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The green conversion of CO2 and propargylic amines was successfully achieved by using a noble-metal free MOF catalyst.

Most cancer therapies are suffering from side effects to varying degrees, which might compromise the body functions and long-term health of patients. Balancing treatment efficacy and side effects has become a priority. Inspired by the concept that cellular ion homeostasis can lead to apoptosis, we developed a novel therapeutic strategy by incorporating the K+ transporter valinomycin into liposomes (Lipo-VM). Valinomycin is a naturally occurring polypeptide showing good biodegradation in vivo with reduced long-term side effects. Lipo-VM facilitates the K+ efflux of cells and triggers a caspase-dependent pathway of apoptosis by causing the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential. With the help of a liposome-based nano-delivery system, Lipo-VM shows enhanced cell uptake and accumulation at the tumor site, which results in significant inhibition of tumor growth in a liver cancer model. The proposed valinomycin-anchored liposome provides an efficient and safe approach for cancer therapy.

Objective: Explore the role of Th1/Th2 balance in the pathogenesis of primary dysmenorrhea through study the effect of Th1/Th2 balance drift on serum prostaglandin F2α, prostaglandin, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α, TXB2, COX-2, AVP and OT in Primary Dysmenorrhea Rats with cold coagulation and blood stasis syndrome. Method: The rat model of primary dysmenorrhea with cold coagulation and blood stasis syndrome was established. On the basis of this model, Th1 shift model and Th2 shift model were established. The rats were divided into blank group, model group, Th1 shifting group and Th2 shifting group. The writhing reaction of rats in each group was compared, and the contents of PGF2α, PGE2, 6-keto-PGF1α, TXB2, COX-2, AVP and OT in serum were detected. Results: Writhing latency: There was no significant difference between Th1 and Th2 shifting groups (P>0.05), Th2 shifting group was shorter than Th1 shifting group (P

Objective We investigated the effect of dexmedetomidine anesthesia on postoperative cognitive function after pulmonary surgery. Methods A blinded, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study was performed on 60 patients (age range 65–74 years) undergoing lobectomy by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (29 in the dexmedetomidine group; 31 in the placebo group). Dexmedetomidine group patients received dexmedetomidine, and placebo group patients received an equal volume of physiological saline 20 minutes before anesthesia induction. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment 1 day before surgery and on postoperative day (POD)1, POD3, and POD7. The regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) was monitored continuously by near-infrared spectroscopy before anesthesia. Results The Montreal Cognitive Assessment score was significantly different between the two groups on POD1 (dexmedetomidine 26.4 ± 0.73 vs. placebo 25.5 ± 0.96) and POD3 (dexmedetomidine 27.1 ± 0.79 vs. placebo 26.6 ± 0.80). Specifically, attention and orientation scores were increased in the dexmedetomidine group on POD1 and POD3. The rSO2 was not significantly different between the dexmedetomidine and placebo groups. Conclusion Dexmedetomidine given before induction of anesthesia could reduce the risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction and might not decrease rSO2. Hence, dexmedetomidine could be employed in pulmonary surgical procedures, especially for older patients with a high risk of cognitive dysfunction.

