In situ generation of highly localized chlorine by laser-induced graphene electrodes during electrochemical disinfection.

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has gained popularity for electrochemical water disinfection due to its efficient antimicrobial activity when activated with low voltages. However, the antimicrobial mechanism of LIG electrodes is not yet fully understood. This study demonstrated an array of mechanisms working synergistically to inactivate bacteria during electrochemical treatment using LIG electrodes, including the generation of oxidants, changes in pH-specifically high alkalinity associated with the cathode, and electro-adsorption on the electrodes. All these mechanisms may contribute to the disinfection process when bacteria are close to the surface of the electrodes where inactivation was independent of the reactive chlorine species (RCS); however, RCS was likely responsible for the predominant cause of antibacterial effects in the bulk solution (i.e., ≥100 mL in our study). Furthermore, the concentration and diffusion kinetics of RCS in solution was voltage-dependent. At 6 V, RCS achieved a high concentration in water, while at 3 V, RCS was highly localized on the LIG surface but not measurable in water. Despite this, the LIG electrodes activated by 3 V achieved a 5.5-log reduction in Escherichia coli (E.coli) after 120-min electrolysis without detectable chlorine, chlorate, or perchlorate in the water, suggesting a promising system for efficient, energy-saving, and safe electro-disinfection.

Product rollover strategy and emission reduction with intertemporal carbon emission regulation versus consumer supervision.

As global warming has severely threatened the ecosystem and sustainable development of human beings, carbon trading scheme is introduced to mitigate global warming and consumer environmental awareness (CEA) is gradually enhanced. Government regulation and consumer supervision have required firms to seek efficient strategies of product rollover and emission abatement in order to sustain and increase market share. This paper constructs a two-period analytical model in the context of intertemporal carbon emission regulation to investigate how carbon emission regulations and CEA affect the optimal strategies of product rollover, emission abatement, and social welfare. The results reveal that without consumer supervision, the firm prefers to adopt dual product rollover strategy and the optimal product rollover strategy depends on costs and benefits when product recycling is considered. When CEA is high, welfare and emission abatement regulated by hybrid policy is lower than those regulated by carbon trading scheme. When CEA is low, emission abatement under hybrid policy is superior to those regulated by carbon trading scheme. These findings help provide implications for improving carbon emission management efficiency and prompting sustainable development.

Protective effects of L-arginine on the intestinal epithelial barrier under heat stress conditions in rats and IEC-6 cell line.

Heat stress (HS) and the associated restricted blood flow to the intestine have been proven to destroy intestinal integrity. Considering the beneficial properties of L-arginine on gut function, we investigated the protective effects of L-arginine on the intestine under HS conditions. In vivo, the serum cortisol level and the rectal temperature increased in response to HS. Under HS, the intestinal damage showed obvious morphological changes. Furthermore, HS decreased the mRNA and protein expression levels of Nurr1, ZO-1, occludin, claudin-6 and E-cadherin, increased the mRNA expression of NF-κB and IL-1ß, and increased the protein expression of cleaved caspase-3. In contrast, L-arginine supplementation maintained intestinal integrity and increased the villus/crypt ratio. L-arginine also suppressed the expression of inflammation-related genes and the protein expression of cleaved caspase-3, whereas it upregulated the mRNA and protein expression of tight junction proteins and LC3B protein expression. In vitro, L-arginine attenuated HS-induced apoptosis as demonstrated by flow cytometry and decreased cleaved caspase-3 protein expression. L-arginine induced autophagy, which was demonstrated by decreased expression of p62 and p-mTOR/mTOR, and increased expression of LC3B. The protein expression levels of TJ proteins also enhanced by L-arginine in IEC-6 cells. Taken together, these results suggest that L-arginine can alleviate intestinal damage and protect the intestinal integrity by suppressing local inflammation response, promoting the production of TJs and facilitating autophagy under HS conditions.

The crosstalk between endometrial stromal cells and macrophages impairs cytotoxicity of NK cells in endometriosis by secreting IL-10 and TGF-ß.

