Biomimetic Aligned Micro-/Nanofibrous Composite Membranes with Ultrafast Water Transport and Evaporation for Efficient Indoor Humidification.

Humidifying membranes with ultrafast water transport and evaporation play a vital role in indoor humidification that improves personal comfort and industrial productivity in daily life. However, commercial nonwoven (NW) humidifying membranes show mediocre humidification capability owing to limited wicking capacity, low water absorption, and relatively less water evaporation. Herein, we report a biomimetic micro-/nanofibrous composite membrane with a highly aligned fibrous structure using a humidity-induced electrospinning technique for high-efficiency indoor humidification. Surface wettability and roughness are also tailored to achieve a high degree of superhydrophilicity by embedding hydrophilic silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) into the fiber matrix. The synergistic effect of the highly aligned fibrous structure and surface wettability endows composite membranes with ultrafast water transport and evaporation. Strikingly, the composite membrane exhibits an outstanding wicking height of 19.5 cm, a superior water absorption of 497.7%, a fast evaporation rate of 0.34 mL h-1, and a relatively low air pressure drop of 14.4 Pa, thereby achieving a remarkable humidification capacity of 514 mL h-1 (57% higher than the commercial NW humidifying membrane). The successful synthesis of this biomimetic micro-/nanofibrous composite membrane provides new insights into the development of micro-/nanofibrous humidifying membranes for personal health and comfort as well as industrial production.

Apatinib-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy.

Apatinib is an orally administered small-molecule vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 inhibitor that has demonstrated encouraging anticancer activity across a broad range of malignancies, including gastric cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, breast cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. We report a case of probable apatinib-induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy in a 69-year-old male. The patient received apatinib as targeted therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma and presented with acute confusion and hypersomnolence after four days of medication initiation. He showed improvement on drug withdrawal; then he resumed apatinib with a half dose and had a recurrence. Possible underlying mechanisms that include direct neuronal effect and antiangiogenic properties are discussed. We would like to draw attention to the potential risk of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors induced hyperammonemic encephalopathy even with a low dosage. Clinicians should be aware of any unexplained neurological syndrome after the initiation of apatinib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Potent Odorants of Characteristic Floral/Sweet Odor in Chinese Chrysanthemum Flower Tea Infusion.

An investigation using the aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) technique applied to the aroma concentrates prepared from the tea infusions of two different types of Chinese chrysanthemum flowers (flower buds, blooming flowers) revealed that 29 aroma peaks were detected in the aroma concentrates, and 17 compounds were newly identified or tentatively identified in the chrysanthemum flower tea. AEDA also revealed that the aroma peaks having high flavor dilution factors mainly consisted of a floral/sweet note in addition to metallic and phenol-like/spicy notes. Among them, four aroma peaks having a floral/sweet were identified as verbenone, ethyl 3-phenylpropanoate, propyl 3-phenylpropanoate, and ethyl cinnamate, and a semiquantitative analysis revealed that the flower buds were rich in these compounds. Furthermore, a chiral analysis revealed that (-)-verbenone existed in both flowers at a 3 times higher concentration than (+)-verbenone. Additionally, because the detection threshold of (-)-verbenone was lower than that of the (+)-verbenone, it is concluded that the (-)-isomer was a main contributor of the aroma peak of verbenone in the chrysanthemum flower tea.

[Screening and identification of indoleacetic acid producing endophytic bacterium in Panax ginseng].

Endophytic bacteria which was producing indoleacetic acid was screened from Panax ginseng by using the Salkowski method. The active strain was also tested for its ability of nitrogen fixation by using the Ashby agar plates, the PKV plates and quantitative analysis of Mo-Sb-Ascrobiology acid colorimetry was used to measure its ability of phosphate solubilization, for its ability of potassium solubilization the silicate medium and flame spectrophotometry was used, for its ability of producing siderophores the method detecting CAS was used, for its ability of producing ACC deaminase the Alpha ketone butyric acid method was applied. And the effect on promoting growth of seed by active strain was tested. The results showed that the indoleacetic acid producing strain of JJ5-2 was obtained from 118 endophytes, which the content of indoleacetic acid was 10.2 mg x L(-1). The JJ5-2 strain also had characteristics of phosphate and potassium solubilization, nitrogen fixation, producing siderophores traits, and the promoting germination of ginseng seeds. The JJ5-2 strain was identified as Bacillus thuringiensis by analyzing morphology, physiological and biochemical properties and 16S rRNA gene sequences.