Early natural menopause has been regarded as a biomarker of reproductive and somatic aging. Cigarette smoking is the most harmful factor for lung health and also an established risk factor for early menopause. Understanding the effect of early menopause on health outcomes in middle-aged and older female smokers is important to develop preventive strategies.This study aimed to examine the associations of early menopause with multiple lung health and aging biomarkers, lung cancer risk, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in postmenopausal women who were moderate or heavy smokers.This study was conducted on postmenopausal women with natural (n=1038) or surgical (n=628) menopause from the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study. The Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study is a community-based research cohort of current and former smokers, screened with low-dose computed tomography and followed up for lung cancer. Early menopause was defined as occurring before 45 years of age. The analyses were stratified by menopause types because of the different biological and medical causes of natural and surgical menopause. Statistical methods included linear model, generalized linear model, linear mixed-effects model, and time-to-event analysis.The average age of the 1666 female smokers was 59.4±6.7 years, with 1519 (91.2%) of the population as non-Hispanic Whites and 1064 (63.9%) of the population as current smokers at baseline. Overall, 646 (39%) women reported early menopause, including 198 (19.1%) women with natural menopause and 448 (71.3%) women with surgical menopause (P.001). Demographic variables did not differ between early and nonearly menopause groups, regardless of menopause type. Significant associations were identified between early natural menopause and higher risk of wheezing (odds ratio, 1.65; P.01), chronic bronchitis (odds ratio, 1.73; P.01), and radiographic emphysema (odds ratio, 1.70; P.001) and lower baseline lung spirometry in an obstructive pattern (-104.8 mL/s for forced expiratory volume in the first second with P.01, -78.6 mL for forced vital capacity with P=.04, and -2.1% for forced expiratory volume in the first second-to-forced vital capacity ratio with P=.01). In addition, early natural menopause was associated with a more rapid decline of forced expiratory volume in the first second-to-forced vital capacity ratio (-0.16% per year; P=.01) and incident airway obstruction (odds ratio, 2.02; P=.04). Furthermore, women early natural menopause had a 40% increased risk of death (P=.023), which was mainly driven by respiratory diseases (hazard ratio, 2.32; P.001). Mediation analyses further identified that more than 33.3% of the magnitude of the associations between early natural menopause and all-cause and respiratory mortality were explained by baseline forced expiratory volume in the first second. Additional analyses in women with natural menopause identified that the associations between continuous smoking and subsequent lung cancer risk and cancer mortality were moderated by early menopause status, and females with early natural menopause who continued smoking had the worst outcomes (hazard ratio,4.6; P.001). This study did not find associations reported above in female smokers with surgical menopause.Early natural menopause was found to be a risk factor for malignant and nonmalignant lung diseases and mortality in middle-aged and older female smokers. These findings have strong public health relevance as preventive strategies, including smoking cessation and chest computed tomography screening, should target this population (ie, female smokers with early natural menopause) to improve their postmenopausal health and well-being.

Heavy metal elements in particulate matter can cause adverse effects on human health, and the smaller the particle size, the greater the harm. A total of 16 heavy metal elements (Al, Si, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ba, Pb, and Cd) in PM

Background: An association between chronological age and poor lung cancer survival is well established, but it is unclear whether accelerated biological aging may also predispose lung cancer patients to worse survival outcomes. While telomere shortening in blood cells is a biomarker of aging, its relationship to lung cancer prognosis remains unclear due to limited sample size, confounding, and reverse causation from observational studies. As telomere length could be a precursor of worse prognosis, a causal inference method is needed to clarify the role of telomere length in predicting lung cancer outcomes. Methods: A Mendelian Randomization study for the causal relationship between telomere length and overall survival in lung cancer was carried out. We searched the GWAS catalog for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with telomere length and collected effect estimates for the association between each SNP and telomere length from the literature. The summary data for all SNPs were acquired by analyzing their associations with overall survival of lung cancer patients in the Boston Lung Cancer Study (BLCS) and through Cox proportional hazards regression. The effect size of telomere length on overall survival was calculated and compared through several weighting methods including inverse-variance weighting (IVW) and MR-Egger. Results: A total of 16 SNPs were identified as the genetic instruments for telomere length. 1798 lung cancer patients from BLCS provided survival data with a median follow-up of 33 months. Surprisingly, a non-significant positive trend was observed for the association between telomere length and overall survival across the weighting methods (IVW: HR 1.718, 95%CI 0.849 - 3.476; MR-Egger: HR 2.347, 95%CI 0.592 - 9.309). Further analysis is ongoing to incorporate more patients and genetic instruments for additional markers of biological aging in the BLCS to explore the source of heterogeneity (I2= 98.1%) in the present study and gain more power for detecting the underlying relationship between telomere length and overall survival in lung cancer. Conclusion: A positive trend between telomere length and risk of death in lung cancer patients is consistent with previous reports of an association between increased cancer risk and longer telomere length, but is seemingly at odds with an established link between chronological age and poor lung cancer prognosis. Since markers of biological aging are strongly correlated with chronological age, we conclude that a more robust assessment of biological age will be needed to clarify the causal relationship between telomere length and lung cancer prognosis. Citation Format: Ting Zhai, David C. Christiani, Zachary D. Nagel. Association between telomere length and overall survival in lung cancer patients: a mendelian randomization study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 6487.

