Two-dimensional heterojunction layered graphene oxide/graphitic carbon nitride photocatalyst for removal of toxic environmental dye methylene blue.

The direct thermal polymerization techniques were applied to prepare the graphene oxide (GO)-graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) hybrid structure. The prepared hybrid heterojunction GO-gCN nanosheets were utilized as a photocatalyst to remove model pollutants methylene blue (MB) dye. The basic physio-chemical properties of GO-gCN layered materials have been analyzed by various characterization techniques. In addition, the proposed materials have a higher photocatalytic ability toward the degradation of aqueous solution of MB dye under visible light irradiation within a short treatment time. This is because it's the synergistic effects of GO-gCN layer-by-layer structures produced by π─π stacking with charge-transfer interactions. The gCN with GO composite can able to enhance the charge transfer and light-harvesting properties. Under the influence of photocatalyst, the surface of Graphene oxide undergoes the separation and combination of carbonyl radicals, hydroxyl radicals, epoxy radicals, and electron-hole pairs. This enhances the absorption of visible light and improves the degradation of MB, when GO is incorporated into gCN. The removal efficiency of MB reached up to 82.311% within the short treatment time.

Improving the p-Type CuCrO2 Thin Film's Electrical and Optical Properties.

In this research, we studied the functional properties of CuCrO2, which is the most promising p-type transparent conductive oxide (TCO). The thin films were fabricated using a spin coating technique. The diffraction patterns were obtained with the help of X-ray diffractions, and the optical properties of absorption characteristics were studied using UV-visible absorption. The physical properties of film formation and surface morphology were analyzed using FESEM analysis. The aging properties were also analyzed with the help of various precursors with different aging times. The CuCrO2 thin films' functional properties were determined by using chelating agent and precursor solution aging times. The CuCrO2 thin films have better transmittance, resistance, figure of merit (FOM), and electrical conductivity. Moreover, the resistivity values of the CuCrO2 thin films are 7.01, 9.90, 12.54, 4.10, 2.42, and 0.35 Ω cm. The current research article covers the preparation of copper chromium delafossite thin films. These thin films can be suitable for hole transport layers in transparent optoelectronic devices.

S-Ketamine Exerts Antidepressant Effects by Regulating Rac1 GTPase Mediated Synaptic Plasticity in the Hippocampus of Stressed Rats.

Clinical studies have found that ketamine has a rapid and lasting antidepressant effect, especially in the case of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The molecular mechanisms, however, remain unclear. In this study, we observe the effects of S-Ketamine on the expression of Rac1, neuronal morphology, and synaptic transmission function in the hippocampus of stressed rats. Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) was used to construct stressed rats. The rats were given a different regimen of ketamine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) and Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 (50 µg, ICV) treatment. The depression-like behavior of rats was evaluated by sucrose preference test and open-field test. The protein expression of Rac1, GluA1, synapsin1, and PSD95 in the hippocampus was detected by Western blot. Pull-down analysis was used to examine the activity of Rac1. Golgi staining and electrophysiological study were used to observe the neuronal morphology and long-term potentiation (LTP). Our results showed that ketamine can up-regulate the expression and activity of Rac1; increase the spine density and the expression of synaptic-related proteins such as GluA1, Synapsin1, and PSD95 in the hippocampus of stressed rats; reduce the CUMS-induced LTP impairments; and consequently improve depression-like behavior. However, Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 could have effectively reversed ketamine-mediated changes in the hippocampus of rats and counteracted its antidepressant effects. The specific mechanism of S-Ketamine's antidepressant effect may be related to the up-regulation of the expression and activity of Rac1 in the hippocampus of stressed rats, thus enhancing synaptic plasticity.

SIRGs score may be a predictor of prognosis and immunotherapy response for esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma.

Background: Esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (EGJA) is a special malignant tumor with unknown biological behavior. PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors have been recommended as first-line treatment for advanced EGJA patients. However, the biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy response remain controversial. Methods: We identified stromal immune-related genes (SIRGs) by ESTIMATE from the TCGA-EGJA dataset and constructed a signature score. In addition, survival analysis was performed in both the TCGA cohort and GEO cohort. Subsequently, we explored the differences in tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immune subtypes, immune-related functions, tumor mutation burden (TMB), immune checkpoint gene expression, immunophenoscore (IPS) between the high SIRGs score and low SIRGs score groups. Finally, two validation cohorts of patients who had accepted immunotherapy was used to verify the value of SIRGs score in predicting immunotherapy response. Results: Eight of the SIRGs were selected by LASSO regression to construct a signature score (SIRGs score). Univariate and multivariate analyses in the TCGA and GEO cohort suggested that SIRGs score was an independent risk factor for the overall survival (OS) and it could increase the accuracy of clinical prediction models for survival. However, in the high SIRGs score group, patients had more immune cell infiltration, more active immune-related functions, higher immune checkpoint gene expression and higher IPS-PD1 and IPS-PD1-CTLA4 scores, which indicate a better response to immunotherapy. The external validation illustrated that high SIRGs score was significantly associated with immunotherapy response and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can improve OS in patients with high SIRGs score. Conclusion: The SIRGs score may be a predictor of the prognosis and immune-therapy response for esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma.