The dysfunction of NK cells in women with endometriosis (EMS) contributes to the immune escape of menstrual endometrial fragments refluxed into the peritoneal cavity. The reciprocal communications between endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) and lymphocytes facilitate the development of EMS. However, the mechanism of these communications on cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells in endometriotic milieus is still largely unknown. To imitate the local immune microenvironment, the co-culture systems of ESCs from patients with EMS and monocyte-derived macrophages or of ESCs, macrophages and NK cells were constructed. The cytokine levels in the co-culture unit were evaluated by ELISA. The expression of functional molecules in NK cells was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The NK cell behaviors in vitro were analyzed by cell counting kit-8 and cytotoxic activation assays. After incubation with ESCs and macrophages, the expression of CD16, NKG2D, perforin and IFN-γ, viability and cytotoxicity of NK cells were significantly downregulated. The secretion of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß in the co-culture system of ESCs and macrophages was increased. Exposure with anti-IL-10 receptor ß neutralizing antibody (αhIL-10Rß) or αTGF-ß could partly reverse these effects of ESCs and macrophages on NK cells in vitro These results suggest that the interaction between macrophages and ESCs downregulates cytotoxicity of NK cells possibly by stimulating the secretion of IL-10 and TGF-ß, and may further trigger the immune escape of ectopic fragments and promote the occurrence and the development of EMS.

Protopanaxadiol and metformin synergistically inhibit estrogen-mediated proliferation and anti-autophagy effects in endometrial cancer cells.

Metformin is commonly used for treating type II diabetes and has recently been reported to possess anti-proliferative properties that can be exploited for the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancers. Ginsenosides are the main effective biological components of ginseng. It has been reported that ginsenoside-Rb2 inhibit the invasiveness of endometrial cancer cells (ECC). The aim of this study was to investigate whether protopanaxadiol (PPD, a metabolite of ginsenosides) and metformin could synergistically regulate the biological behavior of ECC and analyze its possible mechanism. We here found that either metformin or PPD treatment led to a decreased viability and increased apoptosis and autophagy levels in ECC lines (Ishikawa and RL95-2 cells), and combination of PPD and metformin could enhance these effects induced by metformin or PPD in vitro. PPD and metformin significantly decreased the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in Ishikawa and RL95-2 cells. Estrogen promoted the viability and restricted the apoptosis and autophagy of Ishikawa and RL95-2 cells, and PPD and metformin reversed these effects. In vivo trials showed that combination of PPD and metformin had the strongest activity of anti-tumor growth compared with PPD alone and metformin alone. These data suggest that PPD and metformin can be used together to play a more powerful anti-EC effect. Our study provides a scientific basis for the clinical application of PPD and metformin in the treatment of EC, especially in estrogen-dependent patients.

Kaempferol protects cardiomyocytes against anoxia/reoxygenation injury via mitochondrial pathway mediated by SIRT1.

Mitochondria-mediated apoptosis is a critical mechanism of anoxia/ reoxygenation (A/R)-induced injury in cardiomyocytes. Kaempferol (Kae) is a natural polyphenol and a type of flavonoid, which has been demonstrated to protect myocardium against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the mechanism is still not fully elucidated. We hypothesize that Kae may improve the mitochondrial function during I/R injury via a potential signal pathway. In this study, an in vitro I/R model was replicated on neonatal rat primary cardiomyocytes by A/R treatment. Cell viability was monitored by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-5-(3- carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2 H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay. The levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry. Protein expression was detected by Western Blotting. mPTP opening and the activity of caspase-3 were measured by colorimetric method. The results showed that Kae effectively enhanced the cell viability and decreased the LDH release in cardiomyocytes subjected to A/R injury. Kae reduced the A/R-induced reactive oxygen species generation, the loss of Δψm, and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into cytosol. Kae inhibited the A/R-stimulated mPTP opening and activation of caspase-3, and ultimate decrease in cardiomyocytes apoptosis. Furthermore, we found Kae up-regulated Human Silent Information Regulator Type 1 (SIRT1) expression, indicating SIRT1 signal pathway likely involved the cardioprotection of Kae. Sirtinol, a SIRT1 inhibitor, abolished the protective effect of Kae in cardiomyocytes subjected to A/R. Additionally, Kae significantly increased the expression of Bcl-2. Thus, we firstly demonstrate that Kae protects cardiomyocytes against A/R injury through mitochondrial pathway mediated by SIRT1.