Although metabolomics provides novel insights into disease mechanisms and biomarkers, the metabolic alterations in local tissues affected by chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) are unknown.This study aimed to determine the metabolomic profiles of sinonasal tissues associated with different types of CRS and their treatment outcomes.Untargeted metabolomic profiling was performed on sinonasal tissues obtained from patients with eosinophilic CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), noneosinophilic CRSwNP or CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP), and controls. The messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of inflammatory cytokines in nasal tissues were detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR. Nasal polyp tissues were cultured ex vivo and treated with glutathione.Distinct metabolomic profiles were observed for the CRS subtypes. Eosinophilic CRSwNP had profoundly enhanced unsaturated fatty acid oxidization, which correlated with mucosal eosinophil numbers and IL-5 mRNA levels. Noneosinophilic CRSwNP was characterized by uric acid accumulation. Increased uric acid levels were positively correlated with mucosal neutrophil numbers and IFN-γ, IL-17A, IL-1β, and IL-8 mRNA levels. Disrupted purine metabolism was specifically detected in CRSsNP. Reduced levels of amino acid metabolites were found in eosinophilic CRSwNP and CRSsNP, and were inversely associated with mucosal total inflammatory cell numbers and inflammatory cytokines. Compared to non-difficult-to-treat CRS, difficult-to-treat CRS had higher glutathione disulfide levels, which were positively correlated with IL-8 mRNA levels. Glutathione treatment reduced IL-8 mRNA expression in cultured nasal polyp tissues.Specific metabolic signatures are associated with different types of CRS, inflammatory patterns, and disease outcomes, which may provide novel insights into pathophysiologic mechanisms, subtype-specific biomarkers, and treatment targets of CRS.

Purpose Plasma cells and immunoglobulins (Igs) play a pivotal role in the induction and maintenance of chronic inflammation in nasal polyps. During secondary immune responses, plasma cell survival and Ig production are regulated by the local environment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) and specific survival niches for LLPCs in human nasal polyps. Methods Nasal mucosal samples were cultured with an air-liquid interface system and the Ig levels in culture supernatants were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The characteristics of LLPCs in nasal polyps were determined by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The expression of neurotrophins as well as their receptors was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting. Results The numbers of CD138⁺ total plasma cells and BCL2⁺ plasma cells were increased in both eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic nasal polyps compared with those in normal tissues. The production of IgG, IgA, and IgE was detected in culture supernatants even after a 32-day culture of nasal polyps. Although the total numbers of plasma cells were decreased in nasal polyps after culture, the numbers of BCL2⁺ plasma cells remained stable. The expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) as well as tropomyosin receptor kinase (Trk) A, a high-affinity receptor for NGF, was upregulated in both eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic nasal polyps. In addition, BCL2⁺ plasma cell numbers were positively correlated with NGF and TrkA mRNA expression in nasal mucosal tissues. Polyp plasma cells had the expression of TrkA. Conclusions Human nasal polyps harbor a population of LLPCs and NGF may be involved in their prolonged survival. LLPCs may be a novel therapeutic target for suppressing the local Ig production in nasal polyps.