Application of ultrasound molecular imaging based on compressed sensing reconstruction algorithm to phase change drug-loaded PLGA nanoparticles targeting breast cancer MCF-7 Cells.

OBJECTIVES: To study the ability of aptamer-modified nano-gold rods and liquid carbon-targeted PLGA nanoparticles to target in vitro using compressed sensing reconstruction algorithm, and observe the phenomenon of mediating ultrasound / photoacoustic imaging. METHODS: PLGA nanoparticles were prepared by a double emulsification method, and the MUC1 aptamer was connected to the PLGA nanoparticles by the carbodiimide method to obtain an "aptamer-PLGA nanoparticle" targeted phase change contrast agent. Fluorescence microscopy was used to detect the in vitro targeting of breast cancer MCF-7 cells specifically identified by it, and three control groups were set up: the ordinary nanoparticle group, the aptamer interference group, and the HELA cell group. A photoacoustic instrument was used to observe the phenomenon of enhanced ultrasound / photoacoustic signal mediated in vitro. RESULTS: Many targeted nanoparticles were clustered around MCF-7 cells and bound firmly, but no specific binding was observed in the non-targeted nanoparticles group, the aptamer interference group and the HELA cell group. After the targeted nanoparticle was excited by the photoacoustic instrument, the ultrasonic signal and the photoacoustic signal were significantly enhanced compared with before the excitation. CONCLUSION: The successfully prepared targeting nanoparticles have good targeting and specificity for breast cancer MCF-7 cells, and it has obvious effects on ultrasound / photoacoustic imaging, and has the potential to become a dual-mode ultrasound / photoacoustic targeted contrast agent. The various characteristics provide experimental basis for subsequent in vivo targeting experiments and are expected to become good target diagnostic molecular probes.

Combination of microbubbles and diagnostic ultrasound at a high mechanical index for the synergistic microwave ablation of tumours.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether combining microbubbles (MBs) with diagnostic ultrasound (US) at a high mechanical index (MI) could enhance the microwave (MW) ablation of tumours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five therapeutic MW adjuvant protocols were studied: MW, MW + US, MW + US + MB, MW + US + NS (saline) and MW + MB. In 30 normal rabbit livers, the synergistic effects were evaluated via temperature, necrosis volume and histology. In 90 VX2 rabbit hepatic tumours, residual cells in the peripheral ablated tumours were examined via immunohistochemical assay and tumour growth. Additional 40 VX2 hepatic tumours were evaluated for ablation safety via blood assay and weight and for survival to 105 days. Results were compared using analysis of variance. RESULTS: Compared with the other protocols, the ablation volumes in normal rabbit livers were significantly larger using the MW + US + MB protocol (p < .001). The histological examination was consistent with more efficient ablation in that protocol. In detecting residual cells, the apoptotic index was higher, the proliferating index was lower (p < .05), tumour growth was significantly smaller (p < .001), and the rabbits of the MW + US + MB T-Group survived longer (p < .05) than those of the other groups. Additionally, no damage to the liver function or blood cells was found in any of the protocols after ablation (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: MBs in combination with diagnostic US at a high MI showed potential synergy in the MW ablation of tumours in rabbits.

Nanoparticle-enhanced synergistic HIFU ablation and transarterial chemoembolization for efficient cancer therapy.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is being generally explored as a non-invasive therapeutic modality to treat solid tumors. However, the clinical use of HIFU for large and deep tumor-ablation applications such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently entangled with long treatment duration and high operating energy. This critical issue can be potentially resolved by the introduction of HIFU synergistic agents (SAs). Traditional SAs such as microbubbles and microparticles face the problem of large size, short cycle time, damage to mononuclear phagocytic system and unsatisfactory targeting efficiency. In this work, we have developed a facile and versatile nanoparticle-based HIFU synergistic cancer surgery enhanced by transarterial chemoembolization for high-efficiency HCC treatment based on elaborately designed Fe3O4-PFH/PLGA nanocapsules. Multifunctional Fe3O4-PFH/PLGA nanocapsules were administrated into tumor tissues via transarterial injection combined with Lipiodol to achieve high tumor accumulation because transarterial chemoembolization by Lipiodol could block the blood vessels. The high synergistic HIFU ablation effect was successfully achieved against HCC tumors based on the phase-transformation performance of the perfluorohexane (PFH) inner core in the composite nanocapsules, as systematically demonstrated in VX2 liver tumor xenograft in rabbits. Multifunctional Fe3O4-PFH/PLGA nanocapsules were also demonstrated as efficient contrast agents for ultrasound, magnetic resonance and photoacoustic tri-modality imagings, potentially applicable for imaging-guided HIFU synergistic surgery. Therefore, the elaborate integration of traditional transarterial chemoembolization with recently developed nanoparticle-enhanced HIFU cancer surgery could efficiently enhance the HCC cancer treatment outcome, initiating a new and efficient therapeutic protocol/modality for clinic cancer treatment.