Transcription Factor STAT3-Activated LDHB Promotes Tumor Properties of Endometrial Cancer Cells by Inducing MDH2 Expression.

The pathogenesis of endometrial cancer (EC) involves the regulation of lactate dehydrogenases. However, the role and mechanism of lactate dehydrogenase-B (LDHB) in EC progression have not been studied. The mRNA levels of LDHB and malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression was checked by western blotting and immunohistochemistry assays. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion were analyzed by 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, transwell, and flow cytometry assay, respectively. Glycolysis was investigated using Glucose Assay Kit, CheKine™ Micro Lactate Assay Kit, and ADP/ATP ratio assay kit. An in vivo tumor formation assay was conducted to disclose the effect of LDHB on tumor growth in vivo. The associations among signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), LDHB, and MDH2 were predicted through JASPAR or GeneMANIA online database and identified by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and co-immunoprecipitation assay. LDHB expression was increased in EC tissues and cells in comparison with normal endometrial tissues and human endometrial stromal cells. LDHB had the potential as a biomarker to predict the prognosis of EC patients. In addition, LDHB knockdown inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and glycolysis and promoted apoptosis of RL95-2 and Ishikawa cells. LDHB knockdown inhibited tumor property of Ishikawa cells in vivo. STAT3 bound to the promoter region of LDHB, and STAT3 silencing-induced effects were relieved after LDHB upregulation. LDHB interacted with and regulated MDH2 expression. Moreover, MDH2 overexpression rescued LDHB knockdown-induced effects on EC cell phenotypes. STAT3-activated LDHB promoted endometrial cancer cell malignancy by inducing MDH2 production.

Coordination-Polymer-Derived Cu-CoO/C Nanocomposite Used in Fenton-like Reaction to Achieve Efficient Degradation of Organic Compounds.

In this paper, carbon-matrix-supported copper (Cu) and cobaltous oxide (CoO) nanoparticles were obtained by using coordination polymers (CPs) as a precursor. The aqueous solutions of copper methacrylate (CuMA) and cobalt methacrylate (CoMA) were preferentially prepared, which were then mixed with anhydrous ethanol to fabricate dual metal ion coordination polymers (CuMA/CoMA). After calcination under an argon atmosphere, the Cu-CoO/C nanocomposite was obtained. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that the material has banded morphology, and the dual functional nanoparticles were highly dispersed in the carbon matrix. The prepared material was used in a heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction, with the aim of replacing traditional ferric catalysts to solve pH constraints and the mass production of ferric slime. The obtained nanocomposite showed excellent catalytic performance on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) at near-neutral conditions; the discoloration efficiency is about 98.5% within 50 min in the presence of 0.15 mmol/mL H2O2 and 0.5 mg/mL catalyst. And good reusability was verified via eight cycles. The plausible pathway for MB discoloration and the possible catalytic mechanism was also proposed.

Effects of evidence-based care on diabetic foot ulcers: A meta-analysis.

This analysis systematically reviewed the efficacy of evidence-based care on diabetic foot ulcers. A computerised literature search was conducted for randomised controlled studies (RCTs) of evidence-based care interventions for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers using the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) and Wanfang databases from the date of inception of each database to June 2023. The articles were independently screened, data were extracted by two researchers, and the quality of each study was assessed using the Cochrane bias assessment tool. Meta-analysis of the data was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Twenty-five RCTs with a total of 2272 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that, compared with other care methods, evidence-based care significantly improved the treatment efficacy of diabetic foot ulcers (odds ratio: 3.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.76 to 5.53, p < 0.001) and significantly reduced their fasting plasma glucose (mean difference [MD]: -1.10, 95% CI: -1.24 to -0.96, p < 0.001), 2-h postprandial glucose (2hPG) (MD: -1.69, 95% CI: -2.07 to -1.31, p < 0.001) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) (MD: -0.71, 95% CI: -0.94 to -0.48, p < 0.001). Evidence-based care intervention is effective at reducing FPG, 2hPG and HbA1c levels and improving treatment efficacy in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

Ultra-Broadband Mid-Infrared Metamaterial Absorber Based on Multi-Sized Resonators.

Mid-infrared metamaterial absorbers have many applications in the field of infrared detection, infrared thermal energy utilization, radiation refrigeration, invisible camouflage, etc. In this study, we designed an ultra-broadband mid-infrared metamaterial absorber based on multi-sized resonators. The structure of the absorber consisted of a gold substrate and nine resonators. The simulated results showed that the absorptivity of the absorber was higher than 90% in the 8.33-15.09 µm waveband with an average absorptivity of 95.17%. The energy distributions of the electric and magnetic fields were introduced to investigate the physics of broadband absorption. Moreover, we combined the multi-layer structure with the plane random arrangement structure to achieve a balance between thickness and width. Our study further illustrates the potential application of multi-sized resonators in metamaterial absorbers to realize high absorptivity and ultra-broadband to improve the performance of devices applied in infrared detection, radiation refrigeration, and other fields.

Spectroscopic Characterization of a Polycaprolactone-Chitosan Electrospun Scaffold Modified with Photocatalytic TiO2 Nanoparticles for Improved Wound Healing: A Complete In Vivo Evaluation.