Objective The present work was to investigate the protective effects of the aqueous extract of Gynura procumbens (GPAE) against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in mice and NCTC-1469 cells. Methods C57BL/6J mice were fed with methionine and choline-deficient (MCD) diet and administered simultaneously with GPAE (500 and 1000 mg/kg/d, respectively) by gavage for six weeks. The biomarkers of NASH in serum and liver were determined. NCTC-1469 cells were pretreated with 0.25 mmol/L palmitic acid (PA) plus 0.5 mmol/L oleic acid (OA) for 24 h or treated with adenovirus expressing short-hairpin RNA against CFLAR (Ad-shCFLAR) for 24 h and then treated with GPAE (80 and 160 µg/mL, respectively) for 24 h, and the content of cellular biomarkers of NASH was detected. Results In mice treated with MCD, GPAE could decrease the levels of serum ALT, AST, the content of hepatic TG, TC and MDA, repress the activities and protein expression of CYP2E1 and CYP4A and the phosphorylation of JNK, increase the activities of HO-1, CAT and GSH-Px, up-regulate the mRNA expression of PPARα, FABP5, CPT1α, ACOX, SCD-1, mGPAT, MTTP and the protein expression of CFLAR and NRF2. In NCTC-1469 cells treated with PA and OA, GPAE could decrease the content of cellular TG and ROS, promote the uptake of 2-NBDG, up-regulate the protein expression of CFLAR and NRF2. In NCTC-1469 cells treated with Ad-shCFLAR, GPAE up-regulated the mRNA and protein expression of CFLAR, down-regulated the phosphorylation of JNK, and increased the protein expression of NRF2 and pIRS1. Conclusion These results indicated that the activation on CFLAR-JNK pathway might be the main anti-NASH mechanism of GPAE, which on the one hand promote the β-oxidation and efflux of fatty acids in liver, and finally reduce hepatic lipid accumulation, on the other hand increase the activities of anti-oxidant enzymes and inhibit the activities of ROS generation enzymes by activating NRF2, and therefore attenuates hepatic oxidative stress damage.

Gastric bypass (GB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) are two common types of bariatric surgery that carry many potential complications. Among these complications, bone metabolism-related diseases have attracted substantial attention; however, no meta-analysis of them has been performed to date. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, and Embase to identify relevant studies published before January 2019. The following indicators were evaluated: serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphorus and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, body mass index (BMI), and bone mineral density (BMD). Thirteen studies met our inclusion criteria. Overall results showed that patients undergoing GB had lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (MD = − 1.85, 95% CI (− 3.32, − 0.39) P = 0.01) and calcium (MD = − 0.15, 95% CI (− 0.24, − 0.07) P = 0.0006) as well as higher levels of PTH (MD = 3.58, 95% CI (0.61, 7.09) P = 0.02) and phosphorus (MD = 0.22, 95% CI (0.10, 0.35) P = 0.0005). The results of BMI and BMD were comparable in each group. Our meta-analysis suggested that obese patients undergoing GB had lower levels of serum calcium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D as well as higher levels of serum phosphorus and PTH. To prevent postoperative bone metabolism-related diseases, appropriate postoperative interventions should be undertaken for particular surgical procedures.

