential applications in reactions requiring efficient acid catalysts, including esterification reactions and waste water treatment.

Two-dimensional (2D) SAPO-5 nanosheets with a thickness of about 3.0 nm were fabricated successfully by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method for the first time. The structure and the physicochemical properties of the as-prepared SAPO-5 nanosheets were characterized in detail. The SAPO-5 ultrathin nanosheets have great potential applications for the highly efficient reduction of CO 2 into a renewable hydrocarbon fuel. Compared with SAPO-5 microrods, the ultrathin SAPO-5 nanosheets show higher photocatalytic activity (about 6 times) for reducing CO 2 into CH 4 . It is found that a large number of surface active sites on the nanosheets make it suitable for the catalytic reaction, and the ultrathin geometry of the nanosheets promotes the mass transfer of reactants and products. The normalized time-resolved fluorescence decay signals of the photo-induced absorption recorded from the SAPO-5 nanosheets and rod indicate that the excited state can survive longer on the nanosheets, which also contributes to its high photocatalytic activity. Meanwhile, high CO 2 adsorption capacity may be one important reason for high photocatalytic activity of SAPO-5 nanosheets. The reaction intermediates are detected by in-situ FT-IR spectroscopy. Finally, a probable mechanism is proposed based on the experimental results. It is hoped that our work could facilitate the fabrication of molecular sieve materials for solar energy conversion of CO 2 .

Efficient accumulation and intracellular drug release in cancer cells remain a crucial challenge in developing ideal anticancer drug delivery systems. Here, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-ss-acrylic acid (P(NIPAM-ss-AA)) nanogels based on NIPAM and AA cross-linked by N,N'-bis(acryloyl)cystamine (BAC) were constructed by precipitation polymerization. The nanogels exhibited pH/redox dual responsive doxorubicin (DOX) release behavior in vitro and in tumor cells, in which DOX release from nanogels was accelerated in lysosomal pH (pH 4.5) and cytosolic reduction (10 mM GSH) conditions. Moreover, intracellular tracking of DOX-loaded nanogels confirmed that after the nanogels and the loaded DOX entered the cells simultaneously mainly via lipid raft/caveolae-mediated endocytosis, DOX-loaded nanogels were transported to lysosomes and then the loaded DOX was released to nucleus triggered by lysosomal pH and cytoplasmic high GSH. MTT analysis showed that DOX-loaded nanogels could efficiently inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells. In vivo animal studies demonstrated that DOX-loaded nanogels were accumulated and penetrated in tumor tissues more efficiently than free DOX. Meanwhile, DOX-loaded nanogels exhibited stronger tumor inhibition activity and fewer side effects. This study indicated that pH/redox dual-responsive nanogels might present a prospective platform for intracellular drug controlled release in cancer therapy.

We report the application of the commercial HZSM-5 zeolite as an efficient and stable photocatalyst for the photoreduction of CO2 with H2O at room temperature. CO and H2 were the main reduction products besides a trace amount of hydrocarbons. The activity of CO evolution was dependent on the source of various zeolites. The highest CO evolution rate over the HZSM-5 samples was 3.32 μmol g−1 h−1 under UV-light irradiation. The control experiments combined with the characterization results of XRD, UV-vis DRS and ESR revealed that the photocatalytic activity was not related to Si/Al ratios or Al–O units but was associated with the content of Fe impurities in the zeolite samples. A reaction mechanism of CO2 photoreduction on Fe species in zeolites was proposed. [Fe3+–O2−] species as a photoactive centre can be excited by UV light to form a charge-transfer excited state, [Fe2+–O−]*, which was responsible for the CO2 reduction reaction. This work demonstrates zeolite molecular sieves as an efficient photocatalyst for CO2 conversion and helps us to understand the photocatalytic nature of zeolites.

The accurate analytical measurement of binding affinities of polyclonal antibody in sera to heroin, 6-acetylmorphine (6-AM), and morphine has been a challenging task. A simple nonradioactive method that uses deuterium-labeled drug tracers and equilibrium dialysis (ED) combined with ultra performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) to measure the apparent dissociation constant (Kd) of antibodies to 6-AM and morphine is described. The method can readily detect antibodies with Kd in the low nanomolar range. Since heroin is rapidly degraded in sera, esterase inhibitors were included in the assay, greatly reducing heroin hydrolysis. MS/MS detection directly measured the heroin in the assay after overnight ED, thereby allowing the quantitation of % bound heroin in lieu of Kd as an alternative measurement to assess heroin binding to polyclonal antibody sera. This is the first report that utilizes a solution-based assay to quantify heroin-antibody binding without being confounded by the presence of 6-AM and morphine and to measure Kd of polyclonal antibody to 6-AM. Hapten surrogates 6-AcMorHap, 6-PrOxyHap, MorHap, DiAmHap, and DiPrOxyHap coupled to tetanus toxoid (TT) were used to generate high affinity antibodies to heroin, 6-AM, and morphine. In comparison to competition ED-UPLC/MS/MS which gave Kd values in the nanomolar range, the commonly used competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measured the 50 % inhibition concentration (IC50) values in the micromolar range. Despite the differences in Kd and IC50 values, similar trends in affinities of hapten antibodies to heroin, 6-AM, and morphine were observed by both methods. Competition ED-UPLC/MS/MS revealed that among the five TT-hapten bioconjugates, TT-6-AcMorHap and TT-6-PrOxyHap induced antibodies that bound heroin, 6-AM, and morphine. In contrast, TT-MorHap induced antibodies that poorly bound heroin, while TT-DiAmHap and TT-DiPrOxyHap induced antibodies either did not bind or poorly bound to heroin, 6-AM, and morphine. This simple and nonradioactive method can be extended to other platforms, such as oxycodone, cocaine, nicotine, and methamphetamine for the selection of the lead hapten design during substance abuse vaccine development. Graphical Abstract Determination of the antibody affinities using competition equilibrium dialysis (ED) combined with ultra performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00216-015-9223-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Various types of eosinophilic neurons (ENs) are found in the post-ischemic brain. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the temporal and spatial profile of ENs, the expression of TUNEL staining and ultrastructural characteristics in the core and peripheral regions of the cortex post-ischemia. Unilateral forebrain ischemia was induced in Mongolian gerbils by transient common carotid artery occlusions, and the brains from 3 h to 2 weeks post-ischemia were prepared for morphometric, electron microscopy (EM) and TUNEL staining of the ENs. Light microscopy showed that ENs with minimally abnormal nuclei and swollen cell bodies appeared at 3 h in the ischemic core and at 12 h in the periphery. Thereafter, ENs with pyknosis and irregular atrophic cytoplasm peaked at 12 h, pyknosis with scant cytoplasm peaked at 4 days, and TUNEL-positive staining was observed in the ischemic core. In the ischemic periphery, ENs had slightly atrophic cytoplasm and sequentially developed pyknosis, karyorrhexis and karyolysis over 1 week. These cells were also positive for TUNEL. In EM, severe organelle dilation and vacuolization preceded chromatin fragmentation in the ischemic core, while chromatin fragmentation and homogenization were the vital characteristics in the ischemic periphery. There might be two region-dependent pathways for EN changes in the post-ischemic brain: pyknosis with cytoplasmic shrinkage in the core and nuclear disintegration with slightly atrophic cytoplasm in the periphery. These pathways were comparable to necrosis and proceeded from non-classical apoptosis to necrosis, respectively.

