Mn, N co-doped carbon nanospheres for efficient capture of uranium (VI) via capacitive deionization.

Heteroatom doping, involving the introduction of atoms with distinct electronegativity into carbon materials, has emerged as an effective approach to optimize their charge distribution. In this study, we designed a strategy to synthesize in-situ Mn, N co-doped carbon nanospheres (Mn-NC) through the polycondensation of 2,6-diaminopyridine and formaldehyde in synchronization with Mn2+ chelation to form Mn-polytriazine precursor, followed by calcination to form carbonaceous solid. Then Mn-NC was fabricated into a capacitive deionization (CDI) electrode for the selective removal of uranium ions (U (VI)), which is commonly found in radioactive water. Interestingly, Mn-NC exhibited good selectivity for UO22+ capture with a demonstrated adsorption capacity of approximately 194 mg/g @1.8 V. The systematic analysis of the adsorption mechanism of UO22+ revealed that N dopants within Mn-NC can coordinate with the U (VI) ions, thereby facilitating the removal process. Our study presents a straightforward and convenient strategy for removing UO22+ ions by harnessing the coordination effect, eliminating the requirement for pore size control.

Comparative study on characteristics and mechanism of levofloxacin adsorption on swine manure biochar.

This study evaluated the relationship between pyrolysis temperature (300-900 ℃), characteristics of swine manure (SM)-derived biochar (BC), and its adsorption of levofloxacin (LEV). The surface structure and chemistry of SM-derived BCs were characterized using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. According to the characteristic analysis, the surface area and graphitization degree of SM-derived BC increased as temperature rose. The highest adsorption capacity was achieved by BC-900 (158 mg/g); this level was higher than that achieved in previous studies and comparable to that of commercial activated carbons. Characterization and adsorption experiments indicated that pore-filling, π-π stacking interaction, π-π electron donor-acceptor, H-bonding, and hydrophobic interactions each played a critical role in the adsorption of LEV on SM-derived BC. Collectively, this study confirms the potential utility of SM-derived BC for the removal of antibiotics.

Interleukin-1α induces immunosuppression by mesenchymal stem cells promoting the growth of prostate cancer cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are generally used in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and therapy for immune disorder disease. MSCs are also employed as drug carriers for tumor therapy due to their ability to migrate to tumor tissue. However, due to the immunosuppressive function of MSCs, the application of MSCs in prostate cancer therapy remains limited. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanism by which MSCs enable prostate cancer cells to escape from immune surveillance in the inflammatory microenvironment. Firstly, we demonstrated that compared with the control groups, MSCs pretreated with IL-1α effectively promoted the growth of the mouse prostate cancer cell line RM-1 in vivo. Furthermore, when RM-1 prostate cancer cells were co-injected with MSCs pretreated with IL-1α, tumor incidence significantly increased in allogeneic recipients. In addition, we investigated the mechanism through which MSCs promote the ability of RM-1 cells to escape from immune injury. The results revealed that IL-1α led to the upregulation of TGF-ß in MSCs. The inflammatory cytokine-induced promotive effect of MSCs on RM-1 cells in vivo was inhibited by TGF-ß siRNA. The results of our study suggest that inflammatory cytokines induce the immunosuppressive function of MSCs which enables prostate cancer cells to escape from immune injury.

A novel set of DNA methylation markers in urine sediments for sensitive/specific detection of bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: This study aims to provide a better set of DNA methylation markers in urine sediments for sensitive and specific detection of bladder cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Fifty-nine tumor-associated genes were profiled in three bladder cancer cell lines, a small cohort of cancer biopsies and urine sediments by methylation-specific PCR. Twenty-one candidate genes were then profiled in urine sediments from 132 bladder cancer patients (8 cases for stage 0a; 68 cases for stage I; 50 cases for stage II; 4 cases for stages III; and 2 cases for stage IV), 23 age-matched patients with noncancerous urinary lesions, 6 neurologic diseases, and 7 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: Despite six incidences of four genes reported in 3 of 23 noncancerous urinary lesion patients analyzed, cancer-specific hypermethylation in urine sediments were reported for 15 genes (P < 0.05). Methylation assessment of an 11-gene set (SALL3, CFTR, ABCC6, HPR1, RASSF1A, MT1A, RUNX3, ITGA4, BCL2, ALX4, MYOD1, DRM, CDH13, BMP3B, CCNA1, RPRM, MINT1, and BRCA1) confirmed the existing diagnosis of 121 among 132 bladder cancer cases (sensitivity, 91.7%) with 87% accuracy. Significantly, more than 75% of stage 0a and 88% of stage I disease were detected, indicating its value in the early diagnosis of bladder cancer. Interestingly, the cluster of reported methylation markers used in the U.S. bladder cancers is distinctly different from that identified in this study, suggesting a possible epigenetic disparity between the American and Chinese cases. CONCLUSIONS: Methylation profiling of an 11-gene set in urine sediments provides a sensitive and specific detection of bladder cancer.