Ultrathin organic solvent nanofiltration membrane with polydopamine-HKUST-1 interlayer for organic solvent separation.

Polydopamine (PDA) and metal-organic skeleton HKUST-1 were co-deposited on the base membrane of hexamethylenediamine (HDA)-crosslinked polyetherimide (PEI) ultrafiltration membrane as the interlayer, and high-throughput organic solvent nanofiltration membrane (OSN) was prepared by interfacial polymerization and solvent activation reaction. The polyamide (PA) layer surface roughness from 28.4 nm in PA/PEI to 78.3 nm in PA/PDA-HKUST-10.6/PEI membrane, reduced the thickness of the separation layer from 79 to 14 nm, and significantly improved the hydrophilic, thermal and mechanical properties. The flux of the PA/PDA-HKUST-10.6/PEI membrane in a 0.1 g/L Congo Red (CR) ethanol solution at 0.6 MPa test pressure reached 21.8 L/(m2·hr) and the rejection of CR was 92.8%. Solvent adsorption test, N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) immersion experiment, and long-term operation test in ethanol showed that the membranes had high solvent tolerance. The solvent flux test demonstrated that, under the test pressure of 0.6 MPa, the flux of different solvents ranked as follows: methanol (56.9 L/(m2·hr)) > DMF (39.6 L/(m2·hr)) > ethanol (31.2 L/(m2·hr)) > IPA (4.5 L/(m2·hr)) > N-hexane (1.9 L/(m2·hr)). The ability of the membranes to retain dyes in IPA/water dyes solution was also evaluated. The flux of the membrane was 30.4 L/(m2·hr) and the rejection of CR was 91.6% when the IPA concentration reached 50%. This OSN membrane-making strategy is economical, environment-friendly and efficient, and has a great application prospect in organic solvent separation systems.

Response of sediment transport capacity to soil properties and hydraulic parameters in the typical agricultural regions of the Loess Plateau.

The sediment transport capacity by overland flow (Tc) is a key parameter in process-based soil erosion models and Tc variation is sensitive to changes in soil properties. This study was undertaken to investigate Tc variations with respect to soil properties and establish a universal relationship to predict Tc. The test soils were collected from typical agricultural regions (Guanzhong basin-Yangling (YL), Weibei Dry plateau-Chunhua (CH), Hilly and gully region-Ansai (AS), Ago-pastoral transition zone along the Great Wall-Yuyang (YY), and Weiriver floodplain-Weicheng (WC)) of the Loess Plateau, and subjected to 36 different combinations of slope gradients (S, 5.24-44.52 %) and flow discharge (q, 0.00033-0.00125 m2 s-1) in a hydraulic flume. The results showed that the mean Tc values for WC were 2.15, 1.38, 1.32, and 1.16 times greater than those for YL, CH, AS, and YY, respectively. Tc significantly decreased with clay content (C), mean weight diameter (MWD), and soil organic matter content (SOM). Tc for different soil types increased with S and q as a binary power function, and Tc variation was more sensitive to S than to q. Stream power (w) was the most appropriate hydraulic variable to express Tc for different soils. Tc for different soil types could be satisfactorily simulated using a quaternary power function of S, q, C, and MWD (R2 = 0.94; NSE = 0.94) or a ternary power function of w, C, and MWD (R2 = 0.94; NSE = 0.94). The new Tc equation can reflect the effect of soil properties on it and facilitate the development of a process-based soil erosion model.

Down-expression of Foxj1 on airway epithelium with impaired cilia architecture in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis implies disease severity.

INTRODUCTION: The pathogenesis of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis has not been clearly clarified. This study aimed to investigate the expression of ciliary regulating protein forkhead box protein j1 (Foxj1) on airway epithelium in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis and its association with airway cilia structure disorder and disease severity. METHODS: Lung tissue sections excised from 47 patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis were included between January 2018 and June 2021. Specimens from 26 subjects who underwent a lobectomy due to lung nodule were chosen as controls. Clinical information was collected, and pathologic analysis was performed to assess the epithelial structure and expression of ciliary regulating Foxj1. RESULTS: Of the 47 patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, 25 were considered as mild, 12 were moderate whereas the remaining 10 cases were severe according to the bronchiectasis severity index score evaluation. Epithelial hyperplasia, hyperplasia of goblet cells and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, compared with control subjects. Cilia length in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients were shorter than that in the control group, (5.34 ± 0.89) µm versus (7.34 ± 0.71) µm, respectively (P = 0.002). The expression of Foxj1 was (2.69 ± 1.09) × 106 in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, compared with (6.67 ± 1.15) × 106 in the control group (P = 0.001). Moreover, patients with lower expression of Foxj1 showed shorter airway cilia and worse in disease severity. CONCLUSION: Foxj1 declined in the airway epithelium of patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, positively correlated to cilia length and might imply worse disease severity.

