A rationally designed fluorescence probe achieves highly specific and long-term detection of senescence in vitro and in vivo.

Senescent cells (SnCs) are implicated in aging and various age-related pathologies. Targeting SnCs can treat age-related diseases and extend health span. However, precisely tracking and visualizing of SnCs is still challenging, especially in in vivo environments. Here, we developed a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe (XZ1208) that targets ß-galactosidase (ß-Gal), a well-accepted biomarker for cellular senescence. XZ1208 can be cleaved rapidly by ß-Gal and produces a strong fluorescence signal in SnCs. We demonstrated the high specificity and sensitivity of XZ1208 in labeling SnCs in naturally aged, total body irradiated (TBI), and progeroid mouse models. XZ1208 achieved a long-term duration of over 6 days in labeling senescence without causing significant toxicities and accurately detected the senolytic effects of ABT263 on eliminating SnCs. Furthermore, XZ1208 was applied to monitor SnCs accumulated in fibrotic diseases and skin wound healing models. Overall, we developed a tissue-infiltrating NIR probe and demonstrated its excellent performance in labeling SnCs in aging and senescence-associated disease models, indicating great potential for application in aging studies and diagnosis of senescence-associated diseases.

The Cross Talk between Cellular Senescence and Melanoma: From Molecular Pathogenesis to Target Therapies.

Melanoma is a malignant skin tumor that originates from melanocytes. The pathogenesis of melanoma involves a complex interaction that occurs between environmental factors, ultraviolet (UV)-light damage, and genetic alterations. UV light is the primary driver of the skin aging process and development of melanoma, which can induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the presence of DNA damage in the cells, and results in cell senescence. As cellular senescence plays an important role in the relationship that exists between the skin aging process and the development of melanoma, the present study provides insight into the literature concerning the topic at present and discusses the relationship between skin aging and melanoma, including the mechanisms of cellular senescence that drive melanoma progression, the microenvironment in relation to skin aging and melanoma factors, and the therapeutics concerning melanoma. This review focuses on defining the role of cellular senescence in the process of melanoma carcinogenesis and discusses the targeting of senescent cells through therapeutic approaches, highlighting the areas that require more extensive research in the field.

Cycloastragenol: A Novel Senolytic Agent That Induces Senescent Cell Apoptosis and Restores Physical Function in TBI-Aged Mice.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the increased burden of senescent cells (SCs) in aged organisms plays an important role in many age-associated diseases. The pharmacological elimination of SCs with "senolytics" has been emerging as a new therapy for age-related diseases and extending the healthy lifespan. In the present study, we identified that cycloastragenol (CAG), a secondary metabolite isolated from Astragalus membrananceus, delays age-related symptoms in mice through its senolytic activity against SCs. By screening a series of compounds, we found that CAG selectively kills SCs by inducing SCs apoptosis and that this process is associated with the inhibition of Bcl-2 antiapoptotic family proteins and the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. In addition, CAG treatment also suppressed the development of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) in SCs, thereby inhibiting cell migration mediated by the SASP. Furthermore, the administration of CAG for 2 weeks to mice with irradiation-induced aging alleviated the burden of SCs and improved the animals' age-related physical dysfunction. Overall, our studies demonstrate that CAG is a novel senolytic agent with in vivo activity that has the potential to be used in the treatment of age-related diseases.

The Complement System, Aging, and Aging-Related Diseases.

The complement system is a part of the immune system and consists of multiple complement components with biological functions such as defense against pathogens and immunomodulation. The complement system has three activation pathways: the classical pathway, the lectin pathway, and the alternative pathway. Increasing evidence indicates that the complement system plays a role in aging. Complement plays a role in inflammatory processes, metabolism, apoptosis, mitochondrial function, and Wnt signaling pathways. In addition, the complement system plays a significant role in aging-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, age-related macular degeneration, and osteoarthritis. However, the effect of complement on aging and aging-related diseases is still unclear. Thus, a better understanding of the potential relationship between complement, aging, and aging-related diseases will provide molecular targets for treating aging, while focusing on the balance of complement in during treatment. Inhibition of a single component does not result in a good outcome. In this review, we discussed the research progress and effects of complement in aging and aging-related diseases.

Elucidating the anti-aging mechanism of Si Jun Zi Tang by integrating network pharmacology and experimental validation in vivo.

