[Expressions of CXCL8, CXCL10 and Th1 /Th2 cytokines in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurosyphilis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the levels of chemokines 8 and 10 (CXCL8 and CXCL10), Th1 cytokines (IL-2, IL-12 and IFN-γ) and Th2 cytokines (IL-6 and IL-10) in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurosyphilis and elucidate their roles in the immune response and pathogenesis of neurosyphilis. METHODS: Using ELISA, we detected the expressions of CXCL8, CXCL10, IL2, IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-10 in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of 42 cases of neurosyphilis, 44 cases of syphilis and 40 cases of non-inflammatory diseases of the nervous system (the control group). RESULTS: The serum levels of CXCL8, CXCL10, IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly lower in the neurosyphilis group than in the syphilis and control groups (P < 0.05), and so were they in the male than in the female neurosyphilis patients (P < 0.05). However, the expressions of CXCL8, CXCL10, IL-2, IL-12, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-10 in the cerebrospinal fluid were remarkably higher in the neurosyphilis group than in the syphilis and control groups (P < 0.05), and so were they in the male than in the female neurosyphilis patients (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with neurosyphilis have cellular immune dysfunction, and their immune response involves CXCL8, CXCL10 and Th1 / Th2 cytokines.

FGF19 sustains the high proliferative ability of keratinocytes in psoriasis through the regulation of Wnt/GSK-3ß/ß-catenin signalling via FGFR4.

Accumulating evidence has shown that fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) plays an important role in regulating cell proliferation. Psoriasis is characterized by the hyperproliferation of keratinocytes in skin lesions. However, whether FGF19 regulates the proliferation of keratinocytes in psoriasis remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential relevance of FGF19 in psoriasis. We found that FGF19 was highly expressed in psoriatic skin from psoriasis patients, as well as keratinocytes that were stimulated with a cocktail of cytokines (M5), which is an in vitro model of psoriasis. Functional experiments demonstrated that FGF19 overexpression promoted the growth and proliferation of keratinocytes, while FGF19 knockdown showed opposite effect. Moreover, we found that FGF19 increased the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3ß and promoted the expression of ß-catenin and the activation of T cell factor 4 (TCF4) transcriptional activity. Notably, blocking Wnt/ß-catenin signalling by silencing ß-catenin partially reversed FGF19-mediated promotional effects on keratinocyte proliferation. In addition, FGFR4 inhibition significantly blocked the promotional effect of FGF19 on keratinocyte proliferation and GSK-3ß/ß-catenin/TCF4 signalling. Taken together, our results demonstrated that FGF19 contributes to sustaining the high proliferative ability of keratinocytes through promoting Wnt/GSK-3ß/ß-catenin signalling via FGFR4, highlighting the importance of FGF19 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Our study suggests that FGF19 may serve as a novel and potential therapeutic target for psoriasis.

Ferrioxalate photolysis-assisted green recovery of valuable resources from spent lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Recovering valuable resources from spent cathodes while minimizing secondary waste generation is emerging as an important objective for the future recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries, including lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. This study proposes the use of oxalic acid leaching followed by ferrioxalate photolysis to separate and recover cathode active material elements from spent LFP batteries. The cathode active material can be rapidly dissolved at room temperature using appropriate quantities of oxalic acid and hydrogen peroxide, as determined through thermodynamic calculations. The dissolved ferrioxalate complex ion (Fe(C2O4)33-) is selectively precipitated through subsequent photolysis at room temperature. Depending on the initial concentration, the decomposition ratio can exceed 95 % within 1-4 h. Molecular mechanism analysis reveals that the decomposition of the Fe(C2O4)33- complex ion into water-insoluble FeC2O4·2H2O results in the precipitation of iron and the separation of metal elements. Lithium can be recovered as dihydrogen phosphates through filtration and water evaporation. No additional precipitant is needed and no other side products are generated during the process. Oxalic acid leaching followed by photolysis offers an environmentally friendly and efficient method for metal recovery from spent LFP cathodes. The photochemical process is a promising approach for reducing secondary waste generation in battery recycling.

Facile preparation of poly-(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) encapsulated Iridium(III) complexes as highly efficient electrochemiluminescence indicators for sensitive immunoassay of CYFRA 21-1.