IL-37 protects against airway remodeling by reversing bronchial epithelial-mesenchymal transition via IL-24 signaling pathway in chronic asthma.

BACKGROUND: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is one of the mechanisms of airway remodeling in chronic asthma. Interleukin (IL)-24 has been implicated in the promotion of tissue fibrosis, and increased IL-24 levels have been observed in the nasal secretions and sputum of asthmatic patients. However, the role of IL-24 in asthmatic airway remodeling, especially in EMT, remains largely unknown. We aimed to explore the effect and mechanism of IL-24 on EMT and to verify whether IL-37 could alleviate IL-24-induced EMT in chronic asthma. METHODS: BEAS-2B cells were exposed to IL-24, and cell migration was assessed by wound healing and Transwell assays. The expression of EMT-related biomarkers (E-cadherin, vimentin, and α-SMA) was evaluated after the cells were stimulated with IL-24 with or without IL-37. A murine asthma model was established by intranasal administration of house dust mite (HDM) extracts for 5 weeks, and the effects of IL-24 and IL-37 on EMT and airway remodeling were investigated by intranasal administration of si-IL-24 and rhIL-37. RESULTS: We observed that IL-24 significantly enhanced the migration of BEAS-2B cells in vitro. IL-24 promoted the expression of the EMT biomarkers vimentin and α-SMA via the STAT3 and ERK1/2 pathways. In addition, we found that IL-37 partially reversed IL-24-induced EMT in BEAS-2B cells by blocking the ERK1/2 and STAT3 pathways. Similarly, the in vivo results showed that IL-24 was overexpressed in the airway epithelium of an HDM-induced chronic asthma model, and IL-24 silencing or IL-37 treatment could reverse EMT biomarker expression. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings indicated that IL-37 mitigated HDM-induced airway remodeling by inhibiting IL-24-mediated EMT via the ERK1/2 and STAT3 pathways, thereby providing experimental evidence for IL-24 as a novel therapeutic target and IL-37 as a promising agent for treating severe asthma.

Dysregulated circular RNAs as novel biomarkers in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play critical roles in tumorigenesis, but their clinical efficacy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) still retains controversial. This meta-analysis aims at evaluating the associations between circRNA expressions and clinicopathologic features as well as the diagnostic and prognostic values of circRNAs in ESCC. MATERIALS & METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and other online databases were systematically searched to collect studies on circRNAs and clinicopathological features, diagnostic, and/or prognostic assessments of ESCC. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) scales. The included studies were quantitatively weighted and merged, and diagnostic indicators, hazard ratios (HRs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. P values were merged by Fisherá¾½s method. Sources of heterogeneity were traced using subgroup, sensitivity, and meta-regression analyses. RESULTS: As a result, 12 studies were included, representing 769 ESCC patients. The meta-analysis showed that abnormal expressions of circRNAs were associated to TNM stage as well as lymph node and distant metastases in ESCC cases. CircRNA was used to distinguish ESCC patients from healthy controls, and the merged sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC) of ESCC were 0.78 (95% CI: 0.74-0.81), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.75-0.83), and 0.86, respectively. The survival analysis showed that upregulated oncogenic circRNA levels in ESCC tissues was associated with the shorter overall survival (OS) of the patients (univariate analysis: HR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.71-2.95, p = 0.000, I2  = 0.0%; multivariate analysis: HR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.61-3.89, p = 0.000, I2  = 0.0%), while the OS of ESCC patients presenting overexpressions of tumor-suppressive circRNAs was significantly ameliorated (HR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.20-0.42, p = 0.000, I2  = 0.0%). The subgroup analyses based on circRNA biofunctions, sample size, and reference gene also revealed robust results. CONCLUSION: CircRNAs can be used as promising molecular biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis monitoring of ESCC.