Raman spectroscopy, a potential tool in diagnosis and prognosis of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy (RS) in diagnosis and prognosis of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in patients with prostate cancer (PC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Raman spectra are detected from PC cell lines (LNCaP and C4-2) and tissues using a Labram HR 800 RS. Then, principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM) are applied for prediction. A leave-one-out cross-validation is used to train and test the SVM. RESULTS: There are 50 qualified patients, including 33 with androgen-dependent prostate cancer (ADPC) and 17 with CRPC. The spectral changes at 1126, 1170, 1315 to 1338, and 1447 cm-1 between CRPC and ADPC are detected in both cells and tissues models, which are assigned to specific amino acids and DNA. PCA/SVM algorithm provided a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 87.9% for diagnosing CRPC tissues. Furthermore, 14 patients with ADPC progressed to CRPC within 12 months. These patients are separated into two groups depending on whether their cancers progressed to CRPC within 12 months. PCA/SVM could differentiate these two groups with a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 88.9%. CONCLUSIONS: RS has the potential in diagnosis and prognosis of CRPC in clinical practice.

Peptide-conjugation induced conformational changes in human IgG1 observed by optimized negative-staining and individual-particle electron tomography.

Peptides show much promise as potent and selective drug candidates. Fusing peptides to a scaffold monoclonal antibody produces a conjugated antibody which has the advantages of peptide activity yet also has the pharmacokinetics determined by the scaffold antibody. However, the conjugated antibody often has poor binding affinity to antigens that may be related to unknown structural changes. The study of the conformational change is difficult by conventional techniques because structural fluctuation under equilibrium results in multiple structures co-existing. Here, we employed our two recently developed electron microscopy (EM) techniques: optimized negative-staining (OpNS) EM and individual-particle electron tomography (IPET). Two-dimensional (2D) image analyses and three-dimensional (3D) maps have shown that the domains of antibodies present an elongated peptide-conjugated conformational change, suggesting that our EM techniques may be novel tools to monitor the structural conformation changes in heterogeneous and dynamic macromolecules, such as drug delivery vehicles after pharmacological synthesis and development.

Intestinal obstruction due to congenital bands from vitelline remnants: sonographic features and review of the literature.

An anomalous congenital band is a well-known cause of intestinal obstruction, but it is rare and usually presents a diagnostic challenge. With high-frequency sonography, it is possible for intestinal obstruction due to a vitelline band to be diagnosed preoperatively. We describe the sonographic findings of 2 cases that led us to make the correct diagnosis, which was confirmed by surgery.

[Study on bladder cancer tissues with Raman spectroscopy].

The scope of this research lies in diagnosis of bladder cancer through Raman spectra. The spectra of bladder cancer and normal bladder were measured by using laser confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy. Principal component analysis/support vector machines was applied to the spectral dataset to construct diagnostic algorithms, then to detect the accuracy of these algorithms to determine histological diagnosis by leave-one-out cross validation from its Raman spectrum. It was showed that the peak intensity of nucleic acid (782, 1 583 cm(-1)) in bladder cancer and protein (1 061, 1 295, 2 849, 2 881 cm(-1)) in normal bladder increased significantly. Additionally, Principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machines (SVM) provided an effective tool for differentiating the bladder cancer from normal bladder tissue. Excellent sensitivity (86.7%), specificity (87.5%), positive predictive value (92.9%), and negative predictive value (72. 8%) for the diagnosis of bladder cancer were obtained by leave-one-out cross validation. It was concluded that Raman spectroscopy can be used to accurately identify bladder cancer in vitro, and it suggests the promising potential application of PCA/SVM-based Raman spectroscopy for the diagnosis of bladder cancer.

[Fabrication of silver ordered nanoarrays SERS-active substrates and their applications in bladder cancer cells detection].

Highly ordered silver nanopore and nanocap arrays, which were used as surface-enhanced Raman scattering active (SERS-active) substrates, were fabricated by electron-beam evaporating silver on the surface of porous layer and barrier layer of porous anodic alumina (PAA) membranes, respectively. The SERS characteristics of the SERS-active substrates were tested with bladder cancer cells as molecular probe. The results indicated that both the SERS-active substrates displayed a strong SERS enhancement effect. The silver nanocap ordered arrays SERS-active substrate displayed not only higher SERS and fluorescence quenching effect, but also no interferential spectrum related with oxalate impurity remaining in PAA membranes, and therefore can result in the high quality Raman spectroscopy of bladder cancer cells.