The 70 kDa heat shock proteins function as molecular chaperones and are involved in diverse cellular processes. However, the functions of the plant mitochondrial HSP70s (mtHSC70s) remain unclear. Severe growth defects were observed in the Arabidopsis thaliana mtHSC70-1 knockout lines, mthsc70-1a and mthsc70-1b. Conversely, the introduction of the mtHSC70-1 gene into the mthsc70-1a background fully reversed the phenotypes, indicating that mtHSC70-1 is essential for plant growth. The loss of mtHSC70-1 functions resulted in abnormal mitochondria and alterations to respiration because of an inhibition of the cytochrome c oxidase (COX) pathway and the activation of the alternative respiratory pathway. Defects in COX assembly were observed in the mtHSC70-1 knockout lines, leading to decreased COX activity. The mtHSC70-1 knockout plants have increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The introduction of the Mn-superoxide dismutase 1 (MSD1) or the catalase 1 (CAT1) gene into the mthsc70-1a plants decreased ROS levels, reduced the expression of alternative oxidase, and partially rescued growth. Taken together, our data suggest that mtHSC70-1 plays important roles in the establishment of COX-dependent respiration.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic metabolic syndrome and the CFLAR-JNK pathway can reverse the process of NASH. Although silibinin is used for the treatment of NASH in clinical, its effect on CFLAR-JNK pathway in NASH remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of silibinin on CFLAR-JNK pathway in NASH models both in vivo and in vitro. The in vivo study was performed using male C57BL/6 mice fed with methionine– choline-deficient diet and simultaneously treated with silibinin for 6 weeks. The in vitro study was performed by using mouse NCTC-1469 cells which were respectively pretreated with oleic acid plus palmitic acid, and adenovirus-down Cflar for 24 h, then treated with silibinin for 24 h. After the drug treatment, the key indicators involved in CFLAR-JNK pathway including hepatic injury, lipid metabolism and oxidative stress were determined. Silibinin significantly activated CFLAR and inhibited the phosphorylation of JNK, up-regulated the mRNA expression of Pparα, Fabp5, Cpt1α, Acox, Scd-1, Gpat and Mttp, reduced the activities of serum ALT and AST and the contents of hepatic TG, TC and MDA, increased the expression of NRF2 and the activities of CAT, GSH-Px and HO-1, and decreased the activities and expression of CYP2E1 and CYP4A in vivo. These effects were confirmed by the in vitro experiments. Silibinin prevented NASH by regulating CFLAR-JNK pathway, and thereby on one hand promoting the β-oxidation and efflux of fatty acids in liver to relieve lipid accumulation, and on the other hand inducing antioxidase activity (CAT, GSH-Px and HO-1) and inhibiting pro-oxidase activity (CYP2E1 and CYP4A) to relieve oxidative stress., Graphical abstract Silibinin could regulate CFLAR-JNK pathway to ameliorates hepatic lipid accumulation, insulin resistence and oxidative stress in C57BL/6 mice treated by methionine- and choline-deficient diet, and NCTC-1469 cells treated by the mixture of oleic acid and palmitic acid and adenovirus-down Cflar.fx1

We demonstrated a sensitive method for detection of glutathione (GSH) based on LSPR scattering spectrum using gold core-satellite nanostructure linked by T-Hg2+-T base pair. The core-satellite assembly caused coupling between plasmonic nanoparticles, which inducing distinct change of LSPR peak wavelength. As the interaction between Hg2+ and GSH, the core-satellite nanostructure would be disassembled, which accompanied with spectral blue-shift of the scattering spectrum. By using this method, GSH could be quantitatively detected, and the detection limits can reach to 0.1 µM.

Based on the research context of SCP paradigm, this paper first clearly defines the category of outdoor sportswear industry according to the "Statistical Classification of National Sports Industry" and analyzes the current situation of China's outdoor sportswear industry market. Secondly, SCP paradigm is adopted to analyze the market structure, behavior and performance of China's outdoor sportswear industry in detail, and it is found that China's outdoor sportswear industry is a competitive type of market structure. Then it discusses the pricing, discount, promotion and other price behaviors of enterprises in the market. The influence of non-price behaviors mainly in advertising, sponsorship and organizational adjustment mainly in MERGER and acquisition on market concentration and product differentiation. In the end, the market performance of outdoor sportswear industry, such as overall profit decline, productivity and technical level improvement and industrial structure optimization and upgrading, is expounded.

With the development of economic globalization, more and more enterprises in the world begin to adopt cross-border m&a as their main means of international operation. On April 13, 2017, Baidu wholly-owned xPerception, an American artificial intelligence company, to further strengthen its hardware and software capabilities in the field of visual perception, enabling AR, autonomous driving and other core businesses, which is an important step to speed up the productization of artificial intelligence technology. The acquisition is mainly for Baidu to accelerate the industrialization of ARTIFICIAL intelligence business matrix including AR, autonomous driving and robot, and gain strategic resources and other advantages, but at the same time, it also faces many risks in capital and culture. Based on baidu company wholly owned buying American "xPerception" as an example, from the company of the current situation and existing problems of transnational merger and acquisition, respectively introduces the acquirers company and acquired American company "xPerception" an overview of the artificial intelligence, and then analyzes the reason of the acquisition and risk, and finally summarizes the result of the acquisition, has carried on the corresponding summary to acquisition, evaluation and reflection, aims to provide reference for other enterprises transnational mergers and acquisitions in the future.