In the current study, we hypothesized that the electrospun scaffold chitosan (CS)/polycaprolactone (PCL)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) could be prepared by combining CS, PCL, and TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) using an electrospinning technique for wound dressing applications. The CS/PCL/TiO2 electrospun scaffold was prepared and characterized by UV-Vis, SEM, TEM, FTIR, and XRD analyses. Based on the UV-Vis analysis, the incorporation of CS/PCL on the surface of TiO2 NPs affected their optical properties. Further, CS/PCL and CS/PCL/TiO2 were found to have uniform distribution in fiber diameter with no bead morphology, as confirmed by SEM. The XRD spectrum of the CS/PCL/TiO2 revealed that the TiO2 NPs were adequately mixed with the CS/PCL solution, exhibiting the planes of TiO2 peaks (112), (105), (204), (116), and (301), which aligned well with the lattice structure. The antibacterial activity of CS/PCL/TiO2 against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was evaluated using the zone of inhibition method. By testing the cytocompatibility of CS/PCL/TiO2 in vitro, this dressing was found to have a less toxic nature. In addition, In Vivo wound healing studies showed that the dressing prepared with the CS/PCL/TiO2 electrospun scaffold improved wound healing compared to that prepared with CS/PCL alone. The above results strongly support the use of CS/PCL/TiO2 electrospun scaffold as an effective dressing for wound healing.

Autohydrogenotrophic Denitrification Using the Membrane Biofilm Reactor for Removing Nitrate from High Sulfate Concentration of Water.

This study investigated the performance of an autohydrogenotrophic membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) to remove nitrate from water with high sulfate concentrations. The results of simulated running showed that TN removal could be over than 98.8% with the maximum denitrification rate of 134.6 g N/m3 d under the conditions of the influent sulfate concentrations of 300 mg SO42-/l. The distribution ratio of H2 electron donor for nitrate and sulfate was 70.0 : 26.9 at the high influent loading ratio of sulfate/nitrate of 853.3 g SO42-/m3 d : 140.5 g N/m3 d, which indicated that denitrification bacteria (DB) were normally dominated to complete H2 electron with sulfate bacteria (SRB). The results of molecular microbiology analysis showed that the dominated DB were Rhodocyclus and Hydrogenophaga, and the dominated SRB was Desulfohalobium, under the high influent sulfate concentrations.

Generation of nanobubbles by ceramic membrane filters: The dependence of bubble size and zeta potential on surface coating, pore size and injected gas pressure.

Generation of gaseous nanobubbles (NBs) by simple, efficient, and scalable methods is critical for industrialization and applications of nanobubbles. Traditional generation methods mainly rely on hydrodynamic, acoustic, particle, and optical cavitation. These generation processes render issues such as high energy consumption, non-flexibility, and complexity. This research investigated the use of tubular ceramic nanofiltration membranes to generate NBs in water with air, nitrogen and oxygen gases. This system injects pressurized gases through a tubular ceramic membrane with nanopores to create NBs. The effects of membrane pores size, surface energy, and the injected gas pressures on the bubble size and zeta potential were examined. The results show that the gas injection pressure had considerable effects on the bubble size, zeta potential, pH, and dissolved oxygen of the produced NBs. For example, increasing the injection air pressure from 69 kPa to 414 kPa, the air bubble size was reduced from 600 to 340 nm respectively. Membrane pores size and surface energy also had significant effects on sizes and zeta potentials of NBs. The results presented here aim to fill out the gaps of fundamental knowledge about NBs and development of efficient generation methods.

Coagulation behavior and floc characteristics of a novel composite poly-ferric aluminum chloride-polydimethyl diallylammonium chloride coagulant with different OH/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratios.

In this paper, flocculating performance and mechanisms of a new composite coagulant, poly-ferric aluminum chloride-polydimethyl diallylammonium chloride (PFAC-PD) with different OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratios, were investigated for humic acid (HA)-kaolin synthetic wastewater treatment. The impact of OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratios on the removal efficiencies of turbidity and dissolved organic carbon, specific UV absorbance, coagulation mechanisms and dynamics was explored during the coagulation process using composite coagulants. The coagulation experimental results revealed that the composite coagulants with lower OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratio exhibited better coagulation efficiency. When OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratio of the composite coagulant was 1.5, adsorption-bridging played a dominant role in coagulating HA-kaolin synthetic wastewater. The floc growth rate and floc size, increased with increasing OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratio and the highest peak height of the size distribution was obtained by PFAC-PD with OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) = 1.5. Also, the composite coagulants with higher OH-/(Fe3+ + Al3+) molar ratio formed more compact flocs, as reflected by the higher fractal dimension value. The flocs coagulated by PFAC-PD with basicity value of 1.0 gave strong strength and good recoverability.

Decolorization of dyeing wastewater and characterization of flocs during coagulation by a new composite coagulant.

A composite coagulant, polymeric aluminum ferric chloride-poly-epichlorohydrin-ethylenediamine (PAFC-EPI-ETA), was synthesized and then used for the treatment of synthetic reactive brilliant red (RBR) dyeing wastewater. Effects of (Fe+Al) to EPI-ETA mass ratio (P) on the color removal and zeta potential were investigated under different coagulant dosages and initial pHs. Experimental results indicate that the removal of reactive dye and the charge neutralization ability of composite coagulant were improved by increasing the content of organic EPI-ETA. PAFC-EPI-ETA with P=1 achieved the best color removal percentage and strongest charge neutralization ability. Decolorization efficiency using PAFC-EPI-ETA was quite effecient with pH range of 6.0-7.5 for RBR dye removal. Characteristics of the formed floc were investigated with the dosage of PAFC-EPI-ETA under different P values. The low (Fe+Al) to EPI-ETA mass ratio contributed to the formation of flocs with high growth rate, large size and large size variation.