Exploring facile strategy for developing highly efficient emitters using water-insoluble luminophores has become a vital topic in electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassay. In this work, an ECL-active and water-dispersive iridium(III) complex-based polymer dots (IrPdots) was fabricated by encapsulating water-insoluble tris[1-phenylisoquinolinato-C2, N] iridium(III) complexes [Ir(piq)3] into poly-(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (PSMA) matrix by a controllable nanoprecipitation process. The obtained IrPdots generated strong ECL signals in the presence of tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) and were used to label detection antibody (Ab2) to act as ECL probes to indicate the signal changes when analyzing target antigen. To construct a sandwich immunosensor, Pd nanoparticles (NPs) decorated MoS2/Ti3C2Tx MXene nanocomposites (MoS2/Ti3C2Tx MXene/Pd) were fabricated as substrates to bind capture antibody (Ab1), which could further amplify ECL signals via a coreaction-accelerating pathway to improve the detection sensitivity. When the cytokeratin 19 fragment 21-1 (CYFRA 21-1) was chosen as model analyte, the developed immunosensor displayed a good linear relationship ranging from 0.1 pg/mL to 50 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 95 fg/mL (S/N = 3) was achieved as well. This research proposed a facile and effective method of fabricating IrPdots as ECL probes for immunoassay using water-insoluble iridium complexes, which expanded the application scope of those water-insoluble luminophores for aqueous bioanalysis.

Effect of ferrous sulfate modified sludge biochar on the mobility, speciation, fractionation and bioaccumulation of vanadium in contaminated soil from a mining area.

In contaminated soil, pristine biochar has poor applicability for immobilizing vanadium (V), which mainly exists as oxyanions in soil. To elucidate the immobilization potential and biotic/abiotic stabilizing mechanisms of a ferrous sulfate (FS)-modified sludge biochar in a V-contaminated soil from a mining area, we investigated the effects of biochar addition on the soil characteristics, growth of alfalfa, leachability, bioavailability, speciation, and fractionation of V, and changes in the microbial community structure and metabolic response. The results showed that the water extractable, acid-soluble (F1), and pentavalent fractions of V in soil decreased by up to 99 %, 95 %, and 55 %, respectively, whereas the reducible and (F2) oxidizable (F3) fractions increased by up to 45 % and 76 %, respectively. After the soil was treated with the FS-modified biochar for 90 d, the V concentration in the roots and shoots of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) decreased by up to 81.5 % and 96 %, respectively. The changes in the speciation, fractionation, and efficient immobilization of V in the studied soil were due to the combined effects of the biochar-induced decrease in soil pH, adsorption and precipitation by elevated iron concentrations, reduction and complexation due to an increase in the organic matter content, and microbial reduction by Proteobacteria.

A novel non-enzymatic sensing platform for determination of 5'-guanosine monophosphate in meat.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) doped carboxylated MWCNTs nanocomposite was synthesized using a simple method. The composite films containing 45 wt%, 50 wt%, 56 wt%, 67 wt% fraction of the carboxylated MWCNTs doped into g-C3N4 were fabricated and characterized. An electrochemical non-enzymatic sensor for determination of 5'-guanosine monophosphate (GMP) based on the nanocomposite was developed. The results indicate that the g-C3N4-carboxylated MWCNTs nanocomposite has highly electrocatalytic activity, good conductivity and biocompatibility, which plays an essential role in the determination of GMP. Under the optimum conditions, the linear fitting equation was I (µA) = -0.0022c (µg·mL-1) + 0.3560 (R2 = 0.9982). The linear range was from 0.5 to 100 µg·mL-1 and the detection limit (LOD, S/N = 3) was 0.109 µg·mL-1. This non-enzymatic sensor can offer a better alternative to other methods for the analysis of GMP because of cheap cost, low detection limit and good anti-jamming capability in meat quality evaluation.

MicroRNA-194 regulates keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation by targeting Grainyhead-like 2 in psoriasis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are currently emerged as important regulators in psoriasis. Psoriasis is characterized by hyperproliferation and impaired differentiation of keratinocytes in skin lesions. miR-194 is a well-known regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the role of miR-194 in psoriasis pathogenesis remains unclear. In this study we aimed to investigate the role of miR-194 in keratinocyte hyperproliferation and differentiation. We found that miR-194 was significantly downregulated in psoriasis lesional skin. Overexpression of miR-194 inhibited the proliferation and promoted the differentiation of primary human keratinocytes, whereas miR-194 suppression promoted the proliferation and inhibited their differentiation. Bioinformatic analysis predicted that the Grainyhead-like 2 (GRHL2) was a target gene of miR-194, which we further validated with a dual-luciferase reporter assay, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and Western blot analysis. The effect of miR-194 on cell proliferation and differentiation was significantly reversed by overexpression of GRHL2. Moreover, the expression of miR-194 and GRHL2 was inversely correlated in psoriasis lesional skin. Taken together, our results suggest that miR-194 inhibits the proliferation and promotes the differentiation of keratinocytes through targeting GRHL2. The downregulation of miR-194 expression may contribute to the pathogenesis of psoriasis and targeting miR-194 may represent a novel and potential therapeutic strategy for psoriasis.