To investigate the mechanism of Coptidis Rhizoma-Pinelliae Rhizoma in the treatment of gastric cancer based on syste-matic pharmacology and data mining. The chemical constituents of Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma were obtained from Traditio-nal Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database(TCMSP) and Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry database of Chinese Academy of Sciences by data mining. Then the active ingredients were screened by ADME, and the targets of the active ingredients were predicted by chemometrics. Molecular docking and free energy analysis were used to verify and screen the targets, so as to obtain the therapeutic targets of Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma for gastric cancer. The biological functions, diseases and related signal pathways corresponding to the targets were further analyzed, and then the multi-component, multi-target and multi-channel mechanism of Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma for gastric cancer were elaborated. Finally, MTT, Scratch, Transwell and Western blot experiments were carried out to verify the inhibitory effect of Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma on human gastric cancer cell line MKN-45. A total of 46 active ingredients of Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma were screened, as well as 77 corresponding targets, 38 targets related to gastric cancer and its complications, top 8 related signaling pathways, and top 20 target molecular functions by GO analysis. Cell experiments also proved that Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma could effectively inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of gastric cancer cells and inhibit TGF-β1-induced Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway activation. Coptidis Rhizoma and Pinelliae Rhizoma drug pair has many active ingredients, which can regulate nervous and mental system, cell cycle, cell differentiation and metastasis, and enhance anti-inflammatory and immune functions, playing a synergistic anti-cancer role in gastric cancer and its complications and providing new ideas for the follow-up clinical treatment of gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE Activation of mast cells associates with eosinophilic inflammation in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The disease-specific mast cell-triggering mechanisms apart from immunoglobulin E are poorly understood in CRSwNP. CD30L/CD30 are members of the tumor necrosis factor/receptor superfamily and display immune modulatory function on mast cells. The aim of this study was to explore the expression and function of CD30 and CD30L in CRSwNP. METHODS The mRNA expression of CD30 and CD30L was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The cellular expression of CD30L was determined by immunofluorescence staining. The soluble CD30 levels in nasal tissues were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. HMC-1 cells, a human mast cell line, were cultured and stimulated with CD30. RESULTS Compared with control tissues, CD30 mRNA expression levels were increased in eosinophilic polyps, and soluble CD30 protein levels were upregulated in both eosinophilic and noneosinophilic polyps with a greater increase in eosinophilic type. CD30 was expressed by T cells and B cells in nasal polyps. The CD30L mRNA expression levels and the number of CD30L+ cells and CD30L+ tryptase+ mast cells were increased in eosinophilic polyps but not in noneosinophilic polyps as compared with control tissues. Mast cells accounted for 60% of CD30L+ cells in eosinophilic polyps. CD30 induced HMC-1 cells to produce interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 without degranulation. Mast cells expressed IL-4 and IL-13 in eosinophilic polyps. The number of CD30L+ tryptase+ mast cells was positively correlated with the number of eosinophils and total inflammatory cells in eosinophilic polyps. CONCLUSION CD30/CD30L-mediated mast cell activation may promote the eosinophilic inflammation in CRSwNP. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 129:E110-E117, 2019.

Chemiresistive gas sensors with novel nanostructures, high response and reliable fabrication process have been fabricated successfully by designing Au/Mg-doped TiO2/SnO2 nanosheets hetero-structures. Mg doping was used to decrease the work function of TiO2, which can lead to the electrons in TiO2 greatly depleted due to the formation of Schottky contact and n-n heterojunction. SnO2 nanosheets were directly grown on Al2O3 tube with a cost-effective hydrothermal process. By employing pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and direct current sputtering methods, the construction of gold (Au) nanoparticles-loaded Mg-doped TiO2/SnO2 heterostructure is highly controllable and reproducible. In comparison with pristine SnO2 and TiO2/SnO2, Mg-doped TiO2/SnO2 sensors exhibit high response (30.4) and short response time (9 s) to 50 ppm TEA gas, which is about 6 times higher than pure SnO2 sensor and 2 times higher than TiO2/SnO2 sensor at a working temperature of 260 °C. The mechanism for sensing property enhancing of the Au/Mg-doped TiO2/SnO2 sensor was also discussed in detail with the semiconductor depletion layer model introduced by Au-TiO2 Schottky contact and TiO2/SnO2 n-n heterojunction.