Background: Mental health knowledge is an important part of mental health literacy, which is related to one's attitude and coping style when facing mental illness. The awareness rate of mental health knowledge among adolescents is an effective index to evaluate the effect of school mental health education, and the awareness rate of mental health knowledge among Chinese adolescents has not been effectively evaluated. Methods: Two electronic databases for English language and 3 electronic databases for Chinese language were searched for relevant studies. Meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the awareness rate among Chinese adolescents. The normal distribution test was conducted using 5 methods. Homogeneity test was conducted, and I2 > 50% indicates existence of heterogeneity and in this case, the random model was adopted; otherwise, we adopt the fixed model. Funnel plot and Egger test was used to confirm whether publication bias existed. Results: Seventeen studies were included in this study, comprising 22,164 students from different stages of education (10,437 senior middle-school students, 5589 junior middle-school students, and 6138 college students). The awareness rate of mental health knowledge among Chinese adolescents was only 66%; for university students and middle-school students, their awareness rate was 73% and 61%, respectively. The awareness rate among senior middle-school students was as low as that of junior middle-school students. The awareness rate among college students in developed regions was higher than that in developing regions. Conclusions: The awareness rate of mental health knowledge among Chinese adolescents was lower than the goal set in the national mental health work plan. There are gaps in mental health education in different developed areas. The mental health education among adolescent in Chinese mainland needs to be further strengthened.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is increasingly regarded as a dynamic interface that adapts to the needs of the brain, responds to physiological changes, and gets affected by and can even promote diseases. Modulation of BBB function at the molecular level in vivo is beneficial for a variety of basic and clinical studies. Here we show that our heteroduplex oligonucleotide (HDO), composed of an antisense oligonucleotide and its complementary RNA, conjugated to α-tocopherol as a delivery ligand, efficiently reduced the expression of organic anion transporter 3 (OAT3) gene in brain microvascular endothelial cells in mice. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that intravenous administration of chemically synthesized HDO can remarkably silence OAT3 at the mRNA and protein levels. We also demonstrated modulation of the efflux transport function of OAT3 at the BBB in vivo. HDO will serve as a novel platform technology to advance the biology and pathophysiology of the BBB in vivo, and will also open a new therapeutic field of gene silencing at the BBB for the treatment of various intractable neurological disorders.

Metastasis of cancer to the skeleton represents a debilitating turning point in the lives of patients. Skeletal metastasis leads to moderate to severe ongoing pain along with bone remodeling that can result in fracture, events that dramatically diminish quality of life. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels are elevated in patients with metastatic breast cancer and are associated with a lower survival rate. We therefore determined the consequences of inhibition of IL-6 signaling using a novel small molecule antagonist, TB-2-081, on bone integrity, tumor progression, and pain in a rodent model of breast cancer. Rat MAT B III mammary adenocarcinoma cells were injected and sealed within the tibia of female Fischer rats. Growth of these cells within the rat tibia elicited increased IL-6 levels both within the bone exudate and in the plasma, produced ongoing pain and evoked hypersensitivity, and bone fracture that was observed by approximately day 12. Systemic TB-2-081 delivered by subcutaneous osmotic minipumps starting at tumor implantation prevented tumor-induced ongoing bone pain and evoked hypersensitivity without altering tumor growth. Remarkably, TB-2-081 infusion significantly reduced osteolytic and osteoblastic bone remodeling and time to fracture likely by decreasing osteoclastogenesis and associated increase in bone resorption. These findings indicate that blockade of IL-6 signaling may represent a viable, disease-modifying strategy to prevent tumor-induced bone remodeling allowing for stabilization of bone and decreased fractures as well as diminished ongoing pain that may improve quality of life of patients with skeletal metastases. Notably, anti-IL-6 antibodies are clinically available allowing for rapid testing of these possibilities in humans.