Si Jun Zi Tang (SJZT) is a classic Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescription used to treat aging-related diseases. However, the potential molecular mechanisms of the anti-aging effects of the bioactive compounds and their targets remain elusive. In this study, we combined network pharmacology and molecular docking with in vivo experiments to elucidate the anti-aging molecular mechanism of SJZT. A series of network pharmacology strategies were used to predict potential targets and therapeutic mechanisms of SJZT, including compound screening, pathway enrichment analysis and molecular docking studies. Based on the network pharmacology predictions and observation of outward signs of aging, the expression levels of selected genes and proteins and possible key targets were subsequently validated and analysed using qRT-PCR and immunoblotting. Using a data mining approach, 235 effective targets of SJZT and aging were obtained. AKT1, STAT3, JUN, MAPK3, TP53, MAPK1, TNF, RELA, MAPK14 and IL6 were identified as core genes in the Protein-Protein Interaction Networks (PPI) analysis. The results of the effective target Gene Ontology (Go) functional enrichment analysis suggested that SJZT may be involved aging and antiapoptotic biological processes. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis indicated that the anti-aging mechanism of SJZT may be associated with the PI3K-AKT and P38 MAPK signalling pathways. Molecular docking analysis suggested that kaempferol and quercetin could fit in the binding pockets of the core targets. In addition, SJZT alleviated the aging symptoms of mice such as osteoporosis and hair loss. In conclusion, the anti-aging effect of SJZT was associated with the inhibition of the PI3K-AKT and P38 MAPK signalling pathways, and these findings were consistent with the network pharmacology prediction.

Mechanism of Cd(II) and Cu(II) Adsorption onto Few-Layered Magnetic Graphene Oxide as an Efficient Adsorbent.

Heavy metal contamination caused by industrial discharge is a challenging environmental issue. Herein, an efficient adsorbent based on few-layered magnetic graphene oxide (FLMGO) was fabricated, characterized, and utilized to remove aqueous Cd(II) and Cu(II). Results present that the two components graphene oxide (GO) and Fe3O4 of FLMGO promote mutually, enabling FLMGO to outperform either GO or Fe3O4. Specifically, FLMGO adsorbs Cd(II) and Cu(II) with adsorption quantities of 401.14 and 1114.22 mg·g-1 in 5 and 7 min, respectively. Moreover, FLMGO can be readily recovered via magnetic separation using a hand-held magnet. Adsorptions are spontaneous, endothermic, and entropy increasing, which are the best described by the Freundlich and pseudo-second-order model. The interaction mechanism is as follows: lone pair electrons in C=O- and C-O-related groups were coordinated toward Cd(II) and Cu(II) to induce chemical interaction. The high adsorption efficiency endows FLMGO with encouraging application potential in heavy metal remediation.

A catalytic mechanism investigation of TiF3 on hydriding/dehydriding properties of Mg85Cu5Ni10 alloy.

In this research, Mg85Cu5Ni10-x wt% TiF3 (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8) alloys were synthetized via ball milling and the catalytic mechanism of TiF3 on hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of Mg85Cu5Ni10 was studied. The microstructure, hydriding/dehydriding kinetics and thermodynamics of the alloys were discussed in detail. The TiF3 catalyzed alloys have faster hydriding/dehydriding kinetics and lower thermodynamic stability. After hydrogen absorption and desorption, TiF3 decomposes into TiH2 and MgF2. TiF3, TiH2 and MgF2 promote to forming crystal defects, dislocations, grain boundaries and nanocrystals which are advantageous to speeding up the rate of hydrogen absorption and desorption. The dehydrogenation activation energy E a(de) and dehydrogenation enthalpy ΔH(de) are reduced to 81.462 from 116.767 kJ mol-1 and 72.456 from 93.372 kJ mol-1 respectively by 6 wt% TiF3. An appropriate amount of TiF3 can improve the hydriding/dehydriding kinetics and thermodynamics of Mg85Cu5Ni10.

CoSe2/N-doped carbon porous nanoframe as an anode material for potassium-ion storage.