We demonstrate a core–satellite plasmonic nanoprobe assembled via metal-ion-dependent DNA-cleaving DNAzyme linker for imaging intercellular metal ion based on plasmon coupling effect at a single-particle level. As metal ions are present in the system, the DNAzyme linker will be cleaved, and thus, disassembly of the core–satellite nanoprobes occurs, which results in distinct blue shift of the scattering spectra of Au core–satellite probes and naked color change of the scattering light. This change in scattering spectra has been supported by theoretical simulations. As a proof of concept, sensitive detection of Cu2+ with a limit of detection down to 67.2 pM has been demonstrated. The nanoprobes have been further utilized for intracellular Cu2+ imaging in living cells. The results demonstrate that the present strategy provides a promising platform for detection and imaging of metal ions in living cells and could be potentially applied to imaging other interesting target molecules simply by substituting the o...

α-Fe2O3 nanoneedles were directly grown on the surface of Al2O3 tubes by a cost-effective hydrothermal method. In addition, the construction of Au nanoparticle-loaded SnO2/α-Fe2O3 core/shell heterostructure was fabricated by employing pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and DC-sputtering methods Gas sensors were fabricated from Au@SnO2/α-Fe2O3 core-shell nanoneedles on Al2O3 tubes, and their sensing properties have investigated for response to various target gases. The results indicated that the sensor based on Au@SnO2/α-Fe2O3 core-shell nanoneedles showed superior selectivity toward triethylamine (TEA) gas, giving a response of 39–100 ppm, which was higher than that of α-Fe2O3 nanoneedles and SnO2/α-Fe2O3 core-shell nanoneedles. Moreover, the sensor based on Au@SnO2/α-Fe2O3 core-shell nanoneedles showed an obvious better linearity (R = 0.9975) of sensing characteristics than of two other sensors. The enhanced sensing properties are discussed with the semiconductor depletion layer model along with the Schottky contact and N–N heterojunction theory.

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is a critical step in water splitting and demands efficient and low-cost catalysts for real applications. Pt catalyzes HER efficiently, however, its scarcity and high cost inspire researchers to explore metallic catalysts with core-shell nanostructures. Precise tailoring of Pt catalysts at atomic monolayer level would shed insights on the relationship between electronic structure and electrocatalytic properties. Herein, we report the preparation of Au-Pt core-shell nanoparticles deposited on graphene sheets with tunable Pt monolayer coverage by controlling Cu underpotential deposition (UPD)-Galvanic replacement cycles. The electrochemical results suggest that Au-Pt with monolayer Pt shows superior electrocatalytic activity toward HER. Increasing the thickness of Pt shell results in the decrease of the electrocatalytic activity, which might be attributed to the decreased electronic interactions of Au core with outmost surface Pt atoms as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic characterization. The present research would offer a design criterion for metallic nanostructures in realizing catalysts with high performance.

Background Although increased accumulation of neutrophils has been noted in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), the function and regulation of neutrophils in CRS are largely unknown. IL-36 family cytokines may play an important role in neutrophilic inflammation. Objective This study sought to investigate the expression and function of IL-36 cytokines in CRS. Methods Quantitative RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and ELISA were used to investigate the expression of IL-36 cytokines and IL-36 receptor (IL-36R) in sinonasal mucosa. The expression of IL-36R on neutrophils in polyps and blood was measured by flow cytometry. Purified blood neutrophils were cultured to investigate the regulation of IL-36R expression. The cleavage of IL-36γ was detected by Western blotting. Dispersed nasal polyp cells were treated with IL-36γ with or without elastase inhibitor and dexamethasone. Results Neutrophil infiltration and expression of IL-36 cytokines and IL-36R were upregulated in both CRS with and without nasal polyps. IL-36γ was the most abundant isoform and mainly expressed by epithelial cells in CRS. Neutrophils were the principal IL-36R + cell type in polyps. IL-36R expression was almost absent in blood neutrophils and upregulated by IL-6, IL-1β, and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus group 1. Elastase activity was increased in polyps and degraded full-length IL-36γ. Consistently, the levels of cleaved IL-36γ were increased in polyps. Full-length IL-36γ promoted the production of matrix metalloproteinase 9; IL-17A; and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligands 1, 2, and 8 from dispersed nasal polyp cells, which was abolished by elastase inhibitor. The proinflammatory effect of IL-36γ was not suppressed by dexamethasone. Conclusions Increased production and activation of IL-36γ may act on neutrophils and further exaggerate neutrophilic inflammation in CRS.

Recently developed localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing has emerged as a unique label-free technology owing to the high sensitivity and robust detection. Herein, a feasible PEC biosensing platform based on receptor-functionalized plasmonic Au-MoS 2 nanosheets was designed for the capture of target proteins. The biomolecular interaction substantially enhances the hot electron transfer efficiency between Au and MoS 2 , leading to a direct change in electrocatalytic current on MoS 2 as electricity readout signal. The biosensor exhibits excellent analytical performance for protein detection in a range from 41.7 nM to 4.17 μM, with a detection limit of 4.17 nM. Additionally, this system also affords real-time analysis of binding kinetics between antigen and antibody, allowing for obtaining their rate constants of association/disassociation ( k on / k off ) and equilibrium constant K d of 3.95 μM. LSPR-enhanced label-free PEC monitoring system, without the participation of ultraviolet excitation and sacrifice agents, bears no harm to biomolecules and shows high-sensitivity detection, which holds great potential applications in clinical and biological analyses.

Objective To evaluate the effect of high concentration of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in normal and oleic acid (OA) treated HepG2 cells, as well as the underlying mechanism involved in the fat accumulation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance (IR) induced by CGA treatment. Methods OA (0.5 mmol/L) induced hepatic steatosis was established in HepG2 cells as an in vitro model of NAFLD. The normal and OA-treated HepG2 cells were treated by CGA (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mmol/L) for 24 h, then cellular lipid droplets, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and glucose uptake were evaluated by Oil Red O staining and cellular biochemical assays, respectively. Signaling pathways involved in adipogenesis including SREBP-1c and PNPLA3, oxidative stress, and IR including CYP2E1 and CYP4A, were investigated by Western blot and RT-qPCR. Results CGA (0.5, 1, and 2 mmol/L) treatment increased the cellular lipid droplets and the expression of SREBP-1c and PNPLA3 in the tested cells. Additionally, 2-NBDG uptake was significantly increased, whereas the cellular ROS and protein levels of CYP2E1 and CYP4A were significantly decreased in OA-treated cells. Conclusion Our results suggest that high concentrations of CGA ameliorated OA-induced oxidative damage and IR likely by inhibiting the expression of CYP2E1 and CYP4A, and promoted lipid accumulation by inducing the expression of SREBP-1c and PNPLA3 in the tested cells.

In this report, uniform SnO2 nanosheets (NSs) have been in-situ grew on the surface of Al2O3 tubes via a cost-efficient hydrothermal synthesis at low temperature. The nanostructures of ZnO/SnO2 were prepared by employing pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Furthermore, Au surface modification with DC-sputtering process is used to improve the sensitivity of ZnO/SnO2 NSs sensor to TEA gas. The Au@ZnO/SnO2 NSs exhibited high response (S = 115) to 100 ppm trimethylamine (TEA) gas at 300 °C, which was about 20 times higher than that of the pristine SnO2 NSs. The enhanced sensing properties of Au@ZnO/SnO2 NSs sensor are discussed from the points of Au@ZnO Schottky contact and ZnO/SnO2 n-n heterojunction on the basic of depletion layer model.