Transition metal selenides (TMS), on account of their relatively high theoretical capacity, unique electrical properties, easy compositing and low cost, are considered to be a candidate anode material for potassium-ion batteries. However, the cycling stability of TMS is unsatisfactory owing to the large intercalation/deintercalation of K ions. Herein, a CoSe2/N-doped carbon porous frame (CoSe2@NC) is successfully synthesized through a simple mixing and sintering approach and displays excellent potassium storage performance. Plentiful C-N bonds in the precursor can induce the formation of homogeneous N-doped carbon matrix and C-N-Co bonds, thus endowing robust structure and high electronic conductivity for superior cycling stability. Therefore, the unique porous nanoframe suppresses volume expansion and provides more diffusion paths for K ions. After 1000 cycles at 50 mA g-1, a high capacity of 311.3 mA h g-1 is acquired. When the current density increases to 500 mA g-1, the CoSe2@NC can still maintain a capacity of 184.5 mA h g-1 after 1000 cycles. The high performance, easy compositing and low cost of the CoSe2@NC make it a favorable material for application in KIBs.

Improved hydrogen storage kinetics of nanocrystalline and amorphous Ce-Mg-Ni-based CeMg12-type alloys synthesized by mechanical milling.

In this paper, ball milling was used to prepare CeMg11Ni + x wt% Ni (x = 100, 200) alloys having nanocrystalline and amorphous structures. The structures of the alloys and their electrochemical and gaseous kinetic performances were systematically investigated. It was shown that the increase in Ni content was beneficial to the formation of nanocrystalline and amorphous structures, and it significantly enhanced the electrochemical and gaseous hydrogen storage performances of as-milled alloys. In addition, the hydrogen storage capacities of the alloys fluctuated greatly with variation in milling duration. The maximum values of hydrogen capacity detected by varying the milling durations were 5.949 wt% and 6.157 wt% for x = 100 and 200 alloys, respectively. Similar results were observed for the hydriding rates and high-rate discharge abilities (HRD) of the as-milled alloys. The dehydriding rate increased with the increase in milling duration. The reduction in hydrogen desorption activation was the reason for enhanced gaseous hydrogen storage kinetics.

An investigation of gaseous hydrogen storage characterizations of Mg-Y-Ni-Cu alloys synthesized by melt spinning.

Melt spinning was successfully utilized to prepare Mg25-x Y x Ni9Cu (x = 0, 1, 3, 5, 7) alloys, producing nanocrystalline and amorphous structures with improved hydrogenation and dehydrogenation performances. The influence of spinning rate on hydrogenation and dehydrogenation thermodynamics and kinetics was studied in detail. XRD and TEM were utilized to characterize the alloy structures. Hydrogenation and dehydrogenation performances were investigated by Sievert apparatus, DSC and TGA connected to a H2 detector. Dehydrogenation activation energies were estimated using both Arrhenius and Kissinger methods. Results show that melt spinning significantly decreases thermodynamic parameters (ΔH and ΔS) and ameliorates desorption kinetics. Dehydrogenation activation energy markedly lowers with increase in spinning rate and is the real driver of amelioration of dehydrogenation kinetics caused by increasing Y content.

A comparison of TiF3 and NbF5 catalytic effects on hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics of a ball-milled Mg85Zn5Ni10 alloy.

In this investigation, the as-milled Mg85Zn5Ni10-4C (C = TiF3, NbF5) composites were successfully produced via ball milling. The different influences between the catalysts TiF3 and NbF5 on the hydrogen storage behavior and microstructure of the composites were investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM and hydrogen absorption/desorption tests. The as-milled Mg85Zn5Ni10-4C (C = TiF3, NbF5) alloys contain the major phase Mg, the secondary phase Mg2Ni, a small amount of MgZn2, TiF3 and NbF5. After hydrogenation, MgH2 and Mg2NiH4 are formed, which convert back into Mg and Mg2Ni after dehydrogenation indicating that MgZn2 and the catalysts TiF3 and NbF5 do not react with hydrogen. Compared with NbF5 catalyzed alloy, the TiF3 catalyzed alloy has a faster hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics. On the basis of Arrhenius equation, the dehydrogenation activation energy values of the as-milled Mg85Zn5Ni10-4C (C = TiF3, NbF5) alloys are 75.514 and 82.367 kJ mol-1 H2, respectively, while the value of ball-milled Mg85Zn5Ni10 alloy is 109.830 kJ mol-1 H2. As a result, both TiF3 and NbF5 can significantly ameliorate the hydrogen storage thermodynamics. TiF3 shows better catalytic influence on hydrogen storage property of Mg85Zn5Ni10 than NbF5.

Low percolation threshold carbon-black/ nitrile-butadiene-rubber composites and their electromagnetic shielding effects.

Nitrile-butadiene-rubber composites, filled with super conducting carbon black, are successfully prepared with low percolation threshold, high conductivity and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness. Percolation theory is used to represent the system's conductivity, and the corresponding result is close to the experimental value. The fitting curve also gives the weight fraction threshold and conductivity exponent of the conducting polymer. The percolation threshold of the composite is 9.2 phr, which is much smaller than previous homologous findings and lower than the value of short carbon fiber counterparts reported. The volume resistivity becomes 3.17 omega x cm for the 20 phr sample and decreases to 0.66 omega x cm for the 40 phr sample. At 1.8 GHz for 40 phr sample, the shielding effectiveness is -43 dB.

[Synthesis and spectra characterization of nano-sized Ce(1-x)(Fe(0.5)La(0.5))xO(2-delta) solid solutions].

Ce(1-x)(Fe(0.5)La(0.5))xO(2-delta) solid solutions were obtained via hydrothermal method. The structure of the solid solutions and the cell parameters were characterized by XRD analysis technique, the electron transition properties and doping effectswere measured by UV-Vis diffraction spectrum and Raman spectrum technique. XRD results showed that Ce(1-x)(Fe(0.5)La(0.5))xO(2-delta) id solutions exhibited cubic fluorite structure till the doping content increased to 0.30. Tiny Fe2O3 phase was observed when x = 0.30. The particle size was kept nanoscaled, and location of different kind of doping ions in CeO2 lattice was discussed. By increasing the doping content, the cell parameter was kept increasing gradually till x = 0.18, then it remained almost constant. The UV-Vis diffraction spectrum analysis showed that the absorption threshold edge redshifted, the band gap energy decreased with increasing the doping content. The valence of Fe ions in the lattice of CeO2 was +3. The F2g Raman mode also showed a downshift, and the peak gradually became broader, which further proved the influence of the dopant.

Enhanced Hydrogen Storage Kinetics of Nanocrystalline and Amorphous Mg2Ni-type Alloy by Melt Spinning.

Mg2Ni-type Mg2Ni1-xCox (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) alloys were fabricated by melt spinning technique. The structures of the as-spun alloys were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hydrogen absorption and desorption kinetics of the alloys were measured by an automatically controlled Sieverts apparatus. The electrochemical hydrogen storage kinetics of the as-spun alloys was tested by an automatic galvanostatic system. The results show that the as-spun (x = 0.1) alloy exhibits a typical nanocrystalline structure, while the as-spun (x = 0.4) alloy displays a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure, confirming that the substitution of Co for Ni notably intensifies the glass forming ability of the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The melt spinning treatment notably improves the hydriding and dehydriding kinetics as well as the high rate discharge ability (HRD) of the alloys. With an increase in the spinning rate from 0 (as-cast is defined as spinning rate of 0 m/s) to 30 m/s, the hydrogen absorption saturation ratio () of the (x = 0.4) alloy increases from 77.1 to 93.5%, the hydrogen desorption ratio () from 54.5 to 70.2%, the hydrogen diffusion coefficient (D) from 0.75 × 10-11 to 3.88 × 10-11 cm²/s and the limiting current density IL from 150.9 to 887.4 mA/g.

[Effect of enhanced UV-B radiation on photosynthetic structure and photosynthetic characteristics of Mentha piperita].

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the effects of UV-B radiation on the growth of medical plant Mentha piperita, simulate an enhanced UV-B radiation and evaluate intensity of radiation on the photosynthesis of M. piperita. METHOD: Three different levels of UV-B radiation were set in the experiment which included: natural light control (0 W x m(-2)), light UV-B radiation stress (0.15 W x m(-2)) and heavy UV-B radiation stress (0.35 W x m(-2)). The chloroplast ultrastructure, photosynthesis indexes and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of the M. piperita were observed under the three treatments. RESULT: Although the chloroplast ultrastructure was destroyed to some degree under the light UV-B radiation stress, F(v)/(F)m, F(v)/F(o), qP, phiPS II and ETR could resume to the comparative level of natural light control. At the same time, qN increased firstly and decreased thereafter. But under the high strength UV-B radiation stress, the photosynthetic structures were badly destroyed, which could not recover through protecting mechanism by itself. CONCLUSION: It was showed that M. piperita was able to protect photosynthetic structures by increasing respiration and dissipation when photosynthetic capacity reduced under light UV-B radiation stress. It is demonstrated that M. piperita has high adaptation to light UV-B radiation stress, which is kind of promising medical plant for area with higher UV-B radiation.